This series is all about showcasing Libsyn podcasters. Its sole purpose is to introduce these awesome podcasts to the world as well as share their podcasting insight to empower the community!
Q & A with William from Fire on the Mound
When did you start podcasting?
I started podcasting in August of 2012, although I had been working on the actual episodes of FIRE ON THE MOUND for quite some time before that.
Since the show is so post-heavy, with sound design and an original score, I didn’t want to start releasing the episodes without at least half of the them completed. But the process began when a friend suggested I adapt my first novel into a podcast. There was some precedence for this, as I believe author Scott Sigler did the same thing.
At first I thought I would have to create the entire thing alone. Record the book, edit the episodes, and so on. But I realized not only would that be a mistake, but also not the most ideal path for the story.
I’m glad I came to my senses.
The best experience about the podcast process has been the collaboration. As the project developed, I brought vocal artist Steve Rudolph on board to read the novel. Steve brings a real richness to the reading, a real “sitting around the campfire quality” that I just love. “Grab some s’mores and a hot cocoa, I’m going to tell you a story.”
When I first started editing and shaping the episodes, I used canned music for the open and close.
There wasn’t going to be any other music, nothing during the actual show itself. I distributed this early incarnation among some friends for their feedback. Another friend suggested I find a composer to create an original score, something that could play throughout the show at appropriate moments.
At the time I thought that was highly unlikely, but then a few weeks later I did in fact meet a composer, William Seegers! He started creating themes for the individual characters and the various species, as well as a fantastic main theme. Now of course I cannot imagine FIRE ON THE MOUND without his contribution.
I say Steve gave the characters their souls, and Will gave them their culture.
Why did you start podcasting?
As I was collecting rejection notices from agents and publishers for my novel I thought, “How can I share this story on my own?” I didn’t want to use traditional self-publishing, which I had been doing with short story collections.
When a friend suggested an audio podcast, I realized he had hit on the solution. Back in college I wrote, directed, and produced a weekly anthology radio program. Some episodes were sci-fi, others were fantasy. I knew I could use the same storytelling techniques for a podcast. I just needed to learn about a new delivery system, and figure out how podcasts work.
What’s your show about?
The show is an adaptation of a novel of the same name.
It’s a fantasy-adventure story about a boy reluctantly befriending his father’s killer. Along their journey, characters from their island’s mythology come to life. Everyone is caught up in a supernatural war.
There are a number of parallel story threads in FIRE ON THE MOUND that eventually come together and intersect, then move apart again. Ultimately FIRE ON THE MOUND is about forgiveness.
I really wanted to be true to the main character, a young boy named Pekra, so I hope the twists and turns of his journey have more than a few surprises. It’s difficult for kids to forgive, I think, especially in the heightened circumstances of a fantasy-adventure full of strange and terrible events. At the same time, I hope it’s a fun journey!
How have you promoted your podcast?
I’m trying to build a community on Facebook to answer questions, talk about the episodes, and try to get a discussion going about the themes of the book.
On Twitter I use salient hashtags for audiobooks, podcasts, epic fantasy, and the like. I also tweet things not directly tied to the show, but relevant to our genre and interests.
We also have character artwork, maps, and posters on our Facebook page.
Outside of that, we’ve created supplemental video content.
Since our story is much like a radio program, in that it invites listeners to journey into the theatre of the mind, I thought it would be helpful to share short videos to hint at the visual flavor of the tale. So we have videos about the world of the story, as well as interviews with the creative team, and a few trailers that also set the tone.
For example, the trailer below is a clip from the first episode, set to animation and live-action, as though one of the characters is recording his adventure many years later.
https://vimeo.com/43745336
What do you know now that you wish you knew when you started?
That podcasting isn’t a sprint. It’s a marathon!
What a perfect time to sit around by the fire and delve into some storytelling! How about diving into the world of Fire on the Mound? You won’t regret it! Subscribe!
