Hope and Red: The Serialized Podcast

Anyway, it’s been a while since I talked about Hope and Red, but I have some exciting news. Years ago, I recorded the audiobook for my swashbuckling kung fu pirate romance novel. Now as some of you know, once upon a time before the Age of Smartphones, I was an actor. During that time I learned that I don’t care for the business or lifestyle of being an actor, but I’m still fond of the art itself. So I enjoy recording my own audiobooks quite a bit. In fact, when the Man Made Boy audiobook came out, Publisher’s Weekly named it Best Fiction Book Read by Author for 2013. Pretty cool, huh? Even cooler perhaps was that the winner of Best Nonfiction Book Read by Author that year was Maya Angelou. So my name was literally right next to one of the most celebrated American poets of all time. How about that!

Now, I’m only really saying all this to convince you that my audiobooks don’t suck. They are, however, like most audiobooks, pretty darn expensive.

Or rather, they were. Because now you will be able to enjoy Hope and Red as a free, serialized podcast!

When the pandemic first hit, my publisher was brainstorming various ways to do more marketing online. My editor remembered a tentative request I’d made some time ago to have some of my work made into a serialized podcast, and they decided to go with it. They’ve taken the audiobook and cut in into two chapter episodes (so you get a Hope chapter and a Red chapter with each episode). Right now there’s only a short trailer, but starting July 3rd they will begin releasing a new episode each week.

Frankly I haven’t had a lot of direct involvement with the project, but the one thing they let me do was title each episode and give it a “Netflix-esque” description. I generally don’t like writing summaries, but it was surprisingly enjoyable… Can I post them here? Surely I can do that for my own newsletter, right? So here are the first seven episode descriptions:

Episode 1: Murder and Abduction

Captain Toa’s trade route is jeopardized when he discovers that all but one of the inhabitants on the island of Bleak Hope have been massacred by imperial biomancers. Meanwhile, the infamous criminal Sadie the Goat lets down her guard and pays the price.

Episode 2: Warriors and Pirates

Hope learns the true nature of the strange order of monks who have adopted her. Red proves to Sadie that he’s worthy of joining her pirate crew.

Episode 3: Vows and Dreams

Hope begins her warrior training and learns of the legendary sword, the Song of Sorrows. Sadie and Red expand their pirating venture, with unexpected results.

Episode 4: Flight and Fancy

After eight years, Hope’s secret training as a Vinchen warrior is discovered. Red is well on his way to making good on his dream to become the greatest thief in New Laven, but he hadn’t anticipated the interference of a dark-eyed beauty called Nettles.

So fun, yet so vague to avoid spoilers! Just like Netflix, right? I wonder if they’re hiring…

Anyway, please share with others. They can follow this link or just search for “Hope and Red” in their podcasting app of choice. Who doesn’t love a podcast after all? I often listen to them while cleaning the house, and it is such a delight to think that someone out there is imagining Sadie the Goat and Deadface Drem whilst cleaning their toilet.