Ever since taking down the individual posts that contained the chapters of my podcast novel, I’ve been wondering if that was actually a step in the wrong direction. Talking with my wife, I’m thinking that even more: She’s firmly in the camp of favoring the book and podcast. With work, school and family, I barely have time for one of the two, and chose the comic because it’s fun for me to do — I write every day at work and am constantly writing for grad school, too. But what I write for them is totally different from the joy of writing my fictional tale. So I don’t think choosing the novel would be “un-fun.” Plus, I think what my wife is too nice to say is that I’m a better writer and voice actor than I am a cartoonist.

Thus I’ve restored the two most recent chapters in the novel, and you can listen to them below. What I’d like to ask you, dear reader/listener, is: Which one should I focus on for the next year or so, until I finish grad school?

Oh, and, those who vote for the comic strip, please know that my wife’s vote counts 5x. 

If you have an opinion, leave me a comment.

Thanks!

After seven-and-a-half months of wishful thinking, it became apparent to me that I am not going to get back to writing my book, “Hero Is…Um: Origins,” anytime soon, thanks to my grad school course work. Also, because the book really fit better with the more-serious, early comic work that I had posted — much more than it does now that I’ve taken the humor-strip route — I decided to pull the book and its podcast posts off the website. The tones of the book and the strip just don’t match anymore.

If/when I get the time to get back to writing the book (maybe in 2010?), I think I’m going to re-title it and make it have no connection to the Hero Is…Um strip. I never said who Reilly is (even though his powers seem to mirror a certain Orange-and-white-clad goofball — even though Reilly’s not really a goofball in the book, alas …), so I think the book will be able to stand on its own. I really, reeeeeally wish I had time to finish writing it, but I barely have time to do one comic a week (which I know is pathetic).

So, for all two of you who may have gotten interested in the book only to be left hanging, I will finish it and I will let everyone know how to find it when I start podcasting it again. But in order to keep this site from getting “moldy” looking with that same “Chapter 15″ post sitting there on the front page for another year or so, it needed to be removed.

Of course, if you liked the book — especially if you liked it better than the strip — post a comment and let me know. Maybe I chose the wrong thing to focus on.

Thanks for reading/listening!

David goes through intensive virtual reality training, and we find out more about the secret military base where he’s being kept, as well as the project for which he’s been recruited by Garvin.

Get ready to follow David through the video game simulation requiring him to run and shoot his way out of a hostile Middle Eastern city.

 

 Chapter 15 - Hero Is ... Um: Origins [18:11m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (151)

Having made his escape, Reilly finally has the chance to call for some moral support. But to do that, he has to reveal the secret of his powers. In doing so, he gets a surprising reaction — and some definite direction as he tries to unravel the mystery of his friends disappearance.

 

 Chapter 14 - Hero Is ... Um: Origins [14:13m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (116)