Hi folks,
Firstly, a massive thank you to everyone who attended our live show at the Crossed Wires Festival in Sheffield yesterday. It was such a fantastic day, made all the more special for seeing so many Magnus fans in person in the audience, at Jonny’s book signing, and at the VIP meet and greet. If you weren’t able to attend, don’t forget we have a full, professional video recording of a similar event we held last year at The Lowry in Manchester available to paid members: https://www.patreon.com/rustyquill/posts/statement-begins-152867353
Next up, we are now just over one week away from the return of The Magnus Protocol with new episodes going on the public feed every two weeks from 16th July. As always, Knights and Nobles paid members get 48-hour ad-free early access to new episodes from 14th July. Meanwhile, this week, we have our final instalment of Rusty Fears 7. Disconnected, inspired by the prompt "Sword and Sorcery", is written by Amy Hodgetts and read by Lowri Ann Davies. Early access members will be able to listen on Tuesday at 16:00 BST, or it will be available on The Magnus Archives podcast feed on Thursday at 16:00 BST.
Also coming to the feeds this week is episode 3 of Rez High, where the gang grapples with whether they are the good guys in the story and Jo-C gets tantalisingly closer to learning about History. Early access members will be able to hear this episode on Wednesday at 16:00 BST, or it’ll be on the Neon Inkwell podcast feed on Friday at 16:00 BST.
Finally, in news from the RQ Network show We’re Alive, you can now hear episodes from their spin-off series, Scout’s Honor, on the main We’re Alive podcast feed. We’re Alive is a long-running series that explores a world after an outbreak of “infected” zombies. For its characters though, the lack of shelter, food and water are as dangerous as the infected themselves, and the show follows them for years as the grapple with a new reality of dangerous monsters, scarce resources and the factions of survivors that compete for them. Scout’s Honor is a standalone series set in this world, following a small group of stranded scouts as they confront the “Infected”, testing their mettle and the strength of their friendships. Armed with only determination and their Scout Rules, they discover the essence of courage and sacrifice in the face of an apocalypse. Bonds are tested, innocence is lost, and the scout motto “Stay Alert, Stay Alive” takes on a whole new, dark significance. To find out more about this series, we spoke to creator, writer and director of We’re Alive, Kc Wayland.
Introduce yourself and for new listeners, tell us a bit about We're Alive: Scouts Honor?
Hello Rusty Quill listeners! I’m Kc Wayland, the writer and director of We’re Alive, and I wanted to introduce you to our story called “Scout’s Honor”. It’s actually the first time I collaborated with a co-writer for an audio program, bringing the talented Elisa Eliot onboard to help tell this exciting tale. The journey started all the way back in 2016 when I wanted to explore an untold adventure inside our world set on Catalina, one of the largest islands off the coast of California. Back then I actually traveled to the island in order to explore the setting that would end up becoming part Lord of the Flies part “zombie” apocalypse. For most of the stories that we have told, they are mostly centralized around Adults, but for this one I wanted to focus on what it would have been like being a kid when everything happened. It’s a coming of age story that forces the kids having to grow up very quickly, while still holding on to their innocence, and most of all, hope.
What are you most proud of in We're Alive: Scouts Honor?
I’m most proud about how unique this story is. Working with child actors can be a logistical headache, so most productions tend to shy away from that kind of story, whereas this one shifts all the focus on them. We had MANY MANY child actors, I believe over 50, who participated as voices throughout the story. It’s also a series that is self-contained, so those who may not be entirely familiar with our world, can easily jump in and experience, in my honest opinion, one of the greatest audio stories we’ve ever made. The sound design, the acting, the music, all blend together in ways that are truly one of a kind, and the story has so many twists and turns that in the end you almost feel like you’re part of the gang.
Across all of your experience in podcasting, what are you most excited about?
It’s really exciting to see so many new fresh voices and producers come to the space over the last couple of years. A lot of the technology is improving, getting cheaper, and more accessible. There’s still plenty of hurdles when it comes to creating audio productions, but it has opened up a lot of avenues of creativity the likes of which we haven’t seen (or heard) before.
You can listen to We’re Alive and We’re Alive: Scout’s Honor wherever you find podcasts, on the We’re Alive website or on the Rusty Quill website. If you enjoy the show, please consider leaving a rating or a review as this is the best way to support your favourite podcasts.
Have a good week all!
The Rusty Quill team