Season One, Episode Nineteen - “The Gauntlet”
After the Apocalypse26 Jun 2021

Season One, Episode Nineteen - “The Gauntlet”

After the ApocalypseA pandemic survival storySeason One, Episode Nineteen - “The Gauntlet”

“I don’t like it.” KJ said.

“Of course you don’t.” the old man said in return. “Besides the obvious answer that the world has gone to hell, why not?”

“There’s too much smoke. Why would there be so much smoke this many weeks in? Who’s burning stuff and why are they doing it?”

“Maybe it’s a barbeque.” The old man joked. “Yah know, short ribs, beer… It does smell like cooking meat.”

“Maybe they’ll barbeque your scrawny ass, old man.” She countered. “It smells more like plastic or tires or something.”

Bill sniffed at the air and didn’t seem pleased with what he smelled, but for now he could only pace and offer up an occasional worried whine.

...

Greetings my survivor friends. How’s the apocalypse treating you?

Special welcome to my daughter, who pitched in with the typo hunting in this episode. Thanks for the great Father’s Day card!

I am stunned and amazed that here we are, episode 19. Who knew we’d be able to pull it off. This chapter was fun to write. I think we have a clear understanding of who these characters are – so I can drop them into situation and let them speak for themselves.

We see our female protagonist Janet, a.k.a KJ the Killer, slipping into that ambiguity that the end of the world forces on people. We see the old man teetering on the brink of reality and sanity. We see the world thrashing about in the worst types of reactions that befall humans.

The question is which way will they all slide? What will they choose? Do they even have a choice?

We introduced that there is a ‘big bad’ roaming around as the world starts to coalesce around survivors. The ‘big bad’ is more than an antagonist to create narrative tension. The big bad is an alternate blueprint. He is the dark side of humanity that is always just outside, peering through that little window shaped like a porthole in the front door of civilization waiting for us to make a mistake.

And that’s always the tension with humanity.

Civilization is a chaos suppressant. Civilization sees chaos as evil. All our religions have a manifestation of chaos, from Loki, to the Devil, to Coyote – there’s always that tension between order and chaos, or more pedantically, good and evil.

If you don’t have that tension, then the story is just action without purpose. Or horror without purpose. Or comedy without purpose. And when the narrative fiction falls into that space you lose interest in the fate of the characters and all the action in the world can’t keep it going.

You need stakes. Unless there are stakes. Unless there is tension. There is no compelling narrative.

And that’s the fun part of creating a dystopian, apocalyptic universe. You get to decide how that tension of good versus evil is resolved.

Anyhow… enough with the ontology.

And speaking of Coyote the mischief making chaos god of some Native Americans - Here’s my reading list tip for you this week. The Tony Hillerman books about Navajo police detective Joe Leaphorn? I’m not a big mystery fan, but I started listening to these on audio book when I was commuting from my home outside Boston up to an office in Quebec City Canada.

It’s a long drive.

I would get books on tape at the local library for the ride. Hillerman was an Albuquerque New Mexico resident and did a great job describing the Southwest US cultures, and in particular the Native American mythologies. The audio books, if you can find them, are read by Native American voice actors and the cadence of the read is amazing.

There ya go – grab some Hillerman audio books for your summer vacation.

In two weeks we will present the last chapter, chapter 20, in this first season. Then we’ll take a pause to turn the first season into an e-book, a paperback and an audio book. I’ve got a copy editor to work through the scripts and I’ve got a couple artists working on cover art.

I’m recruiting a book launch team and typo hunters. Come over to FaceBook and join the After the Apocalypse group that can be found by searching for “OldManApocalypse” – all one word – and pitch in.

I’m asking nicely. I could use the help.

I’m happy with how this season and the overall format came out. We’re up over 11,000 downloads now. That’s not bad for 6 months in as an indie podcast.

The format lends itself to binge listening. The short consumable episode length and consistency allow people to just queue them up and march through them. Another irony of the podcasting world is that what took me 6 months to produce takes you a couple days to consume!

I can keep up with this fortnightly cadence and still produce a decent quality product. Unfortunately for you I have a full-time job and other things to attend to or I would be cranking out a season monthly!

The next season we are going to add more compelling characters to the universe, we are going to add situations and institutions and threats that test our survival skills.

So stick with us after the break. I hope all of you up in my hemisphere are enjoying your summers and those of you in antipodal hemispheres are enjoying your winters.

As always I could use your support on the Patreon page to keep paying the bills. And I can use your participation on the facebook group at oldmanapocalypse.

And of course keep leaving 5-star reviews on iTunes and keep telling your friends.

And together, we will keep surviving.

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Episoder(118)

Season four, Episode three – “Purpose”

Season four, Episode three – “Purpose”

After the ApocalypseA pandemic survival storySeason four, Episode three – “Purpose”…It was a warm day, but it was cool in the shade. He sat in a grotto behind the campus infirmary. A light breeze swayed the hanging branches of a large Weeping Willow tree. The dancing greenery filtered the sunlight into splashes of illumination on the patio and long grass. It smelled like summer. Bill the dog lay on his back in the grass, in a patch of sun, with his legs splayed, head to one side, tongue lolling, snoring softly - no cares in the world. The old man watched the movement of the willow from his chair in the dappled shade. The flecks of sunlight caused him to squint when the kaleidoscope sun broke through the shifting of the draped branches....Website -> http://www.oldmanapocalypse.com Buy me Coffee -> https://www.buymeacoffee.com/cyktrussellSubscribe page on Acast -> https://plus.acast.com/s/after-the-apocalypsePodcast on Acast -> https://shows.acast.com/after-the-apocalypseFacebook group -> https://www.facebook.com/groups/oldmanapocalypsePatreon to support the show -> https://www.patreon.com/AftertheApocalypseKindle Vella Story -> https://www.amazon.com/kindle-vella/story/B09LTRC8RHMerch Store -> https://www.teepublic.com/stores/after-the-apocalypse Twitter -> cyktrussell@twitter.comEmail List -> https://acast.us14.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=a02fed2a783fcc887760255a9&id=e15419e7behttps://fundraisers.hakuapp.com/christopher-russell Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

8 Sep 202336min

Season four, Episode two – “Vestiges”

Season four, Episode two – “Vestiges”

After the ApocalypseA pandemic survival storySeason four, Episode two – “Vestiges” ...The brake lights on the lead vehicle flashed bright red. Brent was pulled from his doze by the grab of the seatbelt. He slid his hands down his thighs smoothing the creases of his khaki pants the best he could and craned his neck to look around the black Suburban for what the delay might be now. The tinted windows made it hard to see much. ...Website -> http://www.oldmanapocalypse.com Buy me Coffee -> https://www.buymeacoffee.com/cyktrussellSubscribe page on Acast -> https://plus.acast.com/s/after-the-apocalypsePodcast on Acast -> https://shows.acast.com/after-the-apocalypseFacebook group -> https://www.facebook.com/groups/oldmanapocalypsePatreon to support the show -> https://www.patreon.com/AftertheApocalypseKindle Vella Story -> https://www.amazon.com/kindle-vella/story/B09LTRC8RHMerch Store -> https://www.teepublic.com/stores/after-the-apocalypse Twitter -> cyktrussell@twitter.comEmail List -> https://acast.us14.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=a02fed2a783fcc887760255a9&id=e15419e7behttps://fundraisers.hakuapp.com/christopher-russell Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

26 Aug 202331min

Season four, Episode one – “Resurrection”

Season four, Episode one – “Resurrection”

After the ApocalypseA pandemic survival storySeason four, Episode one – “Resurrection” ... The smell of gunfire lingered in the air. The storm had passed. Black clouds, heavy with wind and water pushed east trailing rain like a dirty bridal veil dragging in the muddy grass. Mags stood on a shipping container and surveyed the area where the battle had taken place. It was at the rear of the Distribution Center complex where the rows of metal buildings terminated at a weathered, eight-foot, chain-link fence. When the storm passed, the smoke and haze settled into the low areas around the buildings and barricades.Something inside one of the adjacent buildings had caught and smoke was rising out of the vent pipes. Could be bad if not addressed. Mags made a mental note to get a fire control team on that immediately before it spread. They had lost enough on this day. ...Website -> http://www.oldmanapocalypse.com Buy me Coffee -> https://www.buymeacoffee.com/cyktrussellSubscribe page on Acast -> https://plus.acast.com/s/after-the-apocalypsePodcast on Acast -> https://shows.acast.com/after-the-apocalypseFacebook group -> https://www.facebook.com/groups/oldmanapocalypsePatreon to support the show -> https://www.patreon.com/AftertheApocalypseKindle Vella Story -> https://www.amazon.com/kindle-vella/story/B09LTRC8RHMerch Store -> https://www.teepublic.com/stores/after-the-apocalypse Twitter -> cyktrussell@twitter.comEmail List -> https://acast.us14.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=a02fed2a783fcc887760255a9&id=e15419e7behttps://fundraisers.hakuapp.com/christopher-russell Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

12 Aug 202335min

Camping Calls - Walter Skrzypek

Camping Calls - Walter Skrzypek

Camping calls me…...First person. fiction by author MaguaWalter Skrzypek (scrip-ek). AKA Magua (Mug-wa) Magua is a modern age outdoorsman, woodsman, hiker and explorer of the lands along with my trusted companion Timber, my pup. He's enjoyed a 30 year journey through healthcare and retiring on good graces to share some tales from outdoor adventures and experiences. With years spent in the forests and lightly travelled areas, the exposure to unusual experiences has varied and it's time to share. Story:I have a favorite camping spot that I frequent or had frequented. I had done so consistently for about 10 years, but not now. I had an experience that has deterred me from ever returning to that Pa state park. Each Friday, I would clear up all of my final duties from work and spring out of the office about noon, and I would head off to camp for the weekend with my best friend at that time, Simba, my pup. One Friday, I headed out at noon to arrive home. I would have my car ... Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

22 Jul 202335min

Year 12 - Jeff Brackett

Year 12 - Jeff Brackett

Year 12 - Jeff BrackettHello, my survivor friends – How are you doing? For those of you time-traveling in from the future it is July of 2023. Today we present to you another story from one of our fellow survivors Jeff who was kind enough to lend us some audio from one of his stories called “Year 12”"Year 12" is a post-apocalyptic novel, a sequel to the Jeff’s first novel, "Half Past Midnight". You may remember Jeff and I had a conversation about half past midnight last year, right around this time, as a matter of fact, during our Season 2 break. Links - https://fairview.deadfrontier.com/onlinezombiemmo/DF3D/DF3D_InventoryPage.php?page=31&hash=821f6b5deda6a51303d6e046762f0c11&userID=5105566&hash2=f5cc605b142713fca8c5714febf3ddf8Patreon - www.patreon.com/jlbrackettNewsletter - https://sendfox.com/jlbrackettAmazon Author page - www.amazon.com/author/jeffbrackettFacebook - https://www.facebook.com/JeffBrackett.author/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

8 Jul 202333min

Electric Witch - Christopher Zuniga

Electric Witch - Christopher Zuniga

ELECTRIC WITCH The stormy night cracking sways the wind sideway across the skies, the rain drenches her pale white skin as her wickedness freezes it to ice and hail as falling gravel the size of stones. Her eyes a glow send white beams of lightning scanning her surround for those that cower and oppose. Runes in hand and adorning her neck brill her skintight while she reaches with the devils horns. Her long fingers stiff, stretch to the wind above her head lost in the locks of blackened ends of flaming blue silver strands of silken hair she chants her spell. Binding all that fear her call and the ice of her skin. Her toll comes from the green sea of lake as she rises call to demons to strike, strike with their CRACKLES of electricity, their thunders of DOOM…blind them with the thick of FOG let down their fire of white flame and burn the wretched that do not fear her claims. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

24 Jun 202337min

The Blackening of Renn - Duane Hespell

The Blackening of Renn - Duane Hespell

~…and the darkness and decay…held illimitable dominion over all~ ~ Edgar Allan Poe THE BLACKENING OF RENN Renn steadied himself…and breathed. His lungs expelled their contents in heavy bursts, but despite the distinct cold that had settled over the city, Renn noticed no trace of condensation....Duane’s Links:· https://www.instagram.com/duaneswerld/ - Mostly posts on my acting and endurance adventures but would love to hear from any listeners.· https://www.facebook.com/duane.hespell· duanehes at yahoo dot com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

10 Jun 202337min

Season 3, Episode 20 – “Legacy”

Season 3, Episode 20 – “Legacy”

After the ApocalypseA Pandemic Survival StorySeason 3, Episode 20 – “Legacy”...“Move them out of that goddam trap!” The King shouted angrily at Harlan. “Up the left! Get around that strong point!” His men had run straight into an ambush on their first approach. Instead of the ‘cake walk’ they had assumed. The King was angry. This fight wasn’t going to be the pushover he had expected. He still had the guns and the numbers but didn’t like the feeling that he was being made a fool of. Not outfought but outthought. ...Website -> http://www.oldmanapocalypse.com Buy me Coffee -> https://www.buymeacoffee.com/cyktrussellSubscribe page on Acast -> https://plus.acast.com/s/after-the-apocalypsePodcast on Acast -> https://shows.acast.com/after-the-apocalypseFacebook group -> https://www.facebook.com/groups/oldmanapocalypsePatreon to support the show -> https://www.patreon.com/AftertheApocalypseKindle Vella Story -> https://www.amazon.com/kindle-vella/story/B09LTRC8RHMerch Store -> https://www.teepublic.com/stores/after-the-apocalypse Twitter -> cyktrussell@twitter.comEmail List -> https://acast.us14.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=a02fed2a783fcc887760255a9&id=e15419e7be Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

27 Mai 202336min

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