Tag Archives: Alyson Grauer

SPECIAL EPISODE: The Geek Wolfpack Podcast and the Nerd Out App Kickstarter

Hey, everyone!

No…this is NOT Episode 69, dudes.

We have a lot happening this month. We’re working on our final season (and yes we admit to be using the term “final” liberally…) of Tales from the Archives, work to do on Operation: Endgame, and planning a special two-part head-to-head episode here on the Shared Desk with in-studio guest Nick Kelly over a science fiction epic, and how it ended. However, we wanted to take some time and share with you this episode of the Geek Wolfpack Podcast, Nick Kelly’s premiere podcast featuring the entire Kelly family. (Give it a listen. It’s a hoot!) This particular episode features the Wolfpack Podcast’s first interview, their guest professional nerd and entertainment professional Elle Jensen, founder of the Nerd Out App.

Elle sits down with Nick, Tee, and Pip to talk about the app’s Kickstarter campaign and how geeks of all backgrounds should be taking advantage of this wonder of technology!

Episode 16 (Show notes by Nick Kelly)

0:00 – Intro
1:18 – Our Interview with Elle Jensen of the Nerd Out App!
1:42 – Pip Ballantine!
1:55 – Tee Morris!
2:31 – Elle Jensen, Founder of the Nerd Out App
2:48 – The plug bell
3:06 – What exactly is the Kickstarter for?
3:45 – App development is like LEGO bricks
5:05 – Nick starts counting cities where he’s used the app
5:13 – What exactly is the Nerd Out App? Elle’s Comic Con story
6:00 – Nerdy Burlesque!
6:33 – The growth numbers on Nerd Out App 1.0
6:44 – The Average Geek Show
7:15 – Where does the App team get their events?
8:04 – The Chicago crew needs to get on the Nerd Squad
8:22 – A Klingon Christmas Carol
8:39 – DreamstoBecome.com
10:12 – Currently, events get added via a manual process. It’s going to be way easier in 2.0
10:53 – #furriesruineverything
11:12 – How are events vetted?
12:31 – Nerding responsibly
12:57 – The coolest events ever hosted in the app
13:24 – Poltergeist as a burlesque
13:55 – Nick’s list of cities, and the count is…
14:08 – Shout out to Geektitude.com
14:30 – Nerdcon!
14:36- Dumbells and Dragons and the Wekk podcast
15:06 – Other features in 2.0 – Geolocation, additional locations
15:45 – NEW ZEALAND!
15:53 – EpicCon – V’s Cosplay will be there as Agents Books & Braun
16:35 – Overseas requests come in bursts, but 2.0 will be able to expand more
17:15 – What is the financial goal of the Kickstarter campaign?
17:54 – If you do a Kickstarter campaign, factor in taxes
18:15 – What questions does Elle have for Tee and Pip?
19:45 – What’s the frequency of posts?
20:15 – How many posts are we boosting?
21:00 – What was Pip’s strategy in boosting posts?
21:33 – The West Coast Steampunk folks need to get posting more!
22:08 – What are the incentives?
23:02 – Audiobook giveaways are popular
23:22 – Other authors are happy to provide eBooks
23:50 – Additional feature – filtering so you can keep it kid friendly
24:28 – Stickers! Game of Thrones! Harry Potter! Deadpool! The Flash! Stranger Things!
25:02 – The Con Survival Pack – Everything you need to survive a con
25:45 – Sponsorship levels
26:12 – Tee explains the uber level
27:32 – Personalization is a big, big thing
27:47 – Friday the 13th: The Video Game
28:28 – Mystery Science Theater 3000
28:50 – Habitica gets a mention
29:20 – What are some personalization options for Nerd Out 2.0?
29:49 – King or Queen Nerd of your town
30:50 – You could be the nerd in the logo!
31:50 – A launch party, with the nerdy burlesque people and Geeky Tees
32:38 – Do you have a plan b?
33:40 – The timing of the kickstarter
35:40 – Nick’s experience from the field – www.starwarsdays.com
36:00 – Garrison Tyranus of the 501st Legion
36:19 – +2 Charisma
37:06 – Tee foreshadows the Nick vs. Tee Westworld episode
38:30 – Here we go. Elle’s street cred…
39:02 – Agent Carter
39:35 – Riverdale
39:55 – The CW Alien Crossover event
41:44 – I know my value
42:32 – Where can we find Elle and the Nerd Out App
42:55 – Thanks from the Wolfpack to Elle, Tee and Pip!
43:50 – ADHD D&D
44:31 – We continue to search Vrath Keep, after a PSA about flammable oven mitts
45:03 – NO DEMIGORGONS!
45:50 – Comfy chair
47:16 – It’s a conference room
48:21 – We all react to the ridiculous goblin map
49:13 – Turgen wants halflings to eat
49:55 – Do not spill ranch dressing on yourself
51:45 – Young Shecky Greene
54:03 – Battle of Lexington and Concord
54:30 – Hey, Pharaxes, go set everything on fire!
55:39 – You want an arcana check?
57:20 – Take an automatic 20 (why not?)
58:58 – The nightmare refugee scenario
59:50 – Outro

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Find us on Twitter at either Tee’s or Pip’s account,
leave us a voicemail or questions for the show at 703.791.1701,
or leave us a comment here at the blog.
We’ll talk about it!
And remember, you can find the show on iTunes or Stitcher!
Subscribe, listen, and review.

Enjoy the ride
and we’ll catch you later.

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Episode #38 – Wait..what…it’s November??

 

TSD-crackup

Hard to believe it is November, but here we are. This week we talk about the new cool way publishers want to release books and why authors may not like it, and we get into the ultimate eagle vs kiwi, RUBGY!!

Have a listen, comment on the blog, and feel free to reach out to us at 703.791.1701 to share your thoughts with us!

 

00:00 — Introduction & Catching Up

 

13:12 — Publication schedules…things are getting intense

  • Getting three novels published in three months
  • Jeff VanderMeer and the Southern Reach Trilogy. Actually they came out in February, May and September.
  • Are we all going to be expected to get books out this quickly?
  • Self-publishing is pushing this move. New York is taking a trick from them.
  • Some people can crank books out this quickly.
  • Even if these books are written before hand, what about the next three?
  • Authors are expected to do more than just writer these days.
  • Pip invents a new word for the marketing world…
  • There is more than just cranking out a first draft…like editing…
  • Foreword Literary is now Fuse Literary, but still helmed by the Agent of Awesome Laurie McLean
  • Tee and Pip argue other media competition.
  • Pip goes all Rocky Horror Picture Show
  • Readers who wait until a series are completed, but that doesn’t tell your publisher you want more…
  • Pip talks about the days of constant writing
  • For most authors it doesn’t seem sustainable
  • Pip anticipates now they will get a contract like that!

27:04 — Eagle vs Kiwi The Rugby Edition

  • To Chicago…chilly but awesome Chicago
  • Pip points out it wasn’t just a rugby game.
  • 100 years since the All Blacks played the American Eagles on American soil
  • PC Haring hosted Tee and Pip while Aly Grauer, and Mel Fox joined in the shenanigans
  • Pip points out there is no stopping in rugby, while Tee waxes lyrical on the difference between American and this game of rugby
  • Pip and other kiwis feel a little pity, but there are no pity points in rugby either.
  • Who knew there were so many American All Blacks fans!
  • Aly and Mel sum up the attractions of rugby.

34.59 — The Wrap-Up

  • Pip and Tee talk about how David Bowie makes them feel like slackers. Pip wrote a blogpiece on it.
  • It could be the pants 
  • Tee is obsessing about a Walkman
  • Some awesome kid Ziggy Stardust…there is hope for the future
  • Pip has a moment or two, and now so does Sonic Boom
  • Tee learns Bowie appreciation, and his acting
  • Pip and Tee think of Alex White and Bowie…with an inappropriate dropin
  • Tales from the Archives wrapping up by the end of the year. Plans of the fourth season to be firmed up
  • Pip is finishing up the audiobook of Weather Child
  • Ministry Protocol is now out as an audiobook
  • Pip does indeed do the shownotes
  • Pip does indeed get the tumblr address for the Ministry right
  • One-Stop Writer Shop will have a deal coming soon for all those Nano participants

Related Links

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Find us on Twitter at either Tee’s or Pip’s account,
leave us a voicemail or question for the show at 703.791.1701,
or leave us a comment here at the blog.

Enjoy the ride
and we’ll catch you later.

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Episode #34: DemiCon 25 Wrap-Up (with P.C. Haring, Aly Grauer, Melissa Fox, and Christina Payton)

TSD-back2back_DemiCon25

Two cons back to back — RavenCon and DemiCon — and Tee and Pip are snapping back from the shenanigans in Virginia and Iowa. As this episode is a few days late, your show hosts super-size this episode with many different perspectives and reflections on the weekend that is DemiCon 25. Strap yourself in for some serious silliness on mic and insights into the weekend of geeking in Des Moines.

00:00 — Introduction

  • Getting in a quick intro and a a drop-in fix.
  • It’s a DemiCon 25 wrap-up for this week’s show!
  • Pip’s working on Immortal Progeny so I’m bringing us into this show.
  • So let’s step back in time…

1:55 — DemiCon 25 Wrap-Up 

  • Introductions.
    • Tee’s coffee cup is broken.
    • Let the hazing begin.
    • The ladies from Chicago show up.
    • On the Mic: Tee, Pip, P.C. Haring, Alyson Grauer, Melissa Fox
  • Food arrives…and eventually, we will get this show on track.
    • If you are curious, the crunch-crunch-crunch is the taco shell of our salad.
    • Aly thinks a Shared Desk at Bennigan’s is a bad idea.
  • Space Happens: The Kickstarter project currently on Aly’s and Mel’s plate…and it looks funny.
  • What brings Tee back to DemiCon?
  • P.C. Haring is sharing the wealth with the ladies…
  • Aly wants to do the ding along with the bell.
  • Aaaaaaand more hazing of the Author Guest of Honor…
  • What brings Aly Grauer and Mel Fox to DemiCon?
    • Aly’s first step into the Indie Author realm.
    • All of Pip’s dreams involve Idris Elba. Shocker that.
    • The Buffalo is fighting against Pip.
    • A quick review of Bennigan’s and the quality of hotel restaurants.
    • The best thing about the convention circuit: Networking.
  • What brings “Paul from Des Moines” back to Des Moines?
  • DemiCon 18 versus DemiCon 25
  •  DemiCon actually began on Thursday…
    • Voiceover Workshop at Theodore Roosevelt High School
    • A killer book signing at Barnes & Noble with Joe Halderman
    • …and ending with a blurry night in Des Moines.
  • DemiCon on Friday Night
    • Aly, Pip, and Tee talk about Barnes & Noble and the attitude towards a drive-by signing…
    • Aly was worried that we were going to be divas.
    • Tee reflects on being in a car with Terry Brooks. (OMG, he hates me!!!)
    • Meet the Ministry Panel — our kickoff panel
      • Captain Jack the Dapper Cat, making appearances throughout the weekend
      • We start talking about True Detective…but hop back to Vikings.
    •  The True Detective Panel
    • THE NIGHT OF PERKINS
  • DemiCon on Saturday
    • Collaborating with Friends (with P.C. and Pip)
      • The many bromances of Tee Morris
      • Christina Payton — our Eliza cosplayer — joins us, making the weekend wrap-up complete.
      • Pip suffers from trust issues, and nearly chokes Aly in talking about it.
      • Manners, please!
      • Hi, Christina! Tell us about your costumes…
      • “This waitress is out to get me!” — Tee
      • We brainstorm on the various Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences action figures.
    • The Book Signing
      • Reactions from Aly and P.C.
      • Plan 9 Burlesque in Chicago — Aly’s first signing, but not her FIRST signing which was DemiCon…kinda.
      • “Pip is an exotic specimen.” — Aly Grauer
      • And once again, the Mango Smoodie story rears its ugly head.
    • Epic Tea Time with Alan Rickman
      • Aly regales us with stories of P.C.’s naiveté.
      • P.C. tries to #blametheboot, and thus a new hashtag is born.
      • Christina and Mel share thoughts on the DemiCon tea party.
      • Reflections on Gung Fu Tea
    • The Guests of Honor Panel Discussion
      • Kind of “Meh.”
      • Not what Tee was expecting or hoping for…
      • Theatre of the Mind: Aly Grauer displays her skills in stealth.
      • The GoH Discussion reflects the tone of DemiCon 25. Not a bad tone, just a little exclusive.
      • Aaaaaaand the server releases another salvo….
    • Women in Steampunk (with Pip)
      • Complete with an appearance from #DapperCat
      • Pip updates and bulks up the Library of Congress talk.
      • A better turnout at DemiCon.
      • Pip name drops. A LOT!
      • Aly shares her favorite things about the talk.
    • The Reading
      • Pip was speaking in cursive.
      • Giving a reading in the style of scandalous actors.
      • What sobers you up? An Australian accent for Pip, apparently.
      • The different stages of speaking: Cursive, Calligraphy, Wingdings
      • The League of Fonts (A College Humor video)
    • The Masquerade (with Aly and Mel)
      • Aly’s incredibly awesome Smaug costume.
      • Mel brings it to DemiCon with the Doctor Who Clockwork Invaders…clockwork_01
      • Doctor Who‘s Weeping Angels…for Dummies.
      • Mel takes the Masquerade!
      • It’s off to the hot tub!
  • DemiCon on Sunday
    • The Podcasting Panel
      • GREAT turnout for a 9 a.m. panel
      • The Jesus Sightings
      • P.C. joins Tee for the Podcasting discussion.
      • Tee prefers to be on panels…with other people.
    • What Are You Watching?
      • Tee and Pip stay in genre and then drift out of genre…
      • We forgot Orphan Black. DAMMIT!
  • Coming back full circle to Bennigan’s…
  • What we all walked away with following DemiCon 25…
  • The genesis of Space Happens
  • The potential of Space Happens — go and donate at their Kickstarter!!!
  • Christina — you’re on mic! GO!!!
  • Reminiscing about Emerald City Steampunk Expo…
  • And Jolie swings by the table to say “Hey!” and to prove she is still upright after the DemiCon 25 weekend!
  • THE SCONES!!!! THE SCONES!!!!

1:28:15 — The Wrap-Up

 

[display_podcast]

Find us on Twitter at either Tee’s or Pip’s account,
leave us a voicemail or question for the show at 703.791.1701,
or leave us a comment here at the blog.

Enjoy the ride
and we’ll catch you later.

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