Tag Archives: Virginia

by | August 13, 2017 · 6:43 am

The Dog Days of Podcasting 2017: The Value of Happy Endings

Special thanks to Corbin J Drake for the photo.

If Tee sounds tired, it’s because he is.

You might be worried about him, considering recent events in Virginia. He’s okay. So’s the fam.

Today’s Dog Days of Podcasting may seem a little rough, but there’s a light Tee’s offering. He writes what he writes because of stuff like this.

Thanks for listening.

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Find Tee on Twitter here,
leave a voicemail or questions for the Dog Days of Podcasting at 703.791.1701,
or leave us a comment here at the blog.
I’ll talk about it!

And remember, you can find this show on iTunes or Stitcher!
Subscribe, listen, and review.

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by | July 1, 2015 · 9:17 pm

Episode #43- The Cosplay with Christina episode

Cosplay with Christina

Last week, we were supposed to be at Capital Con, but at the very last minute the event was cancelled. This meant our cosplaying guest Christina Payton was coming from California to Virginia, with all her outfits, for nothing. Well, that wouldn’t stand with us, so in this episode we wander into the unfamilar to us world of cosplayers and authors.

00:00 Introduction and VirginiaCon

  • We begin with much head-bopping that doesn’t really work for podcast.
  • We welcome Christina Payton to the Shared Desk
  • Deadlines…but a 70k book that is Social Media for Authors! (Pre Order now if you like)
  • We discuss the demise of Capital Con
  • Hotels, knock off being mean to geeks
  • Tee talks about his past experience with cons and shenanigans
  • So Pip and Tee whip up VirginiaCon.
  • Luray Caverns, and eating at Pavemint. Also, beer sneaks in. Sweet Baby Jesus…and some other beer…
  • VirginiaCon then rolled onto Old Busthead Brewery and the Bone
  • Pip played Mom and dropped off Tee and Christina at the Northern Virginia Summer Brefest
  • Look for Tee on Untappd as Teemonster
  • Flying Dog and Hunter S Thompson
  • Everyone loves food trucks, but DC Slices is highly recommended by Tee
  • Finally some cider for Pip. Winchester Cider works.
  • Atlas Brewery in DC has a steampunk theme, so maybe we could do something there.
  • The Pip and Tee take Christina to Proper Pie, and Blue Bee Cider. All three of us lose our memory…
  • And we visit Agecroft Hall for a little history…
  • VirginiaCon ends in the Manassas area.

26:58 Christina shows her mad cosplay skills

 

  • Christina reveals her cosplay as Eliza D Braun from the Diamond Conspiracy, when she goes in disguise as a gentleman…
  • Shout out to Verena in Germany
  • Pip and Tee sum up our connection with Christina. It goes back to Emerald City and Demicon.
  • Christina’s cosplay includes; the Antarctica mission, the opera dress, and the suffragette.
  • Cosplay is all about finding the right fabrics.
  • Cosplay also evolves as you find more accessories
  • Christina surprises Pip with her cosplay of Sorcha!
  • Tee asks how authors can help out cosplayers. Christina says it’s like picking your favourite song.
  • So which was more complicated?
  • Apparently Christina is great at whacking
  • Pip loses her mind and asks the probing questions. Jason Chan is hopefully happy.
  • Pip and Tee think about Mysticon
  • V’s Cosplay
  • But where are the Wellingtons?
  • We’ve had a Ravyn Macallister
  • So what drives someone to cosplay?
  • Christina talks about what got her into it.
  • Pip waxes lyrical on her experience with satin…
  • Christina reads the first three chapters of book five, and already has ideas…
  • Christina and Verena get chatty

51:34 The Wrapup

  • Pip is surprised that time passes
  • Christina talks about where you can find her. Wizardworld Comic Con in LA. Maybe a visit to the lighthouse in California from Dawn’s Early Light.
  • A gender bent, steampunk Thranduil might be coming your way.
  • Look for Pip and Tee at the Writers Digest Convention
  • Pip and Tee had a fun time at the Rosemary House. There might be a return visit in the future, especially if we can sort things out with Mystery Books
  • Find Christina at ElizaDBraunismyguru
  • We’re looking out for teashops…

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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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by | August 6, 2013 · 3:39 am

Episode #25: An Audience with Alex White, Master Collaborator

TSD-back2back_White

Tee and Pip pull off the miracle podcast and reach NUMBER 25, but they don’t do it alone. From the headquarters of The Gearheart comes Renaissance Man Alex White. He’s an artist. He’s a writer. He’s a musician. He’s brought so much of his talent to the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences, and now he comes on mic with The Shared Desk to talk about how he got his black belt in collaboration fu.

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00:00 — Introduction

  • Tee goes with a HBO theme on the opening drop-in’s…
  • Welcoming a special guest, Alex White, who is in town…because he wants to be!
  • What’s going on with the three of us?
    • Pip’s turning in new pitches. (Titles need a bit of work…)
    • Tee’s closing in on his Kindle Worlds’ deadline.
    • Alex has a new work-in-progress that delves into the paranormal.
  • Paying authors: We think it’s fun!
7:29 — An Audience with Alex White, Master Collaborator
  • Apart from Jack Mangan, Alex White has contributed and collaborated with us the most concerning the Ministry.
  • Alex and the crew of Disasterpiece Theatre
    • What’s the pitch? (Not the show, but that is the show.)
    • It was a great show…until Shia LaBouff was brought into the Ministry.
    • What’s the fun in prepping your guests?
    • Be careful, Alex. Hollywood, SyFy, and Michael Bay is listening…
    • …and Tee goes there. “Inappropriate.”
  • The recent collaboration(s) between Alex and the Makers of the Ministry
  • On working with Tee Morris and Pip Ballantine, the editors
    • The importance of editing
    • Making editors into the “bad guys”
  • On working with Tee Morris and Pip Ballantine, cover art clients
    • We got a beautiful cover….
    • ….but it was a tough journey getting there.
    • RELEASE THE DROP-IN’S!!!
    • Revealing what’s behind the curtain when cover artists and clients work together…and when things are not what are expected.
    • Beware the “sternly-worded nut-slap” from Pip Ballantine.
    • And then came the back pedal…
  • Working with Friends: the Pros, the Cons, and the LARGE AMOUNTS OF MONEY EXCHANGING HANDS… 
  • Again, beware Pip’s sternly slap-to-the-nuts.
  • Alex gives some advice for the author when working together to create the cover you want.

39:18 — Seriously? Seriously.

  • Alex reveals a cold, hard truth about The Shared Desk.
  • Talking about trust — how about that Cuckoo’s Calling book?
  • Hold on…who’s writing this book again?!
  • QUICK LOO BREAK!
  • Should J.K. Rowling be pissed?
  • A look at the insecurity of a successful problem…and how we wish we had it…
  • You hire a lawyer with a degree of privacy in mind.
  • The dangers of when besties get together, whippin’ out their secrets….
  • …and Tee goes there. Again.

47:24 — The Wrap-Up

  • Big props to Alex White for joining us on the 25th show!
  • Alex made us love him all over again.
  • Alex White and Harvey Keitel — worth every penny!
  • What’s coming soon…
    • For Alex
      • Dragon*Con appearing, including a LIVE Disaterpiece Theatre
      • A possible BIG reveal for DTP fans
      • Catch him at the Parsecs as Fire in the Snow by Starla Hutchton is in the running….
    • For Pip & Tee
      • Authors After Dark
      • Baltimore Book Festival
      • Strasburg Steam Festival
      • Cover Reveal of Ministry Protocol — August 8!
      • And an unexpected sale that is coming to bookshelves for the holidays!
  • And how about this for an ending — hitting it on all cylinders!!!

RELATED LINKS

 
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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by | February 22, 2012 · 12:51 pm

The Shared Desk — Episode #12: When to Sound Off and When to STFU

We want to do a Scrivener show — we really do — but what a Valentine’s Day week we had. It was a week of politics and heated discussions on Facebook that ended up inspiring this week’s episode topic. With special guest Lisa-Anne Moore, authors take a look at those soapboxes we all have in a corner and ask the tough question — when do we as authors (of any standing in a career) voice our opinions, and when do we walk away from heated debates?

00:00 — Introduction

  • Pip is trying to sing the lyrics to our theme song. One problem….
  • Special guest via Skype — our Skylanders pimp, Lisa-Anne Moore
  • What have we accomplished since the last Shared Desk?
    • Lisa nears completion of the first draft of her novel.
    • Tee released for the Kindle (and only for the Kindle) his first novella.
    • Pip finishes Mechanical Wings and is asked to give a nip-tuck on it which she did…in between her deep dives into Ancestry.com.
  • A quick thank you here in the show notes to Logan Waterman for the Big Bang Theory drop-in’s.

05:35 — Authors and Opinions: When to Sound Off and When to STFU

  • Why we brought Lisa on board this episode
  • What happened last week
  • Now that you know the background, here’s what happened to Pip…
  • …and here was Lisa’s reaction to what was going on in the news and in the State and Federal forums.
  • Lisa’s (heart-felt and honest) blogpost from Life in a Nutshell. (This is a raw and honest reaction to the Virginia bill, so be ready for this.)
  • How did the ladies feel not about the issues, but in voicing opinions and emotions that might be “unpopular” (in a broad sense) with readers, agents, and publishers?
  • Tee draws a line in the sand on where authors damage their careers
  • Tee breaks the Prime Directive and drops a few names of authors that go deep in their non-writing rants
  • When should authors step up and when should they let the argument go?
  • And while authors face the issues, the cats make their own opinions know. (Tee recommends Bissell.)
  • When Tee made the “delete a comment” call…all very personal.
  • Can one comment or a single blogpost completely destroy a carrer or reputation?
  • Beware the Perfect Storm of PIP RAGE!!!
  • Tee, Pip, and Lisa talk about the authors whose politics and philosophies affect their works.
  • The three go deeper into the topic…
    • When authors (and other artists) use their notoriety to push an agenda
    • When artists and commentators use their notoriety to step into a different arena
  • The big questions authors should ask before taking a stand on current events

48:45 — The Wrap-Up

  • Pip comes up with a GREAT description of our special guest…
  • Places where we are going to be this year:
  • Lisa-Anne’s Tuesday Special — The Fox Mill Writing Group at the Fox Mill’s Starbucks
    • A writing group of 14 where we pwn a Starbucks in Herndon
    • Some spontaneous comedy from the FMWG
    • Join us on Tuesday mornings between 9:30 a.m. and 1:00 p.m.
  • Where to find all three of us online…
  • …and Tee nails the Creative Commons tag! (He celebrates by cleaning up cat pee.)
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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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by | November 9, 2011 · 1:30 am

The Shared Desk — Episode #007: NaNoWriMo (or The “I Hate Nathan Lowell!” Show)


With the 2011 Con Season behind them and friends jumping into the writerly madness of November, Pip and Tee spend the show looking at NaNoWriMo or the National Novel Writing Month. They got rants, they got opinions, and they got their own bits of advice for those brave enough to jump into the competition.

To all those taking the NaNoWriMo challenge — good luck!

00:00 — Introduction

  • Hold on…it’s November?!
  • Quick — Get to the topic!

00:51 — NaNoWriMo

  • What exactly is NaNoWriMo?
  • 1:53 — FIRST MENTION OF NATHAN LOWELL
  • The Two Camps of NaNoWriMo…and the camp that Evo Terra rules over.
  • Drawing a line between a Writer and an Author
  • Why November?!
  • 5:41 — SECOND MENTION OF NATHAN LOWELL
  • Just because you win NaNoWriMo doesn’t mean you’re ready for publishing. (Shame on you, Smashwords!)
  • A few words of love (both tender and tough) for NaNoEdMo.
    • February? The shortest month of the year?! Seriously?!
  • Tee & Pip find out why NaNoWriMo is in November…and Tee goes on a rant…
  • Why NaNoEdMo is so important
  • What we truly love about NaNoWriMo
    • It’s a fantastic way to get into the regiment of writing.
    • 13:22 — THIRD MENTION OF NATHAN LOWELL
    • An inside look at putting together a novel, from soup to nuts
    • If you’re going to do NaNoWriMo, you should commit to NaNoEdMo.
    • 15:01 — FOURTH MENTION OF NATHAN LOWELL (and some pining from Tee…)
  • Pip is derailed by Tee…
  • Advice in approaching NaNoWriMo…before, during, and after November…

19:50  — Writers Off the Clock

  • Unplugging in Autumn…a beautiful time to do so
  • Pip is digging the change of seasons.
  • A quick photo break…

  • Showing some love to the vineyards, especially to Corcoran’s Vineyard and Brewery
  • Take the Doctor’s advice: “A straight line may be the shortest distance between two points, but it is by no means the most interesting.”

26:21 — Seriously? Seriously.

  • And here we are with yet ANOTHER rant…
  • Pip adopts Wil Wheaton’s philosophy concerning panelists that don’t play well with others.
  • Some advice for being a good panelist.
  • Some advice for being a good moderator…and how to be a good panelist when you got a qualified moderator.
  • As a moderator and a panelist, read your audience. (If you don’t know how, learn.)
  • When panels work, it’s like a fine-tuned symphony. Cue Pip at New York Comic Con.
  • As a panelist or moderator, DON’T BE THAT GUY!

37:06 — The Wrap-Up

  • After all this ranting, Pip and Tee are exhausted!
  • Ending our 2011 con season with the badasses of steampunk, The League of S.T.E.A.M.
  • What’s coming in 2012
    • The Janus Affair: A Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences Novel— May
    • Hunter & Fox — July
    • Wrayth: A Book of the Order — September
    • 40:03 — FINAL MENTION OF NATHAN LOWELL
    • Pip, stop with the whining.
    • And there’s even more stuff coming from the Ministry…
  • Working on the 2012 Con Schedule
  • Where to find us online
  • And check us out on Goodreads AND VOTE!!!

Drop-Ins: The Silence of the Lambs, Battlestar Galactica, Sideways

More Shout-Out’s During the Show…

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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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