Every so often as a writer, you get to try something entirely new and fun. Recently, John and I had an opportunity to submit a script for a radio series. The series is called “Radio Story Hour” and our contribution is a one-hour fantasy episode called “Prince Kenneth in the Ill-Fated Forest.”

It’s been fascinating to watch the process of creating a radio drama. John has a theater background from school and knows a bit about the technical side of things, but this has been a new experience for me. (I was in a few plays in high school, but that was many years ago and our school drama department had no fancy theater or equipment at the time.)

Our first job as writers was to cut down our rough script so it would fit into an hour-long episode. John turned out to be an excellent editor in that process, figuring out what to cut and ways to combine dialogue to shorten the script without losing the story.

Next came the auditions for the voice actors. They were done through video conference. As the episode writers, John and I were permitted to attend. I was surprised to find I was nervous at first, even though I was not auditioning, but the sessions went very smoothly. The co-directors for the episode have been very patient with my questions and have really made me feel welcome during the process.

This week, the actors began recording the dialogue. Through the wonders of modern technology, everyone involved can be in different locations physcially, but still come together to create the production.

It is an amazing privilege for an author to hear written words brought to life by talented artists. At times during the recording this past week, I just sat in wonder as I heard the characters we had created “speak.” I am really looking forward to the finished version with all the sound effects and music.

The episode is set to be aired some time next year on KNVC 95.1 FM, Carson City’s community radio station. It should also be available for streaming at some point. I’ll keep you posted with details as the time for broadcast nears.

Talk to you on November 4!

-Susan 10/7/2022