shortstory – Clay Track Press

The Month Ahead for April 2024

*And another thing. Does he only own one tie?*

A regular accounting of The Three Fifty-seven published on the first Monday of each month.

This is The Month Ahead for April 2024

Hello, All,

February’s recording experiments yielded a simplified and reversed process for editing audio. It also produced cleaner audio.

However, rather than shortening editing times, the new approach has encouraged longer recordings. Rest assured this is still short form audio fiction. But, for a channel that started with average run times of less than four minutes, we are comfortably exceeding five and six minutes per episode. This could come in handy in future shows.

Another outcome of fine-tuning is that writing is a couple of weeks ahead of audio. Is there any impact? I don’t know. Perhaps not. One more note: the intended recordings of Shakespeare’s love sonnets did not happen. Put those into the future projects column.

However, episodes five through eight of SEVENTEEN were published in March. Taglined “He’s dying to forget. She lives to remember.” these were the conclusion of Severin Vincent Tennyson’s story which started in March of 2023. Nicknamed Tenny, he is a sixty-four-year-old, non-verbal, cane-using janitor at Gunderson High School in central New Jersey. Seeing now-Superintendent Millicent di Stefano for the first time since high school forty years ago triggered a flood of memories that threatened his life.

*THE GHOSTLY GROOM is inspired by, and interpreted from, Washington Irving’s THE SPECTRE BRIDEGROOM published in 1819.*

For April, The Three Fifty-seven is pleased to announce THE GHOSTLY GROOM. It is inspired by, and interpreted from, Washington Irving’s THE SPECTRE BRIDEGROOM published in 1819.

With the tagline “His altar was the grave.”, we show a healthy respect for the original text while gently updating it. The story’s lead, Lenore Katzenellen, is the 45-year-old founder and president of a financial analysis firm in Odenwald, New Jersey. She is engaged to Geoffrey Ochre who lives forty-five minutes upstate in Wurtzburg.

A bad automobile accident puts Geoffrey in a hospital where he announces he is dead. Lenore sets off the solve the mystery. But what truth does she find? THE GHOSTY GROOM’s five episodes will answer the question.

One more detail about April: Ingmar Bergman’s THE SEVENTH SEAL (1957) continues to inspire. Fans of the movie will recall Max von Sydow playing a game of chess with Death (played by Bengt Ekerot).

Fast forward to 2024. Death is a subsidiary of The Four Horsemen, Incorporated collecting tortured and tormented souls. What would that story be and how would it unfold? In five minutes! As a comedy!

Until then, look for the first audio and written episode of THE GHOSTLY GROOM. We hope Mr. Irving approves. And, no matter what happens, please know The Three Fifty-seven remains committed to its core belief that “Stories are Everywhere”.

Sincerely,

William E. Spear, Jr.

The Month Ahead for March 2024

*Ever notice how the eyes never blink? It’s a bit unnerving.*

A regular accounting of The Three Fifty-seven published on the first Monday of each month.

This is The Month Ahead for March 2024

Hello, All,

One of the joys of writing and producing The Three Fifty-seven as a single-narrator, solo endeavor, is that it permits tremendous freedom to develop characters, stories, and series of a wide latitude. True to the tagline, “Stories are Everywhere”, inspiration comes from anywhere, everywhere, and sometimes, all at once. It can be a thrill ride.

However, one of the perils of a solo endeavor is the need for always writing and producing. The collective pronouns often used in describing the channel – our, we, us, and so forth – are a bit of false advertising. It is only me.

This point was highlighted in February. The month was intended as four weekly scheduled releases for ROMANCE 20 MINUTES INTO THE FUTURE. The series involved The Messenger who premiered last year in THE MESSENGER DINES OUT about saving the music in a New Jersey diner. We take our diners seriously here.

ROMANCE started as an intersection of two old television shows: 1) The Dating Game and 2) Max Headroom which came from Britain’s Max Headroom: 20 Minutes Into The Future. ROMANCE, true to the spirit of the channel, found its own life as a series that shared DNA with Dating Game and Max Headroom but evolved into a distinct branch of our portfolio.

Also intended during the month were narrations of Shakespeare’s love sonnets in honor of Valentine’s Day. The month came to a close two weeks behind. It may still be a week behind when this comes to print.

But the characters and stories are still worth having my name on them. Still worth posting and cross-posting on the platforms we frequent. And, with most, but not all, being less than seven minutes, still worth sharing as short form entertainment.

And, still worth pitching to producers in other media.

Even with March starting and some catching up to do, February had at least one notable, and perhaps humorous, inspiration. In Ingmar Bergman’s THE SEVENTH SEAL (1957), Max von Sydow plays a game of chess with Death (played by Bengt Ekerot). Fast forward to 2024. What if Death was a social media influencer. What would that story be and how would it unfold?

Until then, look for the last episode of ROMANCE and the fifth episode of SEVENTEEN. With the tagline of “He’s dying to forget. She lives to remember.” this may be a drama.

No matter what happens, please know The Three Fifty-seven remains committed to its core belief that “Stories are Everywhere”.

Sincerely,

William E. Spear, Jr.

The Month Ahead for February 2024

*William E. Spear (or is it an AI-generated image? . . . It must be him; AI is better than that.)*

A regular accounting of The Three Fifty-seven published on the first Monday of each month.

This is The Month Ahead for February 2024

Hello, All,

January was allegedly a Season Break. True, nothing was scheduled.

However, there were efforts in several areas throughout the month:

Two new series were started: 1) DON’T TOUCH THE TRAINS and 2) SPIRITED. Both will be a blend of text, audio, and social posts and developed in a more organic methods compared to our scheduled series.
We had our first Funding Friday which was embedded in the BEHIND THE YELLOW LINE post on 19 January 2024. The post contained an original poem inspired while waiting for a train.
And, significant outreach was invested in developing film collaborators for the series and characters.

By the way, all of the above will be repeated and continued in the coming months.

But in this month, February, the next installment of The Messenger premieres. Titled ROMANCE 20 MINUTES INTO THE FUTURE, The Messenger comes out of retirement a second time and has a staff of two DPAs* – Fred and Frieda. They voiced the 21 January trailer which is reprised here:

Fred and Frieda, The Messenger’s staff, voiced this trailer

*DPAs is the abbreviation for digital personal assistants.

Enjoy February and please know The Three Fifty-seven remains committed to its core belief that “Stories are Everywhere”.

Sincerely,

William E. Spear, Jr.

January 2024 – The Month Ahead and the 12 Before– The Business of The Three Fifty-seven

A regular accounting of The Three Fifty-seven published on the first Monday of each month.

The Month Ahead – Monday 1 January 2024

Hello, All,

Welcome to The Month Ahead for January 2024. It is my hope the upcoming year exceeds your expectations.

This issue is also a moment to look back on 2023 and publicly savor a few accomplishments.

Challenge Met

At the most elemental, The Three Fifty-seven challenged itself to blog, podcast, or both at least once a week for the year and that was accomplished. For further context, please note this production is a single narrator, fiction production. Refill my coffee cup for a toast!

As a byproduct, I am a better writer, narrator, and audio producer on 1 January 2024 than on 1 January 2023. Practice and repetition have value.

Select Highlights

Programming highlights included the following: 1) 22 episodes of IT SUITS HER; 2) Five episodes about poetry – yes, poetry – from the last 300 years; and 3) THE TABLE, an homage in honor of National POW/MIA Recognition Day.

The result is a year of work I’ll proudly claim.

But there were completely unexpected delights: a cross-promotion with the Madison On the Air podcast was ridiculous fun. And the inclusion of my narration of John Donne’s THE APPARITION (1633) in Micro podcast’s Late Great: Halloween Edition was a thrill.

Experiments

2024 is committed to a scheduled slate of programming plus experimenting with shows that organically combine social media and audio to develop characters and tell their stories. These shows, DON’T TOUCH THE TRAINS and SPIRITED, premiered in December and will progress for different lengths of time and at different paces.

Financial Support

The program is also taking steps toward seeking funding for its operational expenses such as its domain name and web presence.

Coffee – preferably black – is a constant companion. With that stated, a coffee cup seemed the best first symbol to request support.

The cup serves as a link to the home page of our Buy Me A Coffee campaign. Cheers and thanks for your consideration.

2024 Is Here

However, all of these begin with a season break in January. Nothing is scheduled but there are posts and episodes, including DON’T TOUCH THE TRAINS and SPIRITED, that will be released.

Enjoy the coming year and please know The Three Fifty-seven remains committed to its core belief that “Stories are Everywhere”.

Sincerely,

William E. Spear, Jr.

Tuesday 11 April – THE MESSENGER DINES OUT, Episode Two – On the Menu

By
William E. Spear

Volume 1, Issue 15

Full Transcript –

THE MESSENGER DINES OUT, PODCAST EPISODE TWO – On the Menu

ORIGINAL DATE: 11 APRIL 2023

(Theme for Jim and Francine’s Place fades up)

Hello . . . and welcome to the still dancing Three Fifty-seven.

(Theme for Jim and Francine’s Place plays)

My name is William Spear and this is our series titled THE MESSENGER DINES OUT.

(Theme for Jim and Francine’s Place plays)

The Messenger has received troubling news that the diner started by Jim and Francine Dale is about to go broke. It was started in the nineteen fifties and has many, many cherished memories. But the Messenger is doubtful.

Now, Episode Two titled On the Menu.

(Theme for Jim and Francine’s Place fades out)

The boss is a master manipulator but I play along: “Broke? What are you talking about? I hear the parking lot’s full every day.”

The boss continues: “It’s okay now. But it’s about to have a Moment and Jim and Francine – God rest their souls – aren’t around anymore.”

I speculate someone’s losing money on lottery tickets.

“Worse,” says the boss who is reeling me in like a dumb halibut. “There’s a funeral and the new owner is staying open.”

My jaw fell open. Jim and Francine always closed the diner to attend services. Sent meals to the family, too. They used to joke if people died any more often they’d go broke from being closed and giving away so much food.

“You mean to tell me one of their kids is not paying final respects?”

The boss snarled, “It’s one of their grandkids and the joint’s all fancified. Has a website for online orders and . . .” The boss choked up and turned to the window.

“What? What! Don’t leave me in suspense!” I begged.

The boss checked for witnesses to avoid accusations of blasphemy then leaned forward and whispered: “They changed the music.”

The pain cut into my soul like a jagged knife.

Imagine pork roll, egg, and cheese on a hard roll with ketchup, salt, and pepper and a side of french fries being taken off the menu. For the first time since baseball went on strike, I wept openly.

“What are we going do?” I sobbed.

The boss, the great angler, came out from behind the massive desk and put an arm around me: “Two things. You make a Visit to the grandkid and explain the rules for owning Jim and Francine’s place. But before that, and even more important, . . .”

I was hanging on every word. “What could be more important?!”

Calmly and coolly, with steely nerves developed over decades of leadership, the boss spoke, “First, you go down to the police station and get your car that’s being towed.”

(Theme for Jim and Francine’s Place fades up)

You’ve just listened to Episode Two of THE MESSENGER DINES OUT.

Theme music is through the courtesy of Francesco Biondi at PixaBay.

The Three Fifty-seven is written and produced by William Spear.

Thank you for listening and . . . . . . dance while you can.

(Theme for Jim and Francine’s Place fades out)