The Unearthed, by Brian O'Rourke

Dear Listener,

We're pretty good about not doing this usually, but it's time for us to give in and perform some shameless self-promotion. Alright, it's just me (Brian O'Rourke) doing this; Nick is not responsible in any way.

I've written a story. Well, three of them actually. The first one is terrible. The second has its moments. The third story, The Unearthed, is a paranormal thriller, with elements of mystery and horror. I've inundated agents and publishers with queries over the last five months, trying to get it picked up.

The story is starting to generate some interest: several agents are looking at "partials" and one e-publisher has offered me a contract for it. So needless to say, I'm very excited.

Of course, I'm here to plug my story, but I'm also telling you this for another very important reason. Nick and I (I can speak for Nick here) never wanted to be seen as just "two guys talking about other artists' works. " We're also both creators; in fact, we think of ourselves as creators first.

Here's a teaser for The Unearthed:

The Rosselli family has fallen victim to some bizarre, unsettling occurrences in their home. A stain that looks like blood continues to reappear on the carpet in the dining room. Talia Rosselli, wife and mother, has seen what she thinks is a ghost and has grown too scared to be in the house alone. Her husband, Jackie, has heard strange noises. And their son, Billy, is talking to an "someone," who has urged Billy to do violent things.

Tim and Eddie McCloskey are paranormal investigators. When Jackie Rosselli calls Tim for help, Tim jumps at the offer to ghost hunt. Because Tim knows about the history of the Rosselli house, and this could be his biggest case to date. For, three years ago, three members of the Moriarty family murdered each other in that house.

Eamon Moriarty is the boy that survived the “Moriarty Massacre.” He now lives with his aunt and uncle a town away. He is trying to get on with his life, but strange dreams keep waking him. He is unable to recall most of what happened on the night of the massacre. And for some reason, he feels compelled to draw pictures of his old house continuously. He fears there is something terribly wrong with him, but he does not know what it is.

This will prove to be no ordinary investigation for Tim and Eddie, as they soon discover they face the most terrifying foe of all: the unknown. They must figure out what type of haunting they are dealing with—residual, intelligent, poltergeist, or something else entirely—before it is too late. Because as the investigation moves forward, Tim and Eddie discover some shocking similarities between the Moriarties and the Rossellis. And Tim begins to wonder if the Moriarty Massacre is destined to repeat itself, and if he has the power to keep that from happening.


If you are interested in reading the first few chapters of The Unearthed, send me an email at montecristo42@hotmail.com. I would offer to post the story electronically or put up excerpts, but in light of potential contractual obligations, I don't want to set myself up for any future legal entanglements.

Thanks for all your continued support of Four Stories!

Brian, The Guy With the Jersey Accent on Four Stories

Important Announcement

Now that I've grabbed you with the title of this Blog post, let's get some administrative things out of the way:

First, we wanted to say thanks for all your support. Because of some wickedly cool (and wickedly scary) Big Brother-like software, we can track the number of downloads, per day, of our Podcasts. And that number has grown steadily and increased greatly over these few months. So thank you for that.

Second, we're working hard on the editing of Episode Four. We ran into some technical issues, the details of which I won't bore you with, but we're fighting our way through them and plan to release the next episode shortly. We're NOT going anywhere. We promise not to be like some other Podcasters, who quit after airing three or four episodes, just when you've gotten hooked on their show.

Third, Episode Five is in pre-production right now...and we're excited to say that we've got a very special guest appearing. Perhaps we'll lay bare one of our several inside jokes for you.

So, as always, we encourage you to keep writing us. Do you have a story (or Four Stories) you'd like to hear us talk about? Send them our way.

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT

We would like to thank all of you that voted for Nate Green's short story, "Prison Darkness," at www.niteblade.com. As it turns out, Nate received the most votes, and his story will be published in a print journal. This is very exciting for us (and for Nate, obviously) because Nate is a good friend to us and the show, and he is a very gifted writer. Thanks for your support!

One Story Needs Your Vote!

Episode 4 of Four Stories (about Prison) will be up soon, but in the mean time, we'd like to mention a related item. Our friend (and loyal podcast listener) Nate Green has a short story called Prison Darkness published in the online version of Niteblade magazine. They're looking to put it in the print version, but to do so, he needs your help. So please drop by Niteblade's site, read Nate's story, and vote for it if you like it! We think you will. Nate is a talented up-and-coming author, and you'll be hearing his name very soon.

Thanks!

Episode 3 - Time Travel

This time, we mix it up a bit and take a journey in our "way back" machine. ALL the way back to 1899, then to 1960, to 2002, and finally to 2001, to pick up a slice with some friends before we return to the present. During our trip, we'll offer our thoughts on storytelling issues such as narrative vs. plot, isolation, family, suspension of disbelief, and social commentary. We also wonder how special some effects really are, and ask the question, "What IS a story?"

So before you leave, don't forget to say hi at fourstoriespodcast at gmail dot com or share your comments and/or suggestions below or on iTunes.

Subscribe on iTunes

Thanks!

Episode 3 Coming Soon!

It's taking some time, but we think it's worth it. We wouldn't mind having a machine that could send us back a few days to finish this quicker for you. But in the meantime, we hope you enjoyed this great Thursday night by watching Cole Hamels' shutout and/or Part 1 of LOST's season finale. If you like blogs, here are two that are worth looking at:

Beerleaguer

The Transmission

We'll see you soon. Or later?

Episode 2 - The Apocalypse

You know it. It's the end of the world. You've seen a lot of apocalyptic visions out there. We've found four of them to share with you. This episode, we wonder what it must be like to have our lives get flip turned upside-down by some crazy catastrophe. We'll also find out who's making trouble in someone's Kansas neighborhood, and where the last man on Earth has been spending most of his days. So just take a minute (or 50) and sit right there, and we'll tell you how it all comes around.

Also, a reminder that we will be talking about the end of all these stories, so if you don't want to be spoiled, skip to the next story, or check them out before you listen.

Thanks to everyone who listened to, downloaded, and commented on Episode 1 - we've been surprised by and impressed with the response!

Episode 2 On Its Way!

Fear not, loyal fans. Episode 2 has been recorded and will be posted next week. We're (read, Nick) in the process of editing it now. Here's an Episode 2 teaser for you: tune in to hear some very interesting listener feedback regarding Episode 1. Also, Nick and I get into a huge a discussion about the end of the world. That's coming next week on Four Stories with Nick (and Brian).