Spotlight – Mark Nelson

On the blog this week we throw the spotlight on Mark Nelson who is an Audiobook Narrator. He is the guy that you listen to when you buy the audio version of your favorite novel. After getting his degree in Radio-TV and Theater, he spent the next 25 years languishing in human resources. After a layoff in 2007, when his job was shipped to Singapore, he decided to get back to his theater roots and began audiobook narrating. He has done some voice-over work, but book narrating is his first love. You can listen to some of his work at LibriVox.org for free. Mark will join us on this week’s podcast with a great story and we talk to him about all manner of subjects.

Want to know more about Mark? Head to his website.

Librivox – Free Public Domain Audiobooks

Our Charter – To make all books in the public domain available, for free, in audio format on the internet.

LibriVox volunteers record chapters of books in the public domain, and then LibriVox releases the audio files back onto the net for free. All their audio is in the public domain so you may use it for whatever purpose you wish. The readers are free to choose the books they wish to record. LibriVox sees itself as a library of audiobooks. Volunteering for LibriVox is easy and does not require any experience with recording or audio engineering or acting or public speaking. All you need is a computer, a microphone, some free recording software, and your own voice. We accept all volunteers in all languages, with all kinds of accents. We operate almost exclusively through Internet communications on our forum, where all your questions will be answered by our friendly community.

This Week’s Podcast:

On the show this week we do have guest Mark Nelson. We have a science fiction tale read by Mark and a ghost story from the famous Aldolpho Hotel in Dallas TX. You can listen to this podcast on Thursday at Ron’s Amazing Stories, download it from iTunes, stream it on Stitcher Radio or on the mobile version of Spotify. Do you prefer the radio? We are heard every Sunday Night at 8:00 PM (PST) on AMFM247.COM. Check your local listing or find the station closest to you at this link.

The Calendar:

June 21 – RAS #333 – Growing Up!
June 28 – RAS #334 – Mason Henry Blue
July 05 – RAS #335 – Guest Mark Nelson
July 12 – RAS #336 – Podcast Replay?
July 19 – RAS #337 – Throwback Thursday 2
July 26 – RAS #338 – Detective Week

RAS #334 – Mason Henry Blue

On Ron’s Amazing Stories this week we have, you guessed it, stories! As promised the podcast will have a western theme with an excellent episode of Gunsmoke. Also, we have Mason’s tale which is straight out of the old west catalog. Add to that a frightening story about a farmhouse ghost.

Our OTR Story – Matt Gets It

Our OTR story comes from the series Gunsmoke. We will hear one of my all-time favorites and was the debut episode of the television series. In this one, a gunslinger goads people into showdowns. When he faces Matt he gets the upper hand nearly killing him. The story is called, Matt Gets It, and it first aired on the radio October 10, 1952.

Ron’s Amazing Stories is produced and hosted by Ronald Hood
Email: ronsamazingstories@gmail.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ronsamazingstories/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/RASpodcast

Your Stories, But Up A Notch!

A couple of weeks ago I put out the idea of you guys writing fiction stories for the show. I wondered how this would go over and I got my answer. So far two folks have responded. Kean Kennedy from the UK and Daniel Contee from Ohio. Both are working on their respective projects.

I started this because we get a lot of stories from you guys, but many of you have written to me and say that you don’t have a story to tell. My response to that is: How would you like to write a fiction story for the podcast? Maybe you have already written a short story, or have always wanted to try. I would love to have them and you can submit those to Ron’s Amazing Stories.

If you are up a challenge let me know using the contact page and tell me that you want to write a story. I will give you a concept and then you run with it. I will even help edit your story to make it the best it can be. When we are done you or I will read your work on the show. If you think this sounds like something you want to try let me know.

To Kean and Daniel, I say good luck and I hope that you enjoy it.

-Ron

This Week’s Podcast:

On the podcast this week we have, you guessed it, stories! As promised we will have a western theme and will play an excellent episode of Gunsmoke. Also, we have two listener tales straight out of the old west catalog. One is a ghost a story from podcasts past.

You can listen to this podcast on Thursday at Ron’s Amazing Stories, download it from iTunes, stream it on Stitcher Radio or on the mobile version of Spotify. Do you prefer the radio? We are heard every Sunday Night at 8:00 PM (PST) on AMFM247.COM. Check your local listing or find the station closest to you at this link.

The Calendar:

May 24 – RAS #329 – The Nothing Equation
May 31 – RAS #330 – Memorial Day Replay
June 07 – RAS #331 – The Beast Of Space
June 14 – RAS #333 – Impossible!
June 21 – RAS #332 – Growing Up!
June 28 – RAS #334 – Western Tales

RAS #333 – Growing Up!

Today on Ron’s Amazing Stories it is all about growing up. We have two listener stories on the subject and I think you will like them. Courtney has made a story request that I was more than happy to fill. Also, special guest Kevin MacLeod visits and we talk about the amazing new video game Beat Saber and more about his music!

Our Guest – Kevin MacLeod

Kevin is a music and soundtrack composer who distributes music using a Creative Commons Attribution License. By doing this he has earned more than 1,000 composer film credits. Also, he has been given the title, “The King of YouTube” by the people who use his music in their production. It was the emergence of downloadable media that allowed him to make a name for himself.

Kevin’s Websites: Incompetech, FreePD.com, and YouTube Channel.

Ron’s Amazing Stories is produced and hosted by Ronald Hood
Email: ronsamazingstories@gmail.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ronsamazingstories/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/RASpodcast

What About The Stories?

I have been getting a lot of stories of late and thought that it was time to go over what I do with these and the process I am using to ready them for the show. First and foremost every story I receive is important to me. I take a careful look at each one and I always send out feedback. Some of the questions I get are:

How do I deal with all the stories?

All stories go into a reading cue. The exception is that short tales usually get read on the spot. I don’t like to let stories sit so I try to get to them within 24 hours. As I stated I always send out an email to the author. I will tell you if your story is going to be used and confirm your permission to use it.

Do I edit all of the stories?

Yes, that is necessary. I try to minimize this, but the truth is I have to make the story readable. For example, I remove tongue twisters. People often don’t even know they are doing it, but some things are difficult to read aloud. I remove brand names. If you say Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes I might change it to just frosted flakes. Of course, I always remove bad language and replace it with a family-friendly version. If I edit your story I will send you the copy for your approval. I May not do this if the edits are minor.

Do I reject Stories?

Sadly, I do have to pass on some stories. Anything that would not be heard on television Saturday morning is going to be suspect. I always offer the sender the chance to rewrite the tale and sometimes they do and sometimes they get mad. I also avoid stories that have agendas. I will leave that at that.

I hope this gives you some insight into the story process at Ron’s Amazing Stories. I want your stories and I hope that this does not stop you from sending them in.

Thank you for reading,

-Ron

This Week’s Podcast:

On the podcast this week we have a super secret guest, two tales about growing up, and a listener sent in a request that I was happy to fill. You can listen to this podcast on Thursday at Ron’s Amazing Stories, download it from iTunes, stream it on Stitcher Radio or on the mobile version of Spotify. Do you prefer the radio? We are heard every Sunday Night at 8:00 PM (PST) on AMFM247.COM. Check your local listing or find the station closest to you at this link.