Spotlight – Edward Hancock II

On the blog this time we focus the RAS spotlight on a raised and true East Texan, Edward Hancock II. Ed is a graduate of Sabine High School and Kilgore College. While attending Kilgore, Hancock was Assistant Editor and Editor-in-Chief of the Ranger Yearbook, where he won more than 20 awards from the Texas Intercollegiate Press Association. But his love for writing goes back much further than that.

Born with Spina Bifida, Ed was always a dreamer. These dreams became a reality at the age of 10 when he wrote what he considers to be his first real short story. By the age of 14, he had developed a deep love for writing poetry and by age 19, he was a staff member of the Kilgore College newspaper. He is also a speaker for hire, regularly speaking to children’s and disabled groups on such topics as “life with no excuses” and “never give up on a dream”. Ed is an author of five award winning novels. They are, from oldest to newest, Morning Reign, Heart Beatings, Connection Terminated and Target Mendez. Ed joins Ron this week on the RAS to talk about his latest book, Mendez: Genesis. You can find all of his books right here on Amazon.

Mendez: Genesis: After a horrible accident leaves him partially paralyzed, it takes the power of heaven to bring Lieutenant Alex Mendez back from the dead, unlocking a secret as old as time that may have been hidden inside his four-year-old daughter. To make matters worse, Detective Lisa Mendez, Alex’s wife, confronts her own demons, all the while chasing the most unlikely of suspects in connection with multiple homicides. Is it possible a seventeen-year-old boy with Spina Bifida is singlehandedly responsible for the worst crime spree to ever hit the small east Texas community?

This Week’s Podcast:

On the podcast this week we do talk to Edward Hancock II, also we present a classic tale from the OTR series Lights Out. So, be sure to join us for the show.

You can listen to this podcast this Thursday (12/03) at Ron’s Amazing Stories, download it from iTunes, stream it on TuneIn Radio or listen on your radio Friday night at 8pm Eastern time. Check your local listing or find the station closest to you at this link.

The Calendar:

January 07, 2016 – The Lodger (RAS227)
January 14, 2016 – Undertakings with Stanley Swan (RAS228)
January 21, 2016 – Junior G-men (RAS229)
January 28, 2016 – Edward Hancock Returns (RAS330)

Suspense Story – Revealed

In this blog we will take a look at the “Suspense Story” of one of 0ld time radio’s greatest achievements, Suspense. The show was subtitled “radio’s outstanding theater of thrills” and it maintained that mission statement throughout its run. Suspense went through several major phases, characterized by different hosts, sponsors, and directors. Plot-lines, for the most part, followed a perfected formula. The hero is dropped into a hostile or bizarre situation and solutions were suspended until the last possible second.

Suspense Story - Sorry Wrong Number.
Agnus Moorehead performing on CBS Suspense (1943)

Its very first episode, recorded in July of 1940, was directed by Alfred Hitchcock. It was part of the CBS summer series called Forecast. This series tested possible shows for public approval. Hitchcock decided on, The Lodger, to bring to the airwaves. This happened to be a favorite of both his and its star Herbert Marshall. Even with some hiccups it was well received by the pubic and Suspense would become its own series in 1942.

One of the programs earliest successes and its single most popular episode was Lucille Fletcher’s “Sorry, Wrong Number.” It was about a bedridden woman (Agnes Moorehead) who panics after overhearing a murder plot on a crossed telephone connection. You can listen to this episode on Ron’s Amazing Stories Episode #3 and then again in Episode #43. In the later Jim Harold joins the program to talk about his views on this amazing story.

The early years were rough for Suspense because it had no sponsors. Then in 1944 Roma Wines bought the show and kept it going through 1948.  After another brief period of sustained episodes, Autolite Spark Plugs would take over until 1954. The highest production standards and the use of famous film actors made sure that the ratings were maintained. The series expanded to television on CBS from 1949 to 1954, and again in 1962. The final broadcast of Suspense was on September 30, 1962 and is often cited as the end of the Golden Age of Radio. That episode was sponsored by Parliament cigarettes.

There you have a brief history of this OTR powerhouse. If you look through the episodes here at the RAS you will see that Suspense is one of our most used series. This is not an accident and I go on record that I am a true fan.

Thanks for reading,

-Ron

This Week’s Podcast:

As you might guess from the blog this week that that Thursday’s podcast will have an episode of Suspense. What you may not predict is that it will be, that very first attempt by Alfred Hitchcock in 1940. Also, on the show there will be a dramatic reading of Gray Eagle and this Five Brothers. Should be a good one.

You can listen to this podcast this Thursday (1/07) at Ron’s Amazing Stories, download it from iTunes, stream it on TuneIn Radio or listen on your radio Friday night at 8pm Eastern time. Check your local listing or find the station closest to you at this link.

The Calendar:

December 17, 2015 – Two Sharp Knifes (RAS225)
December 24, 2015 – Christmas break 2015
December 31, 2015 – Called to be a Soldier (RAS226)
January 07, 2016 – A story from Suspense (RAS227)
January 14, 2016 – Undertakings with Stanley Swan (RAS228)
January 21, 2016 – (RAS229)
January 28, 2016 – (RAS330)

Spotlight – Major L. Wayne Smalls

On this week’s blog we throw the spotlight on our guest for Thursday’s podcast. Major L. Wayne Smalls is an Amazon Best Selling author from Baltimore, Maryland who retired from the United States Army at the rank of Major. His military career has consisted of 22 years of active duty service, with over 25 years of service overall. During his time in the military, he traveled the world and has seen and witnessed many great and wonderful

Called To Be A Soldier.
Available for purchase on Amazon.com.

things. Also while in the military, he received several degrees of higher learning, including an Associate’s Degree in General Studies from Northwestern State University, a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Management from the University of Maryland, and a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from Webster University. He is currently attending Capella University to earn a Doctoral Degree in Business Administration with a specialization in leadership.

Wayne has embarked on a new career as a writer, motivational speaker and life coach. He has a passion for helping people, especially young men. Wayne cares a great deal about the welfare of our youth and works very hard to share his life experience and knowledge in an effort to guide them onto a positive path. He focuses a lot of attention on mentoring young people, as he sees them as future leaders. He strongly believes that molding our youth will make great strides towards eliminating some of the tragedies that have affected our communities in recent times.

Wayne is a steward of positivity and motivation. He believes that anyone and everyone can reach their full potential in life if they believe in themselves. He understands that believing in yourself is only the beginning of a longer process. There also must be purpose, direction, and motivation that accompanies the desire to succeed. Wayne wants to help as many people as he can to reach their goals and dreams. He realizes that everyone needs to understand leadership and how it can play a huge part in success, no matter where they are in life.

His book, Called to Be a Soldier, was written from the heart and experiences of the Major. It personifies the sometimes inaccurate accounts and assumptions made about the personal lives of the nation’s military heroes. Small’s bares all to take readers to the training grounds, onto the battlefields of the Middle East and then all of the way back home – where the fight for a normal life often continues for many years. It’s heartfelt, shocking yet ultimately uplifting.

This Week’s Podcast:

On Thursday’s show we will have Major Smalls on the program. He shares stories from the heart, battlefield and even tells us what is like at “Fort Puke”, his name for the place, where he went from a raw recruit to a dedicated officer of the US Army.

You can listen to this podcast this Thursday (12/31) at Ron’s Amazing Stories, download it from iTunes, stream it on TuneIn Radio or listen on your radio Friday night at 8pm Eastern time. Check your local listing or find the station closest to you at this link.

The Calendar:

December 03, 2015 – Science is fiction (RAS223)
December 10, 2015 – The Green Flame (RAS224)
December 17, 2015 – Two Sharp Knifes (RAS225)
December 24, 2015 – Christmas break 2015
December 31, 2015 – An Interview with Major  L. Wayne Smalls US Army Retired. (RAS226)

How Does Ron Find It?

Welcome to Ron’s Amazing Stories – The Blog. How does Ron find it? This time we are going to take a look at how I pick the programs you hear on the podcast and how I find these gems. I get emails asking these two questions so often, I decided to give you a mini-guide on how it gets done.

How do I pick the shows you hear?

This is actually harder than finding them. When I pick the programs I use on air I have to think about a quite a few things. The most important one may surprise you. I have to make sure that series and episode are not copyrighted. Most of the OTR programs are either public domain or creative commons, but there are a few still owned by the original holders or someone has bought the rights.
The second aspect I look at is. Could anyone find this subject matter offensive. Why this check? Simple, something’s in the 1940s have a completely different meaning then they do today. (Example: The word Gay). Also, I try to avoid shows that promote cigarette smoking.
Another thing I look at is. Does the program translate well to our century? This one is a judgment call, but I think I have done a pretty good job of picking stories that are as good today as the were eighty years ago.

How to find these great programs on your own?

Ever wonder if you could do your own podcast? Have you ever wondered, “Where does Ron get all those great old stories?” I can safely say that everything comes from two basic websites.

LibriVox.org: This site is simply amazing. They provide 1000’s of audiobooks, shorts and stories for free. They are read by volunteers who do their very best to make what you hear, fun to hear. Virtually any book that is in the public domain can be found on their site. Also, if you can’t find it you can even request it. I take a lot of the short stories you hear on “As Read By” from Librivox.org.

Archive.Org: This site has a fascinating history that I might tell one day in another blog. What you can’t you find on archive.org? Music? Check. OTR Programs? Check. Old news broadcasts? Yes! You can uncover just about any recorded material on the planet that is in the public domain. It is supported by us, operated by us and should be used by us. Nearly everything you hear on Ron’s Amazing Stories was found on this site. Start by typing archive.org into your browser and hang on.

This Week’s Podcast:

On the podcast this Thursday we will have a crime and punishment edition. It will tell the story of Theo and Dianna’s roadtrip turned bad, one from Phillip Marlowe and a short story about a truy desperate group of folks.
You can listen to this podcast this Thursday (12/10) at Ron’s Amazing Stories, download it from iTunes, stream it on TuneIn Radio or listen on your radio Friday night at 8pm Eastern time. Check your local listing or find the station closest to you at this link.

The Calendar:

November 26, 2015 – The Psychic Bystander (Horror Express 10)
December 03, 2015 – Science is fiction (RAS223)
December 10, 2015 – The Green Flame (RAS224)
December 17, 2015 – (RAS225)
December 24, 2015 – Christmas break 2015
December 31, 2015 – An Interview with Major Wayne Smalls US Army Retired. (RAS226)

Telling Our Stories

“After nourishment, shelter and companionship, stories are the thing we need most in the world.”  ― Philip Pullman

Since telling our stories is the goal at Ron’s Amazing Stories, I thought we should take a moment and talk about how it is all done. I get a lot of emails on this subject. The types of questions I get are everything from, “Who hold the copyrights?” to “Do I get paid?”  Another question I get a lot is “How do I get my story to you?” In this blog I am going to answer these queries and use this as future reference for those wanting to submit a story for the show.

Who Holds the Copyrights?

A very simple answer to this question. Anything you write and submit to me belongs to you. I will ask your permission to use it. Keep in mind that I hold the copyrights to the show not your personal work. If I do a replay of that show I will not ask you again for permission because, the show belongs to me. I am not going to go into all the laws surrounding this. The best source on the internet is copyright.gov. If you ever have concerns about copyright, you can register your document there or simply mail yourself a copy of your work.

Please Note: I plan to someday write a book called Ron’s Amazing Stories. It will include the stories submitted by my listeners gently edited by me. You will be given credit by name, but no proceeds from the book.

Do I Get Paid?

No. All stories are donated to the show. I will not give you a cash reimbursement. This has happened a few times. People send me a great story they have written and when I contact them to get permission to use it they quote a cash dollar price. One gal wanted a percentage of the show’s profits and future royalties! If you want money for your work Ron’s Amazing Stories is not the place.

How do I get my story to you?

The most common way to get your story to me is to go to the main website at http://raspodcast.com, click on the contact button and tell me that you have a story you want to submit. I will contact you via email to get your story and permission to use it.

A lot of people have a great story, but don’t want to write it. In these cases, we will set up a time to talk on the phone and you can tell your story to me. Then I will write it and read it on the show. This happens a lot! Of course, you can tell your story in your own voice on the show. So far only one person has done this. Mr. Ray Peyton, on episode 201 called Toy Story, did it. Brave thing to do and it turned out great!

Another way to get me your story on the show is to email it to me. You can send your story, art, photos or anything that goes with it to ronsamazingstories@gmail.com.  Be sure to include your permission or a call back number.

Please note: If I write your story for you, I will send you a copy. You still own it and I will still need your permission to use it.

Telling Our Stories

Well that’s it. You should have everything you need to submit your stories to me. If you want your story heard, I want to tell it. I’s that simple. Telling our stories is the most important thing we do here on the RAS. So please share your thoughts, ideas and tales with us. A story not told is a story lost.

Still have questions? Contact me and let’s talk.

Thanks for reading,

-Ron

This Week’s Podcast:

On the podcast this Thursday we head to the future with a great story from Dimension X, we will answer some listener’s emails and of course there will be surprise or two. So be sure to join us and be ready to adventure in time and space!

You can listen to this podcast this Thursday (12/03) at Ron’s Amazing Stories, download it from iTunes, stream it on TuneIn Radio or listen on your radio Friday night at 8pm Eastern time. Check your local listing or find the station closest to you at this link.

The Calendar:

November 26, 2015 – The Psychic Bystander (Horror Express 10)
December 03, 2015 – Science is fiction (RAS223)
December 10, 2015 – (RAS224)
December 17, 2015 – (RAS225)
December 24, 2015 – Christmas Break 2015
December 31, 2015 – New Years Eve Special! (RAS226)