UFU 23 is now live at Patreon

Yes, it's taken a long time, but I hope you'll agree it was worth it ...

Only at Patreon. Get in!

Underground Episode 22 is Now Live

Underwood and Flinch Underground has just reached 22 podcast episodes at Patreon!

Appearance in the local press.

I got a mention in the local Wexford newspaper, the Wexford People. 

If you saw the piece and have navigated here to check out my wares, click here or on the tab above headed "Podcast Audio Books" for links to all my free podcasts and audio books, including the post-apocalytic zombie story After the Plague and my vampire novel series Underwood and Flinch. Happy listening :-)

Herbert West and Azathoth enter The Vault of Lovecraft

Just a quick note to let you know that Herbert West: Reanimator (full text) and Azathoth by H.P. Lovecraft have entered the Vault of Lovecraft (that's the new podcast with all the readings I've done since 2007 in it, just in case you missed my previous blog entry).

Cthulhu suggests in the politest possible manner that you share news of the Vault with any of your Lovecraft-loving chums. Link to it on Facebook, Twitter, What'sApp or whatever other social media device you use. Otherwise mankind will be destroyed ... he says.

Enter the Vault of Lovecraft

For some time (years) I've been meaning to put all my HP Lovecraft recordings in one place. I'm now in the process of doing so. Nine stories up so far, including the full length recording of The Colour out of Space. Click here to enter the Vault of Lovecraft

Artwork on all the stories is by Jon Cape. Music by The Laughing End, David Beard, and Andrew Rothman.

Catching Up

As usual I'm behind with my blog news. I tend to share things on Facebook and think I've finished, which is stupid because obviously not everyone's on Facebook, but still, it's the only medium that speaks back to me so I tend to prioritise it. My big mouthpiece there is the Sect Facebook group, so if you're not a member, you can join up here: The Facebook Sect

It was there that I shared this little bit of wonderful news.

Winner: Best Story: Small Cast (Long Form) After the Plague by Mike Bennett #parsecawards

— The Parsec Awards (@parsecawards) September 5, 2016

... which is awesome! If you haven't listened to After the Plague yet, you can get it here: After the Plague by Mike Bennett

I really have to start updating here more often. The problem is, not much happens to me, so I don't tend to leap to my blog every five minutes to say so (that nothing has happened to me), so when something does happen, it's not my habit to share - as it is with Facebook - the news.

I'll take steps to remedy that. From now on, I'm going to blog anything interesting whenever it happens. But before I do, I should give you a few catch ups on things I've done recently and neglected to mention ...

Dracula, Episode 3, podcast now at Patreon

Underwood and Flinch Underground, Episode 19, ebook chapter now at Patreon

H.P Lovecraft's Beyond the Wall of Sleep, podcast available in my podcast feed and at Patreon

Underwood and Flinch Underground, Episode 19, podcast chapter now at Patreon.

Again, apologies for not keeping the site up to date. I'm changing my ways as of today :-)

Safe Danger: Skip Tramping

Safe Danger returns as I climb atop a skip with the intention of reducing the size of the pile of junk. Perilous? Oh yes.

Time Correction

Doh! I got the times for the live Skype-in wrong. They should be 1pm Colorado, 12pm LA, 3pm NY, 8pm UK, 5am Australia. Check out @awhipp56 on Twitter at these times to join us.
Apologies. I'm blaming the time converter app ;-)

Join the Night Crossing graphic novel launch on Twitter!

Today I'll be Skyping into a Colorado Springs comic book store to appear at the release of the Night Crossing graphic novel organised by the book's illustrator and creator, Amanda Whipp.

The event will be available to view live on Twitter from store via Amanda's Twitter. Just follow @awhipp56 and join at 1pm Colorado time (MDT), 12pm in LA, 3pm in NY, 8pm in the UK, and 5am for any insomniacs in Australia. 

There's a Facebook event that you can declare your bold intention to attend (online or physically) here. I hope you can join us!

U&F Underground - Episode 16

Underwood and Flinch: Underground - Episode 16 is now live at Patreon!

Go there, now!

Not a patron? Then become one. Find out more here

Something for the Weekend! The Bus Conductor by E.F. Benson

Start the weekend with this week's SFTW podcast: it's The Bus Conductor by E.F. Benson! A spooky tale that's guaranteed to send a shiver down your spine. There's also my news, including our house purchase. Yes, after six months of trying, failing, trying again, being patient, being impatient, going slightly mad, then finally being very relieved, we have bought a house in Ireland ... 

This week I also had my birthday, and my wife bought me the ideal gift ...

Hear all about these things, and get The Bus Conductor in this week's Something for the Weekend (lovely image by Jon Cape)

Click here to listen / download

Link to the classic movie Dead of Night, which features The Bus Conductor. 

Terry Joke 1

People often say to me ... (usually the person I see in the mirror) ... "Hey, whatever happened to those puppets of yours?" 

For those (that) curious person, I recovered Terry for a series of quick joke videos. Here's the first one ...

Something for the Weekend May 14th 2016

The latest episode of the Something for the Weekend podcast, in which Mike chats with Brian Roberts from the Wexworlds festival about Dr Who, comic books, superhero tv / movie adaptations, and other nerd-centric topics.

Mike Bennett at Twitter: @TheMikeBennett

Brian Roberts at Twitter: @8BitBrian

Wexworlds Festival at Twitter: @wexworlds

30 Seconds (Irish board game)

Subscribe to the podcast:

iTunes

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RSS for any reader

Something for the Weekend - Mike Bennett at Wexworlds

So, I had that live reading at Wexworlds in Ireland on Saturday. It was a great event and a good time was had by all. My reading went well - and here's your chance to get your ears round it in this live recording. I read the pilot U&F story, Night Crossing, and everyone seemed to enjoy it. I hope you do too.

"I told you to read Hair and Skin, rebel scum!"

With Brian from Wexworlds and illustrator, Ben Hennessy

Live Appearance at Wexworlds Festival Ireland

Every now and then, I like to appear. Usually at home, but sometimes in public. My last public reading of any of my work was 2003 in Brighton reading from the first edition of One Among the Sleepless. Since then, my readings have been restricted to podcasts only. But on Saturday 7th May, I shall be making my first live appearance as an author in thirteen years at the Wexworlds sci-fi / fantasy / horror festival at Clayton Whites Hotel in Wexford, Ireland. I'll be reading scenes from Underwood and Flinch, giving a talk on podcasting, and answering questions from the audience. 

I hope to be able to get a live stream of this event online so you can watch wherever you are, and hopefully send in any questions that you may have as well. I'm still exploring the technology options in how to make that happen (Facebook, Periscope, etc) but I'm optimistic we can pull it off somehow. Watch this space for more news, and if you can make it along on Saturday 7th May, I'll be on at 1:00 pm.  

A full schedule of Wexworlds events is available to view here.

Underwood and Flinch: Resurrection - Free Ebook!!

By Jove! Underwood and Flinch Vol 1: Resurrection. Now available as a free ebook download from Smashwords!! https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/335969 

Cool Air by H.P. Lovecraft

Something for the weekend? How about H.P. Lovecraft's Cool Air?

In this episode I also talk about my forthcoming public appearance at the Wexworlds Festival in Wexford, Ireland on Saturday May 7th. Be there or be ... well, probably on the other side of the Atlantic or the Irish Sea, but still, be there in spirit. Maybe we can work out a way of streaming it or something. I'll look into it.

U&F Underground: Episode 14

Underwood and Flinch: Underground Part 2 begins with Episode 14: "Now Everything Smells of Roses". Now live at Patreon for sponsors at $3 a month and over. 

Link: https://www.patreon.com/posts/5125872

PatreonCast - The Bus Conductor

If you're a Patreon sponsor at the $1+ level, whip out your app and download the latest episode of PatreonCast, which features my reading of E.F. Benson's The Bus Conductor. Download here.

Many of you may know the story from the 1945 Ealing Studios anthology horror movie Dead of Night. The Bus Conductor segment scared me silly when I was a kid. If you haven't seen it, here's a link to a copy online.

The Outsider by H.P. Lovecraft

Something for the Easter holiday Weekend? How about H.P. Lovecraft's "The Outsider" 

 

Show Links:

Boaty McBoatface

Underground Episode 12 - Ebooks at Patreon

Underground Episode 12 - ebooks for Kindle and all other e-readers, now available from Patreon. Double-Yay!!

All the other episodes are also available in ebook format from Patreon. Just visit this posting and you'll find links to all the others.

UFU 12 Now at Patreon!

Underwood and Flinch: Underground - Episode 12 is now live at Patreon. Yay!!

Lovecraft's, Cool Air / Benson's, Mrs Amworth

Two new podcast episodes out this weekend! At Patreon there's my reading of H.P. Lovecraft's, Cool Air. While in my public feed there's my reading of E.F. Benson's classic vampire story, Mrs Amworth. You can listen to that right now using this player thingy ...

Something for the Weekend? Oh yes! Have a great Sunday!

Underground: Episode 11 Now at Patreon!

Episode 11 of Underwood and Flinch Underground is now live at Patreon. Unfortunately I can't comment on what happens because that would be a total spoiler. Here's a link

And if you're not a patron yet, maybe now's the time for you to become one. Just go to Patreon and sign up at the $3 a month perk level, and you can start enjoying Underground today! Here's a link

After the Plague - Free Zombie Audiobook - Now Online.

After the Plague is now live at Podiobooks. Get it now and devour at your leisure ...

iTunes: http://itunes.apple.com/podcast/id1084639496

Android: http://subscribeonandroid.com/podiobooks.com/title/after-the-plague/

Podiobooks: http://podiobooks.com/title/after-the-plague/

Here's the book blurb:

A hotel on the outskirts of London in the aftermath of a zombie apocalypse. A brutal couple, Lee and Mandy, arrive in a van with two captive women held as sex slaves. Lee and Mandy think the hotel is abandoned, a place to find food and shelter. However, Terry, a former employee who has made the hotel his own, has other ideas. 

After the Plague is a novella by four-time Parsec Award winning author, Mike Bennett. It contains scenes of explicit violence and very strong language.

And if you're a reader, here's the Amazon ebook links:

USA: http://www.amazon.com/After-Plague-Mike-Bennett-ebook/dp/B016SHNGB8

UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/After-Plague-Mike-Bennett-ebook/dp/B016SHNGB8

Something for the Weekend 02-13-16

This week's Something for the Weekend is now at Patreon and in my public feed. It features listener comments about their favourite Stephen King movies (posted at my Facebook group and at Patreon). The episode also features the first 13 minutes of After the Plague. The whole podcast of which goes live - as you know - on Tuesday 16th at Podiobooks.

First 4 Minutes of the latest Walking Dead episode released ...

AMC have released the first four minutes of the first episode of the new Walking Dead half-season (that's a mouthful) which airs on Sunday. I haven't watched it myself because the flipping content isn't available in my country. Hate it when they do that. But if you're in the US you can watch it, and if you're in the UK, you can read Bloody Disgusting's review of the clip here. 

And on the topic of zombies, my own zombie podcast novella, After the Plague, will soon be available to download from my page at Podiobooks. Watch this space for updates!

Damn Alarm!

I can't write or record anything today because the damn house alarm keeps beeping to announce that someone is tampering with the front door. And they're obviously not. The landlord's on holiday. The company that installed the alarm have gone out of business. Meanwhile, ten minutes after every re-set ... BEEP! BEEP! 

*Sigh* What can you do? ... Other than re-design your website's audiobook / podcast page, and hope that one of the random local alarm boffins on the internet in our area will eventually answer their mobile phone and come to help us? High ho.

On a brighter note, here's a lovely cover Jon Cape designed for my Something for the Weekend podcast. 

Something for the Weekend 02-07-16

Something for the Weekend? Why not? How about some chat about a recent Stephen King interview I read? I also give my opinion on my favourite King adaptations. Listen live / download here.

Randall Flagg - get that man to a post-apocalyptic barber shop

This podcast is available in my public podcast feed and from my Patreon page. And if you'd like to share your favourite King movie or TV series with me and other listeners, you can do so either here, using your Google sign in, on Patreon, or at the Facebook Listener Group, The Sect. Speak, or forever hold your silence!

Something for the Weekend 30-01-16

Something for the Weekend 30-01-16 (or "Episode 4", if you prefer). In this week's episode I talk about adaptations of H.G. Welles' War of the Worlds, digressing onto related topics like Dr Who and The Time Machine. Fifteen minutes streaming consciousness - like being in a cafe with me when I've had way too much coffee. 

Listen live / direct download

Jeff Wayne's War of the Worlds (whole album)

War of the Worlds (new TV version)

War of the Worlds (1953)

The Time Machine (1960)

SFTW Extra - Pickman's Model by H.P Lovecraft

Something for the Weekend Extra - Pickman's Model by H.P.Lovecraft. Huzzah!! I read HPL's classic chiller in this longer than usual episode which is more akin to my other podcast, Sometimes. So why don't I just call it "Sometimes", then? Well, because I'm going to stick with the SFTW brand for 2016 and hopefully build up my listenership with something "regular" - as opposed to something "Sometimes". A cunning plan, no? If you're not subscribed, click this to get my RSS feed. And enjoy Pickman's Model!

Links:

John Mierau's Serving Worlds Podcast

Something for The Weekend 2

Okay, so the blog post is late - but the episode wasn't. Something for The Weekend 2 is now live in my public podcast feed. In it, I talk about my only Bowie experience (Milton Keynes 1983), the Murdoch - Hall engagement, and a film I very much enjoyed called The Visit. 

Murdoch - Hall
The Visit

U&F 9 Ebooks / A Christmas Carol 3 Podcast

New stuff at Patreon today. Episode 9 of Underwood and Flinch: Underground in ebook format (mobi and epub), and episode 3 of my PatreonCast production of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol . 

Actually, it's a bit weird working on A Christmas Carol now that Christmas has gone, kind of like still having the decorations up. I'm in two minds about continuing with it because it takes me away from my writing of Underground for days at a time. Personally, I'd prefer to make the PatreonCast podcast a kind of news and chat type thing and leave the classics readings aside for a bit so I can get some serious writing done. Still, that said, this episode is now done and I'm very pleased with it. I hope you enjoy it too :-)

Something for the Weekend 01-10-16

Since this is my tenth year in podcasting I thought it was about time I did something new, a bit different ... but not too different. Different-ish. A shorter podcast, something that I can deliver more frequently in my public feed; something that touches on stuff that's been occurring in the week. And so, here it is, Something for the Weekend. I hope you enjoy it, and if you do, I'll do more, more often. And next time, I'll get it out at the start of the weekend :-)

Click to listen live / Download directly

Links for this show:

Roy Batty

Black Pudding

Alcohol Limits

The Flying Scotsman

Ed Stewart

Resolution

Just back from first outing on a slightly delayed New Year resolution to go for "power" walk every few days. I did over my goal of 5,000 steps, striding (powerfully) along the road from Rosslare to Kilrane and back. I shall now reward myself with a fry-up.

Cliff Erosion at Rosslare

There's been a lull in the storms this morning, so my wife and I went for a walk along the cliffs at Rosslare Harbour. We had to watch our step as the storms have caused a lot of the cliff edge to erode. I took a few pics, one below and some others in a Facebook album that you can view by clicking this link ... you know, in case you're interested in that kind of thing.

Howling in the Spider Hole

Here's a view through my current personal nemesis, the howling hole - as mentioned on my last podcast. You can see I found a new friend inside. I can't imagine he catches too many flies, but something must be keeping him plump. Maybe he lives on mould spores. Lovely.

Happy New Year 2

Happy New Year again! The final episode of HP Lovecraft's The Thing on the Doorstep is now live in my public podcast feed. Should be in iTunes etc later today. If you can't wait, here's a player link: 

And if you want to hear the hole thing, uninterrupted, here it is on Youtube Any likes or shares of the video would be very appreciated) :-)

Happy New Year!

Just a quick one to say, Happy New Year, Listeners! May you have a wonderful, healthy and happy 2016!
As for me, right now I'd settle for a few days of dry, wind-less weather. Here in Wexford we've had another storm - the 6th since November. In fact, since we've been here, the weather has done very little but storm. Many towns have been badly affected, but where we are is still (thankfully) above water. Below is some drone footage of the impact of Storm Frank on our neighbouring town of Enniscorthy. Click here for the whole story.