Gratitude

We’re crossing double digits in our episode count in a week.  That and our recent Parsec Nomination (still reeling from that amazing bit of news) make it a good time – because time seems to fly so fast – to pull off the headphones, lift our hands from the keyboard for a moment and reflect.

There are a lot of thoughts and emotions furiously sparking and catalyzing right now, but one shines brighter than all the rest…

Gratitude

We are building The Roundtable Podcast on the premise that the creative process is not exclusively a solitary and isolated experience. Inspiration comes from engagement and interaction and the sharing of those moments of epiphany among our fellow creators.

The current state of this podcast is a testament to that premise.  It was terrifying when we decided to move forward with the idea because it would not, COULD not work with just Brion and I.  We had to have writers willing to expose their creations to scrutiny and discussion.  We had to have authors and editors willing to pause in their incredibly hectic schedules to discuss those creations.  And we had to have people who would not only listen to that process, but enjoy and glean value from it.

Somehow, all those vital elements have manifested and in a way none of us could have ever imagined.

And so, because it is a writer’s impulse to express the things that (momentarily) strike us mute with wonder, we want to express our gratitude to everyone who has – or will – walk with us on this amazing journey of creative exploration.

To Our Guest Writers

You must be first.  Without your stories, we have nothing to discuss. I’d go a step further and suggest that, without new writers infusing new ideas into collective maelstrom, the body of literature (genre or otherwise) atrophies and stagnates, becoming a bland recycled paste of tropes and clichés.  I’d go that step, but I would be reprimanded for sounding pretentious and grandiose and God knows I wouldn’t want to do that. 🙂

So thank you to the writers whose reckless courage and hunger for inspiration have led you click that “Be a Guest” link and offer up your ideas for discussion.  You have provided a feast for us, a smorgasbord of radiant possibilities.  Flawed or sublime or newly born and craving substance, they are all tinder and flame and – most especially – light that illuminates a new path to undiscovered places.

To Our Guest Hosts

Brion and I are facilitators.  We provide the framework, the writer provides the vital material, and you dear Guest Host give it relevance.  You’re the lightning rod allowing us to ground speculation and theory into a legitimate context of storytelling.  You have written more and consumed more and experienced more than each of us and that perspective is invaluable.

So thank you to the hosts who have shared their time and their insights with the writers and our audience.  In doing so, you sponsor our creative explorations, serving as friendly native guide into uncharted lands, even as you continue to explore your own.  Each of you has left us with more than we came with and your generosity – of both time and spirit – is deeply appreciated.

To Our Audience

If you’ve listened to the podcast, then you know how much fun we have and how much creative “gold” is scattered around by everyone involved.  We believe that gold belongs to everyone, and that each person is entitled to as much of it as they can carry.  Our conscience and our love of the craft (and the process that fosters it) mandate that we share those insights and inspirations… to do otherwise is to close doors and deny possibility and THAT is the polar opposite of our intent.

So thank you to those who have written and friended and liked and shared and commented and reviewed.  And thank you to those who haven’t but have listened and gathered something from what you’ve heard.  You are the completion of the circuit, the destination of all our effort, and the hope behind every episode.

Looking Ahead

We have a full schedule all the way to July already and we have no idea how that happened.  I mean, we KNOW how it happened… we’re just having a hard time re-wiring our brains to the reality that it represents.

It’s a reality where we have discovered new friends, been welcomed where we didn’t expect to be, and have had the pleasure and privilege of being creative with people who embody “creativity” for us.

It’s a reality where it feels like we’re actually helping to add something to the world, rather than just take from it.  And for that, we are so very grateful indeed.

Thank you.