Reader Question Wednesday! - #1

Hello and welcome to our first installment of Reader Question Wednesday! Thanks to everyone who contributed. If you missed out on asking a question, no worries. While we can't guarantee that every Wednesday will be Reader Question Wednesday, this is certainly a tradition that we wish to continue.

Without further ado ...

First, questions answered by me:

We'll start with the all-important Reuben-related questions first. Priorities, and all that.

So, at what age did you actually encounter your first reuben sandwich? Was it love at first bite?

Honestly, I can't remember the first Reuben (and yes, it is capitalized) - but I do remember that I didn't like it. It's an acquired taste. Yes, I am from a large Czech family who eats sauerkraut at every meal, but I didn't enjoy any of the ingredients until I did my study-abroad in the Czech Republic back in college (lo, these many years ago...) I learned to like rye bread and sauerkraut over there (and beer, incidentally) and it just seemed right and proper that I should fall in love with Reubens. My grandfather would be proud.

I cannot believe I just answered a question about the evolution of my love for a sandwich.

If a sandwich consists of turkey, sauerkraut, Swiss cheese and brown mustard can it still legitimately be called a reuben? If not, how narrow is the definition of a reuben? Is it the thousand island dressing? The corned beef? The Rye?

No! Impostor! Infidel!

*ahem* I mean, no. A reuben is corned beef, swiss cheese, sauerkraut, and a touch of thousand island dressing between two lightly-grilled pieces of rye (ideally marble) bread. We will accept no imitations. While I still haven't found the perfect "10" - the best one is at Irv's Deli in Fremont, Nebraska. I found my #9 there about 12 years ago. Although Irv calls it "special dressing," not thousand island - so maybe that's the key.

And now, the questions that are not Reuben-related:

So, are you actually creating a backstory "Bible," to flesh out and keep track of the details you know but haven't used yet (i.e., Alex's 2nd grade teacher's name)? Or is this backstory just theoretical?

We don't really have a "Bible," per se -- but we do have copious amounts of shared Google docs with lots of story trivia that are ridiculously disorganized. Occasionally I have to refer to older summaries to remember things like, "How old is Alex again?" and "Did Jason really think that idea would work?" I'm actually quite impressed that we're able to recall quite a few obscure details at will. I think it's a hallmark of the geek brain. "What episode did we discover the identity of the 5th Cylon?" is about the same kind of question as "When did Alex move to Omaha?"

Is this tacit permission to shout out if the backstory's too unwieldy? :)

Sure. Did you actually want us to do anything with that information, though? :)

Did Jason ever bring his two good ideas last week?

He brought one pretty spectacular idea, so I let him off the hook for two. One word: Carnies.


And now, Jason's contributions to Reader Question Wednesday:

Jason, weren't you supposed to finish those tweaks to Episode 2 last month?

Actually, given the recent additions we've made to the story, many of the tweaks I was supposed to make to Episode 2 are now moot. So it's actually a good thing that I didn't do them then, because it would have been wasted effort. Ah, I love the smell of a rationalization in the morning. It's the smell of victory.

So, are you two writing in coffee shops? (I'm at least assuming you're not recording there, though that could be HILARIOUS, frankly.) Or over reubens?

Great question. Our first podcast meeting was at a sandwich joint, and I think we've been back there two or three other times. We've also met at...another sandwich place, and two (I think) coffee shops. The majority of our recent meetings have been at one of our homes, though. We prefer to have the following easily to hand when we're writing together:

• Free outlets for our laptops
• Caffeine
  
• Potato chips (most recently the Lays kettle chips which are oh my god good)
  
• Wi-fi so we can a)Look up interesting things like a hacker name generator, and b)Easily share our updates via Google Docs in realtime.
• Enough space to actually spread out a bit.
  

These limitations aren't huge, but they do narrow the field quite a bit, location-wise. One of the coffee shops we met at was fantastic in every way *except* the last one - we were so crowded there that it just didn't work. Though we did get some funny looks that afternoon when we did our first off-the-cuff dialogue for Episode 1, Scene 1.

Thus far, there have been no reubens in the creative process.

Is there going to be some kind of casting call for your loyal followers to participate in the podcast when it gets around to recording time?

Well, I keep telling River that she can do *all* the voices, but she refuses. So...yes, we will be soliciting voice talent when we get to the recording phase. No word yet on how the casting process will work, but my guess is that bribes will be both accepted and encouraged.

Who is the better lover, Batman or Superman?

Batman.

Why?

I really think Larry Niven covered this ground fairly well in 1971.


Thanks again! We'll announce the next Reader Question Wednesday soon. Meantime, comment or e-mail us to ask a question. It will most likely appear in a future installment.

So there's this guy, right?

I have always marveled at writers who become consumed with their characters. I've heard story after story from authors who claim their characters begin to speak to them on a regular basis - and then their stories begin to write themselves. I don't think we're necessarily at that point - although the story has definitely begun to take on a life of its own, and I certainly have started to develop quite a soft spot for some of our main characters. Admittedly, these guys tend to hang around in my brain for a while after one of our writing meetings. I have only recently begun to experience the whole "characters talking to me" thing in a couple of other writing projects I'm working on, and I'll be honest... it kind of freaked me out. I never 100% believed in it before ... but it happened. And now I am really looking forward to the day that it happens with the podcast.

Maybe it's already started. Who knows? What I do know is that I like our characters. I want them to succeed. Not that I want to make it easy for them, because how boring is that? But I'm pulling for them.

Our main character is a guy named Alex Kirunov. Mid-twenties, Chicago native, although at the opening of our story we discover that he's been out of town and out of touch with the family for a while. And even though the other characters play some pretty major roles, this is ultimately his story.

And as I've said before, I like Alex. Were he a real person I think we'd be friends, although I think I'd probably worry a bit about his lack of ambition. But he's a good guy nonetheless. We have a little bit in common... we both love Reuben sandwiches. Remarkably, we both use the same rating scale. We have both spent a lot of time in Omaha, some of it against our better judgment. We both have many Slavic relatives. Mine are Czech and his are Russian - but let's not split hairs. We both know enough Russian to be dangerous - although I bet he knows more than I do, and I think he could teach me some choice words. I'm sure he's been sworn at more than once by certain family members. And we both have seriously geeky friends.

He also sounds remarkably like Jason. It's weird.

I mentioned before that we have a handful of scripts written, and Alex is starting to become a real person to me. I'm really looking forward to seeing how he continues to develop, and who he's going to become when this whole mess is over. If it ever truly ends. And if we ever truly get off our asses and start recording.

Which we will. We promise.

Who are you again?

Being the intelligent, astute, and undoubtedly attractive readers that you are, I would imagine that you have a few questions. Such as:

1. Where is the podcast and how do I download it?
2. Who are you people?
3. What does an audio drama podcast, or blog about an audio drama podcast, have to do with a Reuben sandwich?
4. Are you really that good-looking in person, River?

I will do my best to answer your questions in the order that they were received:

1. The podcast does not exist yet. Emphasis on the word yet. We have written scripts for a handful of episodes, and will begin the recording process shortly. We decided that writing a blog about our process might keep us from losing momentum and slacking off (a talent that both Jason and I share), as well as provide a forum for ideas and suggestions from you, dear readers. More details to come in future updates.

2. We're just a couple of aspiring writers in Chicago who decided to add one more project onto an already full plate. Er... plates. A couple of fun facts: I am a pretty decent drummer, Jason excels at Rock Band. I love to play games, Jason designs them. I completed my writing goals this week, Jason did not. Just sayin'.

3. The Reuben sandwich actually does play a fairly significant role in the podcast. When it finally comes out, you'll understand. You'll probably shake your heads ruefully and say, "What the hell?" but you will understand. Suffice it to say that I love Reubens. They are my favorite sandwich. I even have a rating scale. I have never found the perfect "10" - but I will one day. A girl's gotta have dreams. Also, believe what you will, but I am absolutely convinced that the Reuben was invented in Omaha. Although I'm currently living in Chicago, I am an Omaha native, and damn proud of our sandwiches.

4. Yes.


Please feel free to comment with more questions about us, our process, or the podcast itself. We'll continue to update on a semi-regular basis. Next up will likely be some information about the premise for the show, as well as some background info about the characters.