Authors and Aliza Schultz

Hi folks,

First off, a huge thank you for your support and participation in the fun we had last week with ciphers and codes. The way you all collaborated together to solve some of our harder puzzles was incredible.

To quickly address some unintended red herrings, we didn’t put any secret codes in the transcripts. Transcripts are utility and will never be used for anything other than their purpose as a resource. Any missing transcripts should now have been replaced, however if you are still having trouble accessing them please email us at mail@rustyquill.com.

Secondly, we didn’t put codes into the episode descriptions… at first. Eagle-eyed people spotted some mysterious alphanumeric codes in a couple of episodes of The Magnus Archives, however these were to do with some behind the scenes verification processes from a few months ago and, no matter how much anyone tries, won’t decode into anything meaningful. We removed the codes as soon as we spotted the confusion, however that only… added to it. So, since y’all were paying attention to them anyway, we added some special codes there.

We’ll be putting together a public blog with a full run down of the codes and how to solve them in the near future, so keep an eye on that.

Meanwhile, we’re still busy working behind the scenes on Trice Forgotten and holding recordings of Cry Havoc! Ask Questions Later. A small taster of what a remote recording looks like is below, hot off the “press” from today’s recording. In the new year we’ll be announcing more information on Cry Havoc, plus our plans for future TTRPG content including Chapter and Multiverse, for 2023 and beyond. We'll also be providing further updates on our other shows in the coming weeks, so thank you in advance for your patience.

(Image description: a screenshot of a recording of Cry Havoc! Ask Questions Later. Five people on an online video call. Three of them, the performers, have microphones in front of them, while executive of production April Sumner and director Amani Zardoe sit in.)

In the meantime, we have another show to welcome to the RQ Network. The Diary of Aliza Schultz is a mind-bending audio fiction from Dylan Griggs, the creator of WOE.BEGONE.

Aliza Schultz is the perfect reader of Rafael Muslani, famed author of shallow airport paperback novels. Not only has she read all of his work, she is the foremost scholar on the subject. Aliza Schultz travels a surreal landscape, recounting Rafael Muslani novels and experiencing a bizarre relationship to the world around her along the way, often accompanied by Muslani's cat Lucy, the largest cat in the world. Her travels bring her to strange locations, cause her to have symbolic dreams, and lead her to discovering even more of Rafael Muslani's increasingly bizarre catalogue.

The Diary of Aliza Schultz is a magical realist exploration of what it means to be a fictional character and what it means to write fiction. You do not need to have heard WOE.BEGONE in order to enjoy The Diary Of Aliza Schultz.

We spoke to Dylan, the creator behind The Diary of Aliza Schultz to find out a bit more about this unusual show.

Tell us who you are and a bit about The Diary of Aliza Schultz.

My name is Dylan Griggs and I am an eclectic podcast showrunner and musician from Kentucky and the creator of WOE.BEGONE and The Diary of Aliza Schultz. The Diary of Aliza Schultz is the surreal story of the eponymous Aliza Schultz, constant traveler and perfect reader of the novels of airport paperback novelist Rafael Muslani. The show follows Aliza as she walks from location to location, recounting or reading a Muslani novel and commenting on its themes. The show takes inspiration from surrealist and magical realist authors, which gives it a unique dreamlike tone. For fans of Murakami, Calvino, and John Barth.

What got you into podcasting?

Having been a fan of podcasting since the era that entailed actually downloading them from the iTunes store onto your iPod, the pandemic gave me the unexpected free time to craft an audiodrama of my own. I had gravitated to audiodramas because of the allure of telling such a full story with such a low barrier to entry.

What are you most proud about The Diary of Alzia Schultz?

The thing about Aliza Schultz that I am the most proud of is that it is unique in its influence and delivery and that it uses its format to convey underlying themes in a strong and coherent way. The show is more influenced by literature than it is by other podcasts, which I feel gives it a unique voice, almost like an elevated audiobook at times.

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Finally in Trice Forgotten this week Alestes is dragging her crew on a treasure hunt. Will they unearth more than snails, or will they strike gold?

Here is our full schedule for this week:

Monday 17th October

SEAS 7 – Shore Leave (Patreon) (4pm BST)

Tuesday 18th October

SEAS 7 – Shore Leave (Public) (4pm BST)

Friday 21st October

KNIGHTS+ bonus – Problemagicians 6 (Patreon) (4pm BST)

Have a good week all!

The Rusty Quill team