Network News

Hi folks,

It’s an exciting week here at Rusty Towers, and we have a lot of news we’re really looking forward to sharing with you.

To begin with, we’re delighted to welcome three new podcasts to the RQ Network. First is NIGHTLIGHT, an Ignyte award-winning horror-anthology podcast so scary you’ll need to leave your night light on after listening. Every story featured on NIGHTLIGHT is written by a black writer and performer by black actors. With over 500 episodes of creepy, macabre and horrifying fiction, you’ll have plenty to listen to this hallowe’en season. From creatures haunting dark roadsides, old gods, cyberpunk horror, vampires… NIGHTLIGHT has explored every genre of horror, making it a great introduction to those who want to dip their toes into the creepy, the occult, and the ghostly. The feed also features regular bonus content, including interviews with the writers and creators. You can listen to NIGHTLIGHT wherever you find podcasts, or on the Rusty Quill website.

We spoke to Tonia Ransom, the creator and execuitive producer of NIGHTLIGHT in another Patreon-exclusive interview.

Tell us who you are and a bit about NIGHLIGHT?

I’m a horror writer and an award-winning podcast producer. I’ve been writing horror since the second grade, when I wrote Michael Myers fan fiction for a school assignment. I scared my teacher, though not in the way I intended, and got hooked on that feeling.

NIGHTLIGHT is a horror fiction podcast featuring creepy tales written by Black writers and voiced by Black actors. For a long time, I knew I wanted to start a horror fiction podcast, but I originally wanted to do something more in the style of old time radio. Full cast productions are much more expensive than single narrator ones, so NIGHTLIGHT was a kind of stepping stone into audio drama with less overhead. I decided to put sound into each episode like it was a full-cast production, and it ended up being a great compromise!

What got you into podcasting?

Many years ago, before iPods were a thing, we had iTunes radio stations. I’d heard of old time radio before, and even listened to a show with my great aunt once, but I didn’t know what was really out there, especially in regards to horror. I can’t listen to music with lyrics when I work because I tend to zone out, but podcasts are perfect (don’t ask me why—it still doesn’t make sense to me either!), so I’d start up an old time radio station on iTunes and get to work. I realized shortly after that I wanted to revive that type of storytelling, but since podcasts weren’t yet a thing, I knew I’d need buy-in from a radio station to make it happen. Then podcasts arrived and I realized I could do it myself. I procrastinated for a decade after that—waiting for the right circumstances to align, before I came to the conclusion that there would never be a “right” time, and that I needed to either do it or not. So I started NIGHTLIGHT.

Without spoilers, what are you most proud about NIGHTLIGHT?

The thing I’m most proud about with NIGHTLIGHT is the number of readers who’ve reached out to me to thank me for introducing them to new authors. I love knowing that I’ve helped connect readers and writers—I’m a librarian by education, so it’s doubly wonderful.

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Next up, in this crop of shows, is Afflicted, a horror thriller audio drama from the creators of NIGHTLIGHT. Lovecraft Country meets True Blood in this seasonal anthology podcast, featuring characters who use the hoodoo belief system and a demonic book that wreaks havoc wherever it goes. Afflicted launches to podcast players everywhere on 31st October 2022. We’ll be sharing Tonia’s second interview closer to the launch date, so keep an eye on this Patreon newsletter then.

Finally, Ain’t Slayed Nobody, an award winning actual play podcast, played in the Call of Cthulhu system. In the first season, Y’all of Cthulhu, in a world inhabited by the characters and critters of the Wild West, plus the terrors of the Cthulhu Mythos, a ragtag posse joins forces with Deputy Sheriff Ellie Bishop to hunt down an elusive gang leader. Will this strange group manage to actually investigate anything? Or will they simply holler and shoot to solve their problems. The second season, Bleeker Trails, is airing now. Listen to Ain’t Slayed Nobody on your podcast player of choice or on the Rusty Quill website.

We spoke to cuppycup, Keeper and Producer of Ain’t Slayed Nobody for an exclusive-to-Patreon interview.

Tell us who you are and a bit about Ain't Slayed Nobody?

I'm cuppycup, and that's a nickname from childhood that people do call me in real life. Ain't Slayed Nobody is a horror tabletop roleplaying podcast that feels like an audio drama. A lot of shows say that, but I think we come pretty close, especially in our second season "Bleeker Trails." We have two campaigns of Call of Cthulhu in the American Old West, and the first one "Y'all of Cthulhu" is complete. We also play shorter arcs that are usually around three episodes. In fact, we have a KILLER mini-series for Halloween this year called "The Dare," and I believe episode one was released today. That's a great place to jump in to sample what we do.

What got you into podcasting?

Most of our original cast and crew were American College Football bloggers, and we met through our network at SB Nation. After getting my feet wet with editing sports podcasts, I wanted to try something new. One of our players, Chuck, wanted to record a Dungeons & Dragons campaign, but the scheduling fell through after one session. I revived the idea about a year later, but I wanted to make a horror show. So we chose Call of Cthulhu and off we went.

What are you most proud about Ain't Slayed Nobody?

I'm proud of our progression in a lot of different ways - the writing, the production, the cast. We started out pretty strong from episode one, but I'm quite happy with how far we've come in a short time. I'm also proud that we've stuck with making the show, because it's incredibly hard work. As for achievements, we won the Gold ENnie for Best Tabletop RPG Podcast this year and now we get to join forces with the best Audio Drama and Tabletop Roleplaying shows around at Rusty Quill Network.

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This is a huge month at Rusty Towers, and if you enjoy these new shows, go and show your love to these incredible creators!

Meanwhile, over on the Rusty Quill feeds this week we have a new episode of Trice Forgotten: Below Decks. This week, join creator Nemo Martin, our Head of Inclusion and Helen, as they discuss found families in queer, POC narratives. This is an absolutely fascinating episode, and incredibly useful not just for understanding more about the process of creating Trice Forgotten but also as a reference point for writers creating their own worlds.

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Here is our full schedule for this week:

Monday 10th October

SEAS Below Decks 5 - Found Family in Queer, POC Narratives (Patreon) (4pm BST)

Tuesday 11th October

SEAS Below Decks 5 - Found Family in Queer, POC Narratives (Public) (4pm BST)

Friday 14th October

NOBLES bonus – Deluxe Transcript #30 (Patreon) (4pm BST)

Have a good week all!

The Rusty Quill team