Podcasts about Romance

What happens when a porn actress comes after your drag name? Lexi Love (RuPaul's Drag Race S17) joins Nicole to talk through the legal fight she never expected to be in and what it is costing her to protect the career she's built. She opens up about the panic attacks she had while filming her season of Drag Race and shares the mistreatment she experienced in rehab, which became a traumatic part of her recovery journey. Plus, Lexi also talks about her past life teaching anti money laundering to bankers, her best dates, and the night she was left abandoned with a bill she couldn't pay.Watch this episode on our YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/@WhyWontYouDateMePodcastSupport Lexi Love's legal battle at gofundme.com/f/the-real-lexi-love-fund.See Lexi Love on tour with A Drag Queen Christmas. Get tickets at dragfans.com.Support this podcast and get discounts by checking out our sponsors:Cash App: Download Cash App Today: https://capl.onelink.me/vFut/3v6r90n6 #CashAppPod. Cash App is a financial services platform, not a bank. Banking services provided by Cash App's bank partner(s). Prepaid debit cards issued by Sutton Bank, Member FDIC. See terms and conditions at https://cash.app/legal/us/en-us/card-agreement. Discounts and promotions provided by Cash App, a Block, Inc. brand. Visit http://cash.app/legal/podcast for full disclosures.Wayfair: Wayfair. Every Style, Every Home.Follow:All Links: linktr.ee/whywontyoudatemeTour Dates: linktr.ee/nicolebyerwastakenYouTube: @WhyWontYouDateMePodcastTikTok: @whywontyoudatemepod Instagram: @nicolebyerX: @nicolebyerNicole's book, #VERYFAT #VERYBRAVE: indiebound.org/book/9781524850746This is a Headgum podcast. Follow Headgum on Twitter, Instagram, and Tiktok. Advertise on Why Won't You Date Me? via Gumball.fm.Why Won't You Date Me? with Nicole Byer is produced by Mars. Guest research by Lyndsey Kempf. Executive producer is Anya Kanevskaya. VP of content is Kaiti Moos. Theme song arranged by Mike Comite. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Meghan Markle is making waves with her insistence on royal-style announcements, Jenna Bush Hager faces on-air tension after her father calls her show “dumb,” and Jennifer Aniston is stepping into the holidays with a fresh spark thanks to her budding romance with Jim Curtis. The celebrity world is serving drama, shade, and seasonal sweetness all at once. Don't forget to vote in today's poll on Twitter at @naughtynicerob or in our Facebook group.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You can enjoy exclusive and intense erotic audio by grabbing your copy of the Sensual Awakenings App on the Apple Store, or downloading the very unofficial and unapproved Android version from WyldeInBed.com In the quiet town where the sea kisses the shore, Tess finds herself haunted by the last words she exchanged with Finn before he vanished beneath the waves. Regret clings to her like sea salt, and as she stands on the beach, her heart breaks for the love she lost. Yet, as the tide ebbs and flows, so does her longing—transforming into tantalizing erotic fantasies that dance like shadows on the sand.But the ocean holds secrets deeper than Tess ever imagined. As she plunges into the supernatural depths of her desires, she uncovers a world where passion knows no bounds and the boundaries between life and death blur. Finn's spirit calls to her, weaving a tale of love intertwined with BDSM and longing that transcends the physical realm.In a journey filled with tearjerking revelations and tantalizing encounters, Tess must confront the truth of Finn's demise and the powerful connection that binds them—one that could either set her free or drown her in desire forever. Join Tess as she navigates the stormy waters of love, loss, and the supernatural, discovering that some ties can never be severed, and the heart's deepest yearnings can lead to the most unexpected places. Will she find closure, or will she drown in the depths of her desire?

Send us a textIn this enchanting episode of Living the Dream with Curveball, we welcome the talented author Bria Rose, known for her captivating dark romance fairytale retellings. Bria shares her journey from a high school writer to a self-published author, detailing her debut novel, "Her Dark Promise," a unique twist on the classic Beauty and the Beast story where Belle takes on the role of the beast. She discusses her creative process, the challenges of indie publishing, and how her experiences working at Disney have influenced her storytelling. Bria also opens up about her love for dark romance, the depth it brings to characters, and her upcoming projects, including a spicy Pinocchio retelling and an exciting collaboration with a publishing company. Tune in for a delightful conversation filled with inspiration, creativity, and insights into the world of writing. Discover more about Bria and her work at www.authorbriarose.com.

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Mountain Climber Emily Harrington is here to talk about being the first woman to summit El Cap in a day along the Golden Gate route, the mental fortitude it takes to be an endurance athlete, and how to meet a man on Everest. Then: A nosy sister wants to intervene when her brother and his wife are having marital problems… that she’s not supposed to know about. A divorcee searches for the best slopes now that she’s free from a toxic marriage. And a mom’s surprise vacations get in the way of a daughter’s holiday plans. * Need some advice from Chelsea? Email us at DearChelseaPodcast@gmail.com * Executive Producer Catherine Law Edited & Engineered by Brad Dickert * * * The views and opinions expressed are solely those of the Podcast author, or individuals participating in the Podcast, and do not represent the opinions of iHeartMedia or its employees. This Podcast should not be used as medical advice, mental health advice, mental health counseling or therapy, or as imparting any health care recommendations at all. Individuals are advised to seek independent medical, counseling advice and/or therapy from a competent health care professional with respect to any medical condition, mental health issues, health inquiry or matter, including matters discussed on this Podcast. Guests and listeners should not rely on matters discussed in the Podcast and shall not act or shall refrain from acting based on information contained in the Podcast without first seeking independent medical advice. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mountain Climber Emily Harrington is here to talk about being the first woman to summit El Cap in a day along the Golden Gate route, the mental fortitude it takes to be an endurance athlete, and how to meet a man on Everest. Then: A nosy sister wants to intervene when her brother and his wife are having marital problems… that she’s not supposed to know about. A divorcee searches for the best slopes now that she’s free from a toxic marriage. And a mom’s surprise vacations get in the way of a daughter’s holiday plans. * Need some advice from Chelsea? Email us at DearChelseaPodcast@gmail.com * Executive Producer Catherine Law Edited & Engineered by Brad Dickert * * * The views and opinions expressed are solely those of the Podcast author, or individuals participating in the Podcast, and do not represent the opinions of iHeartMedia or its employees. This Podcast should not be used as medical advice, mental health advice, mental health counseling or therapy, or as imparting any health care recommendations at all. Individuals are advised to seek independent medical, counseling advice and/or therapy from a competent health care professional with respect to any medical condition, mental health issues, health inquiry or matter, including matters discussed on this Podcast. Guests and listeners should not rely on matters discussed in the Podcast and shall not act or shall refrain from acting based on information contained in the Podcast without first seeking independent medical advice. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Second Chance Romance: Nicole and JacobSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This Thursday, we dive into listener theories and full-series foreshadowing for Heir of Fire Ch. 21–25, where Aelin's wildfire erupts, Manon chooses Abraxos in the pit, and Dorian overhears the secret that shatters everything. Jac and Amy read through your thoughts on Aelin's near-death escape from the skinwalkers, Rowan's “you'd be more useful dead” comment, and the messy emotional undercurrent of their first real moment of trust. We dig into theories about what wildfire actually signals in SJM's magic system, the deeper significance of Rowan calling her Aelin, and whether the skinwalkers connect to later Wyrd-soldier lore. We also unpack your takes on Manon and Abraxos, their instant, furious, reluctant bond, and how this moment rewrites Manon's understanding of power, ownership, and partnership. And of course, we get into the catacombs scene: Chaol's confession, Aedion's hunger for the blood oath, and Dorian's icy heartbreak when he realizes everyone has been keeping Aelin's identity from him. Full spoilers through the end of Heir of Fire and light references to later Throne of Glass books. Send your theories for next week's chapters at booktalkforbooktok.com, and you may be featured in the next Breadcrumbs & Broomsticks. How to participate: Send your theories and spicy takes for Thursday's Breadcrumbs & Broomsticks—spoilers welcome there. Use our site form or DM us on Instagram. The Subtext Society Journal: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://thesubtextsocietyjournal.substack.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠  We're thrilled to announce our newest venture: The Subtext Society Journal—the first of its kind, dedicated to Romance, Romantasy, and fandom with an academic yet accessible voice. We're publishing original essays and thought pieces, and we encourage listeners to submit their own articles for a chance to be featured. Sponsor: Vionic Use code BOOKTALK at checkout for 15% off your entire order at www.vionicshoes.com when you log into your account. 1 time use only. Sponsor: Olive & June Visit Olive and June.com/BOOKTALK for 20% off your first GEL System! Share your thoughts for a chance to be featured! Submit them at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠booktalkforbooktok.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for a future mini-episode or exclusive Patreon discussion. Support the Show:  Patreon: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/booktalkforbooktok⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠  Merch: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Etsy Store⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Follow Us on Social: Instagram: @BookTalkForBookTok TikTok: @BookTalkForBookTok YouTube: @BookTalkForBookTok Heir of Fire analysis, Heir of Fire Ch. 8–13, Sarah J. Maas podcast, Throne of Glass podcast, Aelin Galathynius analysis, Rowan Whitethorn training, Queen Maeve analysis, Manon Blackbeak wyvern, Aedion Ashryver, Dorian and Sorscha, Feminist literary analysis, Marxist literary analysis, romantasy podcast, imagery and symbolism, Mistward, Doranelle, wyverns. Aelin/Celaena • Rowan Whitethorn • Queen Maeve • Chaol Westfall • Dorian Havilliard • Sorscha • Aedion Ashryver • Manon Blackbeak • The Thirteen • Wyverns • Mistward • Doranelle Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How did William Finn and Jonathan Larson revolutionize musical theater in the 1980s and 90s? Assistant Professor of Music Alex Bádue joins host Shoshana Greenberg to explore the parallel journeys and creative intersections of these two groundbreaking composers. From their early work in the 80s to their hits Falsettos and Rent in the 1990s and more. We also talk about the song “Four Jews in a Room Bitching” from William Finn's 1981 musical March of the Falsettos and then William Finn and James Lapine's 1992 musical Falsettos. Music played in this episode: ”Rent” from Rent ”Republicans” by William Finn ”All Fall Down” from Romance in Hard Times “Rap Mitzvah” by Jonathan Larson, Jeff Kahn, and Ben Stiller “Four Jews in a Room Bitching” from March of the Falsettos/Falsettos

We're back with Alexandre Dumas' incredible immortal heroic tale "The Three Musketeers" with Chapter 16- "In which M. Seguier, Keeper of the Seals, Looks More than Once for the Bell"! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week Lia, Megan and Amy get into The Bechdel Test in Korean dramas. How does a piece of media pass The Bechdel Test? It has to meet three criteria: it must feature at least two women, the two women must have a conversation with each other, and the conversation must not be about a man. This should not be a high bar...and yet? And...yet.K-Pop Rec of the Week: Spaghetti by La Sserafim (featuring J-Hope of BTS)Ready to download your first audiobook? Don't forget to click HERE for your free Audible trial.*Audible is a sponsor of Afternoona Delight Podcast*Are your family and friends sick of you talking about K-drama? We get it...and have an answer. Join our AfterNoona Delight Patreon and find community among folks who get your obsession. And check out www.afternoonadelight.com for more episodes, book recs and social media goodness. And don't forget about the newest member of our network: Afternoona Asks where diaspora Asians living in the West find ways to reconnect to Asian culture via Asian/KDramas.Last but CERTAINLY not least....love BTS? Or curious what all the fuss is about? Check out our sister pod Afternoona Army for "thinky, thirsty and over thirty" takes on Bangtan life. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

Outlouders, is it true? Have Millennials officially killed the affair? And, are they actually more conservative than Gen X or are they just reimagining a more modern picture of what marriage looks like? Amelia and Jessie present a Millennial defence. Plus, apparently eyelids are... over. So, what other silly things are people saying about women’s faces this week? We unpack the anti-cosmetic surgery essay every woman should read. And, there's a state funeral going on today that made us wonder — what makes someone qualify for one and should taxpayers be footing the bill? Also, we have a new skincare trend that's not for the faint of heart and we surprise Jessie for her 10-year work anniversary with Mamamia. And yes, Mia does invade the studio again with a little treat to celebrate. Happy anniversary, Jessie! Support independent women's media Plus, Outlouders, we're casting for Season 2 of Mamamia's This Is Why We Fight podcast and we'd love to hear your stories. Apply here. What To Listen To Next: Listen to our latest episode: Big Brother Australia, The Golden Bachelor & The TV ‘Algorithm Theory’ Listen: Get My Boss Out Of My Bed & The Last Relationship Taboo Listen: Squirting, Dawn Culture & The Most Motivating Word Listen: Letters To Juliet & 'The One' Question Everyone Is Asking Listen: The 'Australia Effect' & Meghan and Harry's Curious Party Edit Listen: A Very Bad Decision & An Imploding Friendship Group Listen: Kim Kardashian's Zero-Star Strategy Connect your subscription to Apple Podcasts Discover more Mamamia Podcasts here including the very latest episode of Parenting Out Loud, the parenting podcast for people who don't listen to... parenting podcasts. Watch Mamamia Out Loud: Mamamia Out Loud on YouTube What to read: Why everyone is suddenly talking about their luteal phase. In some truly delightful news, eye bags are in. 'I had a facelift at 37. People always have the same question.' HOLLY WAINWRIGHT: Nothing cures creative block like discovering your husband's secret sex lair. 'I'm an affairs counsellor. These are the real reasons women cheat.' THE END BITS: Check out our merch at MamamiaOutLoud.com GET IN TOUCH: Feedback? We’re listening. Send us an email at outloud@mamamia.com.au Share your story, feedback, or dilemma! Send us a voice message. Join our Facebook group Mamamia Outlouders to talk about the show. Follow us on Instagram @mamamiaoutloud and on Tiktok @mamamiaoutloudBecome a Mamamia subscriber: https://www.mamamia.com.au/subscribeSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Federico e Isabel González comentan toda la actualidad del corazón con Daniel Carande y Pérez Gimeno.

I'm joined by Kiwi author Esme Brett to celebrate Movember and the microtrend (fingers crossed that it becomes a full trend) of mustaches in romance novels! We talk about what and who installed our love of Mustache Man, what's causing the resurgence, and recommend a full stache's worth of romances for your TBR. If you're a fan of heroes with upper lip caterpillars, whiskers, crumb catchers, and lady ticklers, this is the episode for you! Connect with Esme: website; get her books; Instagram; TikTok Romancelandia's resident mustache experts: Beth and Allie Twisted Love episode Smart Bitches, Trashy Books Subscribe! Follow! Rate! Review! Tell your friends and family! Support the podcast and buy me coffee WRION merch! My feminist, sapphic, bookish Etsy shop! Instagram/Threads: @wereaditonenight TikTok: @wereaditonenight Facebook: We Read It One Night Email: wereaditonenight [at] gmail.com

Bridget, Caitlin, and Hilda discuss "Mate," by Ali Hazelwood, the follow-up to her hit novel "Bride." If you didn't know, they all love Ali's witty and humorous style of writing ... but was it enough to make them love this book? You'll have to listen to find out.  Join our Patreon for exclusive behind-the-scenes content and let's be friends!Instagram > @Booktokmademe_podTikTok > @BooktokMadeMe

The latest bonus episode is about the cozy (and masculine) vibes in Douglas Sirk's melodrama "All That Heaven Allows"! With its New England setting, color-forward cinematography, and Rock Hudson's flannel workshirts, it's a perfect fall movie. Romance is par for the course, but the movie is surprisingly quite critical. Jane Wyman plays Cary Scott, a wealthy widow who falls for her arborist Ron Kirby, played by the handsome Rock Hudson. Her friends and family basically shame her not just for picking a younger man, but one who is also beneath her station (despite the fact that he owns his own business and has land). The movie teaches us to pick love and happiness over social convention, all while giving us wonderful 50s East Coast Americana outfits. Subscribe on Patreon for the full episode! Blog Post: https://alittlebitofrest.com/2025/11/19/the-menswear-in-all-that-heaven-allows-1955/ Support us on Patreon and join the Discord: https://www.patreon.com/styleanddirection/ Follow us on Instagram! www.instagram.com/styleanddirection/ Podcast is produced by MJ

Have you stopped prioritizing romance because life just feels too full or routine?If you've ever thought, “We're fine, we just don't have the spark anymore,” this episode of Miracle Marriage Makeover will show you why ignoring romance is quietly creating distance — and how to reignite love and connection again through faith, intention, and fun.In this heart-stirring episode, Monette shares five powerful, Biblical reasons to stop ignoring romance — and how small, consistent choices can rekindle desire, build emotional intimacy, and restore joy in your Christian marriage.You'll learn why romance isn't just for newlyweds — it's a God-designed pathway to connection, communication, and delight in your spouse again.✨ Whether your marriage feels distant or just stuck in routine, this episode will help you rebuild connection, rekindle love, and experience the miracle of romance again — one simple choice at a time.

In which Preeti and Jenn revisit Guy Ritchie's King Arthur: Legend of the Sword, which is actually two different movies (one of which is actually a video game), and possibly the least "King Arthur" Arthurian movie ever created. Listen as they talk female characters, meta-narrative, folk songs in fantasy properties, and more.The Devil & The Huntsman, by Sam Lee and Daniel Pemberton: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yGnfFW-vyzU&themeRefresh=1Jenn's Note: Also! We completely forgot until after we stopped recording that this episode is basically the 5-year anniversary of TVOB! Seems weirdly fitting, somehow.Next episode, Mid-December: The Green KnightJoin Preeti at Barnes & Noble in Atlanta for a Romance panel!Slash, The Game: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/148209/slash-romance-without-boundariesGet more of Brett Parnell's music at bearinabarnnyc.comMore from Heeral Chhibber at heeral.orgGet merch: tar-valon-or-bust.printify.me/products and northingtron.redbubble.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

BEVERLY JENKINS is the recipient of the 2018 Michigan Author Award by the Michigan Library Association, the 2017 Romance Writers of America Lifetime Achievement Award, as well as the 2016 Romantic Times Reviewers' Choice Award for historical romance. She has been nominated for the NAACP Image Award in Literature and was featured in both the documentary Love Between the Covers and on CBS Sunday Morning. Since the publication of Night Song in 1994, she has been leading the charge for inclusive romance and has been a constant darling of reviewers, fans, and her peers alike, garnering accolades for her work from the likes of The Wall Street Journal, People magazine, and NPR. Her latest novel is CALLING ALL BLESSINGS. Learn more at beverlyjenkins.net Special thanks to Net Galley for advance review copies. Intro reel, Writing Table Podcast 2024 Outro RecordingFollow the Writing Table: @writingtablepodcastEmail questions or tell us who you'd like us to invite to the Writing Table: writingtablepodcast@gmail.com.

The Earth is All That Lasts by Mark Lee Gardner w/Jesan Sorrells------Music: Peer Gynt Suite no. 1, Op. 46 - IV. In the Hall Of The Mountain King - Czech National Orchestra---Opening and closing themes composed by Brian Sanyshyn of Brian Sanyshyn Music.---Pick up your copy of 12 Rules for Leaders: The Foundation of Intentional Leadership NOW on AMAZON!Check out the 2022 Leadership Lessons From the Great Books podcast reading list!--- ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★ Subscribe to the Leadership Lessons From The Great Books Podcast: https://bit.ly/LLFTGBSubscribeCheck out HSCT Publishing at: https://www.hsctpublishing.com/.Check out LeadingKeys at: https://www.leadingkeys.com/Check out Leadership ToolBox at: https://leadershiptoolbox.us/Contact HSCT for more information at 1-833-216-8296 to schedule a full DEMO of LeadingKeys with one of our team members.---Leadership ToolBox website: https://leadershiptoolbox.us/.Leadership ToolBox LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ldrshptlbx/.Leadership ToolBox YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@leadershiptoolbox/videosLeadership ToolBox Twitter: https://twitter.com/ldrshptlbx.Leadership ToolBox IG: https://www.instagram.com/leadershiptoolboxus/.Leadership ToolBox FB: https://www.facebook.com/

Joe Pignataro brings you the latest news on AFL Daily. The Eagles have given Willem Duursma the mantle of being the #1 pick from the 2025 AFL Draft last night. As well as being one of the more hungrier teams on the night bidding on academy and father/son prospects. Gold Coast got busy matching each bid that came for their academy talent inside the top 20, the Blues were able to get their father/son and the Bombers used pick 9 to select a draft bolter. Subscribe to AFL Daily and never miss an episode. Rate and review wherever you listen to podcasts.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Federico e Isabel González comentan toda la actualidad del corazón con Daniel Carande y Pérez Gimeno.

This week we watched the classic mid-aughts love story The Notebook, starring Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams.Tune in next week when our movie will be... The Peanut Butter Solution.-----Visit Emily's ETSY store FlemGems!If you are in California, Jordan will be here on these dates!Wed Dec 3rd - Merced Public Library 5pm - 7pmSaturday Dec 6th - Thousand Oaks Public Library 2pm - 3pmGet a copy of Jordan Morris's comic book Predator: Black White and Blood #4!

202 Want to make sure you aren't settling for unfair treatment, letting your partner's hurtful behavior fly, passively just “taking” your partners rudeness, or being a doormat? Want to stand up for yourself and proactively make sure you get the BEST treatment from your spouse, not just the scraps? Ever wondered if what I share on this podcast lets your spouse get away with too much? This episode is for YOU!!!You'll learn how, for the best marriage possible with your spouse,  you need to develop both a soft belly, and a strong back. In other words, you need an emotional skillset that allows for true open-heartedness (instead of reactivity and defensiveness) AND you need to take specific strategic "strong" actions that prevent any poor treatment and GET the loving treatment you deserve in your marriage. I generally teach more about the soft belly piece, because you can't do the strong back piece well without it–and this part does NOT get enough attention in the relationship advice/self-help world… BUT the strong back pieces (i.e. specific actions and strategies) are 100% essential, too, to have a great marriage.So listen in today to hear what those “strong back” strategies are, and how you can learn more about implementing them, and what you must also be able to do in order for them to create a truly loving connected marriage (instead of a roommate or business-partner type relationship of cold functionality). The magic lies in the combination of both a strong back and a soft belly, not one by itself. Come hear exactly what I mean.SHOW NOTESJoin Hannah for private 1:1 Marriage Coaching, and get her deep, super individualized support to make your marriage way more full of security, connection, love, and mutual support than ever. Get started by filling out this form. Take The 2 Minute Free Quiz: What's Your Best Next Step To Improve Your Marriage? Find out the most important place for you to focus on to make your unique marriage more loving and connected a sensitive woman.

Book Talk for BookTok with Jac & Amy treats your favorite BookTok novels, romance and romantasy, like literature. We bring real tools of analysis (themes, imagery, symbolism, character arcs) through two lenses: Feminist (gender roles, power, agency, archetypes) and Marxist (class, labor, capital, institutions). Same rigor as a lit class, more jokes, less homework. Two episodes weekly: Tuesday = Analysis • Thursday = Listener Thoughts on Breadcrumbs & Broomsticks. Spoilers: Today covers Heir of Fire Ch. 21–25 with context from earlier Throne of Glass books. Anything beyond these chapters (or other SJM works) is saved for Thursday. Chapters covered: 21–25 Episode summary Celaena finally shifts into her fae form, but Rowan's dominance doesn't sit well with her, and she leaves Mistward when he pushes her too far. Though she initially is grateful to have left, she finds herself hunted by skinwalkers and without proper weapons. Rowan swoops in to save her, but it's when Celaena unleashes her wildfire that they finally gain the upper hand.  It's the day Manon has been waiting for, but before she can claim Titus as her mount, she must face off with him in the pit. When she realizes that Titus only sees her as prey and realizes the bait beast wants to take Titus out with her, Manon joins forces with the bait beast to kill Titus, and she claims Abraxos as her own.  Chaol brings Aedion up to speed about the source of the King of Adarlan's dark power, unaware that Dorian overhears – and feels the sting of betrayal. Meanwhile, Rowan takes Celaena on a field trip to investigate murders in nearby villages, and they burn the body of the latest victim before returning home. This week's question Why are none of the characters honest with themselves or with each other—and what does that selective honesty reveal about power, ownership, and survival in Heir of Fire? How to participate: Send your theories and spicy takes for Thursday's Breadcrumbs & Broomsticks—spoilers welcome there. Use our site form or DM us on Instagram. The Subtext Society Journal: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://thesubtextsocietyjournal.substack.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠  We're thrilled to announce our newest venture: The Subtext Society Journal—the first of its kind, dedicated to Romance, Romantasy, and fandom with an academic yet accessible voice. We're publishing original essays and thought pieces, and we encourage listeners to submit their own articles for a chance to be featured. Sponsor: Vionic Use code BOOKTALK at checkout for 15% off your entire order at www.vionicshoes.com when you log into your account. 1 time use only. Sponsor: Olive & June Visit Olive and June.com/BOOKTALK for 20% off your first GEL System! Share your thoughts for a chance to be featured! Submit them at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠booktalkforbooktok.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for a future mini-episode or exclusive Patreon discussion. Support the Show:  Patreon: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/booktalkforbooktok⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠  Merch: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Etsy Store⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Follow Us on Social: Instagram: @BookTalkForBookTok TikTok: @BookTalkForBookTok YouTube: @BookTalkForBookTok Heir of Fire analysis, Heir of Fire Ch. 8–13, Sarah J. Maas podcast, Throne of Glass podcast, Aelin Galathynius analysis, Rowan Whitethorn training, Queen Maeve analysis, Manon Blackbeak wyvern, Aedion Ashryver, Dorian and Sorscha, Feminist literary analysis, Marxist literary analysis, romantasy podcast, imagery and symbolism, Mistward, Doranelle, wyverns. Aelin/Celaena • Rowan Whitethorn • Queen Maeve • Chaol Westfall • Dorian Havilliard • Sorscha • Aedion Ashryver • Manon Blackbeak • The Thirteen • Wyverns • Mistward • Doranelle Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

HOT TO GO! Billy Bob Thornton talks about his Ex Angelina Jolie, Joe Jonas new love and are Austin Butler and Emily Ratajkowski dating? The Hot to Blow store is finally having our Dancing with the Stars Romance for the season and it was out of nowhere and the Hot Mess that is Miss Universe judging.Over/Under Game and Last Call!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

2:53:31 – Frank in New Jersey, plus the Other Side. Topics include: Romance of trucking and vans on the 70s, CB radio, Doctor Who, Space Truckers (1996), editing the past, Psion Series 3a, Dennis Hopper, anniversary in NYC, Chelsea Piers, parking incident, Campbell Apartment, cigar stores, The Original Soupman, Beyond Sushi, Waiting For Godot, another parking incident, […]

For the plot. Time to cozy up for the season. Emily takes us on the journey of modern dating. In a time when we have more access to one another dating seems to be at its worst. Book boyfriends are needed now more than ever. We ask the question, what do they have that the 'Gym-Kens' don't have? Turns out, a lot. Gets your cuffs and enjoy this episode.Send us a textSupport the showConnect with usInstagram: https://bit.ly/ourIGpageTikTok: https://bit.ly/ourTiktokpageIntro and Outro music, Sexy Fashion Beat from Coma-Media

Host Anthony Desiato and guest Matt Truex (Lois & Clark'd: The New Podcasts of Superman) dig into the romance between the titular characters — portrayed by Teri Hatcher & Dean Cain — across four seasons of LOIS & CLARK: THE NEW ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN. As they chart the eras of the relationship and the series, Anthony and Matt discuss the charged banter and ineffable intimacy of Season 1; Season 2's dating roadblocks, from Clark's lame excuses to brief (but impactful) outside love interests; the frog-eating clone and New Krypton arcs that delayed the wedding in Season 3; and the new challenges the couple faced in Season 4 as they finally entered married life.Plus, Anthony shares his big-picture observations after rewatching the entire series! This is the first installment of a 5-part "mixtape" event revisiting the classic 90s television series.Matt Truex is a Warner Bros. Discovery employee. The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are his own and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of Warner Bros. Discovery.Support the show and receive exclusive podcast content at Patreon.com/AnthonyDesiato, including the spinoff podcasts BEYOND METROPOLIS and DIGGING FOR JUSTICE!Visit BCW Supplies and use promo code FSP to save 10% on your next order of comics supplies. Get your DFK merch at the podcast's TeePublic storefront!FACEBOOK GROUP: Digging for Kryptonite: A Superman Fan GroupFACEBOOK PAGE: @diggingforkryptonitepodINSTAGRAM: @diggingforkryptonitepodTWITTER: @diggingforkrpodBLUESKY: @diggingforkrpod.bsky.socialEMAIL: flatsquirrelproductions@gmail.comWEBSITE: FlatSquirrelProductions.com Digging for Kryptonite is a Flat Squirrel Production. Theme music by Dan Pritchard. Key art by Isaiah Simmons. Mentioned in this episode:Single Bound PodcastFat Moose ComicsAw Yeah ComicsHang On To Your Shorts Film FestivalThis Podcast Will Never DieAlways Hold On To Smallville

Host Emily chats romance (what else?!) with, and learns a cricket joke from, international comedian, writer, podcaster, and all-around super cool human, Alice Fraser, author of A Passion for Passion.  Overdueing It is a project funded by the Rhode Island Office of Library and Information Services and is produced by library staff around the Ocean State. We are proud to be a resident partner of the Rhode Island Center for the Book. The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed are the speakers' own and do not represent those of the Overdueing It podcast, its sponsor organizations, or any participants' place of employment. The content of Overdueing It episodes are the property of the individual creators, with permission for Overdueing It to share the content on their podcast feed in perpetuity. Any of the content from the Overdueing It podcast can not be reproduced without express written permission.  Our logo was designed by Sarah Bouvier and our theme music is by Neura-Flow.   Books A Passion for Passion by Alice Fraser Queen Demon by Martha Wells Browse the Flavia Albia Mysteries by Lindsey Davis Jack Reacher series Fourth Consort by Edward Ashton Cordelia's Honor by Lois McMaster Bujold  Happy Place by Emily Henry Lord Peter Wimsey Series by Dorothy L Sayers - The first: Whose body? Candace Camp Media Realms Unknown Arcane  Resident Alien Michelle Wolf standup The Bugle Other Alice Fraser (Patreon)  

Leaders, we have to acknowledge where the energies of young men can go.---Opening and closing themes composed by Brian Sanyshyn of Brian Sanyshyn Music.---Pick up your copy of 12 Rules for Leaders: The Foundation of Intentional Leadership NOW on AMAZON!Check out the 2022 Leadership Lessons From the Great Books podcast reading list!--- ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★ Subscribe to the Leadership Lessons From The Great Books Podcast: https://bit.ly/LLFTGBSubscribeCheck out HSCT Publishing at: https://www.hsctpublishing.com/.Check out LeadingKeys at: https://www.leadingkeys.com/Check out Leadership ToolBox at: https://leadershiptoolbox.us/Contact HSCT for more information at 1-833-216-8296 to schedule a full DEMO of LeadingKeys with one of our team members.---Leadership ToolBox website: https://leadershiptoolbox.us/.Leadership ToolBox LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ldrshptlbx/.Leadership ToolBox YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@leadershiptoolbox/videosLeadership ToolBox Twitter: https://twitter.com/ldrshptlbx.Leadership ToolBox IG: https://www.instagram.com/leadershiptoolboxus/.Leadership ToolBox FB: https://www.facebook.com/

A lively, heartfelt chat with USA Today bestselling author Xio Axelrod, covering her music-industry roots, how fanfiction launched her career, and the inspiration behind her girl-rock-band series The Lilies. Xio opens up about writing by instinct, crafting found-family stories, the music fueling her characters, and even the strangest movie she can't stop watching. Warm, funny, and creative—this one's a joy.

Host Emily chats romance (what else?!) with, and learns a cricket joke from, international comedian, writer, podcaster, and all-around super cool human, Alice Fraser, author of A Passion for Passion.  Overdueing It is a project funded by the Rhode Island Office of Library and Information Services and is produced by library staff around the Ocean State. We are proud to be a resident partner of the Rhode Island Center for the Book. The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed are the speakers' own and do not represent those of the Overdueing It podcast, its sponsor organizations, or any participants' place of employment. The content of Overdueing It episodes are the property of the individual creators, with permission for Overdueing It to share the content on their podcast feed in perpetuity. Any of the content from the Overdueing It podcast can not be reproduced without express written permission.  Our logo was designed by Sarah Bouvier and our theme music is by Neura-Flow.   Books A Passion for Passion by Alice Fraser Queen Demon by Martha Wells Browse the Flavia Albia Mysteries by Lindsey Davis Jack Reacher series Fourth Consort by Edward Ashton Cordelia's Honor by Lois McMaster Bujold  Happy Place by Emily Henry Lord Peter Wimsey Series by Dorothy L Sayers - The first: Whose body? Candace Camp Media Realms Unknown Arcane  Resident Alien Michelle Wolf standup The Bugle Other Alice Fraser (Patreon)  

 They put in their cover letter, “Honestly, we're just gonna go up to Yellowstone around that time and we would love to swing by and show the movie.”Rudi Womack is the Director of the Wyoming International Film Festival and the creator of the YouTube channel The Film Festival Guide.In this conversation, Rudi talks about:* What watching thousands of film festival submissions has taught him about good storytelling* The biggest mistake filmmakers make when they submit to festivals* Why transparency matters and why he published all of the submission and acceptance stats for the Wyoming International Film Festival * The importance of a compelling poster and thumbnail* How to write a good description of your movie* The most important questions filmmakers must askHere is a link to Hiike, the new film festival submission platform that Rudi mentioned.If you enjoyed this episode please forward to a friend.Here is an AI-generated transcript of my interview with Rudi. Don't come for me.79. Film Festival Director Rudi WomackBEN: Hi everyone. This is Ben Guest and this is The Creativity Education and Leadership Podcast. My guest today is Rudy Womack, who is the director of the Wyoming International Film Festival, and also Rudy has a fantastic YouTube page called The Film Festival Guide. So for all my filmmakers out there who are interested in submitting to festivals in this interview and on Rudy's YouTube page, he breaks it down. Enjoy.Rudi, thank you so much for joining us.RUDI: Hey, it's my pleasure to be here. Thank you for having me.BEN: So I always start off with a fun question, and we're entering the holiday season, so very important holiday question. Is Die Hard a Christmas movie?RUDI: Absolutely. A hundred percent. Come on.BEN: I love it. So I, I told you this off Air, I found you through the Rate YouTube channel.You have the Film Festival Guide. Is that the right name? I wanna make sure I get the name right. Yeah. The filmRUDI: festival guide. Yep.BEN: On YouTube Film Festival Guide on YouTube. Please. Any filmmakers out there go and subscribe. The information is so helpful. What, why did you start the this YouTube page?RUDI: I, as a filmmaker have gone through the festival circuit several times and I made a lot of amateur mistakes. I didn't know what I was doing. Definitely fell on my face a couple of times, but I also had some successes. And as I did more film festivals, I started learning more about the circuit.I got invited by a film festival to become a programmer, and so I started reviewing a lot of films and seeing a lot of the submissions. And I think instantly that made me a better filmmaker just because I saw what was working, what wasn't working, and how other filmmakers really brought to, brought their stories to life on the screen.And it, it was truly inspirational. Very long story short, the Wyoming International Film Festival was started by a gentleman named Alan Oi, and he's a, he's a documentarian out of Wyoming, which is where I'm from. I'm from Wyoming. So Alan had the film festival and he had run it for some years and it was going great and everything.But then Alan retired and now he's retiring. He wants to move outta Wyoming and he doesn't wanna run a live event. ‘cause it is a lot of work in his words. And I quote, it's a young man's game. And at the same time, COVID hit and he didn't wanna do the whole online thing and it was just a big mess.So Alan was like, I'm done with the festival, it's done. I'm just gonna let it die. And I was begging him, no, Alan, you can't do it. It's so important for indie filmmakers. And at the time I'm just finding my feet in the festival circuit as well as both a filmmaker and now I'm a programmer.I'm begging him like don't let it die. It's important, maybe I can help out. And he was like, why don't you run it? And I was like, absolutely not, man. What are you talking about? That's crazy. No way. No way. And I was like, I'm going to be your director of programming. That's what I'm going to do.I'm gonna help you get films in so you don't have to do that work. Very long story short, I ended up running it. I ended up taking over the festival from Alan. I did so reluctantly. But when I started working with the festival, working with the community, working with my hometown filmmakers and my home state filmmakers, and just seeing how important a film festival can be for a local community to uplift indie filmmakers to help them along the way I fell in love with it and here I am now, I run the film festival.And your question was, how did I start the YouTube channel? Sorry, I'm getting there. But I got a lot of questions from filmmakers about festivals, like how to navigate ‘em. And there's just so much mystery behind film festivals ‘cause it's so opaque. There's not a lot of transparency from film festivals.Film festivals are sketchy about which films they do select and which they don't. And frankly, there's a lot of misinformation out there about festivals. So I started answering a lot of questions and I started repeatedly answering the same question again and again and again. And I had some friends who told me, you should write a book.But I was like, yeah, but books, there are books, like people have already written books, bluntly, frankly, people far more experienced and knowledgeable than myself have written books. And so if you're not reading those books, then you're probably not gonna read my book. So that's when I decided, you know what, the YouTube channel is a great way to just do very easy outreach.Take one single topic, break it down for 10 minutes, and hopefully help filmmakers along on their film festival journey.BEN: I love it. And you said something for all the filmmakers who are listening. I'm gonna come back to it. Don't worry. You said something about once you started programming and watching so many films, you got a good sense of what works and what doesn't.So I definitely wanna come back to that. I know the filmmakers listening want to hear that. But before that you mentioned 10 minute videos. You strike me as somebody who, does research and takes time to Yes. Before they do something. What did you discover about running a YouTube page?What things work, what things don't work?RUDI: I'm still very early on in my own YouTube development. I'm still trying to learn what does and doesn't work. So I'm probably the worst person on earth to give advice. Definitely that first 32nd hook is so important on YouTube, just like it is on a film that, that intro, how we come into the story, whatever, on YouTube, you can see a massive drop off and apparently it's that way on every channel.Again, I'm not a YouTube guru, so I don't give advice, but that first 32nd hook is a big deal, but also just my presence on camera. I come from the post world. I'm an editor, so I'm not just behind camera. I'm behind, behind the camera. So I'm very much not used to an on-camera presence, so I'm developing that and learning it as well.What kind of energy I can bring. How to make it engaging. But also I don't wanna be zany and too quirky or anything because I am trying to give good guidance to filmmakers, but I also don't want to lecture them and bore them to death. So it's finding that balance of information that's valuable, but also entertaining enough that people don't wanna click off.And it's actually quite a complex thing that I'm still unraveling one video at a time. But the best advice that I saw was some YouTube guru who is just focus on getting 1% better on every single video. So is that little bit better graphics or better delivery, or better audio, or better editing or whatever it is.And after a hundred videos, you're now a hundred percent better. So that's what I've been focusing on. Just very small baby steps.BEN: Yeah, that's such a great way to break it down, right? It just makes it bite-sized, get 1% better.RUDI: I think you can apply that to life in general. There's a lot of things in life just today be 1% better.That's it,BEN: so you mentioned once you start a programming scene, get enough feel for what works, what doesn't, especially with short films, both narrative and docs. What are you seeing that works and doesn't work?RUDI: In the shorts world I'm seeing a couple of things. One, a self-contained story, and this is something that I had a problem with because oftentimes I would go for more of a quote unquote scene instead of a full beginning, middle and in, in a story.So a self-contained story typically is gonna make your short film much more successful. This can be hard for some filmmakers because they're trying to make a proof of concept short film that they're gonna go and get financing for their future. So one of the things that they often do is they just take a scene outta their feature and then just shoot that, which has mixed results.And the problem is the films that have gotten financed and been made from shorts that have done that are the ones that you see. So it's actually a survivor bias, where it's like it, it works for those particular films and therefore everybody thinks it's gonna work for their film. But obviously the films that it doesn't work for, you're never going to see.So you don't understand, actually for the majority of films, it doesn't work. So if you have a proof of concept, I actually say, don't pull a scene outta your feature. I say write its own scene, or sorry, your own short film. That exists in the same world and universe with the same characters as what your feature film is.And I think that's gonna have much more success on the film festival circuit. And that will lean you or lead you to whatever your goal is, financing or distribution or whatever. So that's a big thing with short films that makes ‘em successful is make sure it is actually a self-contained story and it doesn't have any loose ends, so to speak.What doesn't work is something that I myself struggle with, ironically as an editor. And that's things being too long and you need to parse them down. Now a lot of people will say, shorter, the better, which is true, but I actually think that's a result of actually getting to the core of the problem.And that's make your film as concise as possible. Get the idea. The emotion, the story out as concise as you can. And what that does by happenstance is it makes your film shorter. So it's not that shorter is better. I know there's it almost sounds like I'm just splitting hairs here, but I've seen plenty of five minute films that didn't work.I've seen plenty of 10 minute films that board me to death. So shorter isn't necessarily better. It's more concise of your story is better. And sometimes that still manifests as a 20, 30, 40 minute film. But if it's a very interesting 20, 30, 40 minutes, that's not gonna matter.BEN: It's such a great point. And for me, when I get to a certain point in the edit, I like to just bring in a couple friends and have them watch it. And then I just sit there and watch them watch it and whatever feedback they're gonna provide afterwards. 95% of what I need, I can just tell from Body Language as they're watching the film.RUDI: Yep.BEN: You come fromRUDI: theBEN: Go ahead.RUDI: Oh I was just gonna piggyback off that and just say, audience feedback is worth its weight and goal.BEN: Yeah.RUDI: And every filmmaker when you hit that fine cut stage, like you said, get your friends and family together, buy everybody some burgers and fries or whatever.Get ‘em all together. Gather ‘em up in a room, watch them, watch your film. That's gonna tell you more than anything else. We'll be able to about the success of your film and where it's strong, where it's weak, where you can still fix things. And I always suggest do it in your fine cut stage because nothing's locked in and you can still move things around and adjust, or whatever it is you need.BEN: Love it. And I think earlier what you are really getting at is telling a good story. Yes. And I'm amazed at, not amazed, but maybe a little disappointed, especially in today's world, the technical side of filmmaking. Even for an amateur, even for an indie filmmaker that you can, things can be d done so well technically, but there's no story.RUDI: Yes. All the time. So when I get onto Reddit, ‘cause you mentioned Reddit earlier if I go onto our filmmakers, right? Yeah. I don't have to look far to see people just geeking out over the newest Camerons. It's, and it's always cameras. Everybody always talks about. This camera is so fancy and it has so many stops above and this lens can do this and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.It has this big bit rate, whatever. Everybody gets so excited about cameras and I always say to myself, man, if they got this excited about audio, I wouldn't have to reject half the films that we have to reject because the audio is just blah. So if we're gonna talk tech, if we're gonna talk about the quote unquote quality of the filmmaking, I think what filmmakers need to understand is there are so many films out there we're that is just the foundation.It is the base level, it is the bare minimum that the film looks good. It sounds good. It feels good. So for us, festival guys, we see so many of these films. You're super gorgeous cinematography, you're really fancy, VFX, whatever it is that you think really separates your film from the pack. I don't wanna discourage you, I don't wanna sound jaded or anything, but it's not as impressive to us as you might believe it is, simply because we see hundreds and sometimes thousands of films like that.So for us it constantly falls back to originality and the story. Is the story well done? Is it well told? Is it a new and interesting story that we've never seen before? Is it a story that we've seen before but told in a very unique way, from a specific point of view, that is what is going to move us as festival people.‘cause when I put it into the theater and my audience walks in and they pay a ticket. My audience is used to going down to the theater and seeing a hundred million dollar movies. So for them, quality is just a given. It's just assumed they're not going to be thinking about it for them. They go and watch a movie ‘cause they're interested in, and I think if more filmmakers really dialed in on their story, they're going to find more success.BEN: So many great points there and a hundred percent agree with what you were saying about people get excited about the camera. And so I did my MFA at USC and there were three different times where I was on a set that, that I felt was unsafe. Not that I felt it was unsafe, what they were doing. Geez. And I walked off and it was always to get the cool shot.Like no one's ever hanging off a balcony to get room tone. You know what I mean? It's just, it's always to get the cool shot that, again, if you're not telling a good story, it doesn't matter. And to your point, I've always felt good audio is more important than good video.RUDI: Good image.BEN: Yeah.RUDI: Look at the documentary. Look at the nonfiction world. We see verite stuff all the time. We see stuff people recorded on their phone or, security camera footage or whatever, like at the end of the day in the nonfiction world is a great example of the quality of the shot doesn't necessarily matter so much as the quality of the story and how it's being told and how it's being revealed to us.And the audio is always gonna be very clean, very top notch, even if it's quote unquote found footage or. Veritate footage or whatever, the audio is always peak. I saw that Netflix doc recently, it was super heartbreaking. The perfect neighbor. And most of it is police body cam footage, but the audio is clean so we're able to follow the story so no one sits back and thinks of themselves this isn't a good shot.Of course it's not, it's police potty cam footage. Like it doesn't look good and it's not meant to,BEN: but it sounds good. And so you can follow it.RUDI: Yes.BEN: What what are some tropes that you think you've gotten tired of seeing in, especially in short films?RUDI: So every year it's a little bit different.You would be surprised what things pop up and what don't. The one trope that kind of rubs me the wrong way, I, I don't know how to describe it any other way than filmmaker self therapy. Like they, they're definitely going through something at the moment and they're not focused on creating a good story.They're more focused on using their art form to emotionally process whatever it is they're going through, which fine, you are an artist that makes sense to do, but also I can't sell my audience on that. So while I don't wanna discourage someone from making a film that is very near and dear and personal to them, at the end of the day, it might not be a good fit for film festivals.And so I, I would really think twice about whether or not that is a story that an audience, frankly, needs to see. Filmmaker cell therapy is one that when I get it, I'm always eh I don't know what to do with it. I just, I don't know what to do. Some other tropes that we see very commonly are like.Obviously right now, tech and AI and stuff like that gives a lot of people anxiety. So there's a lot of like evil robot takes over or the big reveal at the end of the movie, they were a robot the whole time, or the whole thing was a simulation or whatever. That's being very well tread right now.For me, I'm I am not a political person and anytime some big thing is in the news, we see tons of films on it. So I understand politics do affect people's day to day and their lives, so I understand that manifest. But man, I probably have a hundred immigration films right now and that's a lot. And I'm not gonna screen that many, so I'm only gonna pick like one, maybe two, so that's a tough one to do.Anything that's like a hot button political issue. We always see a big wave of those come in. And then honestly, romance dramas get tough. It isn't evergreen. We do have an audience for it. We usually do have some kind of a selection of them. Romance dramas have existed since the beginning of time.It's always been a thing. But filmmaker broke up with his girlfriend, so now he has a character who breaks up with his girlfriend. It gets it, it doesn't get very original. I, it just it gets exhausted. So those are some of the kind of general tropes I would avoid. I have heard other festival directors talk about like cancer films and Alzheimer's films and stuff like that.This year I'm not seeing so much of those, but I have seen those in the past. So tho those are some other. Tread stories we'll see.BEN: One of the things that I appreciate about. Your series of videos is your transparency, and you have one video where you literally break down. Here are all the films the number of films, Wyoming International Film Festivals received. Here's how it breaks down, here's how many we, we accepted, et cetera, et cetera.You have another one where you literally show the viewer, this is what we see as a programmer on our film freeway portal. Here's the scoring sheet. I think it's a little bit different from the one you guys use internally, but basically here's what the scoring sheet on film freeway looks like. Why is transparency so important to you?RUDI: Because I'm a filmmaker, because I've been to so many festivals where I have no idea what the hell's going on. I've been to festivals where I think my film is gonna be a good fit. I think based on what I've been able to investigate on my own, digging through their website, digging through their archive.Seen what they've programmed before. I think I'm a good fit, but I don't actually know. And I've submitted to festivals where later on, I see what they programmed or I got rejected or even accepted and then gone to the festival itself and have been a little disappointed when was like I this festival didn't fit my goals the way that I thought it would, or, this festival wasn't going to do the things for me.Or this festival, like really promoted themselves very heavily as this big event. And then you get there and then it's not, and that's a little bothersome. So when I stepped into my role at the Wyoming International Film Festival, I made a whole bunch of changes. But one of the changes that I made was, we are going to be transparent.I don't ever want a filmmaker to submit to our festival, get in, get accepted to the festival, drive all the way out to Wyoming and be disappointed. I don't want them to do that. That's not good for them. It's not good for us. It's not good for the community. It's not good for indie film at large.What's better is if we just be what we are in Wyoming, we're straight shooters. We just say it as it is. So I'm going to tell you exactly how many films were submitted, which films we accepted, what the percentage rates are, how many shorts versus features, how many docs versus narratives, how many music videos, all of this stuff.And we've been releasing the data for the past couple of years. This year, like we went all out with the data it was much more thorough than what we've done in years past. And even me, the director of the festival, I sit back, I look at the data and I can see some weak spots in it. I can see where we need to improve as a festival, where we need to start, bringing in a certain type of film or where other films might be overrepresented or how we can give more of an experience to our filmmakers.Just by boiling it down to numbers and looking at it. I can start seeing some of our weak spots and I want to improve on that ‘cause I want to have a good festival. And I think if more festivals were to do that, I think the filmmaking community at large would be much more appreciative. And I think film festivals need to understand.That if you have fewer submissions, that's not a bad thing because the submissions that you are going to get are filmmakers that really want to be in your festival and that's good for the health of your festival, the community, the filmmakers, everything. So I, I think the only way we get there is by being transparent.And thankfully there are other festivals that are publishing their data, which is great. And that makes me very happy to see. And I hope that trend continues and I hope even more festivals start publishing more of their data and showing how they review films, what their scorecards look like, what they're looking for.‘cause ultimately I genuinely believe that just serves the filmmakers better and ultimately makes everybody have a better experience on the film festival circuit, including the festivals themselves.BEN: When you took over as directorWhat were the biggest challenges?RUDI: So our biggest challenge to this day is our venue.So there's only one movie theater in Cheyenne, Wyoming. It is owned by a company outta Casper, Wyoming. They own pretty much a monopoly of movie theaters across the state, like most of them. And they don't allow anybody into their theaters at all. They don't allow her private screenings or corporate events or, in individuals who wanna screen their film or film festivals.I'm not the only film festival in Wyoming. I talk with other festival directors. They can't get in either. It's funny, the film commissioner of the state can't even get in. You would think the movie theater would at least want to partner with the state film Commission, but no. So for us, the challenge has been a venue and luckily our partners over at Laramie County Community College.Have graciously allowed us to use their facilities for the last couple years. They have a beautiful auditorium that we do some of our screenings in, but we also have screening rooms in a black box theater that they have as well as a conference room. And when I say conference room, most filmmakers like their heart drops a little bit.They're like, oh man, I'm just, I'm going into a conference room. It's not a proper movie theater. And that's fine. We publish that data on our film freeway page on hike. We are transparent about that. So when you submit, you might be in the conference room. But ironically, I think it has some of the best audio and it has some of the best projection.So even though it's the quote unquote least movie theater, like I actually think it has some of the best projection, best color. But venue is probably one of our biggest challenges and we continue to develop that. We continue to. Trying to innovate. We're trying to build our own screening room there on the campus.Like we're trying to use one of their big classrooms for it. And what we wanna do is we wanna turn it into a lounge. We wanna bring in like couches and sofas and comfy chairs where it's like much more of a chill environment in there. And that's the type of film we wanna screen in. There's some you can literally sit back, settle in and relax.So there's things that we're doing to create a better environment for our filmmakers and of course our audience, our guests at the festival.BEN: I love it. What's been the biggest reward?RUDI: The, I get to meet you. That's what the biggest reward is. I get to meet so many filmmakers. I get to hear their stories.I get to be inspired. I get to learn stuff. I was talking with a festival director a couple of days ago. Who asked me about how we do our audience award scores and how we process that and what they do. And I just like I lit up, I'm like, oh my God. It's such a better way, it's more efficient, it's easier on the staff.It's more representative of how the audience actually feels about the film, the way the scores are aggregated and counted. It's so great. I get to meet so many people in this world of film and every single day it's like a new, whole new world is opened up to me and I get to hear so many fantastic points of view.I get to see so many awesome films, like just how many great movies are out there is a cinephile. It's like the most rewarding thing in the world. I'm an addict. I'm totally addicted to it. It's so great.BEN: I love it. I remember I used to coach basketball in my first year as a head coach. I was like, yeah, everybody's gonna be pretty competitive, other coaches and so forth.And they were, and I was. But at the same time, when coaches would get together, it was just so supportive. And people are sharing, this is what I'm doing in practice. I'm looking at this offense, this defense. And I imagine it's the same with other film festival directors and programmers. Oh, yeah. Just a supportive environment comparing notes.RUDI: It is. And the more that I meet, the more I truly do understand. 99% of festival directors out there are programmers, people who work in it. They have some tie to cinema. Most of them are filmmakers. Those who aren't, have a deep passion and love for cinema and for storytelling, and.Everybody's a volunteer. Everybody has a day job. Nobody makes money on this. They do it from the love of their heart. They truly do. And the way that they serve their communities, the way that they serve their filmmakers, some of the cool ideas they come up with there's some really neat festivals out there with like very interesting hooks or events or whatever.And I think it is such an incredible ecosystem and I think I'm truly privileged to be part of it.BEN: What are some lesser known or maybe mid-tier festivals or local festivals that you love to attend?RUDI: Okay, so one of my favorite festivals I guess you said lesser known. This one is not lesser known, but Film Quest over in Provo, Utah, damn man, pe like festival people talk about building community. They're on a different level. They've built a family. Like everybody who goes to that festival is just so tight knit there. There's no other festival like Provo or sorry, film Quest in Provo. It is just, it's on another level. And how well they treat their filmmakers is fantastic.Some years ago I was invited to be a jury member at the Fair Film Festival, which is in Ferazi Kosovo. So that is in southeastern Europe. It's a landlocked country, just a little bit above Greece, a little bit north of Greece and north of Macedonia. And Fari is a small town. And I went to that festival and first off, wow.What a great festival. I strongly suggest you submit your film to fair film. It's so good. But the cool part of being in this European festival, and frankly a small European country, most of the films are international, obviously. And so there's filmmakers coming in from like Jordan and Spain and Germany and Slovakia and Slovenia and like all over the place, Greece, Turkey, you name it.And how interesting it is to have this incredible cross section of languages and cultures and peoples, but we're all united by this one singular thing. And that's our love for storytelling and our love for movies. It had to be one of the most incredible experiences of my life. And the next movie I make, taking it back to cosBEN: Fantastic.Just had a question. What was it? Oh okay. So with the huge caveat of besides making. A good film, a film that tells a story. Besides that, are there any tips or tricks, things on the margins that filmmakers can do when they're applying to festivals to be aware of? Sometimes festivals. Ask for a cover letter orRUDI: Yes.BEN: Press kit, things like that. Okay.RUDI: So with, sorry, my phone is loud. I should turn that down. So obviously with a huge caveat of make a good film or whatever, what's the easiest way to get it? All of the stuff on film Freeway, and I do have a video on this, on my YouTube page if you wanna check it out, where I give you a tour of film, freeway from the festival side of things like what the festival can see and how we see it and how we navigate it.On the festival end of things. We can see your cover letter, your screenings and awards your. Cast and crew information, your director's bio, your director's statement, your photographs, your EPK, that's your electronic press kit your trailer, all of that. All of that. As much of that as you can possibly make, you should make it.It's very important. And you never know which piece is gonna be more important to a particular film festival. For instance, here's something crazy. I was meeting with some of my programmers last night. They had a whole bunch of films that they wanted to recommend to go to the next level programming.And we require films. Tell us where in the world or where in the United States the film was made. And every single one of ‘em was California. California. California. California. California. Which fine, whatever. California has a big film industry. That's, it's a very big state, population wise. Makes sense, right?But I am sitting back thinking, okay. I don't want it just to be a bunch of California movies. We have a big country here. I would like to see something else. And something caught my attention. One of the filmmakers, their address was in Birmingham, Alabama, but the film was shot in California, so I am suspicious.I haven't dug into it myself. I'm suspicious either that filmmaker's from Alabama and they have moved to California, or that filmmaker lives in Alabama and they shot their film in California. So they're answering where it was shot correctly. But for me, I'm like, there you go. When everybody's from California.I want that unique perspective. I wanna see someone's from Alabama and what their perspective is now. I haven't watched the film yet. I don't know if it's what we're looking for. Obviously it's a good film if my programming team has recommended it, there's no doubt in my mind it's good film. Now there's other considerations we're gonna have, but.That alone was something, even my, like I myself did not know that I would be looking for. So filling out all of that data on film, freeway, all of your information that you possibly can, your cover letters your screenings, your awards, whatever it is, the more information you give us as a festival, the more we have to make our selections.And it only benefits you. It only helps you out. So filmmakers don't get lazy. Fill out all of that information. We need it. We use it. It's important. Just do it.BEN: You mentioned a meeting with your programmers last night. Take us inside that conversation. What does that look like? What do you discuss, et cetera.RUDI: So there's. There's a big programming team and it's divided up into two different groups. There's our kind of first round screeners and then there's our senior programmers and the senior programmers pretty much review the films that have gone through that first round of screening that are getting recommended to go onto the next one.So typically when I'm talking with my screeners and everything, it's a very different conversation on the bottom end of it where they're just sorting through all of the submissions versus a different conversation I have with the senior programmers who are on the top end of it. We're now trying to decide how to block films together, how we're gonna organize it, what's the schedule maybe look like, what's the overall tone and vibe of the festival going to be, okay.If we wanna have a sci-fi block, do we even have enough sci-fi films? If we don't. Where else can we find homes for ‘em? Stuff like that. So those conversations are a little bit more high end, if you will. And it tends to be less about the story of the film itself and more about how that film is going to fit into the festival.Whereas when I'm talking with the screeners, it's much more on the story end. Like what about the story did you like or you didn't like? Or what was the unique point of view? Or whatever. So depending on which group I'm talking to it, it's gonna be different. And then of course that divides out further on features and shorts and documentaries and narratives and music videos.So like obviously my conversation with the music video people are gonna be much different than my like short documentary people.BEN: Shout out to short documentary people as a documentarian primarily makes shorts I'll ask a question for us folks. In one of the videos, as I mentioned, you literally show here's what the scoring sheet looks like.Yes. And that was for narrative with, I think one of the categories was acting and so forth. So for a documentary or documentary shorts, what does that scoring sheet look like? What do those discussions entail?RUDI: Film freeway does not allow us to have more than one scoring sheet.So unfortunately, there's just this one scoring sheet that's for everything. What I tell my screening team, and we definitely double check everything, like there's multiple people who look at something. So it's not just one person's opinion. You have at least two, oftentimes three, pretty often four.So for something like documentary they skip over that. That's what they do. So if there's no acting in the film, they skip over that. They don't rate acting if there is no acting. But you'd be surprised. There are documentaries that have acting in ‘em. There are like docudramas or documentaries with recreation In the recreation is like actual scenes and performances and stuff like that.So in those cases, even though it's a nonfiction and a documentary, yeah, we'll still judge it for the acting ‘cause that's what it has. I get the question. I'm gonna hijack your question for a second, but it is applicable. I get the question, do we accept AI in our film festival, we do not have any official policy for or against ai, which scares some filmmakers.But we do rate AI on the same standards as we would anybody else. So when it comes to creativity and originality, guess what, you're getting a nothing. ‘cause AI didn't create it. AI is not original. AI just mashes together a bunch of information from other people. So that's no creativity and originality.Same thing for something like, I don't know, art design. If you have a AI character walking through a scene or whatever you're getting zero on your art design. Nobody built those sets. Nobody costumed that actor. Nobody was the makeup artist or the hair or whatever other art deck or, PD or anything on the set.So we will accept ai. We have accepted one single AI film so far because despite all of its quote unquote handicaps, and it was a music video. It still was successful in other categories that had a good enough score. We as a team sat down, said Yes, that it still is a good film. The audience is still gonna enjoy it.The filmmaker definitely had a vision with it. They wrote out a whole thing on like why they chose to use ai. ‘cause they're also an experimental filmmaker, so it made sense for them and everything. So we were like, you know what? That's legit. Let's put it in. But other AI submissions, like I got an AI children's animation the other day and I'm like they didn't animate it themselves.They didn't voice act it themselves. It's not getting good scores on any of these. So we'll see. We'll see. We'll see if it gets through or not, but already you're shooting yourself in the foot. So don't do ai.BEN: Okay. Couple little. I don't know, around the edges or micro questions. One of the things that you talked about in one of your recent videos was having a good poster and you talked about designing your poster for your film prudence.RUDI: Yeah.BEN: Talk, talk to me about,RUDI: I specifically gave my posters an example, not a great poster,BEN: But talk to me about that.For the no budget or low budget filmmaker that can't afford to hire a a designer to make a poster. Talk to me about poster design and how that impacts the presentation of the film for festivals.RUDI: So I strongly believe that a big part of filmmaking and marketing and packaging your film together, all of that is psychology.And as much as we want to sit back and say, Hey, don't judge a book by its, cover it, that literally goes against human psychology. People are not hardwired to do that. It, it is. In our DNA, it's not just a bad habit, it is literally a survival mechanism. So if you want to stand out, you do need to have everything put together.Your cover letter, your synopsis, your photographs, all of that, and of course all of your key art. That's your poster. That's any banners that you have, that's how you're going to be promoting the film. And you have to understand it's not just about making your film look pretty to get filmmakers to go, or sorry your programmers go, Ooh, and ah, it's a pretty film.We are looking at that as a mechanism for us to advertise the festival. You gotta understand if I have 150 films in the festival, I have to get an audience for those films. And the easiest way for me to do that is through your marketing materials. We don't have the capacity. To design marketing materials for 150 different films.We are relying on the filmmakers to do that so we can go out and promote the festival. So people show up to your screening, which I would presume is what you want if you're going to a film festival. So anything you're trailer, any photographs that you can provide, which some filmmakers only provide BTS photographs, BTS is fine.It's great. Give me some good key art I can also use, please. That's what newspapers, that's what the local news that's what podcasters, whatever, that's what they want to see. So that's what I can provide. And of course, your poster. Now, there are a lot of online tools to help in poster design, frankly, I don't have an excuse for making a bad poster like I did, which is one of the reasons I use it as an example is I am shaming myself being like, this could be better and it should be. But there's a lot of online resources that can help with poster design. And also for filmmakers who are a little bit strapped for cash, you would be surprised what people will do for in kind, service for service.So if you have a friend or if there's someone that you can find that's Hey, they'll design your poster if you can design whatever their website or whatever it is that your skills might be there, there's a lot of exchange that you can do on that part. So yeah your marketing, your packaging, all of that together is actually quite important.BEN: Such a great point. And I've written and published a memoir and through that, I've worked with other authors on, on. Both writing and marketing their books, editing and marketing their books. And I tell people the exact same thing. People judge a book by its cover all the time. And in this day and age, they judge it for listeners, I'm holding my thumb and forefinger part as a thumbnail on a computer screen.Yeah, that's the size. So even for a programmer or a festival director watching it on film freeway through their platform, they're not gonna see the poster like we see it in the movie theater. They're gonna see it as a thumbnail image. Yeah. So it has to work as a thumbnail image. And if you can't read the title as a thumbnail or can't make out what's on the image, what's on the poster as a thumbnail, then you've failed that part of the process.RUDI: One, one of the things that like really clued me into how important a poster is, I went to a film festival, I believe it was Kansas City Film Festival. Some years ago, and they had a bunch of posters of films out, but there was one that was like bright pink. It was like super bright pink and had like very eye popping design and everything on it.And it was like in a whole field of like dark drama posters that are all like gritty and everything. And I'm like that stands out. That really drew my eye to it. And I think that was like my big light bulb moment of like how important this stuff actually is. And one of the things that I've been saying for some years, I've said it on the channel, I think, I don't know, some, sometimes I record things and edit out.So I don't know what I've said on the channel sometimes but one of the things that I say is making a film is half of film making. The other half is marketing, the other half is getting butts in the seats. The other half is getting eyeballs on your movie. The other half is selling your film to an audience or a film festival or a distributor or a programmer or whatever you're trying to do with it.It's getting it out there. So making a film is half a filmmaking. The other half marketing, that's what it is.BEN: I'm just nodding along with everything you're saying and I've always felt both with films and with books, with art in general, you're trying to make an emotional connection from what's in your head and your heart to the audience.And if you don't do your job, getting your film out there and helping an audience come and see your film. Then you're not helping that connection. You're missing sort of the point of making this, unless it's just for yourself. It's for, it's to connect with other people and for other people to connect with your work.And that is marketing.RUDI: It's valid. If you're just making a film for yourself, that's absolutely valid. It's in art form. You can make a film for yourself, but if you're sending it to me at a film festival, you're not you're literally trying to find an audience. So these are the things you need to consider.BEN: I love it. I got two more just in the weeds detail questions.RUDI: Alright, let's do it.BEN: Let's talk description. And what I've seen ‘cause I'm in the middle of applying to festivals. And by the way just for. Listeners, this might interest you. So I discovered Rudi's YouTube page and I was like, this is so helpful.And then I went to the Wyoming International Film Festival page and all the transparency and statistics that, that Rudi puts out, that the festival puts out. And I realized, okay, so the short documentary I have is not a good fit for this festival. Exactly what Rudi's saying. So just for anybody listening, thank you for doing research.RUDI: Thank you. That's good. That's not a bad thing, right? That means it saves you time, it saves you money, it saves you heartbreak. It's so good. Do research before you submit. I'm sorry, but I, it's in, in almost every single one of my videos, I tell filmmakers, do your research before you submit. Find the festivals that gel with your film.And if it, if they don't screen the type of movie that you have, don't submit to ‘em. You're wasting your time, you're wasting your money. And the festival, like the programmer behind the screen, might love your film. They truly might love your film, but they're programming for a very specific audience and they know what that audience's taste is.So that's why they're driving specific films to that audience. So even if they love it, they might not include it, which is why you should always do your homework and do your research before you submit. I'm sorry to interrupt, but it's so importantBEN: And yes. And the flip side of that coin is now I also know what the Wyoming International Film Festival looks for.So in the future, if I have a doc or a film, I'm like, oh, this would be a great fit for this festival.RUDI: Yes.BEN: It helps both ways.RUDI: It does. And it helps you dial in. Which festivals you should target, which festivals are gonna help you with your specific goals. Whatever your goals are with the film it's gonna help you with your budgeting and your travel plans and your own personal calendar.It's gonna help with your mental health. It just, it helps on so many different aspects. And on the film festival side of things, I appreciate it when I hear from filmmakers say, Hey man, I looked into your festival looks good, but you don't have the kind of film that I have. And I'm like, not a problem man.Maybe I can point you in the right direction. Maybe I know some film festival programmers, I can make a recommendation, on your behalf too, that's not a bad thing. We love movies and we want to see them successful, but not every single fest or film and story is going to be successful in every single market.So it's very important to find your audience. And believe me, we are going to be cheering you the whole way.BEN: I want get back to my kind of in the weeds questions, but you've mentioned something that is big picture, that's so important. I feel like I've buried the lead here. And you mentioned this you've mentioned this multiple times in your videos.Is that a Phil, it's key. Maybe the most important part of this process is of the film festival submission process is a filmmaker needs to understand what are their goals in applying to a festival. Yes. So can you just talk a little bit about that?RUDI: So film festivals are a tool. And they can be a tool for many different things, but they are a tool.And just every single tool is not right for every single job, every film festival is not gonna be right for every film and vice versa. So before you go out to film festivals, you just need to ask yourself why? Why am I going out to film festivals? Why am I spending the money, the time, the energy, the effort?What do I want out of film festivals? And that's where you need to identify your goal. And the more specific you can be with the goal, the better it's going to be you going on your film festival journey. So for many filmmakers, a common reason they go out to film festivals is networking. So I'm gonna use that as an example.So let's say your goal is I want to network, I want to meet other. Filmmakers, I wanna meet, directors of photography and producers and other people that I can hire for my projects, or they're gonna hire me for their projects, and I want to build that network and I want to meet more filmmakers.Fantastic. Great. That's your goal. So the first thing that you need to do is you need to be looking at festivals that have networking events. And in this particular instance, you need to ask yourself two things. One, does it have networking? Is there in-person networking parties or networking events?And two, do the types of people that I want to meet actually attend those networking events. So us at the Wyoming International Film Festival, we have a pretty broad spectrum. We have filmmakers that are just beginning their journey. They're totally new, wet behind the ears. They're green they're just starting their journey.That's great. All the way up to every year we have multi Emmy award-winning filmmakers. Like people who do this professionally they're in unions or professional organizations, or they're a member of the academy, motion picture Arts and sciences or the TV Academy or sometimes like the Grammys and stuff like that.I, myself, I'm a professional editor, so there's people like me who professionally work, but they're like below the line. They're cinematographers editors, gaffers, what have you. So if your goal is to meet some like high-end producer that's gonna throw, a million dollars at your movie our festival is not the festival that's gonna help you with your goal.So you should skip over us because we don't have that kind of person in attendance. But if your goal is to meet other filmmakers at your level that you can collaborate with or get hired by or whatever. We're a great festival. We have tons of networking, and we bring in a ton of those filmmakers.We're a great event for you. So when you identify what your goal is and you're very specific about it, it's easier to identify which festivals you should start targeting. I take that one step further, and then once you've narrowed down which festivals are gonna help you with your goal, then you look into their history and see which of them have screened movies like yours in the past.So if you have a, you know I use the example, if you have a seven minute comedy coming of the age film, now you know which festivals have good networking, which festivals have the kinds of people you want to network with. Now you look at which ones have screened short coming of age comedy films in the past, and have a history of doing that.So that's gonna help you filter it even further. And by doing that, you're gonna really start to develop your film festival strategy. Now I do have some exciting news. There is something coming now, it's called Hike, H-I-I-K-E. It's hike with two I. And what Hy is doing, it's a submission platform similar to film Freeway, but among many of the tools that they're giving filmmakers, they're giving filmmakers customized festival strategies and they're scraping all of that data from film festivals, what they've programmed in the past.And when you as a filmmaker, join Hike, you take a little quiz, you tell them what your goals are, what your film is, you know how long it is, what the genre is, tell them about yourself. And they literally have. Data scientist who's built this like machine learning algorithm that pairs the data from the film festival to what the filmmaker provides.That literally gives you a compatibility score. So it's, it comes out and tells you, if you want to network with, professional filmmakers but not mega producers and you have a short comedy coming of age film Wyoming International Film Festival has that crowd screens those types of films and you would have a 90% compatibility.So it actually helps you develop your festival strategy for you.BEN: It's so needed. And Rudi has a great video on how to spot scam film festivals. Yes. That's something that is just prevalent these days. So for filmmakers who are getting ready to submit, I encourage you to watch that video. I'll link to it in the show.I'll link to everything that we're discussing in the show notes. The. So Rudi talked about one goal a filmmaker can have is to network other goals at various points in my, film festival my limited film festival career I've applied to festivals ‘cause I wanted to go to that city, new Orleans Fest, new Orleans Film Festival.TravelingRUDI: is totally legitimate reason to go.BEN: People apply because they want distribute, they wanna meet distributors or financiers for the next film. Although, that's what everybody wants. SoRUDI: you, you would be surprised. So in, in 2018, I had a feature film and my, my goal like most feature films was to land a distribution deal.But I was like, that's not specific enough. There are many steps to land a distribution deal. So what I need is I need good press on my film. So that was a goal. So I wanted to target festivals that had press. I wanted laurels. I wanted to win some awards with it, but I also knew my film was. Small and kind of small scale.So it wasn't gonna win laurels at big festivals. So I was like, okay, I need festivals with press. I need festivals that are legitimate and above board, but also small enough where I'm gonna be competitive. And then I wanted to actually meet distributors. And I know they only go to big festivals, so I actually had to target three different kinds of festivals.‘cause I had three, let's call ‘em conflicting goals with my own film. So that's what I did. I did a split strategy. I targeted festivals where I was gonna be this tiny little fish in a very big pond. And no one's really gonna notice me, but I'm just happy to be there. I targeted festivals where I know that I was going to get very good press and very good reviews on the film.And I targeted festivals that were small, still legitimate, but I was gonna be competitive and maybe bring home some trophies. And so that was my strategy and it worked, and I landed a distribution deal.BEN: That's so great. I, I'd love to do a part two at some point we can talk distribution deals and all of the, yeah.Things like that. But I think for people listening, the big takeaway is even with this multi-pronged goal, three different goals connected to each other. Once you identify what your goals are, then you work backwards and you create your strategy to Yes, to achieve those. Okay. Back to the two in the weeds.Two more in the weeds questions. Yeah. So description, and as I'm looking at other film descriptions, and I saw this at USC all the time as well, and we talked about earlier, filmmakers wanting to sit in emotion or sit in something traumatic and have the audience experience that I notice a lot of times in descriptions of short films.Can so and so come to terms with this? Can, and just as someone who has a little bit of experience marketing stories, where's the action? What's the active what's this person actively trying to accomplish, rather than can they just come to terms with something? Can you talk a little bit about film description, just three or four lines.What pops?RUDI: So just like your poster, just like your marketing and everything, a film description is your way to reach through the screen, grab the audience, grab the programmer, and pull them into your movie. Keep in mind, your whole entire goal is to get people to watch your film, get them excited about your film.And so if you just have a very drab, like description that's just yeah, has to face consequences for a decision they made or come to terms with something when I, that's a good V one, that's a good place to start, but that's not going to get an audience excited about your film.I saw film, I don't know if it was at my festival. It wasn't at my festival. We didn't screen it, but I'm saying, I don't know if it was submitted to my festival or if I saw it at another festival, but I remember one of the descriptions it was great. It was whatever the two character names were, John and Jane, I forget what the characters are, but like John and Jane are on a date, there's a bomb in the other room.I I hope the date goes well, or something like that. Let's hope the date goes well. And I'm like, what is this movie? That gets you really excited for it. You're. It, it creates so much mystery. And also just the cavalier way that it was written immediately tells me this is gonna be a comedy, or it's not taking itself too seriously.It's not some like gritty, dive into the underworld or whatever. Like just how blunt it was about the dis of the film and just that like small little description. I know I'm paraphrasing what it was, but it stuck with me for years at this point. ‘cause I'm like, that is how you write a description for a film.That is how you get someone excited to see what is this movie about? Let's jump in. Piggybacking off a description. Titles are another great way to do that. In, in my own repertoire of films I've had film called Prudence. Okay, fine, whatever. Prudence doesn't really tell you much about that film.I had a film that I'm very proud of. It's artsy, it's a little bit magical realism and it's called in this gray place, and it has that artsy mystique around it in this gray place. And I love that title. I did it, I did a film back in film school. It's terrible, but the title's great.It's called Back to Fort Russell. It was a Western and I, to this day, it's one of my favorite titles that I've ever had. But it tells you something. It clues you into what this film is going to be, what the journey of this movie is going to be. And some films do that better than others. And some films, yeah, it's not necessary.But I, I get more excited when I hear something like the Texas Chainsaw Massacre than I do something that's just like love. Or mom or something.BEN: I think this is the last question. So again, with all these little details, cover letter, talk to me about cover letters.RUDI: It's so interesting you asked me that question ‘cause hearing about four or five days, I'm posting a video on the YouTube channel about cover letters. It's short, it's only four or five minutes long, but cover letters are so important.Should absolutely write a cover letter. And a couple of days ago I was talking with programmers at dances with films, and if you don't know dances with films, look ‘em up. They are an incredible film festival. They are in the big leagues for sure. And I was talking with a couple of programmers and I asked them about covert letters and they said, it's so important it.How the filmmaker is going to put an audience in the theater is very important for their festival. How they're going to get people to attend is very important for them and they're like, a good indication in a cover letter is when they, the filmmaker indicates how they're going to market their film and they use the example of football.Let's say it's a movie about football. They're like, if it's a movie about football and you tell me in the cover letter that you're part of several like football organizations, or you're gonna be reaching out to sports organizations or youth organizations for sports or something like that, to attend the film.That's a very good indication for them in the cover letter. For me, I think a cover letter is very important in that it shows. You're going the extra mile to show the festival you care. You're not just submit and quit. We're not just one festival on a list of 50 that you're submitting to. There is a reason you want to screen with us, and that's a specific reason.Either you feel that your film is good fit for our audience, or there's something that you want to connect with. In Wyoming, I had one cover letter and we did accept this film and it was really funny. They put in their cover letter like their film was a comedy, so their cover letter was also very comedic, but they're like, honestly, we're just gonna go up to Yellowstone around that time and we would love to swing by and show the movie.And I laughed. I laughed so hard at that and I'm like. But that shows me they care. Like they want to be there. And the film was good and it was funny and we screamed it and they were there. So it's a way to show a film festival enthusiasm and it's way to inform the festival about yourself, about your film, and how that's gonna gel with their particular event and their audience.BEN: I love it. And that reminds me, I got one more, I got a bonus question. Yeah. Can you talk about applying early?RUDI: Yes. Statistically, when I look at our own data, statistically, it does seem to be that the earlier you apply, the better chance that you have. And so I don't want to give the impression that if you applied late.You have no chance. I think in the video where I literally broke down the data and the statistics, I think at our festival we had a one in five chance of getting in on the late deadline, which is about a 20% acceptance rate. But it was much higher the earlier it came in. So just with the raw data taking out my opinions, my emotions on it, whatever, just the data itself shows earlier is better.Now, here's where my opinions and my feelings towards it come from. I think it's a couple of things. One, when you get in early, you set the pace for the rest of the festival, you're telling us, okay, it's a drama. We're gonna compare your film against others. Like you have now become the benchmark that we're gonna compare other films to when it comes to like dramas or whatever.What it also does. It's something I'm going to discuss in my video and cover letters, but it also engages something, what's called mere exposure effect in psychology, which is essentially the more that you are exposed to something, the more preference you have towards it. Which means if you get in early, you are exposing yourself, your film, and your story to the programmers more often and more readily than late submissions are.So it's more likely that the programmers form some attachment to your film, and that's just human nature, that's just psychology. There's some practical reasons for it as well. Obviously, earlier submissions, earlier deadlines are cheaper, so it's better to get in. It's just gonna cost you less money to do and then lastly, there are many festivals that are developing their program as they go. So as films are coming in, they're shaping. We got a ton of dramas. Maybe we need two drama blocks, or, we, we don't have enough sci-fi for a sci-fi blocks, we gotta spread it out or whatever. So if you come in late, you're now trying to elbow some other film out of the way in order to find your screening slot.Which don't get me wrong, there are plenty of programmers that are absolutely gonna go to bat for you. They're gonna fight hard to get you in. Doesn't matter if you come in early or late or whatever, but the chances are just better. And the data shows that if you get in early. All that said, a couple of years ago, the very last film that came in with only two hours left in our deadline, we ended up programming it.So it, it is possible.BEN: Rudi, I cannot thank you enough. I can't tell you how helpful this has been. There's so much great information for filmmakers. Filmmakers submitted to festivals, people just interested in going to festivals. So thank you so much for taking the time.RUDI: Hey it's always a pleasure.I always love talking film festivals and for any filmmakers out there, head on over to YouTube hit up the Film Festival Guide. That's my YouTube page. I'm coming out with videos every two or three weeks. That's about what I put ‘em out there for. So if you need any guidance or any, I don't know, insight for film festivals that's where I am.BEN: Film Festival Guide. I'm a subscriber. I can't recommend it enough. Any other social media where people can find you?RUDI: Oh no, I'm terrible on social media. YouTube's enough for me right now.BEN: So Film Fest.RUDI: I will probably expand in the future and I'll probably make some announcement on the YouTube channel.Got it. But for right now, I'm just trying to get good information out there to as many filmmakers as possible.BEN: Thank you so much for doing that. It's such a huge benefit for film.RUDI: Thank you very much for the support and thank you very much for having me on. I enjoyed this. This was a lot of fun.BEN: Me too. This was great. Thank you. And that was my interview with Rudy Womack, director of the Wyoming International Film Festival and creator of the great YouTube page, the Film Festival Guide. Hope you enjoyed this episode. If you did, please forward it to one person. Thank you and have a great day. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit benbo.substack.com

Stacey's Breastgasms: Part 1. A high school reunion brings back fond mammories. Based on a post by Many Feathers. Listen to the Podcast at Steamy Stories. It had been a very long time since I'd seen many of my old high school friends and buddies. The last time had been at the ten year reunion, this would be the thirty year reunion, and I knew that most of us would have changed between now and then; dramatically. Although I was still in reasonably good shape, even without working out specifically, I had still put on a few pounds, but with the exception of a few perhaps, I figured everyone would be in the same boat as I was. I still had a full head of dark hair, though I had noticed just a sprinkle of gray had begun at the temples. The one thing about myself I had always considered my best feature however, were my eyes, bright blue with just a hint of gray in them. There was a caption in the yearbook next to my photo, it read: "Bedroom eyes". Though my wife Marsha hadn't attended the same school I had, nor would know any of my old friends, she was looking forward to going almost as much as I was. And I for one was looking forward to showing her off. Marsha had a great body, though a few years younger than me, and certainly my graduating class, giving her a bit of an edge perhaps in the looks department. Fairly large breasted, a tight waist and firm well rounded ass, I had no doubt she would be the envy of many women there. And though she knew I was secretly entertaining those very thoughts, she was looking forward to going for no other reason than to perhaps meet a few of my old high school girlfriends that I had shared erotic naughty stories about with her over the past few weeks. And one in particular came to mind, wondering if she would in fact, be there, though she hadn't come to the ten year reunion, so it had been at least thirty years since I had even seen Stacy. I had shared the story of our dating experiences with my wife, which had excited Marsha tremendously. Mainly because of the somewhat unusual circumstances, and very erotic nature of my old girlfriend, which was far different than anyone, I had ever known, including now. The thing about Stacy that was so unusual, was the fact she could climax simply by having her tits played with. Maybe there were other women who could do this, but I'd never met anyone else, not like Stacy anyway. Even my own wife Marsha, who loved it when I played with her tits, as much as I wanted to, in fact; She didn't climax simply from my playing with her the way Stacy did. And not that I minded, certainly not. The fact that Marsha enjoyed as much attention as I gave her in that regard was something I relished, enjoyed and was more than pleased with. Marsha has fairly large tits with extremely sensitive nipples, though not too sensitive as to detract from the enjoyment of being able to play with them to my heart's content. I've actually known a couple of women who were exact opposites. One girl allowed my fondling of her with indifference. She had even forewarned me before hand that she felt virtually nothing when I, or anyone else for that matter played with her boobs. Basically, she got nothing out of it beyond seeing me becoming aroused myself. Unfortunately, part of my arousal and excitement has always come from seeing the woman become aroused or excited by whatever I was doing. So in this instance at least, it was a bit of a letdown, and thus took away from the pleasure I would normally have received. On the other side of that same coin, I had also known a woman who's nipples were simply too sensitive. Once aroused, she could hardly stand to have anyone even touch them. Even just looking at them sent her into giggling fits, super sensitivity once again taking away from, rather than adding to, the enjoyment and sensuality of that particular form of foreplay. Which was a crying shame too, as Gayle; as I recall her name being, had a really nice looking set of tits too. But once she was truly aroused, it was always "hands off", after that. Now the thing about Stacy was, she didn't have really large tits either. She was the type of girl that a well-known saying was written for, "More than a (good-sized) handful is wasted!" I guess if you were to classify her, her tits would be considered on the small side. Certainly not flat chested, not by any means, and yes, when I held them within my hands, they filled them more than adequately with still a bit left over for good measure. But the thing was, Stacy literally could climax, and very often did, just by my playing with them. We had started dating, had been going out for well over a month with nothing more than a few deep soulful kisses being shared between us. With her tits being not quite so large, she very often didn't wear a bra, her pert nipples poking through and pressing against the material of whatever tee shirt or tank top she was wearing. But I always found it interesting that she only did that, going without a bra, whenever it was an activity or an event that virtually made it impossible for me to even think about trying anything. Both times we'd gone to the drive in theatre, she had worn a bra, making it obvious by her suddenly hidden and protected nipples that she was. (I later learned she even went so far as to wear a nipple cover beneath her bra, much like protective pasties, on those evenings when we'd gone out where the temptation might have been too much for either one of us to adhere too.) Like I said, up until now, I hadn't even touched her, though I also hadn't made any real attempt in doing so either, not wanting her to feel like that was all I wanted from her; sex.  I mean I did, but not purely just for that either. I really liked her. Stacy was the first girl I felt like I could have real feelings for, and because of it, I was content to take my time and see how things went. It was perhaps our seventh or eighth real date. We had gone to the drive-in movie, which was now becoming a weekly event for us, and something we both looked forward to. As was usually the case, it was a double feature with the movie we really wanted to see coming on second. Some twenty or thirty minutes before intermission, with each of us bored with the first movie already, we'd quite naturally gravitated to kissing and cuddling, as we'd been doing every time we came to the drive in, waiting for the second feature to start. And not that I minded that either, Stacy was fun as hell to kiss, and it never failed to get either one of us all hot and bothered, though we very often had to force ourselves to take a break whenever that happened, before things got too carried away. Intermission was always great for that it seemed, giving each of us an excuse, though I daresay, it was Stacy who used it as one. I'd have been content to continue on with what we were doing, even with the lights lit up on the blank screen in front of us. Needless to say, I was pretty much expecting that to happen as we sat there, necking in the front seat of my car, wondering how much longer we had before the movie finally ended. Now maybe this was typical of the times back then, perhaps many can relate to this. But there was a sort of a non-spoken game that I think was quite often played in the front seat of every car with a pair of young teens in it. Whether it be at a drive-in, or parked on some lover's lane some place, or even on the couch in the den at her parent's house. We all played it, and we all went home with smiles on our faces afterwards if we (in our minds) made any sort of progress since the last time we played it. I think the unofficial name of the game was, "How close did you come?" And not meaning "cum" per say...but how close did you get to actually touching her tits?" I know for a good many of my friends, it was very often the topic of conversation, come Monday afternoon during gym class. "How far did you get? What happened? What did you do to get that far?" We all shared... techniques that seemed to work, more importantly, the attempts that failed so that no one else would make the same mistakes. I was in fact at that very moment, running through my own mind the advice one of my closest buds had given me that past Monday afternoon. He was the first amongst us to actually succeed in the titty-department, now a God as far as the rest of us were concerned, and now armed with invaluable information, though I was scared to death to actually try it. As was most everyone else I could only guess.     "Just touch it!" He's said simply. Could it honestly be that easy? I mean you didn't just get in the car, reach over and grab her boob, certainly not. But...once the real kissing had gotten started and had been going on for a while, and then it was time to try that. "No tentative, creeping up on it," he'd informed us. Which some few of us had tried, and had failed at. It gave the girls far too much advanced warning, as we soon after learned. Allowing them too much time to think about it before it happened, most then chickening out, or deciding in that brief moment it was either far too soon for that, or they simply weren't ready for it even if it wasn't. According to Jim "The God" of booby fondling, you simply lifted your hand and placed it directly over your girlfriends boob, and then softly caressed it. With luck, she let you keep your hand there for a few seconds at the very least. And even if she eventually did decide to make you move it off her, you had still gotten to "cop a feel of her tit," as we called it. And that was better than running your fingers off to the side, never quite actually touching it, before being told "No...don't," or feeling her hand moving yours away. A little booby was better than no booby. And so far, I was still on the "no booby at all" side of things. Our kissing had finally reached the tongue fencing stage, which never failed to arouse the two of us, but it was also the first sign that we'd be taking a much needed (not wanted)break soon, especially with the music informing the two of us that the first movie was coming to an end. It was now or never the way I saw it. And in the next instant, my hand was resting directly on her tit, through her tee shirt of course, but on her tit! I think that moment surprised both of us for a number of reasons. She wasn't expecting it for one, but she didn't haul off and deck me either. Only seconds had passed, but my hand remained as I kneaded the softness of her tit like a contented cat. For me at least, it felt like an eternity, and I was already rehearsing my speech for the guys come Monday, when I felt Stacy's hand suddenly covering mine. "Damn!" I thought to myself. "Here it comes, the gentle, but firm pull away. The unspoken "No," though the barrier had been crossed, even if the barriers were about to be put up again. Still...I'd actually touched titty, real titty. So even if it was a two or perhaps three second fondling, I'd finally achieved the penultimate in front seat groping with one's girlfriend. What I didn't expect, was when her hand remained on mine, and my hand remained on her tit, the sound of my name being sung ever so softly as I sat there. "Oh...David!" Even with her bra on, I now felt the sudden emergence of her hard extended little nipple. But even more surprisingly, her gasp, the audible sigh of pleasure that escaped her lips in a long drawn out pleasured sound, unlike any I had ever heard before. But that nipple! Oh my god, that nipple! I swear it had burned an impression within the palm of my hand, half tempted to check, though fearful of doing so, which would mean taking my hand away. Something I didn't dare do, as I was already well into the twenty or thirty second mark of booby fondling, which I felt had to be some sort of a new worlds record at the very least for first time tit fondlers. The second the lights came on, on the screen just a few rows in front of us, Stacy suddenly took my hand and gently moved it off and away from her. Even though she did, I was floating on cloud nine, not even aware of the massive erection in my pants, the short-circuiting of my own arousal not as yet registering in my head as Stacy slid over a few inches, putting distance between us. "I'll be right back," she said reaching for the door. "Get us some popcorn, and something to drink," she then added smiling at me. Which was a big relief in a way, I'd gotten to finally fondle her boob, and she wasn't mad at me for doing it either! I sat for several long moment's willing my cock to go down, watching as several single girls all seemed to pile out of their cars one by one, heading back towards the restrooms. It was obvious I wasn't the only guy waiting patiently for his erection to go down before making their way inside the refreshment stand either. When it had gone down to sufficiently allow me to go inside, though wickedly smiling to myself that perhaps there would still be enough of a noticeable bulge showing without being obscene, and thus serving an entirely different purpose, I climbed out of the car and went inside to grab our drinks and the popcorn. In doing so, I also scanned the crowd to see if there were any of my buddies there. If there were, then sharing secret signals on how well we'd done. Unfortunately, there was no one there I hung out with, so my achievement would have to wait until the following Monday. I was still reliving the experience second by second, running it over and over again inside my head when Stacy returned to the car. I handed her, her drink, and sat the bucket of popcorn on the seat between us. As I did so, I happened to glance over and saw that her nipples, both of them were still pressing even more firmly, more obviously than I ever remembered seeing them before against the material of her shirt. And then I knew why...Stacy had removed her bra entirely! Minutes later as the lights came down again, and the second feature started, Stacy and I came together like a pair of magnets. I remember the tub of popcorn being knocked over, spilling onto the floor of my freshly cleaned and vacuumed carpeting. I could have cared less. And like magnets, my hand, or rather both of them actually, found each of Stacy's tits, (braless tits mind you) simultaneously. Now I was touching both boobs (well sort of anyway) but the fact she was no longer wearing a bra, essentially giving me the so called "green light", once again a never-before reached level of achievement, (not even by John the God himself). I think every hair on my entire body was standing on end. Goose bumps galore racing up and down my entire body, along with my rock-hard cock, that was now almost painfully uncomfortable as I sat half twisted in my seat, both hands caressing Stacy's soft full tits. But the best was yet to come. I had within a short span of time, graduated from booby fondling, to nipple pinching. It was like graduating from high school early, and going on to college. The fact I was actually thumbing and exploring those hard little nubbins of flesh (even if it was still through her thin tee shirt) was well beyond my wildest imaginings. (Well ok...maybe that's going a little too far), but...it was certainly more than I'd expected to happen during the course of the evening. Once again, she placed her hands over both of mine, and then I thought, "Okay, so now she's bringing things to a screeching halt," perfectly content with that if she had. Already I had blown the roof off anything any of the other guys had achieved, including John, who in my mind no longer warranted "God status", a title I couldn't claim myself either as it had to be given you by the others. But already I was imagining the official ceremony taking place come Monday. With Stacy's hands now covering mine, I felt her lift them, still holding mine, almost pulling away, though she held each of mine in hers tighter still. In the next instant, I felt the touch of skin on skin, her hands now guiding each of mine beneath her tee shirt! I seriously couldn't believe this was happening. Within seconds, I now had twin impressions permanently burned within the palms of each hand, as I now covered those extended nipples of hers directly, palming and again kneading them at first, before delicately locating each within my finger tips.  Once again Stacy moaned, her cry of pleasure easily heard as the couple sitting in the car next to us suddenly looked over. I felt prouder than hell as I saw the guy suddenly smile, giving me the thumbs up. I'd seen him around at school, though I didn't know him. But I also knew now that the story would spread, giving confirmation to my coronation come Monday. I lost all sense of my surroundings along with my newfound status when I heard Stacy say, "Suck them." Everything else became a blur after that. As my mouth actually surrounded one of her hard little points, gathering it between my lips as I gently suckled her tit, three things seemed to happen at once. One, I came in my pants. It was quite unexpected and unplanned for. And though embarrassed that I had, I still had the secret advantage of her not knowing that. Secondly, it did at least alleviate the ever growing pressure I was feeling. And three, it made it a hell of a lot more comfortable to sit there, even if I could feel the sticky moisture of my climax bathing my rapidly deflating cock. Which surprisingly, didn't stay that way for as nearly long as I might have expected. The only thing that really mattered now, was the fact I was going back and forth between each one of her tits, sucking them, flicking them with my tongue, while my fingers played ‘follow the leader' on her other tit. It was only a few moments later when Stacy did the one thing I would never have expected her to do in a million, trillion years. She came.     My orgasm had been a silent, secret, though messy one. I think I may have grimaced with my lips surrounding her nipple, but that was about as much as I gave away. Stacy on the other hand, simply cried out, unabashedly, unashamedly, and uninhibitedly. I wish now I had looked over to our companions sitting on either side of us, I'd loved to have seen the expression on their faces then. But I was simply too busy still sucking and fondling Stacy's tits to bother looking, tempted as I may have been. Now, as stupid as this may sound, (and probably does) I still didn't know, or grasp the fact she'd just had an orgasm. I wasn't so naive as to believe girls didn't; however, the mechanics I knew involved other things needing to take place before that could be achieved. And unless she'd been secretly fondling herself in some way that I wasn't aware of, her cry of pleasure simply signaled to me that she was enjoying whatever the hell it was I was doing. So imagine my surprise when Stacy finally pushed me away. Talk about confused. One second I'm thinking she's hotter than she's ever been, certainly hotter than any girl I've ever known or been with, and the next second, she's calling a sudden screeching halt to the proceedings. "Maybe you'd better take me home," she says quietly, readjusting herself, and sliding over closer to her own door, the crunch of popcorn beneath her feet as she does so. I knew better than to question her, or complain about the fact the movie we'd come to see wasn't even half over yet, though for the moment at least, I'd forgotten which one it was. I quickly, and carefully replaced the speaker back on the pole outside the window, started the car, much to the dismay of our neighbors, and then with lights off, backed out and exited the drive in theatre. I don't know if the handful of honks from nearby cars were in tribute, or annoyance as we drove out, I didn't really think about it at the time. It was Stacy's sudden silence that worried me far more. She lived less than twenty minutes away, but I purposely drove well below the posted speed-limit. What was worrying me now, was we were headed back to her place, a good hour or more earlier than normal. Something that would no doubt raise suspicious questions from her parents upon our arrival. And like I said earlier, I was still confused, very much so, and did the only thing I could think of to do under the circumstances. I apologized. "I'm sorry." She looked at me like I'd just turned inside out. "What the hell for?" She asked. "I don't know," I said honestly, even more confused now than before. "I just am." "You're sorry for making me cum?" I know there were words in my mouth, they wanted to come out, but for some reason, I couldn't make any sense of them or arrange them in the proper order. "I didn't, you ah...you, I mean, you ah..." Luckily for me, she kept talking, effectively shutting me up. "I'm the one that should be sorry," she continued on, before I could make any sense of what was happening here. "I should have warned you," she then added. "But I couldn't help myself." I purposely turned down the wrong street, taking the long way around. By the expression on her face, she actually appreciated the fact that I had. I knew then we were both stalling for time, and I wasn't about to pull up in front of her house until I'd at least made some sense of whatever the hell it was we were talking about here. "Warned me about what?" I asked honestly finally finding the correct words to say, though the look in her eyes told me she wasn't quite buying my naiveté. "That I can climax simply by having my boobs played with, even when I do it," she told me. She looked up, "The lights green," she said..."Not red." I had stopped the car at the light, not even bothering to notice what color it was when I did. It was red when I started up again, going through the intersection. Luckily it was just late enough that there were few cars on the road, luckier still there weren't any cops around to witness my stupidity. But thankfully, Stacy laughed, snickering at my obvious confusion, breaking the tension in the air. "Does that....shock you?" she then asked. "Shock me? No. Surprise me? Yes." I answered her truthfully. Then asking, "So...you really do? Cum I mean, just by playing with your tits?" "Yes," she said softly, obviously embarrassed by the revelation, though I found her courageous in her acknowledgement of that. And perhaps her courage, boldness, and openness gave me courage as I pursued this interesting conversation we were suddenly having. "So...do you, I mean, if you can...ah, you know, do you still..." "Masturbate?" she finished for me. So much for my own courage. "Yes I do that too. Don't you?" "Well yeah sure," I freely admitted, glad my voice didn't go up an octave or two when answering her. "Sure...yeah...of course." She smiled at that. "Ditto," she said quickly. "But...I don't have to always do that to have an orgasm either," she now confessed. "I can actually get off, just by playing with my tits." I mean she had, or at least I had seen it first hand, even then I still asked. "Seriously...you really do?" "You saw it...felt it, heard it," she exclaimed growing more and more agitated by the second. "Like I said, I can't help it...it just happens. Maybe I shouldn't have let you do what you did, but...I couldn't help myself David. It would have been no different if I'd been sitting there jacking you off, and then at the last moment taking my hand away, letting you just hang there. When I placed your hands directly on my tits, I knew damn good and well, what was going to happen." I thought briefly about telling her I'd come in my pants, perhaps by way of easing her personal discomfort, sharing something of an equally embarrassing nature with her. Quite naturally, I decided against it. I'm glad you did," I told her, just as we turned onto her street. "I think that's hot as hell...I then told her." "You do? That doesn't freak or weird you out knowing that? Because the truth is David, I like doing it. I like the way I feel, the way my orgasms feel just by having my tits played with. And to be perfectly honest...it felt far more enjoyable when you did it, than when I do it myself!" she now added. We were approaching her house, I had slowed the car down to a crawl...hoping. "Pull over!" she suddenly exclaimed, and I did so, cutting the lights off as I did, basically coasting up next to the curb, engine off. We'd stopped two houses up the street from where she lived, the tall hedgerow next to her driveway effectively cutting off anyone's being able to see us parked there. Luckily, in addition to that, the lights were off in each of the two houses we were parked in front of. The house next to Stacy's currently vacant, and the other lived in by an older woman who retired early as she quickly informed me. In a flash, she had lifted her tee shirt once again, her beautiful bare tits a feast for my eyes, nipples once again hard and extended. Even before I could reach for them, her hand was already fumbling with the belt on my jeans. "Ah Stacy? There's something I should tell you," I began nervously. "I already know," she giggled. "That sort of triggered it when I did," she then added laughing. "So the question is...can you do it again?" "Can you?" I answered back. And then we both proved to one another that we could. ** That night was only the beginning of one of the wildest periods in my entire life. Something that lasted well on into the summer after we had graduated just a few short weeks later. The only downside to anything, was the following Monday when I had quite stupidly boasted of my miraculous success. Had I left it at actually touching bare tit, there would have been feasting and celebration...for days perhaps. Instead, I was looked upon as being a liar, exaggerating and at best, trying to one up my status in trying to claim John's throne, by claiming something that was totally unheard of, exaggerated, and totally unbelievable. And even dumber now having shared it, it was a newfound status, or an attempted one rather, I no longer wanted. In hindsight, I was glad no one believed my story, though I was now fearful that my telling it would get back to Stacy, and thus end what was to become one of the wildest periods of my entire life. Thankfully...it didn't. Not yet anyway. That wouldn't happen for some time yet, though when it did, my earlier stupidity came back to haunt me. But until that actually happened... To be continued. Based on a post by Many Feathers, for Literotica.

Narrator: Heather Foster

Cue the music and get Robert Stack in a trenchcoat - this week's episode is dedicated to all things "Unsolved Mysteries." The girls cover some of their favorite segments from the legendary show. Hannah covers the mysterious deaths of three men: wrestling promoter James "Buffalo Jim" Barrier, businessman Chuck Morgan and journalist Danny Casolaro. Lori covers the tragic murder of Missouri woman Trudy Darby. Sheena covers two paranormal tales - the love story of Frank and Teresa Wilson and the haunting of the Harden House.

Inspiration can be found in many places, and as avid readers, we find inspiration in many of the characters we read about. This episode features a few of our favorites, and we discuss what makes them so inspiring to us. No reading required!

Is she cold? Is she cool? Is it just a weird name? We will never know! Today we are talking about Ice by VC Andrews. The second book in the shooting stars series and again not much happens. Ice can sing, Balwin can play piano, and people go wild over one guys weight. Truly someone gets shot and the book spends more time talking about this one kids weight. Wild.TRIGGER: Domestic violence, gun violence, eating disorders, racismBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/book-cult--5718878/support.

Romantic Step Children? ~ My child and my step child seem romantically curious. Listen to caller's personal dramas four times each week as Dr. Kenner takes your calls and questions on parenting, romance, love, family, marriage, divorce, hobbies, career, mental health - any personal issue! Call anytime, toll free 877-Dr-Kenner. Visit www.drkenner.com for more information about the show (where you can also download free chapter one of her serious relationships guidebook).

Rockin' Romance is an alternative rock music podcast. Most music is from the 1990s and 2000s. Please check it out. Artist names and song titles are in order of play... LINKIN PARK-SOMEWHERE I BELONG (2003), PARAMORE-DECODE (2008), MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE-I DON'T LOVE YOU (2006), SIMPLE PLAN-WELCOME TO MY LIFE (2004), T.A.T.U.-ALL THE THINGS SHE SAID (2002), JOAN OSBORNE-ONE OF US (1995), NIRVANA-YOU KNOW YOU'RE RIGHT (2002), RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS-DANI CALIFORNIA (2006), GREEN DAY-WAKE ME UP WHEN SEPTEMBER ENDS (2004), THE RASMUS-IN THE SHADOWS (2003), NIRVANA-RAPE ME (1993), NIRVANA-SMELLS LIKE TEEN SPIRIT (1991), BON JOVI-IT'S MY LIFE (2000), THE STROKES-YOU ONLY LIVE ONCE (2005), R.E.M.-LOSING MY RELIGION (2007), THE SMASHING PUMPKINS-1979 (1995),, FOSTER THE PEOPLE-PUMPED UP KICKS (2010), BLUR-SONG 2 (1997), LINKIN PARK-BLEED IT OUT (2007), THE STROKES-JUICEBOX (2005), BLINK 182-WHAT'S MY AGE AGAIN (1999), BLONDIE-MARIA (1999), THE CURE-BOY'S DON'T CRY (1979),, GREEN DAY-BASKET CASE (1994), GREEN DAY-AMERICAN IDIOT (2004), BLINK 182-FIRST DATE (2001), MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE-WELCOME TO MY BLACK PARADE (2006), LINKIN PARK-GIVEN UP (2007). End. Thanks for listening to Ken Steele Music.

Send us a textIn this week's episode Lance and Jacklyn share stories from their Halloween party  and, inspired by the spookiness of the season, delve into stories of occult Hollywood including the mysterious and mystical side of Elvis Presley's life, Gisele Bundchen's sorcery, and the Church of Satan.Stay tuned for the Treasure Chest to hear what they are reading doing watching and learning.Enjoy!

In 2012, comedian Tig Notaro was diagnosed with invasive cancer, got pneumonia, contracted C. diff, went through a breakup, and then lost her mother - all within four months. Tig joins Nicole to talk about how surviving that period changed her outlook on life, how she rebuilt, and how an ironic “sweet dreams” text turned into the most adorable relationship with her wife Stephanie. They talk about how commitment ended up giving Tig a sense of freedom, finding comedy in the darkest moments in life, raising twins, and her new documentary Come See Me in the Good Light.Check out Tig's new film, Come See Me in the Good Light, on Apple TV+. And listen to her podcast, Handsome.Watch this episode on our YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/@WhyWontYouDateMePodcastSupport this podcast and get discounts by checking out our sponsors:Uncommon Goods: To get 15% off your unique gifts this year, go to uncommongoods.com/dateme.Jones Road Beauty: Use code DATEME at jonesroadbeauty.com to get a Free Cool Gloss with your first purchase! These sell out fast so get them while they last! Quince: Step into the holiday season with layers made to feel good, look polished, and last— from Quince. Perfect for gifting or keeping for yourself. Go to Quince.com/dateme for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns. Now available in Canada, too.Squarespace: Head to squarespace.com/DATEME to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain using code DATEME.Betterhelp: Visit Betterhelp.com/DATEME today to get 10% off your first month.Follow:All Links: linktr.ee/whywontyoudatemeTour Dates: linktr.ee/nicolebyerwastakenYouTube: @WhyWontYouDateMePodcastTikTok: @whywontyoudatemepod Instagram: @nicolebyerX: @nicolebyerNicole's book, #VERYFAT #VERYBRAVE: indiebound.org/book/9781524850746This is a Headgum podcast. Follow Headgum on Twitter, Instagram, and Tiktok. Advertise on Why Won't You Date Me? via Gumball.fm.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Chelsea and Catherine get a followup from a baby mama who fell out of love… and follows her heart into a whirlwind engagement with a small-town boy. And a couple chooses to live apart after their kids don’t mesh. * Need some advice from Chelsea? Email us at DearChelseaPodcast@gmail.com * Executive Producer Catherine Law Edited & Engineered by Brad Dickert * * * The views and opinions expressed are solely those of the Podcast author, or individuals participating in the Podcast, and do not represent the opinions of iHeartMedia or its employees. This Podcast should not be used as medical advice, mental health advice, mental health counseling or therapy, or as imparting any health care recommendations at all. Individuals are advised to seek independent medical, counseling advice and/or therapy from a competent health care professional with respect to any medical condition, mental health issues, health inquiry or matter, including matters discussed on this Podcast. Guests and listeners should not rely on matters discussed in the Podcast and shall not act or shall refrain from acting based on information contained in the Podcast without first seeking independent medical advice. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Chelsea and Catherine get a followup from a baby mama who fell out of love… and follows her heart into a whirlwind engagement with a small-town boy. And a couple chooses to live apart after their kids don’t mesh. * Need some advice from Chelsea? Email us at DearChelseaPodcast@gmail.com * Executive Producer Catherine Law Edited & Engineered by Brad Dickert * * * The views and opinions expressed are solely those of the Podcast author, or individuals participating in the Podcast, and do not represent the opinions of iHeartMedia or its employees. This Podcast should not be used as medical advice, mental health advice, mental health counseling or therapy, or as imparting any health care recommendations at all. Individuals are advised to seek independent medical, counseling advice and/or therapy from a competent health care professional with respect to any medical condition, mental health issues, health inquiry or matter, including matters discussed on this Podcast. Guests and listeners should not rely on matters discussed in the Podcast and shall not act or shall refrain from acting based on information contained in the Podcast without first seeking independent medical advice. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Isla Fisher joins Chelsea to talk about relying on friendships with women after divorce, ignoring her kids from the bathtub, and how Chelsea lost a closetful of Stella McCartney clothes. Then: A mom dreads the boring parents at a play-date. A sister wants to parent her brother’s out-of-control kids. And a caller takes umbrage with her sister’s treatment, but Chelsea + Isla disagree on a plan of action. * Need some advice from Chelsea? Email us at DearChelseaPodcast@gmail.com * Executive Producer Catherine Law Edited & Engineered by Brad Dickert * * * The views and opinions expressed are solely those of the Podcast author, or individuals participating in the Podcast, and do not represent the opinions of iHeartMedia or its employees. This Podcast should not be used as medical advice, mental health advice, mental health counseling or therapy, or as imparting any health care recommendations at all. Individuals are advised to seek independent medical, counseling advice and/or therapy from a competent health care professional with respect to any medical condition, mental health issues, health inquiry or matter, including matters discussed on this Podcast. Guests and listeners should not rely on matters discussed in the Podcast and shall not act or shall refrain from acting based on information contained in the Podcast without first seeking independent medical advice. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Isla Fisher joins Chelsea to talk about relying on friendships with women after divorce, ignoring her kids from the bathtub, and how Chelsea lost a closetful of Stella McCartney clothes. Then: A mom dreads the boring parents at a play-date. A sister wants to parent her brother’s out-of-control kids. And a caller takes umbrage with her sister’s treatment, but Chelsea + Isla disagree on a plan of action. * Need some advice from Chelsea? Email us at DearChelseaPodcast@gmail.com * Executive Producer Catherine Law Edited & Engineered by Brad Dickert * * * The views and opinions expressed are solely those of the Podcast author, or individuals participating in the Podcast, and do not represent the opinions of iHeartMedia or its employees. This Podcast should not be used as medical advice, mental health advice, mental health counseling or therapy, or as imparting any health care recommendations at all. Individuals are advised to seek independent medical, counseling advice and/or therapy from a competent health care professional with respect to any medical condition, mental health issues, health inquiry or matter, including matters discussed on this Podcast. Guests and listeners should not rely on matters discussed in the Podcast and shall not act or shall refrain from acting based on information contained in the Podcast without first seeking independent medical advice. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.