You Are Here: A Field Guide to Your Next Creative Adventure
Find what you're looking for on Catch & Release
Dear Reader,
I’m glad you found me. I’ve done a lot of things in my life, but I think what I’m best at is writing novels and narrating them. If you like to be immersed in character-driven, emotional stories with high stakes, you’re in the right place. I ask a lot of big questions in my fiction and weave my stories around themes that resonate with our times — climate change, school shootings, artificial intelligence, gender identity, capitalism and more.
You’ll also find a variety of other creative work here on Catch & Release including essays, short stories, songs, and more. This page should serve as a worthy guide for you to discover my work. As you do, please be sure to leave comments so we can get to know each other.
Peace & Music,
1. Choose Your Excursion
Depending on your interests and how much time you have, you can find the perfect reading/listening/watching diversion from one of the following categories. Just click on the one that interests you to skip down the page and see what’s there.
Big Adventures: Serial Novels with Audio Narration and Original Score
Overnighters: Short Stories and Essays
2. Choose Your Pass
Just like hiking in a national park, you can probably pull off the shoulder, hop the fence and enjoy a day in the woods for nothing. But if you put your $6 in the little envelope when you park your car, you can feel good in knowing that you’ve done your part to support something valuable that you care about.
Your $6 monthly subscription to Catch & Release is probably not something you’ll miss. You blow that on a cup of coffee most days. If it is a hardship, I get it. I’ve been there — heh, I’m there! Please just reply to any of my emails and let me know if you need some help. I’ll be happy to gift you a subscription. I’ll never turn away an engaged reader because they can’t afford it.
3. Pack Your Gear
Here are a few things you’ll want to have to make the most of your adventures here on Catch & Release or for any other subscriptions you have on Substack.
Get the Mobile App
The Substack mobile app is the best way to read, listen to, and watch not just Catch & Release, but all the great authors you can subscribe to on the platform. It’s super easy to comment on stories and chat with me.
Check Your Inbox
Email can be tricky. If you’ve subscribed and you’re not seeing weekly emails from Catch & Release when I publish new work, check your Spam folder. If it did accidentally get routed there, just flag it as “not spam” so all future emails will come straight to your inbox. It could be that my email shows up under “promotions” or a similar filter tab in your email. You can always read the latest posts at www.catchrelease.net.
Big Adventures
I’ve provided high-quality audio narration for all three of the novel published here on Catch & Release so you can listen on the go.
As a free subscriber, you can enjoy to the first few episodes of each of my novels. After that, you can become a paid subscriber and have access to everything.
The Memory of My Shadow
Emotional Sci-fi Thriller - In 2052, Magdalena, a brilliant programmer invents a device for telepathic communication with AI, seeking to decode the mind of her twin, the shooter in a school massacre she alone survived, but when she resurrects his consciousness, she unleashes a malevolence that could destroy her.
Harmony House
Character-driven Speculative Fiction Thriller - Six strangers enter a contest to win an eco-home that’s sustainability and luxury packed into 500 square feet. All they must do is live in the Houze prototype and outlast the others. But the stakes become deadly when an eco-terrorist group bent on exposing the sins of the corporation behind Houze get involved.
Departures
Supernatural Thriller Love Story - For 45 years, Wild has known the exact date everyone he touches will die—a curse he’s never been able to change. June the love of his life always believed this curse could be transformed into a gift but when she died he lost all hope until his niece discovered the ledger— his record of all the deaths he’s predicted and been powerless to change.
Thank you for being here.
Peace & Music,
Overnighters: Short Stories and Essays
If you need a break from your current reality or just a change of perspective, but don’t have a lot of time, short stories are a great option. I provide audio narration for all my stories, so you can listen on the go. If you’re a non-fiction type, I’ve got you covered as well. I’ve written about my life in music, the role of art in our society, and how technology impacts our lives. Stuff a few of these in your pack and get out there.
Day Hikes: Flash Fiction
I love stories in all shapes and sizes. I believe stories are fundamentally how we absorb and understand ourselves and the world around us. But if stories take more time than you have, these flash fiction pieces might be the ticket for a quick hit. Many of them have an immersive audio component so be sure to listen with headphones 🎧 for the full effect.
Ropes Courses: Learn and Be Inspired
I’m a believer in the power of creativity and that it deserves a place in everyone’s life. One of the missions for Catch & Release is to share my creative journey out in the open in hopes that it might encourage or inspire you to nurture your creativity. In this collection, you will find some essays about the creative process and some specifically about songwriting that allow you to ride along as I work out a new song.
Space Walks: Musings on A.I.
Maybe what you need is a hike through the uncanny valley, a walk in the weird. My day job for the past two decades was in technology, building websites, apps, and other software. I’ve thought a lot about technology and its implications for our lives. I’ve taken a pretty deep dive into A.I. and even wrote a novel about it. You can explore some of my more popular pieces here.
How You Can Help
If you’ve read this far, we’re probably soul mates. 🤗 I’ve taken a huge leap of faith this year to put my creative self first. It’s a crazy free fall financially speaking, but also the kindest thing I’ve ever done for myself. If you enjoy my work, there are many ways you can help me keep doing it. You being here and receiving what I create is the most amazing gift, so thank you from the bottom of my heart.
Become a Paid Subscriber
The small price of your subscription goes a very long way in my world. It makes it possible for me to keep doing this thing I love.
Give It to Someone You Love
Giving someone a thoughtful gift is always hard to do. If there’s someone in your life who might enjoy my work, consider giving them a subscription to Catch & Release.
Recommend, Share, Like, and Comment
As you probably know, everything on the Internet is ranked, sorted, and filtered by algorithms. The best way for others to find and enjoy my work is if you interact with it. That means clicking the ❤️ Like button on a piece you enjoy or leaving a comment with what specifically spoke to you. But the BEST thing you can do right now is to share this Field Guide with some folks by clicking the button below.
Wow, you have such a beautiful energy and presence. I can tell through my screen!! Thank you for such a warm welcome to your creative world and I look forward to experiencing your art. I'm a musician too and I have been so pleasantly surprised by how easily I could include my musical art into my Substack channel. Pleased to meet you and your lovely family, Ben. Have a beauty day!
Great main ("Hero"?) post, Ben.