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 was starting to get worried. I’m guessing you’re a curious person which is great because I specialize in making curious things. 🤔 In fact, that’s about the only way you might describe me as specialized.
I have a restless creative spirit so I create all kinds of things— novels, short stories, essays, songs, and immersive audio to name a few. One thing I can promise is you’ll never get bored. I’m confident you’ll find something here that makes you happy. To help you out, I’ve curated this little field guide 🗒️ for you to explore Catch & Release. Let’s get started!
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.
Try Out Notes
Notes is a wonderful new feature on the Substack platform that allows you to participate in conversations and share short content. Think of it as a simpler, friendlier, and less toxic version of Twitter. It’s a great place for you to share stuff with me. Just click/tap on the “Notes” tab from the Substack mobile app or on the Substack.com website.
Big Adventures
Novel: The Memory of My Shadow
Let me be your guide on a long trek through a future landscape that will bend your mind and open your heart. My novel “The Memory of My Shadow” is told from the perspective of Magdalena, the brilliant founder of an A.I. company who survived the deadliest school shooting in American history when she was sixteen. Her twin brother was the shooter. Magdalena’s trauma drives her to want to understand and hopefully fix what was broken in her brother’s brain. But in the process, she opens a window into a dark, uncanny world that could destroy her and everyone she loves.
I’ve provided high-quality audio narration for all 20 episodes of this serial novel so you can enjoy it in the car, on the treadmill, or the trail.
As a free subscriber, you can listen to the first four episodes. After that, if you become a paid subscriber you can binge the rest and feel great about helping your humble guide buy groceries next month. Dive into Episode 1 now!
Novel: Harmony House
My latest serial novel follows a diverse cast of characters thrown together in a reality show competition to win a self-sustaining eco-home. Six contestants must live together in the 500-square-foot dwelling for as long as they can stand each other. The last person remaining wins the prize. Things take a dark turn in this thriller that fans of Liane Moriarty’s “Nine Perfect Strangers” will find irresistible. Read along or listen to the engaging audio narration. The first two episodes are free!
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.