Thread by @VibertKevin, Yesterday was an insane whirlwind of heavy lifting and driving until sunrise, [...]

Yesterday was an insane whirlwind of heavy lifting and driving until sunrise, but I do want to take a second to honor a place very important to The Penumbra:

This is the room where the show, and Juno Steel, were born. (Please forgive the moving mess.)

Up until October of 2015 my writing was all in novel projects that were good practice, but not good books. I was in the middle of some heartbreak about a recent project that wasn't working out when @sophiekaner, over breakfast, asked if we could listen to an old radio play.

It was an episode of "Suspense," and we fell in love with audio fiction. So we thought - as a lark - we'd try writing one.

We rushed home and sat in that couch and planned two episodes in one whirlwind session: "Shaken" and "Home." (Now that's a twist, ain't it?)

Juno didn't even exist as an idea until after we recorded those two episodes. And we recorded them in this dining room, which is where the Penumbra's second birth occurred.

Assembled were me, Sophie, @cool___josh, @AKateJones, @TheNoahSimes, our friend Dan, and @bearsquarterly on the recording deck. We were using his recording equipment, balanced precariously on a tiny table just out of frame of the above picture.

We had no idea this would be a series, or that it would be public. We thought it was a fun thing with friends. And honestly I think that was the kick I needed as a writer - to stop worrying about being good and start worrying about being fun. (Worrying is non-negotiable with me.)

Once we decided to put it out, I specifically recall, in that dining room, Kate saying that if 25 people we didn't know listened, that would be mind-blowing. And it was. And I still get flashes of that complete shock, sometimes.

Of course, once we had fun doing that, Soph and I wanted to do more... So we hashed out Juno in that living room, too. We, uh, kinda forgot to tell the actors we were making it a series.

That was genuinely a huge error on our part, and being the opposite of that person is still one of my guiding lights as a manager. I owe so, so much of my current life to everyone who gave their time for free in those early days.

And we recorded in that garbage dining room for a long time! The most recent episode I can recall is Sportive Nymphs, with @MatthewOfBoston, @mellin_jason, M., Stefano, Kristie, and Allison crammed elbow to elbow delivering lines stock-still so our floor wouldn't creak...

I remember recording Promised Land in there, which was mostly done in a single long session with Soph, Joshua, @Dikatfeesh, and @LuchaLibris. A grueling session, but so freaking fulfilling. You could watch the four of them coalesce into one incredible dramatic unit.

And I remember Kat and Kate working out the Keep's singing with Melissa E. on the floor of that living room, and I remember when I met people who are now some of my best friends (hi @mm_dejesus) as they came into that room for the first time, and I remember, and I remember.

Anyway: we just moved out, and those rooms, as they were, are gone.

I've always had a really hard time saying goodbye to places -- characters always say goodbye to the set in my writing. I heard an echo of Kate's last line in Home as I closed the door for the last time:

"Goodbye, house. I'll miss you."

It's a really simple line, but it hits me in a weak spot, and even typing it now I'm getting kinda teary.

But, weirdly, I'm more okay now than I usually am after a move. And I think it's because that was a very special place, but...

...I'm taking all the most special parts with me, aren't I? The friends. The stories. This weird, exciting stage of my life.

So goodbye, house. I'm not sure I'll miss you, in the end - but I know I'll always love what you brought into my life, and I know I'll never forget you.

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