[OC] Hello, I’m an indie author and illustrator focusing on a dreampunk sci-fi audio series.
[OC] Hello, I’m an indie author and illustrator focusing on a dreampunk sci-fi audio series.
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If you’re looking for an ongoing radio play adventure to listen to, [***Hell Gate City***](http://hellgatecity.com) is an award-winning comedy fiction series about a ragtag bunch of denizens struggling to survive a cyberpunk hellhole NYC about 200 years in the future. The show is intended for a mature audience and would likely earn a TV-14 rating.
I write and produce it, playing a whole cast of characters. It features swell sound design and original music. And I create new cover art for each episode. You can check out the show art above, along with illustrations from the past few episodes of our current, 2nd season, which began with [“Unboxing” (Episode 11)](https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/hellgatecity/episodes/11–Unboxing-e28vkiu/a-aaaqq60) – Season 2 (Codename COMPANION). New episodes of COMPANION will continue to be published in our feed every Thursday till the end of the year, thus concluding the season. You can see more art on [www.instagram.com/hellgatecity](https://www.instagram.com/hellgatecity).
# About the Show
On the surface, [***Hell Gate City***](http://hellgatecity.com) is a rollicking audio saga about the community served by a local radio show for the fictional future megacity Neo Amsterdam. The central story is a genre-bending dark comedy with a heavy emphasis on cyberpunk themes, especially as applied to questions about the nature of consciousness, memory, and dreams. Hence, ‘dreampunk’.
The best quick introduction is our mysterious video trailer (30 secs) [here](http://hellgatecity.com).
**Season 1 (Complete)**
After a dream-streaming device intended to increase ratings accidentally broadcasts his repressed memories of an eldritch murder, radio jockey Kirby Bevins must overcome dark forces and folly to solve the crime before he becomes the next victim.
**Season 2 (Ongoing)**
The next chapter ushers listeners into the phantasmagorical side of Neo Amsterdam like never before by way of a recording – for quality assurance purposes – of a customer support call from a denizen trapped in a metaverse gone awry. Cruise the seamy underbelly of a virtual world beyond the veil.
**How to Listen**
It’s pretty straightforward. Just start with [Episode 0](https://youtu.be/rg0U3RFZUww?si=EvxNpJ_Xkb3oHBDY), then proceed chronologically to [1](https://pod.link/hellgatecity/episode/3acdb2bbede29c715bcd088dc6a1dcef), 2, 3, and so on.
It’s easy to listen along for free when you follow “Hell Gate City” on your favorite podcast app. A new episode drops every Thursday. And, we forbid ads or sponsors, so you’ll get an uninterrupted listening experience.
**How It Runs**
Instead of depending on mega-corp advertisers, we rely on direct listener support. In exchange, we provide ‘Glitches in the Matrix’, our subscriber-only weekly audio series which comes with a slew of other perks for The Inner Legion (members of our Patreon). Glitches are published every Thursday after the public episode – exclusively to Legion members here: [www.patreon.com/hellgatecity](http://www.patreon.com/hellgatecity)
Each glitch riffs on the theme of the public episode it’s paired with, sometimes delving deeper into a character’s backstory, or expanding on a scene we just heard. For this reason, it’s best to listen to each glitch relatively soon after its companion episode on the public feed. Glitches are available to *all* members; membership starts at a pledge of less than 18¢ a day and renews monthly.
So, if you enjoy the show and that’s in your budget to help us continue making it – in exchange for something extra (and a bit more ‘TV-MA’) join the Neo Amsterdam Inner Legion Syndicate (NAILS) [today](https://www.patreon.com/hellgatecity). Without NAILS, nothing holds together.
Either way, now you know [how to get to Neo Amsterdam](http://hellgatecity.com/). And, as of yesterday, you can hear a limited-time excerpt of “Boxed In”, the first bonus audio tale from our vault. Click [here](https://open.spotify.com/episode/4ShFP3vhpraOPRMY1UszIj) to listen to it. (I intend to replace it with a full-length, *complimentary* Glitch in the Matrix in the near future.)
Thanks for reading, have a wonderful weekend!