For regular listeners of the show, you'll have noticed it's been a bit quiet here since Season 4 launched.
Instead of the usual weekly series, only the first two episodes were published, and then silence. I sincerely apologize for this, it was definitely not the intent. Here's what happened.
As you'll know, the show features podcasters opening up about their personal stories. These are stories that may not have been heard before in public, and can be very raw and emotional, and I sincerely thank all of my guests so far for being so open with their stories. This can lead to emotions in me coming to the fore, when the struggles of a guest are ones I've been through myself, or loved ones around me have.
Some of you may know this about me from an earlier episode where I spoke with my wife, but I was diagnosed with depression and anxiety around 4 years ago. For the majority of the time, it's something that I can manage, but now and again the shadows block out the light.
This has been particularly true with Covid, and its impact on all our lives. Everything has changed, and sometimes it's hard to see where all this might end. Especially when you have two young kids that you're doing everything you can to protect them, in a world where not everyone wants to be part of that protective community.
Anyhoo... as a result of the increased emotions from the stories shared by my guests, and sheer fight or flight exhaustion in trying to keep my family safe, I decided to take a mental health break where I could focus on the lighter side of life.
Summer at the beach, getting out on the lake, experiencing the beautiful natural surroundings of where we live, etc. And it was exactly what I needed to refresh both my creative and personal energy.
So, Podcaster Stories will return very early in the New Year. I have some amazing guests lined up, and each one has an incredibly inspiring story to share.
In the meantime, to keep the podcasting juices flowing, I've just launched a new show called Memories of 3DO, which looks at the history of a gaming console classic that was ultimately doomed to fail. This is a fun little project for me, and may lead to others in a series.
The show is snackable content, with each episode less than 5 minutes long. If classic video games are your thing, you can find out more at 3dopodcast.com
Thanks so much for being part of the Podcaster Stories community, and thanks for your messages and emails asking if everything was okay, I sincerely appreciate them.