I went looking for a phone number and found a radio show waiting for me. When I opened the old Midnight Radio voicemail account, there were messages I had never heard. A mysterious caller had left a series of stories back in 2024. Every time her three minutes ran out, she called back and kept going. I was trying to get a telephone line working. She had already supplied the evening’s entertainment.
This lady gave me a gift.
There were mannequins, missing time, Bigfoot, and a talking parakeet with a supporting role in a very strange encounter. I’ll let her tell you about those. They are her accounts, and I haven’t independently verified them. But I wanted to hear what she had to say, and I wanted to get behind the microphone again.
Last night, I did.
Midnight Radio is back, and this time it has had some work done.
Linda and I have been building a broadcasting console with copper details, glowing meters, cassette decks, and a spinning globe. There’s a radio tower sending out little pulses across the top. I wanted movement. I wanted something that looked like yesterday’s idea of the future. At one point I said it looked like something you could use to launch a spacecraft.
It also plays music, which is useful in a radio console.
Then there is Nora Vale. She brings the news desk and a polished voice to the show. I called her posh. Between Nora and my editor, things are getting dangerously respectable around here.
Fortunately, I’m still behind the microphone.
The first broadcast had a few moments where the clips and the script took different roads. I had to find my place and keep going. That’s fine. I’m back behind the mic, warts and all. You can hear a real person working through a show, listening, reacting, and occasionally wondering which button he meant to push.
The revamped format brings together developments in criminal cases, paranormal reports, mysterious messages, music, and the people behind the stories. The Texas Panhandle is home, but the conversation can travel wherever the night takes it.
And it will be traveling with me.
I’ll be broadcasting and recording podcast episodes during the Midnight Radio book-signing tour. I want to meet readers, hear their stories, and have something to bring back to the microphone. Some episodes may come from the road. Others will take shape when I return to the studio. The book, the tour, and the show give me several ways to keep those conversations going.
The first stop at Childress Public Library was a success. I came home with one book left. Thank you to everyone who came by, bought a book, or stopped to visit.
The library benefit is still going. All of my royalties from signed copies purchased through the website, including advance orders, will go to Childress Public Library through November 7 at 11:59 p.m. Central Time.
There are two ways to hear this new chapter of Midnight Radio. The full broadcast includes the music. You can also listen to Midnight Radio on Spotify, with the stories and conversation, on your own schedule.
The full show is scheduled to air at midnight Central every night at midnightrad.io, beginning tonight, November 6 going into November 7. This first episode, Three Minutes at a Time, will repeat until we replace it with the next one. A nightly airing doesn’t mean I’ve suddenly found enough hours to make a new show every day. I still have to sleep occasionally.
When the broadcast is on, press Play on the website. The desktop receivers use the same station feed, too.
If you have a story, call (802) 424-2556. Leave a message if I miss you, and let me know whether you’re comfortable having it shared on the show. Three minutes should get you started. Our mystery caller demonstrated what to do if it doesn’t.
And since I am supposed to be selling a book somewhere in all this, you can find Midnight Radio and the signed-copy shop on the website. I’ll post the next tour stop as soon as it’s booked.
Finding the transmission again applies to me, too. It felt good to be back.
You’re not the only one awake.
