The Story

The Diarist 

The Diarist is a brand new podcast launched in March 2018. It is a serialized fiction podcast with the story told in 15 psychologically thrilling episodes.

Things are not always as they seem in this neo-noir thriller. The Diarist, explores the darker side of the human psyche and the terrifying consequences of indulging in base desires.The story unfolds in 20 serialized episodes available on ITunes or where ever you get your podcasts. Meet the cast here. Find out about becoming a patreon subscriber for early release episodes, fan club web pages, the novel, out takes, and member-only mini episodes.

Episodes (Descriptions)

Episode 1 - The Promotion
Episode 2 -Meeting  Mrs. Hayes
Episode 3 - Handsome Steven Morris
Episode 4 - Charming Steven Morris
Episode 5 - Pressure Cooker
Episode 6 - Wedding bells and dreams collide
Episode 7  - The Bridal Shower
Episode 8 - The Bridal Shower and Its Aftermath
Episode 9 - Fish Out of Water
BONUS CONTENT - Interview with "We're All Mad Here" Podcaster Rachel Diamond
Episode 10 - Miss Velvet Maude
Episode 11 - A Heart Around Them Both
Episode 12 -  Lunch with Mrs. Margaret Hayes
Episode 13 - Andrea, Let a Man Have His Secrets
Episode 14 - Passion or Truth?
Episode 15 - Poor Margaret
BONUS EPISODE - Dr. Walter Freeman, Lobotomist
Episode 16  - A Gentleman On One Side / A Devil on the Other
Episode 17 Part 1 - Honeymoon!
Episode 18 Part 2: Honeymoon Continued
Episode 19- Sharks Circling
Episode 20 - An Island of Isolation
Episode 21 - Season 1 Finale
BONUS EPISODE: The Diarist Live Radio Show with FOLEY!
BONUS CONTENT- 11/2018 Donna, Beth, Ryan, Interview with KBOO Radio (Ken Jones)

Story

After completing Katherine Gibbs Secretarial School, Andrea Davies takes a position at a large New York Advertising firm, admittedly there to find a husband and secure a life as a well-to-do, country club socialite.

Andrea meets Richard Hayes, one of the firm's partners. An attraction takes hold. To everyone at the firm, Richard is the powerful yet kind and respectful executive with tragic home life. He appears to be a devoted husband to Margaret, a dangerous "lunatic" who is in and out of psychiatric hospitals.

Andrea becomes increasingly drawn into Richard's bizarre personal life. She begins to assume the role of his wife and mother of his young daughter. However, a parallel reality continues back at his apartment where his psychotic wife moves in and out of insanity.

Full Season 1 Outline

Episode 1: The Promotion (34:02)

Andrea Davies introduces us to her world as an ambitious secretary in the 1950s world of advertising.

Episode 2: Mrs. Margaret Hayes (31:00)

Months have passed in her new position and Andrea's confidence is soaring. She likes campaign work AND making sure things run smoothly for Richard. One evening Andrea drops Richard's dry cleaning at his apartment. As she nears the door, Andrea hears screams and calamity from inside. Andrea comes face to face with a living ghost: Richard's wife, Margaret Hayes. When Richard hints at feelings "beyond work" Andrea panics.

Episode 3: Handsome Steven Morris (34:00)

Andrea is confused by her interactions with Richard Hayes. He's turned cold and criticizes every little thing she does. After a particularly cruel interaction she begins to contemplate her future and her feelings. Then a little bird tells her that the new art director, handsome Steven Morris, is interested in her. This is a game changer.

Episode 4: Charming Steven Morris (20:00)

Steven Morris is everything a girl could wish for:handsome, charming, and forward thinking. He has just the upbringing Mother has been wanting for Andrea. Steven has been interested in Andrea for quite a while. While embers of passion still burn for Richard Hayes, Andrea can see an altogether happier life with a man like Steven Morris.

Episode 5: Pressure Cooker (31:00)

It seems all of Mothers dreams for Andrea are coming true. But... are these Andrea's dreams too? There is a pressure cooker inside of Andrea, a bomb ready to explode. Will she be able to navigate these rough psychological waters or will our protagonist drown in mediocrity?

Episode 6: Wedding Bells and Dreams Collide (37:00)

Andrea is caught in a cyclone of emotions as her wedding day rapidly approaches. She is swept away but it feels reckless and suffocating. As her anxiety rises she retreats into fantasies of Richard Hayes. Then passions flare when Richard sees her dressed for the symphony before a date with Steven. He breaks his silence and tells her "Andrea you look breathtaking in that dress."

Episode 7, Part 1: The Bridal Shower (33:00)

The descent begins. Andrea's choices at the end of Episode 6 snares her in a tormented situation. The bridal shower and fawning by all the girls gives her a window into the possibility of a universe where she is at the center. It's a world she desperately wants. But...after the events at the end of Episode 6, will Richard let her go so easily? This episode is so intense we had to break it into two parts!

Episode 8: The Bridal Shower and Its Aftermath (20:00)

Episode 9: Fish Out of Water (42:00)

Andrea feels like her indiscretion has been announced over a bullhorn. She never thought the gossip would turn on her. Shut out from Richard's professional life, Andrea begins venturing into the Hayes' dark home life.

Episode 10: Miss Velvet Maude (25:00)

What's done is done. Andrea is looking at her old life from the outside. When she calls Richard at the office, she first has to speak to his new secretary, Velvet Maude. If Andrea wakes from a bad dream in the middle of the night, Richard is not with her. He's at home with his family. She has the drudgery of a wife and mother, but none of the benefits. She feels herself growing desperate for Richard's attention and begins to singularly focus on his validation.

Episode 11: A Heart Around Them Both (6:00)

After Richard leaves for the night all Andrea has is her Diary. Some nights she simply writes his name over and over across the page. Sometimes she writes his name and then hers underneath, then draws a heart around them both.

Episode 12: Lunch with Mrs. Margaret Hayes (33:00)

Andrea's life has become monotonous. Richard is her singular focus. She is lonely and bored. However, an afternoon with Mrs. Margaret Hayes leaves Andrea hopeful that she's found a new friend--as unlikely as it is. Isn't that just the way life is sometimes?

Episode 13: Andrea, Let a Man Have His Secrets (27:00)

Andrea, why can't you leave well enough alone? Why must you pry into Richard's personal life? Didn't mother teach you to let a man have his secrets? No matter how dark they may be.

Episode 14 - Passion or Truth? (30:00)

This is it, isn't it Dear readers? Andrea has to decide for herself between passion and truth. Why can't she finally get what she wants? The sinister shadow that's been haunting her will dissipate once and for all...once she stops challenging Richard's decisions.

Episode 15 - Poor Margaret (48:00)

Despite her guilt--and she had quite a lot of it--Andrea decides to stand by Richard. After all she will be his wife soon. That's what women do! As for Margaret? Well, she should have known better than to try to befriend Andrea. Andrea is the last person she should have trusted.

Bonus Episode: Interview with Dr. Walter Freeman, Lobotomist (14:00)

Sit in on a lecture with Dr. Walter Freeman, the world's most famous lobotomist! This lecture is based on an actual peer-reviewed journal article in the Yale Medical Review in the 1940s. Dr. Freeman provides a short lecture and then introduces a successful lobotomy subject to the class, Miss Dorothy Linden.

Episode 16: A Gentleman on One Side, A Devil on the Other (34:00)

Andrea's dreams of a perfect love and respectable life seem to have shattered -- but could something good come from this horrible dark event? Were Margaret's words a harbinger of a terrible fate or simply ravings of a man-woman? "Richard Hayes is a gentleman on one side and the devil on the other."

Episode 17  Part 1: Honeymoon!

They are finally together! Richard and Andrea take us to Hawaii in this romantic episode of The Diarist. It's magical and of course perfect. And the ghost of Margaret Hayes? Why she can barely haunt them at all. No. This indeed, is the happiest time of Andrea's life.

Episode 18: Part 2: Honeymoon Continued!

How long does it take for a facade to shatter? Our poor protagonist has found herself on an island--inhabited by the ghosts of her past and present. There's Richard but remember he is a gentleman on one side and a devil on the other.

Episode 19: Sharks Circling (39:00)

This is it, isn't it Dear Reader? The truth? It's right here now--just below the surface--you see? The sharks? They are circling--and Andrea? Why, she's drowning in Margaret's blood.

Episode 20: An Island of Isolation (29:00)

Andrea is stuck on an island of isolation as Richard swims away--fast and steady, as sharks do. She is now consumed with Margaret's diaries. She's found an unoccupied storage room in the basement of her apartment building. Everyday Andrea ventures into a grave to read the words of a dead woman. Andrea is plagued by one thought. "I'm not Margaret." But then, she always corrects herself. "I'm not Margaret...YET."

Episode 21 - Season Finale! (54:00)

Dear Andrea, What happened to that ambitious, hopeful Katy Gibbs girl? A young beautiful girl in her prime? Why...Andrea you should be a country club lady with Sara McGinnis or Pearl Stewart! Not lonely and drunk in the middle of the day, haunted by your husband's ex-wife. You're Andrea Davies! Why Andrea? Look what's become of you! It seems you are worse off than Margaret. You two weren't so different after all.

Bonus: The Diarist Live! With Foley (48:00)

Enjoy this stand alone bonus episode! Hear all your favorite Diarist actors live with foley sound effects. The live show was recorded in Portland Oregon at the Twilight Theater as part of Portland Radio Theater Live! (with Exoplanetary and Willamette Radio Workshop.) For credits visit www.illuminusproductions.com

More about The Diarist

• Bello Collective-Early Spring Debuts: https://bellocollective.com/audio-drama-debuts-an-early-spring-9f7ad1a51a18Best Audio Dramas Player FM
• Best Audio Dramas Podcast Ap
• Emma's Detail Shop, Brunch at the Guesthouse: https://www.facebook.com/events/your-laptop/chat-with-donna-barrow-green/275073903024096/
• The Fictional Cafe: https://www.fictionalcafe.com/the-diarist-your-friday-night-podcast/
• Geek Girl authority Review: https://www.geekgirlauthority.com/podcast-review-the-diarist/
• The Howly Crowely Hour KBOO Radio: https://kboo.fm/media/69488-holy-crowley-hour
• MindGasms - Mindgasms Donna Barrow-Green: Dark Psychology, #MeToo, Trump: https://youtu.be/JRb1dWzxntM
• Radio Public (2018 runner up for Dark Workplace Dramas)
• Sinair Talks Review: https://siniartalks.blogspot.com/2018/08/the-diarist-review.html
• Twilight Theater, Portland OR -Radio Theater Live! - Diarist Live Show Streamed on KBOO https://kboo.fm/radiotheatrelive
• Unstructured: https://unstructuredpod.com/023-donna-barrow-green-created.../ 

Trailer

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"The Diarist is what you get if Mad Men and Jane Eyre marry and have a baby, where a secretary becomes the personal assistant to a prickly and strange ad executive and falls in love. It's about regular people in the 1950s making bad decisions. The voice leads in particular are instrumental in creating a haunting story about people that could have been happy. (Bello Collective)"Enter your text here...Z

These days noir fiction is slowly but surely becoming something of a dying art. So it was fun to rediscover my love for all things noir through this story (I may or may not have bought a bunch of Alfred Hitchcock movies). But what I love even more than that has to be the voice actors. With a fantastic production team and music backing them up, the cast gives a flawless performance that really sucks you into another world. I just really love this podcast. I love the music, how it feels like more of an audio book than a podcast, how they show how mental illness was actually dealt with in the 1950's and Margaret Hayes; my favorite character. If I had to give any legitimate criticism it would be the lack of merch. Other than that? It's spectacular. (Geek Girl Authority https://www.geekgirlauthority.com/podcast-review-the-diari.../