This has been a whirlwind week in the writing game for yours
truly. I’ve been gathering some amazing writers and artists for the next
RAILROAD! intermission. The final edits and cover for SUNDOWNERS has come
through, with the release date set for the end of September. I was asked to be
part of a huge blog event in September, as well as a Skype interview for a
zombie event in Florida in October. (More on all of the things as they unfold!)
But the most important, most wonderful, most amazingly amazing thing that
happened this week is something that has been in the works for a little while
now.
I now have an audio book.
I have to admit, I have been hankering to turn my work into
audio for some time. I’ve recorded my own stuff in the past, shorts
mostly—though I did do a few chapters of LUCKY STIFF for the Library podcast.
But when it came to the actual work of translating an entire novel into audio
form, well, quite frankly I just didn’t have the time. The gods know I can’t
stop writing new stuff long enough to promote the material I already have. So
frustrating! Audio companies looking to get me to sign with them have courted
me, once or twice. Yet in the end it has always been a matter of cost. (As in,
I was too poor to hire someone to do it for me.)
Then along comes Chris Barnes.
Like the clever little minx he is, Chris sent me a recording
of the first chapter of THE COLD BENEATH as nothing more than a thank you for writing it in the first place. (That’s his story, and he is sticking to it.) Of
course, I wouldn’t blame him if he took it as a chance to showcase his amazing
talents, because whether it was or not, I fell for his reading like a fat kid
falls for cake! I didn’t care how much this young man wanted, I had to have him
read the entire novel.
So, I made room in the budget and I hired him.
Chris has been an absolute blessing. Since that first email
we went from tentative preparation to full blown audio production. He made the
whole process so incredibly easy. I mean, after all, he did do all of the work.
I mean ALL of the work. Sure, I wrote the damned thing, but he pained over
every little detail, poured so much emotion into the characters, it was as if
he wrote it himself.
Now, after about two months of planning and working and
patiently waiting, I am pleased beyond all that I can possibly imagine to
announce that the audio book for THE COLD BENEATH is now finished, and ready
for your hot little hands. Or in this case ears. The production is phenomenal.
Chris did such a good job not only capturing the lead character of Philip, but
also nailed each of the other characters from the supporting cast right down to
the incidentals. (You haven’t lived until you’ve heard a modern day Scotsman
speak with a Victorian Kentuckian accent!)
This is all like a fantastic dream for me. Just a few years
ago I was squeakin’ out short stories, hoping someone—anyone—would take a
chance on a newbie writer. And now, I am on the audio scene with my first
professionally produced novel. Jerry was right, man, it has been a long, strange
trip.
Best part of all of this? Dynamic Ram Audio Productions has
snagged three more of my novels, including one that has yet to be released.
SKIN TRADE is next up, and I know it is going to be just as amazing.
Go. Download the book. Listen to it for yourself. And thanks
so much for your continued support!
Later taters,