Producing an audiobook

I have worked with a couple different narrators and have gone through the process myself, narrating my own work. 

My latest narrator has just completed work on the audiobook for THE DEMON FROM THE CRYPT. When she did the first book, HORNED OWL HOLLOW, she checked in when she had questions about how something might be pronounced, but ultimately, she recorded and mastered the whole thing before I was able to listen to it. 

When I commissioned my first audiobook, the narrator sent me chapters as she finished them to review. I appreciated that, mostly because I was able to catch something that didn't work right away and save rerecording later on down the line. I did discover working with her that there were more pickups - corrections - as we went. She did a second book for me and I think the one big thing I had to have her fix was the way she read one of the characters. She read his part with a sharp twang instead of a drawl that gave him a completely different sound from the previous book where his dialect had been very understated (as it was meant to be).

I used someone else for a different series, and she, too, did an "all at once" approach. She was a "professional," a member of the Screen Actors Guild. With the "all at once" files, there weren't as many pickups because she'd already reviewed the files, mastered them, and worked with someone else to error check her. She did, however, have one major hiccup for me - "that's not what this says." Inflection is everything. But that's what pickups are for. The opportunity to make a correction before the book is finalized.

I've discovered I like doing the interim "listens," if only to spot check voices or pronunciations, but I suspect narrators aren't as happy doing that because it interrupts their flow. Knowing they have to stop to make a correction slows down the process. However, if I'd had the benefit of interim checks for Horned Owl Hollow, I might have corrected how she pronounced some of the last names, and also asked for a different take on two of the voices. At the end of the day, it wasn't critical to the performance. With the files coming to me as a finished product, I let those things slide. Maybe that's another reason the narrators prefer to send it all at once.

With "Demon," there was a significant mispronunciation when I got the files back. I had to request "re-dos" for 34 instances of that word throughout the performance. There were other minor corrections to be made, and I have to admit that when I got the "sample" from her, I passed on pointing out the pronunciation of one of the character's names, which I should have done. Not worth correcting. Overall, she did an excellent performance of the story, and after going through the pickups, the audiobook is now slogging its way through the final production process. A newsletter will be going out once it is live.

Do you listen to audiobooks? What are some of the things that jump out at your during the narrator's performance?

Getting to work

Being an author is far from glamorous. 

For years, I balanced my writing with a day job. In many ways, that made me more disciplined with the writing because of my limited availability to disappear into an alternate universe. Now that writing is my full-time gig (and no, it doesn't support me. I have the years at the day job to thank for that), my writing schedule is somewhat more haphazard. 

For starters, there's exercise to consider. Sitting at my computer 24/7 is not an option. Three days a week, I take myself out of the house to a gym to exercise. The other four days, I take myself outside for said exercise, or the treadmill in the basement, or other concentrated efforts. Generally, the big guy goes with me, so if we go to the gym first thing in the morning, that means I don't settle in to write until lunchtime. Ooops. Lunchtime. Okay, so I'll start AFTER lunch. I strive to spend 2-3 hours after lunch at my computer. On those "home" exercise days, I might start writing in the a.m., or at least that's the goal. The exercise on "home" days more often falls closer to lunchtime (right before or right after). 

Add in other distractions. Currently, I'm waiting for the audio files for THE DEMON FROM THE CRYPT. The lovely Jude Erin has promised them to me by the beginning of November, but her regular updates make me optimistic that she might be early. That means a couple of days to listen to the files and make sure she hasn't missed something (she's very thorough, so that isn't likely, but always better to check). Then, there's that part of me that procrastinates because, you know, those files are coming any day now.

Did I mention marketing? With each book release (do you have your copy of THE DEMON FROM THE CRYPT yet?), time has to be devoted to getting the new book into people's hands. Creatives to create. Taglines to tag. Markets to tap. This is EXHAUSTING for someone who has trouble tooting her own horn, much less actually getting herself out to meet people. Even the "not peopley" parts. 

Then there's the creative process, itself. Generally, getting "into the groove" is the most fun part of the job. I'm working on Elle 3, as much as all these other things are getting in my way and providing me reasons to procrastinate. I'm not in the groove yet. I know what the story is, but because I also like to write romance novels in addition to the spooky stuff, I keep getting side-tracked by Elle's burgeoning romance. These books are about the ghosts. I remind myself of that on a daily basis. The romance is the subplot, not the main plot. 

Last, there's the weather. What does the weather have to do with writing a book? Speaking in broad generalizations, authors are often introverts and also deal with some level of depression. This is not true of all authors (broad generalizations, remember?). These generalizations, however, do apply to me. We have had two weeks of rain. Rain tends to dampen the mood/spirit. Add in the "getting out there to promote," which requires a lot of energy and effort for an introvert. Recovery time required. Usually, this is the best time to lose myself in my writing and escape the real world for a little while. Usually.

When all is said and done, I'm working on the new book. The process maybe isn't going as fast as I'd like it to, but it is progressing. 

So this is where I tell you I'll be sending the next newsletter as soon as the audio for THE DEMON FROM THE CRYPT is finished and on sale. You'll want to make sure you're signed up. Also, the audio for FAMILY ALCHEMY is on special (narrated by yours truly), so if you've been waiting to listen to a copy, now's your chance. The special is running at GooglePlay, Apple Books, Spotify, Barnes and Noble, and Chirp. I hope you'll let me know what you think! Pats on the back are always good motivators. 😁

Little Miss Muffet

If you’re squeamish about bugs - spiders in particular - you might want to skip this post…

I’ll start out easy. While on my trip to Maine, my buddy Jennifer very casually mentioned the big black spider in the bag she’d packed with car snacks. Eek! (After she’d properly disposed of it, thank heaven.)

Fast forward to back home. I sent the Big Guy out for groceries, and broccoli that was on sale. I washed half a head to cook for dinner, and something caught my eye in the sink. A big black - black widow! - spider. I very calmly called the Big Guy into the kitchen and pointed at the beast. After dinner, I told a friend about the spider and posited that it might have come from the broccoli since I’ve NEVER seen a black widow in my house. She said she’d never heard of spiders in broccoli. Well, I have, but black widows? So, of course, I had to look it up, and yep, it happens. Yeesh.  Now I’m nervous about eating the rest of the heads he bought, but I will soldier on. (The second meal with broccoli was spider-free.)

These sorts of unexpected things have a tendency to find their ways into my books. In this case, I wrote black widows BEFORE I encountered one (have you read THE ARCHITECT?). Shout out to editor Kelly for educating me on the wee beasties.

Meanwhile, I'm working on Elspeth Barcley #3 and contemplating what unexpected horrors... um, surprises... she will run into this time.

Have you read the new series? How are you liking it? 

More trolls

I just love these guys, so I had to share all of them. You can read about them in the pictures with their names. I found them in Maine, at the Boothbay Botanical Gardens, but the artist, Thomas Dambo, has been creating them all across the country from sustainable materials.

Roskva

Birk

Gro

Soren

Lilja

Here a link to when they were in my neck of the woods
In case you want to see more!

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Don't forget to get your copy of the NEW RELEASE! I can't wait to hear what you think!

Amazon | BN | Apple | Kobo | Others

I am inspired!

The new book is out! (in case you hadn't heard, you can buy THE DEMON FROM THE CRYPT here!) But you know that... or at least I hope you do! So I won't bore you with the details, although I hope you'll get your copy!

Work has started on Elspeth's third book. I took a trip to unwind, reinvigorate, play with my friend, get inspired. Jennifer took me sightseeing in one of her favorite playgrounds and together we spotted many things that tugged on the imagination. From trolls at the botanical gardens (Thomas Dambo is really spectacular for those of you who don't have exhibits close enough to visit), to Bar Harbor, to Acadia National Park, to tea and popovers at the Jordan Pond House, to Cadillac Mountain, there were so many beautiful sights and sounds. And some haunting sights, as well. Allow me to share some of my photos:

Playful trolls

Secret treehouse?

A pointing tree

Devilstone cottage

The Margaret Todd

Did I mention the book release? Oh, yeah. Don’t mind me. Let me know if you got your copy!

Empty Nest Syndrome?

I have to say it's a wonderful feeling when I get final edits back and I can address them in the span of two hours. Shocked and amazed, I moved on to the final proof of THE DEMON FROM THE CRYPT. Having Word's "Read" function read the text back to me for those typos that slip by my eyes but which can't escape the ears. The narrator for the Elspeth series will begin work for the audiobook version shortly.

I've sent the book out into the world, rather like a child moving away from home. I’m feeling somewhat melancholy as I wave goodbye and hope it thrives out there in the real world, but it will never be far away. 

And so I've begun writing Elspeth's third book. Interviewed a source, picked up a book from the library, and embarking on more "physical" research. The book has a plan, but I still need details. Taking a breather to gather my thoughts and assemble the research. 

If I don't see you next week, I'll be back on release day. In the meantime, here are the preorder links again, in case you're anxious to meet my newest fledgling.

Hair

I'll have final edits back on Friday, so as I twiddle my thumbs (I have a new story in queue, but with interruptions abounding, it consists mainly of notes), I've been doing research and taking field trips. 

Field trips are fun. The weather is not. As with most of the country, we are in a final (one would hope) heat wave as summer makes its last stand, along with high humidity. Earlier this summer, I got a short haircut to deal with the weather because I have curly hair. Thick, curly hair. Humidity has a tendency to like to run its fingers through my hair and leave it standing on end, or straight out from my head. When it's short, it just curls into tight little curls. Because we're at the end of the summer my hair is getting longer again. Which means the humidity is gleefully mussing up my hair again.

 Here's the thing. Nobody likes their own hair. At least most of the time. If I'm honest, I do like my hair. Most of the time. After years of not being able to tame the mane, I've finally learned how to control it. Most of the time. I have a family member who tells me she ties hers into a ponytail after she washes it to control it, and at the end of the day when she releases, it's fine (and still damp!). I use product on mine. She tells me using product on her hair is like making it dirty again right away - putting something on clean hair seems counterintuitive to her. She doesn't have my hair issues. If I did her ponytail thing, the minute I took out the ponytail, I'd have the lion's mane once again.

When I started getting of an age where high school reunions began, I had a message from an old classmate who used to live a couple of blocks away. He asked if I remembered him, and my first thought was "we had the same hair." (I remembered him for other reasons, but we traveled in different crowds in high school.) I asked how he managed his hair now that we're all grown up. He said he keeps it very short (shout out to Steve). 

When we went to Spain for my niece's wedding, I was concerned about my hair. I kept it long, figuring it would be easier to tie it back in an attempt to control frizzy hair. I was wrong. Fortunately, I found a stylist in Spain who tamed it so I was presentable for the wedding. Muchas gracias! 

Neatly styled (after)

Tied back, but still "crazy" (before)

I'm growing it out again for winter (winter wool, doncha know). Overall, I find it IS easier to maintain when it's longer. Is your hair the kind that expands in humidity, or does it go limp?