I’ve been submerged in the recording studio (my office) for the last few days, and have emerged with the first taste of what my audiobook of Sunborn will be like, if the good Lord’s willing and the creek don’t rise. I’ve put the prologue and first chapter up for free download, pretty much in finished form.
Check it out and let me know what you think!
http://www.starrigger.net/Audiobooks.htm
“Good writing is about telling the truth. We are a species that needs and wants to understand who we are. Sheep lice do not seem to share this longing, which is one reason they write so very little. But we do.”
—Anne Lamott
hbar98
You don’t seem to have the “New England” accent that was apparent with the citizens up there the last time I visited my sister in New Hampshire.
By the by, are you going to offer autographed copies of Sunborn? I have waited for this book for a good while, and a little extra time for an autographed copy wouldn’t bother me at all… hehe
Jeffrey A. Carver
That’s because I grew up in Ohio. I’ve been in New England since my college years. But hardly anyone around me actually has a Boston accent (I live in a Boston suburb); I think at least half the population around here must be immigrants from other parts of the country, or from outside the U.S.
I’ll definitely have autographed copies of Sunborn for mail order, though typically I don’t receive my copies until they’ve already been in stores for a couple of weeks. I’ll also be doing some signings around the area, which I’ll try Really Hard to remember to post in advance here on my blog.
hbar98
My sister grew up here in Southern Illinois and only lived in the New England states a handful of years. Even though she hasn’t been there in ages and now lives in Minnesota, she still has that New England accent. Her children, however, dropped it soon after moving down to Southern Illinois.
I’ll keep an eye out for when you get some copies to sign. I would try to send you my copy to sign, but I think you’ll be busy enough without trying to remember to sign and send yet another book.
On the topic of the actual audio book, I would just mention that it sounds like you are trying awfully hard to enunciate your words. It does not sound natural or fluid to my ears. It could be just a regional difference…I don’t really know.
Have a good day!
Jeffrey A. Carver
I just realized I never answered your feedback about the audio. I’ve been listening to other audiobooks readers lately, and I find I do prefer the ones who read in a more leisurely, clearly enunciated voice. That said, I’m definitely trying to find the right balance. I listened to my own piece for the first time on an ipod the other day and found it a very different experience from listening to it on my room speakers or headphones. For some reason, in fact, I found that the pace felt different, and indeed distractions such as hum and a background bird sound jumped out that were almost inaudible before. So I have a ways to go.
I’m still on the cusp as to whether to go ahead with the project. It is proving enormously time-consuming.
hbar98
I’m still on the cusp as to whether to go ahead with the project. It is proving enormously time-consuming.
Well, yes, that’s because you are just treading the waters here. Rome wasn’t built out of hay, and all that jazz.
Audiobooks can be a wonderful thing…I recently listened to Shatner’s autobiography on CD to and from my way to work, and it made the trip much more enjoyable. Trying to read the book, on the other hand…well, I’m sad to say that there are a few books in my library that I have not yet finished (though none of yours are that way…in fact, the first three books of the Chaos Chronicles have been well read).
And if you are going to release them free? All the better to gain new readers!
Heh, maybe you could get Shatner to read your books for CD. That would be surreal.
Jeffrey A. Carver
Everything positive you say about audiobooks is true. However, as I report in a new post, I’m putting this one on ice for a while. If only I had a 30-hour day and didn’t need sleep…