T's Stuff: audiobooks

Showing posts with label audiobooks. Show all posts

Thursday, January 16, 2020

A Texan Goes to Nirvana by Kelly Jackson

Author: Kelly Jackson

Narrator: Kelly Jackson

Length: 4 hours 24 minutes

Publisher: Kelly Jackson

Released: July 9, 2019

Genre: Humor

Yoga has finally come off her high horse to reveal doubters, sufferers, and cynics. This is the story of one woman’s comic misadventures at the ashram from hell.

Wendy Tate finds herself at a yoga ashram for teacher training, which sounds like a nice, new adventure to her. She'll have to put on a nicotine patch and give up her daily 5 pm martini. Pish Posh. What could happen? Little does she know, there are characters in and out of the ashram that turn her goals inside out, but she gets to keep her healthy skepticism.

Kelly Jackson is a SAG/AFTRA-affiliated actor and comedienne, and as such, she loves idealizing characters in the books that she narrates. Kelly and her sister are also bloggers known as The Midlife Gals Gone Gray. That’s how this whole thing got started. They choose a topic and then annihilate it through two hilariously disparate points of view. Kelly wrote a book, A Texan Goes to Nirvana, and wanted to narrate it herself. That’s how that got started. When not writing and narrating, Kelly has a ‘death grip on the control panel’ as a Senior Executive Assistant/Girl Friday to CEOs. Although a Texan by birth, Kelly and her sister live in Hawaii and enjoy a regular yoga practice, movies, swimming and oddbody watching at nearby beaches. Aloha! Proud member of SAG/AFTRA

Website

By Author/Narrator Kelly Jackson

I’m already attracted to all of the audiobook listeners who will love A Texan Goes to Nirvana because, well why wouldn’t I be? Were I to run across a title like that on Audible, especially being a native Texan, the title alone would make me spit up some laughter and cause me to wonder why in the hell a Texan would want to go to Nirvana in the first place. And, you’re curious, aren’t you? I’d be fairly certain that some insanity and hilarity would ensue on the protagonist’s way to enlightenment, so I’d put that audiobook right in my ‘cart’ and check out!

When one thinks of Nirvana, a Texan is not the first seeker who might come to mind. Maybe I could see a Vermonter…Vermontan…Vermontinian, oh hell…you know who you are, and you would go to an ashram sooner than I, wouldn’t you?

There is a dichotomy twixt Texans and ashrams. That’s like putting okra in curry. Nobody puts okra in curry…oops, I just Googled that, and damned if I didn’t immediately run up against a recipe for curried okra. Yuck!

Know that this nutty, comic mystery is ‘loosely’ based on an actual hellish month that I spent at a real ashram nestled in the backwoods of Virginia in order to procure a yoga teaching certificate. And, from just reading to this point, you can guess that I might have kept a journal…again, wouldn’t you?? I had packed some serious skepticism in my suitcase, and from that cynical diary sprang Wendy Tate, Mountain, Nanandaji and her swami hoes, hillbillies, the FBI and the Swami man, himself.

What could go wrong?

Kelly Jackson's 10 Reasons to Listen to A Texan Goes to Nirvana

You wonder what Nirvana is.
You got a free giveaway code, and you thought…what the hell?
One of your friends told you about it, and how it would make a kick-ass movie.
You need a break from audiobooks filled with cyborgs, shape shifters and murderous ghouls.
You’d pick a goat yoga class over Hot yoga any day.
You want and/or need a good guffaw.
You’re more interested in yoga for smokers, drinkers, meat-eaters and non-believers.
You need a laugh on the train from New York to D.C. to steel yourself for the conference on business cycles and their influence on gen-X’ers.
You want to know why anyone would go to an ashram.
You LOVE AUDIOBOOKS!

Jan. 14th:

Nesie's Place

The World As I See It

Locks, Hooks and Books

Jan. 15th:

Jazzy Book Reviews

Jan. 16th:

T's Stuff

Eileen Troemel

Jan. 17th:

4 the Love of Audiobooks

Jan. 18th:

Buried Under Books

Jan. 19th:

The Clipped Nightingale

Jan. 20th:

Teatime and Books

Viviana MacKade

Plugging you into the audio community since 2016.

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Tuesday, January 14, 2020

Updrift (Book One) by Errin Stevens

Author: Errin Stevens

Narrator: Sean Posvistak

Publisher: Errin Stevens

Released: Apr. 20, 2017

Series: The Mer Chronicles, Book 1

Length: 8 hours 37 minutes

Genre: Romantic Fantasy

For Kate Sweeting, love isn’t in the air. It’s in the water.

Since her father died, Kate Sweeting’s home life has been in the pits, her well-being on life support. Her future looks desolate until she and her mother, Cara, make another plan: abandon their shriveled existence for more promising prospects on the coast, where Cara can play small-town librarian-bachelorette and Kate can figure out what’s up with that secretive Blake family from the beach.

Everyone is eerily captivated with Kate and her mother, and Cara is the first to figure out why when the man of her dreams arrives all dripping and devoted and closed-mouthed about what he intends. Kate is willing to go along with their subterfuge for a while, but eventually makes a charge for the water to learn what her mother is hiding. Gabe Blake is there waiting for her…and so is someone considerably less friendly. By the time Kate navigates her way home, everything will have changed for her—what she feels, what she wants, and what she’ll risk to be with the man she loves.

Errin Stevens writes paranormal romantic suspense stories from her home in Minnesota. When not wrestling with unruly narrative - or reading literary and commercial fiction like a fiend - you’ll find her poring over seed catalogues (winter) or gardening (the other three days of the year).

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Sean is an aspiring game developer who's used his years of work on Youtube to excel at audiobook narration.

Q&A with Author Errin Stevens

Tell us about the process of turning your book into an audiobook.
- Well, I went to the ACX web site and did a LOT of internet research while I considered how to best approach my projects. I decided I don’t much like how often we all get asked to create on the if-come, so even though it was expensive for me, I carved out a section of Updrift for use as a script and put the project up as a paid gig through the ACX production system. I got such wonderful responses from some truly talented narrators and was so agitated about choosing the right one. I co-opted the opinion of a longtime friend and actress to listen with me to help me figure it out! She told me to go with the one that pulled the “right” emotional response as I felt it… and since she and I both thought Sean’s read was the most compelling, I made him an offer. Thankfully, he accepted.Sean was an amazing professional to work with. He made every edit I requested, did everything smoothly and beautifully, and the second I could amass my next pile of cash to produce the sequel, I contacted him to see if he’d be interested, and he jumped all over it. I’m really grateful for the care Sean took with my stories and can’t recommend him highly enough.
Do you believe certain types of writing translate better into audiobook format?
- My short answer to this is ‘yes,’ although with the caveat that I still prefer reading on paper because that process blurs a certain divide between my conscious and unconscious and results in the experience I’m seeking when I read. But. I’ve listened to a few audiobooks - it saved my sanity on two cross-country drives! - and I think the experience was similar enough to “reading” that I’d do it again. I think any nonfiction would play well (I adored “In a Sunburned Country” by Bill Bryson); and I think a good narrator will know how to bring a story across as the writer intended.
How do you manage to avoid burn-out? What do you do to maintain your enthusiasm for writing?
- I don’t! Lol, no, really, I do write every day, although I’ve taken a few weeks off on occasion to let a piece rest or get a translation going or, ahem, audiobook produced. I also read a lot, and that always gives me ideas on how to storytell, too.
Is there a particular part of this story that you feel is more resonating in the audiobook performance than in the book format?
- Oh my goodness, yes. Sean’s voice is just this terrific blend of compelling goodies, prompts for the listener to envision the story as well as hear it, and to feel more viscerally the tension the characters feel. And then I think his rich, resonant delivery does a much better job bringing both my hero and my antagonist to life.
If this title were being made into a TV series or movie, who would you cast to play the primary roles?
- Oooo, that’s a hard one. I think I’d cast Mads Mikkelsen as Peter, Colton Haynes as Gabe, and Saoirse Ronan as Kate.
Were there any real life inspirations behind your writing?
- Although my stories are not at all retellings, the inspiration for Updrift was The Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Andersen. The little reflection of it I hope people see/enjoy is in the form of a character twist, since I modeled my bad guy after the original heroine. I.e., he was the one who risked everything and suffered the most for what he wanted.
What gets you out of a writing slump? What about a reading slump?
- The questions are a bit funny to me because each is an answer to the other - reading makes me want to write and vice versa. But with what I do, writing is a job and I make myself do it every day, shooting for 500 words, which I sometimes don’t quite get to and sometimes surpass. Exercise is important to me because my walks are where I dream through some of my writing problems… and you just have to stay with it. Not very exciting, I know, but the real answer is to keep at it.
Do you have any tips for authors going through the process of turning their books into audiobooks?
- If you can, pay your narrator rather than offer a royalty share. It’s a cleaner deal, it gives creatives just like you a little income, and you’ll get more response for your audition. Plus you’ll hear a ton of good options, capable professionals you’d want working on your baby.
What’s next for you?
- I’m going to finish a fourth for this series, Crosstide, if it kills me. And it might. Seriously, I think my brain got broke last year… ;-)

Errin Stevens' "Mer" Top 10

“Rise Up” (song) by Thomas Jack & Jasmine Thompson. Addictive and hypnotic – give it a listen!
“Splash” (movie) is still as funny and adorable as ever.
“Mermaid” (book) by Carolyn Turgeon is a lovely reinterpretation of mermaid mythology, all adulted up.
“Robinson Crusoe” (book) by Daniel Dafoe is a revered classic for a reason. There are no merfolk but lots of ocean and it’s yummy and you should read it.
“Gift from the Sea” (poetry anthology) by Ann Morrow Lindbergh is dreamy and thoughtful and just right.
“Calypso” (song) by Suzanne Vega combines ocean nymphs, a Greek hero, and folk rock music in the cleverest of ways. What’s not to love?
“The Little Mermaid” (animated movie) will have you singing ‘undah da see’ for the rest of your natural born life.
“Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides” (movie) has the BEST, most convincing mermaids the movie world has ever given us.
“The Mermaid” (poem) by Alfred Lord Tennyson is a warm bath of beauty you can take anytime you want.
“Pirates Who Don’t Do Anything” (song/video) by Veggietales is HILARIOUS. Charming for grown-ups and little ones alike.

View the full 21-day schedule here!

Plugging you into the audio community since 2016.

Monday, January 13, 2020

Spirits of the Western Wild David Schaub & Roger Vizard

* Spirits of the western wild *

* David Schaub & Roger Vizard *

* Adventure/Mystery/Comedy *

Title: Spirits of the Western Wild

Authors: David Schaub & Roger Vizard

Publisher: Independent

Genre: Adventure / Mystery / Comedy

This mystical adventure follows a young
adventure-seeker named Luther McCleron on a westward journey to learn
more about his Grandfather. A series of fateful missteps take Luther far
from his destination to a disheveled little town under the tyranny of a
crooked sheriff named Big Willie. It’s here that Luther comes
face-to-face with the legendary ghost of Monty: a curmudgeonly ghost who
refuses to believe he’s dead. Luther just wants to get back to his
quest, but Monty thwarts his plans by using Luther to take out his
vengeance on Big Willie.

Through a catastrophic string of events, Luther and Monty find
themselves hopelessly entangled in a combative partnership that
escalates to the breaking point. Only by reconciling their differences
are they able to uncover the profound connections that weave their fates
together.

A mysterious book of premonitions, an ominous crow, and ancient
Indian drive the mystical tone of this world; conjuring spiritual forces
to help steer Luther on his journey through this western “twilight
zone.”

All the loose ends resolve in a satisfying story of redemption,
loyalty and ascension while exploring the mysterious nature of fate and
destiny. Was all of this a coincidence? Or are we guided by ancient
“spirits on the wind” that nudge and steer us along our path to assure
that we arrive safely at our intended destination in the end?

5 out of 5 stars

A fantastic and Immersive adventure for everyone.

What a wonderful audio book and what a
pleasure it was to be on this journey. Not only the adventure was
captivating but also everything around it. The sounds effect and voices
really bring it all together, you almost feel like you are right there
witnessing all this first hand. The production quality is something I
have never heard before. Very well done and I highly recommend it.

ORDER YOUR COPY

Amazon → https://amzn.to/2qsxtKC

Audible → https://adbl.co/2OjjleM

______________________

TEASER

______________________

EXCERPT

It's eerily quiet here, aside from the monotonous sound of a squeaking windmill, long detached from the rusted pump that feeds the wooden water

tower.

Dilapidated wooden structures are mixed with colonial Spanish architecture.  Ominous religious relics are awash in the orange glow of twilight -- home of the classic Spaghetti Western.
Jasper leads the way, mumbling nonsensical gibberish to himself.

Luther tags along cautiously -- unaware of a stoic old Indian watching from the shadows of the abandoned post office.

This is Kickapoo -- eyes barely discernible inside the ancient crevices of his face.  From under his poncho, Kickapoo radiates the calm tranquility of an ancient spirit.  All-knowing -- silent and still -- moving only as much as required to breathe.

A small flourish twists overhead -- a remnant of the storm -- and a page from Luther's lost book swirls in and settles at Kickapoo's feet.

PUSH IN on the header:  “CHAPTER 2: THE DELIVERANCE.”

Kickapoo gives an appreciative nod skyward.  The plan is unfolding...

______________________

TEASER

My Review

I started this book when I left my house in Florida, heading to Tennessee for the first leg of a Journey to return my Grandson home to North Carolina. My Grandson was in the back seat watching Youtube. After just a few minutes, it got quiet back there and I thought he went to sleep. Instead he was listening to the adventure plying out on the ca speakers. I have to admit, I was getting into the the adventure too but was shocked that he had started paying attention.

This book is written as a screenplay. It's like one of the old time radio shows, you know like Lone Ranger and stuff. Yes those are a bit before my time too but I have heard them. There is a cast not just a narrator. There are sound effects. This is really a fun and interesting book.

The book is an American Wild West mystery/drama. Luther McCleron a young adventure seeker, is on a journey out west to learn more about his grandfather. He ends up side tracked where he comes across a small town with a crooked Sheriff and runs into Monty a curmudgeonly ghost.

The pair duo up and try to find out how their fates are linked, and to get what both of them want on their quests.

This is a fun book for all ages. I hope there are more like it to come.

ABOUT THE AUTHORs

David Schaub is a writer and Academy Award ®
nominated Animation Supervisor working in the film industry for more
than 25 years. In 2019 he produced and directed the audio adaptation of
SPIRITS OF THE WESTERN WILD. He also developed STORY COMPASS®
smartphone app for screenwriters (www.moviemethods.com) in 2017.

Schaub received Oscar nomination for animation in Tim Burton’s ALICE
IN WONDERLAND (Disney), along with nominations for BAFTA Award, Saturn
Award and Critic’s Choice Award, and won the Golden Satellite Award for
Best Visual Effects for his team’s work on the film.

HEAD ANIMATION on Sony Picture’s SURFS UP – recognized with two Annie
Awards among its ten nominations including Academy Award nomination and
four Visual Effects Society (VES) award nominations.

ANIMATION DIRECTOR on AMAZING SPIDERMAN 2 (2014), CHRONICLES OF
NARNIA (Disney), I AM LEGEND (Warner Bros.) and LEAD ANIMATOR on STUART
LITTLE 1 & 2, EVOLUTION, CAST AWAY, GODZILLA, PATCH ADAMS and more.

ANIMATION DIRECTOR – Universal’s award-winning JURASSIC WORLD
EXPEDITION (2019) VR EXPERIENCE. Exploring cinematic potential of
virtual reality.

website & Social links

Website → https://www.dschaub2.com/

https://www.dschaub2.com/other-projects

Facebook → https://www.facebook.com/dschaub2writer

Goodreads → https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/19662596.David_Schaub

Roger Vizard is a writer and self-taught
artist. He was accepted into the animation program at Sheridan College
in1987, then worked at Sullivan Bluth Studios in Ireland, then as an
animation apprentice on “WHO FRAMED ROGER RABBIT” at Richard Williams’
studio in London. He later became Williams’ assistant animator on
“THIEF AND THE COBBLER.”

After several years working in Europe at studios like Gerhard Hahn in
Germany and A-films in Denmark, he moved to Los Angeles in 1993 to work
as a story board artist on the first season of Sonic the Hedgehog, then
rolled back into animation again after that. He successfully made the
transition to from 2D to CGI on “STUART LITTLE 2” in 2001, and since
that time have worked non-stop at animation/VFX studios in Los Angeles.

website

Website → https://www.rvizard.com/

Friday, December 20, 2019

Embracing the Dragon by K.L. Bone

Author: K.L. Bone

Narrator: Kylie Stewart

Length: 6 hours 59 minutes

Series: Flames of Kalleen, Book 1

Publisher: K.L. Bone

Released: Sep. 12, 2018

Genre: Paranormal Romance

Can a human heart withstand the flames of a dragon’s soul?

For centuries, the dragons of Kalleen have ruled the skies. Blessed by the goddess of fire, those born of her power are destined to exist within two worlds while fully belonging to neither.

As the youngest daughter of the dragon queen, Amelia has always been torn between her humanity and winged form. In meeting Stephen, she found a blossoming love that gave her hope of finding balance. But it is a dream destroyed when her sister, and future queen, sets her sights upon the same man.

Forced from her lover’s side, Amelia embraces a self-imposed exile, taking refuge in the northern mountains. In this new life of solitude, she banishes painful memories by retreating to her dragon form, sheltering the wounded girl within. Yet it is an isolation that cannot last, as the new dragon queen’s cruelty bears down upon the kingdom, allowing an ancient enemy to rise.

Drawn from her banishment by the pleas of friends, Amelia must choose. Will she embrace the destructive beast within? Or draw upon the frail humanity that lingers dimly in her soul, in a desperate attempt to help her people and mend a broken heart?

K.L. Bone is a bestselling author of dark fantasy and paranormal romance. Her works include the bestselling Black Rose Guard dark fantasy series. The bestselling Flames of Kalleen paranormal romance series. The Rise of the Temple Gods fantasy series. And a stand-alone science fiction novel, The Indoctrination.

Bone has a master’s degree in modern literary cultures and is working toward her PhD. She wrote her first short story at the age of fifteen and grew up with an equally great love of both classical literature and speculative fiction. Bone has spent the last few years as a bit of a world traveler, living in California, London, and most recently, Belfast. When not immersed in words, of her own creation or studies, you’ll find her traveling to mythical sites and Game of Thrones filming locations.

Website⎮Twitter⎮Facebook⎮Goodreads

Kylie Stewart has been writing short stories and books all her life. She was influenced by her Scottish heritage to become an independent British history buff and has a small library dedicated to Tudor history and is a lover of Arthurian legends. From contemporary, to fantasy, to the paranormal, she loves to write gritty, real, and raw romance that make you dread to see the pages dwindle.

A member of RWA, she is also a member of the APA and works as an audio book narrator when she isn’t writing. Kylie lives in Dallas, TX with her husband and fellow voice actor Eric Rolon, and their three cats Asuka, Ollie, and Haru.

Website⎮Twitter⎮Facebook⎮Instagram

Q&A with Author K.L. Bone

Was a possible audiobook recording something you were conscious of while writing?
- In my more recent books, yes. I tend to be more conscious of deciding where characters are from, in order to give consideration to various accents that can be used for narration.
How did you select your narrator?
- Kylie Stewart did an audition for another I was working on. The specific book for which she auditioned was part of a series which was already pre-contracted to someone else. However, I loved her audition and asked if she would consider working on a different project. A few months later she started on the Flames of Kalleen series and we have now done six projects together. She’s amazing to work with. Professional, friendly, and always delivers the books on time. She puts amazing emotional depth to the various characters, and I hope to continue working with Kylie on many future projects.
How closely did you work with your narrator before and during the recording process? Did you give them any pronunciation tips or special insight into the characters?
- I do work closely with my narrator throughout the audiobook process. I tend to offer a pronunciation guide for character names, fantasy terms or in the case of some books, any terms used in a foreign language. I also discuss any particular type of accents that should be used, prior to narration beginning.
- Once all the files have been recorded, I then review the audiobook and email my narrator with any corrections and changes that need to be made prior to finalization.
Are you an audiobook listener? What about the audiobook format appeals to you?
- I am an avid audiobook listener. I used to listen to books on tape on long car rides with my mother when I was young and continue to listen to audiobooks on trips to this day. I love how narrators can bring a story to life with accents, emotional conveyance and pacing.
Is there a particular part of this story that you feel is more resonating in the audiobook performance than in the book format?
- There are several pieces of back-stories thread throughout Embracing the Dragon. One scene in particular, a dragon knight named Gwain is telling the story of how his little sister was kidnapped by the wicked temples and how he attempted to save her. Gwain finding his sister after years of forced separation is a highly emotional scene which was conveyed beautifully by my narrator, Kylie Stewart. Hearing this scene read aloud added an emotional depth with brought the characters and scene to life.
If you had the power to time travel, would you use it? If yes, when and where would you go?
- I think time travel would be fun! I would be torn between seeing ancient Rome and England during the reign of the Tudors. I love reading about the history of both King Henry VIII and Queen Elizabeth I. I am also a huge Shakespeare fan, so the time period would allow me to see one of his plays during Shakespeare’s lifetime, which would be amazing!
What do you say to those who view listening to audiobooks as “cheating” or as inferior to “real reading”?
- I wouldn’t personally consider it ‘cheating,’ but instead, enjoying the story in a different medium. I think stories can be enjoyed in many formats.
How did you celebrate after finishing this novel?
- A bottle of champagne and a favorite movie.
What gets you out of a writing slump? What about a reading slump?
- Deadlines.
In your opinion, what are the pros and cons of writing a stand-alone novel vs. writing a series?
- The great part of writing a series is that the more familiar with a world and character I become, the easier it is to dive into their stories and to figure out how a character will react in any given situation.
- The difficult part is ensuring details remain consistent from one book to another. From what a particular location looks like, to recalling what color eyes minor characters have. Sometimes it can take hours searching through previous books to ensure that minor details remain constant throughout a series.
What bits of advice would you give to aspiring authors?
- When I was a young author, I met one of my own favorites, Laurell K. Hamilton. She told me to choose a wall in my house, cover it with rejection, and only once it was completely covered, could one begin to dream of success. This advice resonated with me throughout my writing career, reminding me to both accept negative criticism with grace, and to celebrate success when finally achieved.
What’s next for you?
- I am currently working on the third book in the Flames of Kalleen series, Forsaking the Dragon, which has an anticipated release date for the spring of 2020. I am also working on a new series called Starbound, which will be co-written by Greg Wilkey. The first book, Fallen, is also expected to be released in early 2020.