Hey everyone,
One of my favorite things to do is listen to audiobooks. I listen when I’m in the car, when I’m cleaning the house, when I’m knitting, gardening, walking. Right now, I’m listening to the Sue Grafton Kinsey Milhone series, in order. I’m up to J is for Judgement. Some of my favorite narrators are Barbara Rosenblatt, Mary Pfeiffer, Simon Vance, and George Newbern. The performances, for that’s what they truly are, are incredible.
Now, I have a new favorite narrator to add to my list: Jenn Broda, the narrator of the Shelby McDougall series. I’m delighted to let you know that the trilogy has just been released in audiobook format. Ms. Broda brought Shelby’s story to life with a vivid complexity I hadn’t thought possible. As Shelby grew and changed throughout the series, so did the quality of Ms. Broda’s narration. She was able to age Shelby appropriately, giving voice to Shelby in her early twenties, late twenties, and mid-thirties. Listening to my words being read out loud by a professional was truly a joy.
I’d never given much thought to what it took to release a book in audiobook format. It’s quite involved. Ms. Broda, among others, provided a 15 minute sample as an audition. Her voice stood out as the obvious choice. Once a contract with Paper Angel Press was in place, I was asked to provide a character overview: who they were, their ages, their motivations and desires, their individual storylines. It took a while to prepare this, but it gave me the opportunity to dig deep into the timeline and provide some insights. In a few weeks, I received a 15 minute sample for Due Date, where Ms. Broda narrated a few pages here and there with different characters. It was perfect, I really didn’t have any changes to suggest.
And after that, we got down to work. About a month later I received a link to a shared folder with every single Due Date chapter, all 55 of them as separate files, along with the Acknowledgments, Introduction, and other front and back matter that goes in a book. My job was to follow along and listen to each word, noting every place (by time, chapter, and page) a word was missed or mispronounced; an extra word was inserted; or a dreaded typo discovered. Then, Ms. Broda would fix those glitches and upload the updated file which I needed to verify. Once Due Date was complete, the process would be repeated for The Stork and The Found Child. I was a bit nervous at first — would my words hold up? How about the stories themselves? Would I still enjoy them?
To my surprise and delight, I loved it! Listening to Ms. Broda’s narration was a pleasure. Her voice is smooth and bewitching, compassionate, empathetic. Her narration was perfect. And she voiced the tension masterfully; propelling me to listen to the next chapter and the next. At some points, I found myself so caught up in the story that I had to rewind and listen using my editorial ear.
To celebrate this milestone, the eBook edition of each book will be on sale this coming weekend, from November 18 – 30, priced at 99¢ each. Click here to open my website’s home page in a new browser tab to find out more about the books and where you can get them.
And if you want to go directly to the audiobooks format, they are at a reduced price for a limited time. Just click below to find to more and listen to a sample:
If you’re so inclined, you can look on the Paper Angel Press YouTube channel to find a snippet of me reading from The Found Child. I have to say, Ms. Broda’s narration is much better!
Thanks everyone! I hope you enjoy these audio editions as much as I did!
Cheers,
Nancy
Nancy Wood 