Final day!
Come to Valley Rise! Discover this "very special love story" at a very special price!
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This is the final day for this sale--a chance to save big off the regular price of $3.50 each.
Thursday, December 18, 2014
Wednesday, December 17, 2014
Audiobook Adventure--Part Four
While ACX does its thing in preparation for the release of Shannon's Daughter, I'm scurrying to come up with ways to get the word out. That's the glory of being an Indy--the never ending challenge of promotion. I don't believe in the adage "if you build it, they will come," but many times I fear that's what I'm doing. I often picture myself standing on a wide open plain shouting at the top of my lungs, with the echo of my words beaming back at me!
I'm happy to say that Shannon's Daughter's wonderful narrator, Matthew Lloyd Davies, seems eager to add his voice to this shouting in the wilderness business. It's his interpretation of my story, after all, that has me so anxious to find its audience. Today he posted a sample on his ACX profile page, so now you can get a tiny taste of what's coming. Go ahead, hop over and listen. I'm not going anywhere.
Scrumptious, right?
Last night I played around over on Canva.com and put together a piece of promotional eye-candy. I rarely pull out the "bestseller" card, mainly because reaching the top of one Amazon's "Free Bestseller" lists has never felt quite like making a list where actual sales took place. But in the case of Shannon's Daughter, I can honestly call it a bestseller. After each free promo, she hovered on the Women's Historical Fiction list for quite a few days as the result of followup sales. I'm pretty sure that's why Amazon elected to place this book in its stipend program, which made the whole thing possible. I'm also very proud of the reviews this book has received so far. While some have expressed disappointment with the ending--which I fully expected--most have been willing to acknowledge that not every love story has a happy ending, but can still deliver a satisfactory experience for the reader. That readers have been caught up in the emotion of the story and identified closely with the characters is enough for me.
In a matter of days, Shannon's Daughter--the Audiobook, will hit the market. I hope it will find its audience. I'm going to try my darndest to help it along. If you can help--share or post or just mention it to a friend--I'd be so grateful. Given the beautiful manner in which Matt has given voice to this story, I'd love for it to be heard!
Monday, December 15, 2014
This Just In! The Audiobook Adventure--Part 3
It happened on Friday morning. I had an email from Matt--you remember, Matthew Lloyd Davies,the producer/narrator of Shannon's Daughter-the Audiobook? Anyway, Matt emailed that he would be putting the final polish on the audio files and should be sending them to me early this week. But the very next morning, Friday, there they were! Needless to say, I did little but listen all day Friday and Saturday. It takes a while to listen to over 130,000 words! But it was worth every minute!When I write, as I'm sure is true for most writers, I hear, see, sometimes smell, and even feel my characters. They are flesh and blood individuals from practically the moment they "walk" onto the page. I often wonder how my image compares to that of the reader's. I hope for close. I hope they can picture the features, the hair and eye color, the timbre of the voice, but I accept that we each perceive differently and as long as the reader enjoys the story these characters tell, I'm cool with that. So when Matt was reading Shannon's Daughter in preparation for the recording, I spent some agonized brain time wondering just what he was seeing as he read, and more importantly, what he was hearing. I know these characters, I gave them life, but now it's Matt's turn. How well will our two creations mesh?
I wasted that brain time. The characters on the recording are in complete accord with those already in my head! If I hadn't already fallen in love with Kendall Gregg when I wrote Shannon's Daughter, listening to him would definitely have done the trick! Matt gives him precisely the right polish without the least hint of "posh-ness." The pitch of his voice and his accent are enough to send shivers down any feminine spine, but there's nothing roguish about him. Kendall comes across--just as I know him to be--as a sensitive, somewhat battered, and basically honest young man with a painful secret. With teenaged Peg, his kindness towards--and kindly amusement at--the often outrageously outspoken young heiress come shining through. By the time Peg has grown to a young woman and she and Kendall meet again, his "heart on his sleeve" admiration of her produces the above- mentioned shivers by the barrel.
Peg, who I "heard" as a cross between Katherine Hepburn and Jackie Kennedy, is precisely that, a bit of Yankee twang overlaid with just the right touch of breathiness. I'm never sure just how much I like Peg Shannon, but I love what Matt did with her character! I feel I know her better now, this woman whose head I could never get into sufficiently to tell the story from her POV.
But it's the secondary characters, even the tiniest bit players, who come to life in this recording and fill the "stage." I laughed out loud at times. Having played my share of walk-on roles, I am delighted that each of these folks is given a distinctive voice worthy of the finest character actor. I love my secondaries. Many of them are based on people I've known and loved. They are often tributes to real "characters" from my personal journey. I'm so grateful to Matt for giving them their proper due.
Shannon's Daughter ends on a low note. I wrote the story, I know how it goes out. Yet when Matt started reading that final chapter, I fell apart. Tears! Real tears. Darn it, that's just plain sad! And pretty powerful when Matt adds his talent to bring the scenes to life.
I hit the "Approve the Audiobook" button a little while ago. In a week or two, Shannon's Daughter will be available for everyone to enjoy. I'd love for it to do well, more for Matt's sake than mine, really. His work deserves to be appreciated. He's taken a quirky love story and made it something rich and fine, and highly entertaining. I consider this venture one of the most fortunate "breaks" in my writing life. Much like filling that prime role when producing a play--I've had that joy too--with an unexpected walk-in whose audition leaves you breathless, "finding" Matthew Lloyd Davies for Shannon's Daughter has made me truly thankful I stepped out on a limb to ever write this book.
Friday, December 5, 2014
Wednesday, November 5, 2014
The Audiobook Adventure Part 2--Plus Life
It's been an eventful couple of weeks around here. In this little corner of the world, every October, a phenomenon called Neewollah takes place. Without going into detail, our little town swells to several times its normal population, a street carnival takes over downtown and excitement electrifies the typically calm autumn atmosphere. Since I live and work downtown, it's fair to say my life gets caught up in the madness.
But this year, something unexpected and unwelcome came to our house, just as Neewollah was getting started. The love of my life took not one but two tumbles, the second resulting in a dislocated shoulder. Everyone in our age bracket lives in dread of falling, but having taken a few spills myself, I can tell you that seeing my husband on the floor was far more traumatic for me than landing on my own keister. Fortunately, the damage was minimal and he should be good as new before long. But there's no way to minimize the shock of such an event for either of us. This was one of those times when getting older just plain sucks!
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So we had revelry all over town, my hotel was filled with celebrants, and I had a patient at home who was doing a truly fine job of being patient despite his discomfort. My nerves were, however, a bit frayed. A getaway to a peaceful mountaintop sounds like something the doctor might order for me at this point. Still, life goes on, and there's an audiobook in the works, remember?
Somewhere in the UK, Matt (that's Matthew Lloyd Davies, my chosen narrator) is reading Shannon's Daughter in preparation for recording the first fifteen minutes for my approval. Funny, but I suspect I was far more stressed about his reading my book than I imagine he was about recording it to my satisfaction. What if he hates the story, or finds the characters impossible to bring to life? What if he's gagging on the dialog or grimacing at the narrative? The stuff nightmares are made of, I can testify!
But it turns out all's well on the audiobook front. I got the fifteen minutes a couple of days ago, along with a message from Matt. What an awesome experience hearing him read my words! We "chatted" back and forth about a couple of minor things. Turns out he does have a few insecurities after all, which was quite endearing. The really amazing thing he shared was that he dreads reading the end of the book, because it made him "very, very sad." Oddly, that makes me very, very happy! That's the point of this writing thing, right? Moving the reader's emotions?
So now he'll be working on the actual recording for the next month and a half or so. The final product is due by December 21. While life goes on here, while I try to get back to writing after the emotional brick wall of that tumble and its aftermath, while the cold weather moves in and we start moving into the holiday season, I'm sure every day I'll wonder what chapter he's recording and how it sounds. Wishing I could be a little mouse in his recording studio is futile. Still, being a mouse/spy on the other side of the pond does sound kind of intriguing. Hmm, that might be a nice story line for a little fantasy romance, not that I'm into shape shifting or time travel, but. . .no, think I'll just try to get back to Walnut Lodge and the work in progress for now!
But this year, something unexpected and unwelcome came to our house, just as Neewollah was getting started. The love of my life took not one but two tumbles, the second resulting in a dislocated shoulder. Everyone in our age bracket lives in dread of falling, but having taken a few spills myself, I can tell you that seeing my husband on the floor was far more traumatic for me than landing on my own keister. Fortunately, the damage was minimal and he should be good as new before long. But there's no way to minimize the shock of such an event for either of us. This was one of those times when getting older just plain sucks!
So we had revelry all over town, my hotel was filled with celebrants, and I had a patient at home who was doing a truly fine job of being patient despite his discomfort. My nerves were, however, a bit frayed. A getaway to a peaceful mountaintop sounds like something the doctor might order for me at this point. Still, life goes on, and there's an audiobook in the works, remember? Somewhere in the UK, Matt (that's Matthew Lloyd Davies, my chosen narrator) is reading Shannon's Daughter in preparation for recording the first fifteen minutes for my approval. Funny, but I suspect I was far more stressed about his reading my book than I imagine he was about recording it to my satisfaction. What if he hates the story, or finds the characters impossible to bring to life? What if he's gagging on the dialog or grimacing at the narrative? The stuff nightmares are made of, I can testify!
But it turns out all's well on the audiobook front. I got the fifteen minutes a couple of days ago, along with a message from Matt. What an awesome experience hearing him read my words! We "chatted" back and forth about a couple of minor things. Turns out he does have a few insecurities after all, which was quite endearing. The really amazing thing he shared was that he dreads reading the end of the book, because it made him "very, very sad." Oddly, that makes me very, very happy! That's the point of this writing thing, right? Moving the reader's emotions?
So now he'll be working on the actual recording for the next month and a half or so. The final product is due by December 21. While life goes on here, while I try to get back to writing after the emotional brick wall of that tumble and its aftermath, while the cold weather moves in and we start moving into the holiday season, I'm sure every day I'll wonder what chapter he's recording and how it sounds. Wishing I could be a little mouse in his recording studio is futile. Still, being a mouse/spy on the other side of the pond does sound kind of intriguing. Hmm, that might be a nice story line for a little fantasy romance, not that I'm into shape shifting or time travel, but. . .no, think I'll just try to get back to Walnut Lodge and the work in progress for now!
Wednesday, October 22, 2014
Shannon's Daughter--the Audiobook! And So It Begins
I want to invite you to join me on a little journey, one I never even dreamed of taking. Over the next two months or so, Shannon's Daughter--a book I never dreamed of writing, come to think of--will be made into an audiobook. This territory is so foreign to me, I can't even speculate on the experience. But I'd love some company, so please join me and we can learn together.
The story began when I decided to post a couple of my titles on Amazon's audio platform, ACX just to see what would happen. To say I was naive--no, make that clueless--would be an understatement. But like all of Amazon's publishing platforms, this one takes you by the hand and gently leads you through the process. I first posted my new release, Katie Lost and Found. The expectation is there are producers (narrators) out there watching as each new title posts and running to their microphones to record an audition the moment they see something interesting. However, nothing happened. I followed ACX's suggestion and reached out to a couple of narrators whose voices I liked. (You can listen all day to sample auditions and bow your head in wonder at the talent out there!) It was at this point that the light of reality began to dawn on my expectations. These very talented people like to be paid for their time and talent, as in paid more than hypothetical shared royalties sometime in the dim future. Since I couldn't offer hundreds of dollars an hour for their work, they weren't going to waste their valuable time auditioning. Fair enough. I understand that not everyone chooses to invest months of hard work on the chance that one day someone will buy the product of their labors. Even I wouldn't mind a bit of cash up front before I write a 130K word novel, but the obsessive need to create always wins that argument, hands down.
The silence did not particularly dampen my interest in this venture, so next, I posted my novella, Christmas at Valley Rise, thinking a short work might be attractive. Surely out there was one talented voice seeking the satisfaction of creating for virtually nothing, in which case we were obviously meant for one another! Once again, nothing.
In a blatant act of defiance, I decided to post Shannon's Daughter. Now remember--assuming you've followed my blog and know the story of this book--SD is my red-haired stepchild. Although it is inspired by a character from the Miracle at Valley Rise series, it is neither inspirational nor a traditional romance, ie no happily ever after. The reviews have been a bit of all over the place, but primarily positive, which frankly surprised the heck out of me. If there was a book I felt compelled to write despite my own doubt in its success, this is the one. But I love this book for its characters, its settings, and frankly, its quirks. So, all that said, I shook my fist at the creative gods and posted SD to ACX, with absolutely no expectations.
What happened next was downright stunning. It turns out Amazon has this wonderful thing called a stipend program. Through whatever mysterious combination of algorithms and sorcery, they choose certain books and offer narrators a stipend per completed hour to produce them. I'll never know how SD was chosen, but I've got the email saying "Congratulations" to prove it had been. Up went the little green banner on the post, which works like a magnet where auditions are concerned. No sooner had I received that stunning email than the little audio snippets started to appear.
One by one, nine amazing voices reading my words, nine talented individuals of varying ages, from all over the country and even abroad, lined up for my consideration. Heady stuff, that. I had requested a male voice with a British accent initially, but later changed to either gender in the spirit of equality. They were all so impressive. With each one, I felt more and more conflicted. But there was one, and only one, that gave me chills. I even sent him a message to make sure he understood the payment offered, because I was afraid to get attached and find out he wouldn't really work for less than I'm sure he's worth. But no, he assured me he was "more than interested" in recording SD.
Anyway, cut to the finish, today I made the official offer and after a bit of back and forth--which consisted of him patiently leading me through the process, since he's the one with experience--we struck a deal!
Here's the kicker--he's British! I had wanted someone who could give true voice to Kendall Gregg, the English violinist hero of SD, since the story is told from his third-person point of view. All the accents were good, don't get me wrong, but this one best matches the voice I heard while writing SD. As an added bonus, he nailed my Irish-American New York socialite, Peg Shannon, on the first try--emphasis on the New York, not on the Irish!
So, without further ado, I'm proud to announce that Shannon's Daughter the Audiobook will be narrated by the exceptionally talented Matthew Lloyd Davies! http://www.matthewlloyddavies.com/
The process has just begun. Who knows what sort of adventures lie ahead? At the moment, I'm elated, anticipatory, and just a smidge terrified about what's to come. Please stay tuned as the saga of Shannon's Daughter the Audiobook unfolds!
The story began when I decided to post a couple of my titles on Amazon's audio platform, ACX just to see what would happen. To say I was naive--no, make that clueless--would be an understatement. But like all of Amazon's publishing platforms, this one takes you by the hand and gently leads you through the process. I first posted my new release, Katie Lost and Found. The expectation is there are producers (narrators) out there watching as each new title posts and running to their microphones to record an audition the moment they see something interesting. However, nothing happened. I followed ACX's suggestion and reached out to a couple of narrators whose voices I liked. (You can listen all day to sample auditions and bow your head in wonder at the talent out there!) It was at this point that the light of reality began to dawn on my expectations. These very talented people like to be paid for their time and talent, as in paid more than hypothetical shared royalties sometime in the dim future. Since I couldn't offer hundreds of dollars an hour for their work, they weren't going to waste their valuable time auditioning. Fair enough. I understand that not everyone chooses to invest months of hard work on the chance that one day someone will buy the product of their labors. Even I wouldn't mind a bit of cash up front before I write a 130K word novel, but the obsessive need to create always wins that argument, hands down.
The silence did not particularly dampen my interest in this venture, so next, I posted my novella, Christmas at Valley Rise, thinking a short work might be attractive. Surely out there was one talented voice seeking the satisfaction of creating for virtually nothing, in which case we were obviously meant for one another! Once again, nothing.
In a blatant act of defiance, I decided to post Shannon's Daughter. Now remember--assuming you've followed my blog and know the story of this book--SD is my red-haired stepchild. Although it is inspired by a character from the Miracle at Valley Rise series, it is neither inspirational nor a traditional romance, ie no happily ever after. The reviews have been a bit of all over the place, but primarily positive, which frankly surprised the heck out of me. If there was a book I felt compelled to write despite my own doubt in its success, this is the one. But I love this book for its characters, its settings, and frankly, its quirks. So, all that said, I shook my fist at the creative gods and posted SD to ACX, with absolutely no expectations.What happened next was downright stunning. It turns out Amazon has this wonderful thing called a stipend program. Through whatever mysterious combination of algorithms and sorcery, they choose certain books and offer narrators a stipend per completed hour to produce them. I'll never know how SD was chosen, but I've got the email saying "Congratulations" to prove it had been. Up went the little green banner on the post, which works like a magnet where auditions are concerned. No sooner had I received that stunning email than the little audio snippets started to appear.
One by one, nine amazing voices reading my words, nine talented individuals of varying ages, from all over the country and even abroad, lined up for my consideration. Heady stuff, that. I had requested a male voice with a British accent initially, but later changed to either gender in the spirit of equality. They were all so impressive. With each one, I felt more and more conflicted. But there was one, and only one, that gave me chills. I even sent him a message to make sure he understood the payment offered, because I was afraid to get attached and find out he wouldn't really work for less than I'm sure he's worth. But no, he assured me he was "more than interested" in recording SD.
Anyway, cut to the finish, today I made the official offer and after a bit of back and forth--which consisted of him patiently leading me through the process, since he's the one with experience--we struck a deal!
Here's the kicker--he's British! I had wanted someone who could give true voice to Kendall Gregg, the English violinist hero of SD, since the story is told from his third-person point of view. All the accents were good, don't get me wrong, but this one best matches the voice I heard while writing SD. As an added bonus, he nailed my Irish-American New York socialite, Peg Shannon, on the first try--emphasis on the New York, not on the Irish!
So, without further ado, I'm proud to announce that Shannon's Daughter the Audiobook will be narrated by the exceptionally talented Matthew Lloyd Davies! http://www.matthewlloyddavies.com/
The process has just begun. Who knows what sort of adventures lie ahead? At the moment, I'm elated, anticipatory, and just a smidge terrified about what's to come. Please stay tuned as the saga of Shannon's Daughter the Audiobook unfolds!
Monday, October 13, 2014
That #%&! To-Do List
There too much to do! There aren't enough hours in the day! I'm so overwhelmed, I don't have the energy to do anything! Sound at all familiar? Or is that just my life?
Case in point--it's been twenty-two days since my last post here. And yet my to-do list says I will write a post at least once every seven days.
Another case in point--Last spring, my son finished all the structural work on our renovated dining room, leaving me "only" the finish work. On my to-do list is prepping, painting, refinishing the dining table, making new cushions for the window seat, finding a set of chairs, new window treatments, a new centerpiece. . and so on. So far I've patched a few plaster cracks, sanded most of one window frame and. . .well, I've walked through the room at least twenty times a day. Does that count for anything?
Starting to see where I'm headed here? The old to-do list is nothing but a list. It doesn't contribute inspiration, motivation, or time. In some instances, it only serves to make us feel inadequate and frustrated.
It's so easy to find reasons, not to mention excuses, for not getting it all done. In my case, there are jobs, the ones that include a paycheck as well as the ones that are rewarded with meals on the table and a semi-clean house. Then there's my family, especially my husband, whom I refuse to completely neglect for the sake of. . .well, anything. Oh, and there's that book I'm working on, the one I hope to get out by Christmas? Don't let me sit down to the computer and open that file. I'll never get anything else done!
In my life, I've been to this place so many times, you'd think I could see it coming and maybe take a different tack? Being overwhelmed by too much to do is nothing new, but I have to ask why I keep letting things pile up. Then again, that's such a dumb question. First of all, I didn't let it happen. I did not intentionally commit to all of this in order to end up feeling overwhelmed. What I did was set out to accomplish a number of worthy tasks, and forget to give myself permission to take as long as needed to complete them. Everything on my to-do list was put there by me. The deadlines are my own. There are no penalties for delays. Well, other than my own impatience, but there again, I'm the one in control, right?
Emerson said "life is a journey, not a destination." The to-do list will never be completely done. Along the way, other opportunities and responsibilities will jump on board and distract us, or perhaps lead us to something more important at that moment. If we are closed to those distractions, what might we miss out on? Yes, the list is important as a general reminder of things I need to accomplish, but I refuse to let it make me feel guilty or nonproductive. I hereby, once again, give myself permission to enjoy the journey, to explore the sidetracks, and learn from the delays. Maybe I'll even put those things permanently at the top of my new to-do list.
Case in point--it's been twenty-two days since my last post here. And yet my to-do list says I will write a post at least once every seven days. Another case in point--Last spring, my son finished all the structural work on our renovated dining room, leaving me "only" the finish work. On my to-do list is prepping, painting, refinishing the dining table, making new cushions for the window seat, finding a set of chairs, new window treatments, a new centerpiece. . and so on. So far I've patched a few plaster cracks, sanded most of one window frame and. . .well, I've walked through the room at least twenty times a day. Does that count for anything?Starting to see where I'm headed here? The old to-do list is nothing but a list. It doesn't contribute inspiration, motivation, or time. In some instances, it only serves to make us feel inadequate and frustrated.
It's so easy to find reasons, not to mention excuses, for not getting it all done. In my case, there are jobs, the ones that include a paycheck as well as the ones that are rewarded with meals on the table and a semi-clean house. Then there's my family, especially my husband, whom I refuse to completely neglect for the sake of. . .well, anything. Oh, and there's that book I'm working on, the one I hope to get out by Christmas? Don't let me sit down to the computer and open that file. I'll never get anything else done!
In my life, I've been to this place so many times, you'd think I could see it coming and maybe take a different tack? Being overwhelmed by too much to do is nothing new, but I have to ask why I keep letting things pile up. Then again, that's such a dumb question. First of all, I didn't let it happen. I did not intentionally commit to all of this in order to end up feeling overwhelmed. What I did was set out to accomplish a number of worthy tasks, and forget to give myself permission to take as long as needed to complete them. Everything on my to-do list was put there by me. The deadlines are my own. There are no penalties for delays. Well, other than my own impatience, but there again, I'm the one in control, right?
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