Category: The Writer’s Corner

Where to Find a Narrator for my Audio book? (Part 2)

Part II An Interview with VO professional and actor, Daniel Dorse       (Part I, click here)

It’s Easy!  I use www.acx.com.  The platform is simple to use and they have a terrific ‘stable’ of professional narrators.  Your book is published in audio form at amazon.com/audio, audible.com and iTunes.com.  You can pay your narrator/producer a percentage of sales or a one time fee.  The one time fees are on a sliding scale depending on what the narrator requires ‘per finished hour’.  With acx.com you will know what you will be paying (it’s based on the number of words in your manuscript.) before you commit. Tip. Eliminate all extra words like copyright page, acknowledgements, title, etc. and count only the words of the manuscript.

My one and only complaint about acx.com is the length of time they take to do the final quality control bit.  Two weeks.  Now sit back and enjoy the second part of my chat with Daniel.

Daniel working in his studio
Daniel working in his studio

Q. Can you tell us about your process when you get a job to narrate a book?

A. When I’m hired to produce an audio book, I should read the entire book, making character notes, notes on pronunciation, mood, transitions, accents, etc. In fact, I like to live dangerously, reading only a few chapters ahead (to avoid too many unwelcome surprises, like , “Uh-oh! This character I’ve been voicing for 15 pages is supposed to be Irish. Now I have to re-record.”). I do this, I tell myself, because I like to retain an element of spontaneity in my read, but it’s probably also because I’m both lazy & overly cocky about my sight-reading abilities.
Continue reading “Where to Find a Narrator for my Audio book? (Part 2)”

Ready to Find that Ideal Narrator for your Audio-book??

earChoose a narrator for your audio books….sounds easy doesn’t it?  I’d like to share my hit and miss experience and some tips about finding those perfect narrators for your audio books.  The good news is that now that I’ve learned a few things I have two wonderful reliable ‘voices’ for the production of my books.   The miss (when I didn’t know what I was doing and was new to the audio book world)  was the situation where I found my first narrator wasn’t willing to collaborate and work with me. She said that she was hired and paid to narrate the book that I sent, nothing more.  Sigh!

You will find, as I did, that your book ‘sounds‘ far different than the written word on the page and how it sounds in your head.  You, the author, will need a narrator that will allow you to make changes.  You might remember my interview with my childrens’ book narrator and gifted opera singer, Carin Gilfrey.  Now I thought it would be interesting for my readers to get to know, Daniel Dorse,  the voice of Sergeant Detective Jack O’Roarke.  (The World of Murder Series). Continue reading “Ready to Find that Ideal Narrator for your Audio-book??”

‘Home to Seaview Key’, A Review (author, Sherryl Woods)

Woods.Review0_A REVIEW!    reviews, authors, writingreviews, authors, writingreviews, authors, writingreviews, authors, writingreviews, authors, writing (5 out of 5 quills)

Sherryl Woods, once again, plunges her reader into a love story, on the first page, with a sexy kiss shared by strangers on a beach.  The story keeps us interested with love fraught with complications, small town politics, and charming and funny characters.

I am a reviewer who does not give the reader the entire story in my review.  I hate when that happens, don’t you?!  But I will promise you that you will be rooting for Abby and Seth by Chapter two.   They both deserve ‘forever’ love, but with the baggage that they both carry (and I’m not talking trains here) will they be able to find a common ground?

And the little town of Seaview Key….every one of us wishes we could live there.  Surrounded by ocean, salty breezes, ice tea on the wrap-around porch and populated by folks that care about their community and each other. Continue reading “‘Home to Seaview Key’, A Review (author, Sherryl Woods)”

Famous Quotes….and What I Think!

Dylan Thomas
Dylan Thomas

“My education was the liberty I had to read indiscriminately and all the time, with my eyes hanging out.” – Dylan Thomas

“When I’m not writing, I am reading….and I think, along with many other authors, that it makes me a better writer.” Me

“I went to brush something off my cheek and it was the floor.”  Unknown.

“But it had to have been said by one of these famous drunks.  Hemingway? Tennessee Williams? James Joyce? F. Scott Fitzgerald? Bukowski?”  Me

Ernest Hemingway
Ernest Hemingway

 “There is nothing to writing.  All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.”  Hemingway

“Bleeding words…..things could be worse. I live for those days.”  Me

Continue reading “Famous Quotes….and What I Think!”

‘What does No Book to Finished book Look Like? Part 3 with Raymond Benson, Author

My Interview with best-selling author, Raymond Benson (part 3).  It’s always a thrill for me when busy, well-known authors are so generous with their answers that I must serialize the interview.  Don’t miss Part 1 or 2.

Q. and the all important: What does the process of going from “no book” to “finished book” look like? 

Raymond at the keyboard
Raymond at the keyboard

A. There is no set in stone process that writers should follow except the process they fashion themselves—the process that works for them. As I said (see Part 2), I happen to outline, it’s part of my process. I know writers who don’t outline, and that’s part of their processes. Everyone is different. That said, you do have to develop a process, and it must be a productive one, for the most important thing about writing a finished book is to indeed finish it.

Q. Where/when do you first discover your characters ?

A. My books tend to be plot-driven—I think of the storyline before I cast it with characters. They develop with the story, usually. This hasn’t always been the case. With The Black Stiletto, the character came first. My literary manager and I were having lunch one day, and he advised me to create something women would like, since the vast majority of book-buyers were women. I facetiously suggested creating a female superhero, and we laughed for a minute. And then he said, “You know, that’s not a bad idea.” At the same time, I already had a story brewing in my mind about a grown man who discovers some dark secret about his dying mother (who has Alzheimer’s). I didn’t know what that secret was yet. Continue reading “‘What does No Book to Finished book Look Like? Part 3 with Raymond Benson, Author”

A Chat with Raymond Benson, Author (part 2)

Raymond at the Spy Museum
Raymond at the Spy Museum

TS. ‘This photo speaks loudly about the rewards of overcoming procrastination, doesn’t it??’

Part 2 of 3 ** My Interview with Raymond Benson

Q. What’s your best advice to other writers for overcoming procrastination?

A. If you don’t have a real deadline from an employer, then make one for yourself. Just tell yourself, “I’m going to finish this by the holidays,” or whatever, and stick to it. It takes discipline, and you might have to work at it, but hey, being a writer is, after all, a job.

Q. Do you ‘get lost’ in your writing and for how long?

A. Never, because I take care of all the instances of getting lost during the Outline phase. I’m a firm believer in outlining a novel prior to writing it. I know many writers don’t, and that works for them, but for me, I find it to be an invaluable tool. I spend a month or two on it, and it’s in that document I work out the plot, the twists and turns, the red herrings, and I structure the story into a dramatic piece, the entirety of which I can look at with a bird’s-eye view. It’s like doing a prose storyboard for the novel. Believe me, it’s easier to throw out a few paragraphs of an outline when you don’t like the way the story is going, than it is to throw out two or three chapters. So I do all of my hair-pulling and angst-spouting during the Outline phase, which then makes the longer, more tedious phase of Writing much easier. Continue reading “A Chat with Raymond Benson, Author (part 2)”

Interview with Raymond Benson, best selling Author (1of3)

RaymondBensonAtWorkRAYMOND BENSON is the internationally-acclaimed author of thirty published titles. The third book in his most recent thriller series—THE BLACK STILETTO: SECRETS and LIES— was  released today.   He took out time to interview with me and generously talked at length about his writing process and world.

Q. Where do you write? Do you have a special room, shed, barn, special space for your writing?

A. I have an office at home, and it’s exclusively used for that purpose. It’s full of books and filing cabinets, artwork, trinkets, a CD player, and of course, my desk and computer. There’s even a lava lamp, although I don’t use it as much as I should! On my desk is a photo of my wife, an “action figure” replica of the black monolith from 2001: A Space Odyssey, and a pebble from the beach at Goldeneye, in Jamaica, the home where Ian Fleming wrote all the Bond novels. And a slinky, to play with during the times when I have to sit there and ponder.

Continue reading “Interview with Raymond Benson, best selling Author (1of3)”

Don’t Miss my Interview with Author, Raymond Benson this Tuesday!

Raymond and Black Stilleto
Raymond and Black Stiletto

Raymond Benson has been an award-winning and best-selling author, composer, computer game designer, stage director, film historian, and film genres instructor for over thirty years. He is also the fourth official author of the James Bond 007 novels.

Step inside and find out why Lee Child describes Raymond as “a top class thriller craftsman” and David Morrell calls him “one of the best thriller writers in the business.”

Continue reading “Don’t Miss my Interview with Author, Raymond Benson this Tuesday!”

New Year’s Resolution for Writers!

authors, writing, writers, interviewsOkay…here’s some tough love!   Get your butt in that chair and write something………..or finish something !!!      You’ve read my interviews with famous, best selling authors for about a year now.  And the recurring theme is DISCIPLINE!!

Forget what others might think of your scribbles…they’re yours and they’re PERFECT!  And what if they aren’t perfect?  So What!!??  If I thought I was going to get perfection when I first began writing, I would never have written a word.  All I hoped for was to grow as a writer and keep growing with every new project.  Still not perfect………….

Write a short story.  Write a poem in prose. Write a play.  Finish your novel.  WRITE SOMETHING!!

Now, here’s the tough part.  You have to be selfish to be a writer.  You have to tell your spouse, or kids or friends that you aren’t going to be available for a couple of hours.  And mean it!!   Then go lock yourself in a room and WRITE!!   Then tomorrow (or this weekend) do it again. Continue reading “New Year’s Resolution for Writers!”

Wishing you the Best Holiday Season and Happy New Year!

I ran through this bush and it came home with me
I ran through this bush and it came home with me

My two Golden Retrievers, Gus and Rocky and cat, Fiona (dog dressed in a cat suit)  and I want to wish you the happiest of Holiday Seasons!!

These photos are from many family/dog albums of people who have discovered the special love and devotion that only a dog can give you….especially a Golden.

My three (to date) Goldens were rescued and I adopted them from “Grateful Goldens“, a tri-state rescue organization.  They vet YOU thoroughly and they have vetted the dog you are going to bring to its ‘forever home’.

Continue reading “Wishing you the Best Holiday Season and Happy New Year!”