A Monster Character Who Took An Even Larger Role

As I understand it, this week’s topic is about characters getting away from us when we’re writing. Um, mine don’t do that. Sometimes a secondary character may become more important than I had originally expected, or readers will ask for one to be the subject of their own sequel.

I did have a monster who became even more of a monster. In Mission to Mahjundar, the characters end up as prisoners of a bloodthirsty civilization who worship a terrifying god known as Tlazomiccuhtli. No spoilers but in the original draft, there were some mild unpleasantries between a couple of the main characters and this god inside the temple, but he/it never actually materialized to threaten them. He allowed his priest/warriors to do all the evil deeds. Ah, but in the final version, as it turns out, there’s a very tense standoff between him and Shalira, the heroine:

Shalira felt a cold breeze on the back of her neck. Next moment she had the sensation someone whispered her name. She glanced at Mike, but he remained unconscious. Half turning, she scanned the cave stretching behind her, wondering if there was an exit. Not that they could leave, with the drone on its way to them, but neither did she want to be surprised by an attack from the rear.

Blinking, she realized her eyes weren’t playing tricks on her - there was a glow in the gloomy recesses of the cave. Rising to her feet, she crept cautiously toward the light. Behind her she heard Johnny say something but her ears were full of the whispering she’d heard before, in the chamber with the giant statue of  Tlazomiccuhtli. Goosebumps made her skin crawl as she came around the last rocky outcrop and confronted another effigy of the Nathlemeru deity. The voice in her head grew louder, and there was harsh, triumphant laughter.

Closing her eyes, the only defense she knew, she tried to back away but felt as if she was standing in glue. She caught her balance with an effort as she tripped over loose stones.

You are mine, little oracle. And I will have the heart of your warrior, as I was promised by Ishtananga before he died. And I’ll loose the cherindors in your family’s precious scepter on all who oppose me.

“No!” She screamed her protest out loud. Blinking, she stared at the statue, which was about eight feet tall, semidetached from the cave wall. The sculptor had made this representation of Tlazomiccuhtli somewhat less graphic than the one in the main temple in the plateau above but the effect remained horrific. She saw bleached human bones lying on the ground around the statue. Apparently the Nathlemeru conducted sacrifices here on occasion as well. Bad luck had drawn them into another place of its influence over humans. Voice trembling, she tried to deny the reality.  “You have no power over us.”

But I do. Your goddess owes me. And through his fears, one of your companions has given me mastery over him. Watch.

She heard Everett yelling and next moment Johnny came walking past her, blaster in his hand but aimed at the cave floor. His face was slack, as if he was asleep. He stumbled over the cave floor, dropping the outworld weapon. As he headed toward the statue, one hand fumbled with his belt knife. Horrified, unsure if Tlazomiccuhtli was going to try to make the soldier kill himself or her, or even Mike, helplessly comatose in the cave entry, Shalira grabbed the sergeant’s arm as he shuffled past.

“Johnny, you have to fight this off,” she hissed.

He stopped walking but the moment she moved her hand away, he lifted one foot to take the next step. Wondering where Everett was and why he didn’t come to investigate, she snagged the back of Johnny’s shirt and he paused again.

Red snakes of light had materialized from thin air and were writhing around the statue of  Tlazomiccuhtli, becoming more and more solid, developing eyes and mouths. She wished she could close her eyes again rather than look at them but was afraid of what might happen if she cowered like a child.

“My goddess owes you nothing, and neither do I,” she said. “You have no power over me.”

Wait until you’re in the grip of my servants, wait until I touch you myself and then tell me I have no power. Perhaps I’ll make you sacrifice your warrior to me yourself. How much you humans have forgotten in the millennia since the world began.

If you’d like to know what happens next, or what leads up to this moment, the SFR Galaxy Award Winning novel is available here:

Amazon     Barnes & Noble   iTunes     All Romance eBooks     KOBO     Google Play

The audiobook was just released this past week and here’s an audioclip, narrated by the wonderful Michael Riffle, although the scene is from earlier in the book, not from the Tlazomiccuhtli encounter:

Gotta Have Audiobooks!

I'm an enthusiastic proponent of audiobooks, because I know there are readers out there who want to listen to good stories in their car, in the shower, while doing housework, jogging, walking, crocheting...pretty much anytime! Some people will read the book on the kindle, switch to the audiobook while commuting and return to the kindle version in the evening. It’s a rapidly growing audience and I want my novels to be available for anyone who wants to hear them. I’ve even presented workshops on the subject to other authors who were interested in the process.

Vicky Hensley of the Audiogals website says audiobook listeners are "double taskers" who want a "seamless listen." In her learned opinion, the narrator or voice actor is the key to enjoyment of an audiobook.

Four of my books are also available as audiobooks. The first two, Priestess of the Nile  and Warrior of the Nile, were picked up from  Carina Press by Audible and I had utterly no involvement in the process and no connection with the person who recorded them. No fun!

When I began independently self-publishing my science fiction romance novels in 2012, I knew I wanted audiobook versions as well. Working through ACX (an Amazon company) I was extremely blessed to find a wonderful actor to bring my books to life. Michael Riffle has now narrated two of my scifi novels and is in the middle of recording a third. There’s nothing like hearing my characters the way Michael embodies them. I knew he was the right person to play the hero from the first words he spoke during the audition for Wreck of the Nebula Dream.

I did a series of blog posts about the process of creating an audiobook and here’s a snippet of what Michael had to say regarding his preparation for bringing the various characters to life:

Michael: I think the biggest influence on what I try to do with my voice comes from your description of the characters.  Not just how their voice is described, but how they hold themselves, what sort of personality do they have, how they are feeling during the whole process.  I try to equate each character to someone I know, or a character I’ve seen in a movie or television, something to ground it in reality.  I might be a little selfish by giving my own voice to Nick.  It’s hard to NOT want to be the modest, able-bodied hero who gets the girl.

To read more details about how the process went from beginning to end, here is the link:

Interviewwith Michael Riffle Audio Book Narrator WRECK OF THE NEBULA DREAM

 For the second book we did together, Escape From Zulaire, I had the heroine narrated by Mary

Fegreus, another extremely talented actress, while Michael did the rest of the book. I interviewed them about doing the recording for USA Today Happily Ever After.

Here’s what they had to say about the steamy scenes:

Since this is a science-fiction romance, there were some intense and even steamy moments between the characters of Andi and Tom. Did those scenes present any particular challenge?

Michael: I don't know if it's because Mary and I have a very comfortable relationship or if it's because we recorded our parts separately, but I didn't find any of the romantic or intense parts challenging. From a directing standpoint, there was a little bit of challenge in the romantic scene because Mary wasn't entirely comfortable with the intimacy.

Veronica: I know they always say the steamy scenes in the movies or TV are among the hardest to do, because there'll be all the crew members watching and the elaborate choreography of the action. I imagine this must have been a bit similar, as far as comfort levels.

Mary: Mike's being nice about it. Full disclosure: I did a lot of kicking and screaming during Chapter 6, and I may have had a bottle of soju in the recording booth with me. The outtakes from that scene are pretty funny. That's been my experience as an actress with all romantic scenes. The moments that are the steamiest in the final product tend to be the silliest behind the scenes.

The rest of the USAT/HEA interview with Mary and Michael is here.

In closing, if I could afford it, I’d have Michael narrate all my books just for me while they were still Works In Progress, because it’s such a pleasure to collaborate with him. Hearing how he interprets the dialog and embodies the characters always gives me fresh insights and ideas. I’m definitely going to continue having him record the final versions of the novels so there are audiobooks for the listeners out there!

To Audio or Not to Audio – Giving Voice to Your Work

A friend of mine accepted my invitation to guest post for me today. I know nothing about the audiobook process, but he has recently had that particular pleasure. Please give a warm bordello welcome to my friend, Darin Kennedy...

 

Hello, everyone! I’m Darin Kennedy, author of The Mussorgsky Riddle, and I appreciate Linda Robertson’s trust that I could write a decent blog post on the pros and cons of audiobooks. I will be the first to admit that I am not the be all / end all expert on this subject, as The Mussorgsky Riddle is my first published novel as well as my first audiobook, but I will endeavor to share some of my experiences and some of the decision making process that went into me deciding to pursue having an audiobook.

First, the few audiobooks I’ve listened to over the years have always left an indelible mark on my psyche. The first was Stephen King’s Dreamcatcher, and I can still hear the narrators voice when the psychic alien says, “I want Jonesy” – still gives me the creeps to this day. Even better was listening to Neverwhere narrated by none other than Neil Gaiman himself, though with Neil’s voice, I’d likely listen to him read the phonebook.

 

That being said, I’ve always thought I’d love to have something I wrote transformed into an audiobook. I had this experience one time before when a short story anthology I was in had an audiobook made. Hearing my words come at me with another person’s voice was a very cool experience, and as I had a psychic voice in mine, I got to have my own “Jonesy” moment. However, it paled in comparison to having my entire novel transformed into an audiobook.

 

I’d say the first question you’d have to ask yourself before handing over the reins is “Do I feel comfortable letting someone else interpret what I wrote?” What if you didn’t agree with how they spoke your “lines”? What if they didn’t get your book? Heck, what if you didn’t like their voice? From what I understand, you can narrate your own audiobook, but I would say unless you’re famous like Stephen King or have an outstanding radio voice a la Neil above, the actual reading is best left to the professionals.

 

My buddy, Roy Mauritsen, works with a voice actor who narrates his books while Roy comes behind and adds music and sound effects, making for a truly immersive experience. This allows him much more freedom to make the audiobook exactly what he wants, but this method means that any expenses are his. Conversely, my publisher sold the rights to The Mussorgsky Riddle to Audible and I had no out of pocket expenses, though doing it that way meant I had little creative control. I was fortunate enough to have an excellent actor performing the book, the incredible Elizabeth Evans, who did get in touch with me several times for creative input on voices and pronunciation and produced, in my opinion, an excellent audio version of what I wrote. Somewhere between going it on your own and leaving it to Audible is ACX (Audiobook Creation Exchange) with various options on how much control you wish to retain as well as other similar audiobook producers.

 

So, how do you get paid? Depending on which of these models you choose, you may get a percentage of each book sold, with or without and advance, or you may even get into a situation where you or your publisher sell your rights to the audiobook to a producer, Audible or otherwise, and you get a one time flat fee. Regardless of what you are offered, you will have to weigh the various pros and cons and decide what exactly it is you want to do.

 

In the end, I would argue that authors, particularly new authors, benefit from having their work available in multiple formats. Having a physical book, an ebook, and an audiobook out there does round out the buying options and maximizes your opportunity to reach readers who may prefer one format over another. To me, however, the biggest factor in my decision was simply this: I wanted The Mussorgsky Riddle to be an audiobook. I wanted to hear the words echoed back at me, listen to the various characters’ voices, and experience the tale I wrote in a new and different way. Everything else is gravy.

 

Thanks again to Linda Robertson for the invitation to guest blog today. I hope my input and personal experience gives you some insight as to whether or not an audiobook is right for you!

 

Darin Kennedy, born and raised in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, is a graduate of Wake Forest University and Bowman Gray School of Medicine. After completing family medicine residency in the mountains of Virginia, he served eight years as a United States Army physician and wrote his first novel in 2003 in the sands of northern Iraq. His debut novel, The Mussorgsky Riddle, was born from a fusion of two of his lifelong loves--classical music and world mythology—and he is currently hard at work on his next novel. Doctor by day and novelist by night, he writes and practices medicine in Charlotte, North Carolina. When not engaged in either of the above activities, he has been known strum the guitar, enjoy a bite of sushi, and rumor has it he even sleeps on occasion. Find him online at darinkennedy.com.

 

The Pleasures and Perils of Audiobooks

To audiobook or not to audiobook...

What was the question again?

 I mean, this topic could be do we listen to them or do we like to have the books we write in audiobook format?

My answer to both: YES!

(By the way, the awesome pic above is my superheroine alter ego, provided to me by sister Word Whore, Linda Robertson. Isn't it PERFECT?)

Okay, back to the topic at hand. I love listening to audiobooks. They make doing housework actually pleasurable. I'm always looking for more opportunities to fit in reading time, so being able to listen to a book while I take care of necessary chores is awesome.

I also love that my books are sometimes converted to audiobook format. I wish they all were! So far, of the eighteen books I have out (as of July 13, with the release of my latest erotic romance UNDER CONTRACT), five are available in audio format. I particularly love the cover they made specially for the audio version of THE MARK OF THE TALA. Because I'm working primarily with traditional publishing, whether to produce an audio version of my books is not up to me. I've never gone that way with any of my self-published books, but I'm considering it. At a signing for the THE TALON OF THE HAWK, a faithful reader asked if there were plans to put the other Twelve Kingdoms books in audio. She's already read them all, but she likes to listen to her favorites while walking. I had to tell her "not yet," which is all my publisher will tell me. If they don't do it, I might see if I can get the rights to do it on my own.

One thing I notice about my audiobooks, however, is that reader ratings are significantly lower for them than other formats - by pretty much an entire star. I think this is related to the impact the narrator has on the experience. Jen Twimom has a great series on her review blog called Listen Up! where she specifically reviews audiobooks. She tries to split out the story from the narration, which I appreciate. The biggest error in all of my audiobooks - which makes me cringe every time I think about it - is with RUBY. My New Orleans chef hero calls the heroine "chère," which is a common endearment in that region. But it's pronounced like "share," and the freaking narrator pronounced them all as "sharee." Which is French (though it would be spelled "cherie"), NOT New Orleans.

Alas. So it goes.

What do you all think? Do you like audiobooks? Any cringeworthy tales to tell?

Questions for Readers About Audiobooks + Giveaway

My fellow Word Whores have all asked a lot of excellent questions of you, the Readers, over the past week. Thanks for all the answers!While trying to figure out what was left to ask, I decided to go in a slightly different direction and ask you about (drum roll please!) - AUDIOBOOKS!

I'll give a copy of my award winning Science Fiction Adventure novel WRECK OF THE NEBULA DREAM to one randomly selected commenter today, in honor of the topic. (AudioFile Magazine raved about the acting skills of my wonderful narrator, Michael Riffle, as he brought this story to life BTW.)

Do you listen to audiobooks?
How many would you estimate you've listened to in the past year?
Do you like to have the book or ebook and the audiobook version?
When or where do you listen to audiobooks?

And that's it for me but I would very much appreciate any insights you'd like to provide because I'm really committed to having audiobooks available.