Three Audiobooks in the Works

A couple years ago, I wasn't sure what to expect when I started down the audiobook path. I'd enjoyed listening to books from the local library for years, but I didn't know how to go about getting my own work produced. Lucky for me, there's the Audiobook Creation Exchange (ACX), and they've made the whole process not only easy but enjoyable. So far, I've had seven of my books transmuted into audio, and I've got three more now in the pipeline:

Hearing the final product is always a bit surreal — my words in a stranger's voice — but these are talented strangers, many of them with a background in acting both on stage and screen, and their vocal talents bring new life to my stories. I've heard them in my head a certain way for years, but now I get to hear them interpreted in a new way. Of course I criticize my wordsmithing: "Why did I write that like that?" But there are moments when I can't help but sit back and smile, pleased by a certain turn of phrase I created — and instantly chagrined by my own arrogance.

Receiving auditions is exciting, knowing someone out there in cyberspace is interested in producing my work. But it's also nerve-wracking. Despite the fact that I've had so many stories rejected hundreds of times prior to publication, I don't like being the guy who does the rejecting. I keep it to the point: "Thank you for your audition, but I've picked another producer for this project." (Always sent after I've actually picked the producer, honesty being the best policy and all.) Surprisingly, many send me a thank-you note for letting them know.

So, stay tuned for these upcoming releases. Alienated should be available later this month, with Deep Space and The Suprahuman Secret out in early 2019.