Every time I get Mellanie Szereto (a
REAL author) to go over my scribbles, set up my cover, and arrange the
publishing of my next book, I get excited because I feel it's the best one I've
done.
To be perfectly honest, I'm almost done
with book #9 (that has to scare the bejeebers out of you) and I feel each one
is better than the previous one.
Starting with book 5, there is going to
be a surprise.
... well, it would have been a
surprise, but I'm just going to blurt it out because I want to write about it.
I know this isn't going to change the
world or anything...
...but, in addition to an ebook, a
paperback, and hardcover, it's going to be offered in Audiobook.
The first thing I was asked by my kids
when I told them, was "Are you reading it?"
Oh heck no.
I read one of my stories for a
commercial a couple years ago, and they made me re-record it several times.
It was explained to me that I talk
funny. Apparently, you can take the boy out of Wisconsin, but it's tough to get
that Wisconsin accent out of the boy.
Another thing is that I tend to go
rogue when I read one of my scribbles out loud.
I'll follow along for a line or two,
and then disregard the script and just start telling my story off the cuff.
Inevitably, I'll stumble onto a better way to tell it, and I'll want to rewrite
my entire book.
If you've met me and had the
displeasure of having to hear one of my stories firsthand, you know I can get
pretty animated. I have different voices, I speed up for certain parts and slow
down for dramatic pauses.
It's a show...
...a terrible, never ending, show...
So wisdom dictated that it was best to
get a professional.
So, my people (ok, ok, "my
people" is Mellanie) got hold of her people, (Jocqueline M Protho) and I
signed with a company that introduced different voices.
There were decisions to make right off
the bat.
Male or female?
One narrator doing the whole book or
different readers for different stories?
I was given a sample size of eight
different people.
All the voices were professional and
articulate, and while they were good at reading a serious story, I didn't know
if it would necessarily translate to a funny one.
And none of them sounded like the
voices I hear in my head when I'm writing the stories...
...no kidding. I hear my stories as I
write them.
Each auditioning talent gave me two
samples, and then I had to decide who the very unlucky person would be that
would have to read and repeat aloud (word by excruciating word) my entire book.
I tried sending the samples to my
family to get their opinion, but most wouldn't even open their emails once they
learned what it contained...
...and I can't be mad at them.
Phil Thron was finally selected, and I
convinced (conned) a couple very good friends to listen to the final product in
order to correct any mispronunciations of the many words I've created (blame
the voices in my head for those).
Cindy Mullet, who wrote the intro, and
Brenda Henderson, a good friend from Logansport, were the two poor souls I
talked into helping.
Both Cindy and Brenda would listen to a
few stories, then message me to say how great Phil's inflections were.
After listening to hours of my musings,
these two martyrs are recovering nicely. Please continue to pray for them as
they sit curled up in rocking chairs with blankets over their heads, weeping
uncontrollably.
I don't even read my own stuff, so
listening to it had been off the table for me, but Brenda insisted that I
listen to a couple stories, and I have to say...
... I'm hilarious!
The finished product will be a great
gift for a mother-in-law that you can't stand...
... a jerky boss,
...a co-worker who you dislike but have
to get a birthday gift for,
...a crappy neighbor,
...or someone going on a long drive
that you don't want to ever come back.
Prison systems could pipe it throughout
their compound, making inmates repent, and reconsider their life choices...
Detention rooms in school can use it as
a punishment...
Moms can play it in the rooms of their
toddlers who were put in "time-out". (A guarantee of an instant
attitude adjustment, but I can't be sure if there wouldn't be CPS
repercussions)...
Ukraine can blare it over big speakers
aimed at Russia to acquire an unconditional surrender...
Now that I think about it...
...maybe it will change the
world...
You can get all of my books, and
pre-order the latest one at:
Or
(Tales From Behind the Bakery Door) https://a.co/d/g1xV1P4
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