I love audiobooks. I love them. There are so many books I wouldn’t have read if it wasn’t for all those strange audiobook producers who sit endlessly in front of a microphone reading. War and Peace was over 60 hours of audio. Some poor bastard had to read the whole thing. But thank god they did. Because of them (and especially the late Frank Muller, who was a legend among audiobook fans until his untimely passing due to a motorcycle accident). Great Expectations, Moby Dick, all of those really big ones we always hope to one day read, I have read because, like a child, I had them read to me.
It’s frowned upon, or at least it was, the listening to of an audiobook. But the impression of these things is changing thanks to Audible. But still a bit of, “Well, you didn’t really read it did you?” goes on. It doesn’t matter by what method the words get into your head, it only matters that they do. I read with my eyes too, my bookcase is overflowing, sometimes I also read with my ears, that’s all. Blind people read with their fingers. You’re not going to accuse them of being lazy are you? I knew a guy who read with his elbows, but he was probably functioning on a different plain of sanity altogether.
Audio is my favourite medium for entertainment. I love podcasts, I love music, and I love audiobooks. It is for this reason that I am as excited as a very excitable person doing a very exciting thing (god I’m great at synonyms. It must be the writer in me…) to announce that Tripping the Night Fantastic, my first novel (and a very strange one at that) has just completed the recording process!
The files have been sent to ACX for review and soon the book will be available to all through Audible and Amazon. When the big day comes I will write another blog post with links and a cheeky little trick that means you can get the book for free and I and the producer/voice-artist (Alan Gron) will still get paid.
More soon! Hip hip hurrah!
What do you think of the cover for the audiobook?
Andrew Chapman / Author and Screenwriter 