Friday, June 20, 2014

Hey, Are You Listening To Me?



Do you listen to audiobooks?

Do you know what an audiobook is?  (Oh, I’ll hear about that one, I bet!)

My first introduction to an audiobook was Stephen King’s The Mist…and it wasn’t an audiobook.  It was a dramatization of the novella, and a pretty good one at that!

I remember thinking that if all audiobooks are dramatization, they’re pretty cool!  So, I found a few more:  dramatizations of Louis L’Amour titles.  Yes, I’m a big fan of L’Amour’s western novels.  I liked them, too!  The voice acting was great, and they were like listening to old radio shows.

I did a bit more research, which wasn’t as easy as it is today, and I heard about what was called “Books On Tape”, which were primarily aimed at the blind.  Someone with a good voice would record a book on tape so that the blind could listen to and enjoy books, too.  Early in my radio years – and we’re talking early eighties here – I entertained the idea of trying to use my voice to do some of that…but, I had no idea where to go to find out more information.  It was pre-internet times back then, and our local small-town library didn’t have any ideas, either.

Nowadays, from what I understand, recording books is a simple process, provided you have a proper home studio.

And I no longer want to do it.

Some of my oldest friends have asked me why I didn’t record my own audiobooks.  I have the ability to do voices (my Looney Tunes voices, and my Bullwinkle voice are best), and I’ve been told that I have a good radio voice.  I actually entertained the idea for a while.

But…somehow, it didn’t seem right to me to do my own work.  It seemed – at least to me – a bit self-centered.  I’m probably full of fertilizer on that, but it’s my feeling, right or wrong.

So, I’ve managed to pull together a good group of people that can perform my stories well.  Scott O’Neill, Patrick Peterson, Meagan Cunningham, Jasmin Rhea, and David Fischer.  These people with all of their great talents have brought my stories to life, and I’m proud to be associated with all of them!  Below is a list of each of my narrators, and the work that they’ve performed with links to Audible.com:

Meagan Cunningham:               If You Could Read My Mind – A Nicholas Turner Novel

Scott O’Neill:                           Jackie Blue – A Justice Security Novel
                                                Someone Saved My Life Tonight – A Justice Security Short Story
                                                Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go – A Justice Security Novel

Jasmin Rhea:                            Hot Child In The City – A Short Story

David Fischer:                          Gold – A Short Story
                                                Saturday In The Park – A Justice Security Short Story

Patrick Peterson:                      The Wreck Of The Edmund Fitzgerald – A Short Story
                                                Mama Told Me Not To Come – A Justice Security Novel
                                                MacArthur Park – A Justice Security Short Story
                                                The Little Drummer Boy – A Justice Security Short Story

Do me a favor, and check them all out!

Audiobooks are to be enjoyed either driving in your car, or at home with headphones and eyes closed.

And, whether you listen, or whether you read, just…

Keep reading!

Michael (T. M. Bilderback)

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