To my mind, an audiobook is half way between a good read and an engaging TV drama or film.
By this I mean a good narrator with appropriate sound effects can bring out the visual qualities of a book in the mind of the listener - painting a picture of a scene, if you will.
In my new audiobook, Thames Valley Tales (March 2023 release) I took advice and read my stories aloud, noting how dialogue between characters sounded and made adjustments. I found my writing style was somewhat formal, and changed a lot of 'could haves' to 'could've' and so on.
I also hired an actor to narrate and produce it, and have marvelled at his ability to bring the various characters to life through use of accents and verbal foibles or signatures, making each one stand out. He also introduced appropriate music at the start of each story in the collection for genre orientation and identified appropriate sound effects.
The net result is to bring my stories to life, lifting them off the page to play out scenes in the mind of the listener in a very visual evocation.
I'm excited. It's my first audiobook and my tactic of selecting nine stories from a pool of fifteen that I feel have the best visual qualities has paid off. Listen and be amazed.
This collection of nine contemporary tales that resonate with the rich history and legends associated with the flowing heart of England must surely be picked up by a film or
TV producer looking for the next big hit!
Here's the trailer I've just posted on YouTube... and watch out for the March launch:
I've also taken down the first edition of Thames Valley Tales Kindle and paperback editions from Amazon and replaced then with new second editions - companions to the audiobook.
The paperback is currently discounted to just £4.99 and the Kindle e-book to £1.99. Grab yours via this Amazon universal link: http://mybook.to/ThamesValleyTales