I haven't worked with professionals in the Entertainment industry before. So I got a huge kick out of auditioning different voice actors. There's a lot of excellent talent out there, but I ultimately chose the fantastic Paige Reseinfeld to narrate the audiobook version of The Woman in Brown. (Follow Paige on TikTok and learn more about her amazing work @paigevoice).
When I initially decided to make an audiobook, I didn't realize the project would be a fun and creative collaboration between two people with a passion for making my story pop. The project took a few weeks between auditions and the finished audio product, and I'm delighted with how it turned out.
I'd listened to my story previously using what I term Microsoft Word's "robot voice" (the Read Aloud feature), but Paige brought life and depth beyond my expectations. She did a terrific job. The official release date of The Woman in Brown audiobook is coming soon!
Listen to a sample of The Woman in Brown audiobook here:
While working on The Woman in Brown, I also drew up my shortlist of voice actors to narrate my Clan of Shadows story in the Ninja Squirrel series. I'm looking forward to the auditions for my middle-grade fantasy novel, and many of the actors I selected were not only excellent at what they did, but their voices could do fun and amusing things with different children's book characters that was highly entertaining to listen to. I can't wait to hear what they do to my words for this story, haha!
Speaking of Clan of Shadows, I think I've settled on a title, and here is a sneak peek of the cover art:
Ren and the Clan of Shadows will be back from the editor by the end of this month. I plan to release it as an ebook this year, with plans for a paperback and audiobook in the future—release dates to be announced in the next few weeks.
Phew! It's been a productive year so far, and I'm already making plans for 2023. Until I get Ren and the Clan of Shadows back, I'm revising a historical mystery novel and outlining my strategy for a few stories I've been working on over the years. As time allows, I'm reading as much as possible. I recently finished off Chandler's The Art of Murder and a bunch of other mystery and crime fiction short stories. (I count this as research and will use what I've learned from my reading to help inform my next crime fiction short stories when I write them).
I'm also running the middle-grade mystery I wrote for #NaNoWriMo in 2021 through my critique group. The working title is Sanglier Family Adventures: The Curse of the Devil's Purse Inn. This story is a nutty and fun mix of humans, vampires, werewolves, ghosts, and who-knows-what from the Enchanted Forest. Think shows like The Munsters, The Addams Family, movies like Shrek, and books like The Willoughbys by Lois Lowry. With a bit more of a mystery twist! I'm thinking of making it into a series if it does well. It was a lot of fun to write.
Oh, and this guy is finally making an appearance in my written work:
My site mascot Chewie has finally surfaced in a story I've shown to other people; woohoo! Is he a dragon? Is he a cat? Is he a dragon/cat? Who knows? Find out when you read Sanglier Family Adventures.
Author over and out! Thanks for reading all, and thanks to all who have supported me in my creative projects. I couldn't do it without you guys.
Best,
Marisa