Adventures in audio land

by Emma on August 30, 2010

A few months ago I officially launched my professional voice services and haven’t really mentioned anything about them since. I have been very distracted as you know (and believe me, the pull to write TYL2 right now is so strong it’s hard to write anything else, even a blog post!) so I thought it was high time to tell you all the exciting stuff that’s happened with the voice work since launch. I also recorded a winning Friday Flash ages ago and then neglected to post it up, so that announcement, and the call for entries for the next draw is at the end of this post.

The adventure begins…

My first commission (you know, the one that produces your first cheque that you want to frame but can’t because you need the money so badly?) was from the lovely Kate Maryon who is a local author I had coffee with ages ago. Kate is who I want to be when I grow up; serene, loving life and one of those people who is just so easy to be around. She also diagnosed my gluten intolerance, and since following her advice I have lost a total of 20 pounds in weight and have the energy to walk ten miles a week, play table tennis and do all the crazy work shenanigans I get up to. So, you know, she’s done a lot to change my life already!

Anyway, she loved the sample I put on my voice page and commissioned me to record the first four chapters of her novel “Shine” which is simply wonderful. It’s aimed at the 9-12 year old market but don’t be fooled by the girly cover, it actually tackles some meaty issues to do with interpersonal relationships that are deftly explored.

Harper Collins gave Kate the go-ahead to have the recording done, and it’s since been put up as a widget on their website! If you go to the Harper Collins page for Shine you’ll find a box called “More Audio” and you can listen to the chapters through that. I did an accent for the mother and daughter that was really fun – Kate had to coax it out of me but I’m glad I did it!

Then I did something a little bit crazy

One of my favourite people online, someone who I have talked about on my blog since I started it, wrote a book that was published as an e-book by Lyrical Press. It’s a science fiction thriller called TimeSplash, and the lovely chap in question is called Graham Storrs.

Now I have a lot of time for Graham. Our writing journeys have been very similar in timing, we both struggled for years, got grumpy, frustrated, infuriated, envious of other people’s success – and understood that in each other perfectly. Then bang! We both get our first publishing deal in the same year. Not only that, I also love his writing, and his short stories delight the same part of my brain that is reserved for Ray Bradbury, my all time hero, and not many writers are let in there I can tell you.

So anyway, I decided that I wanted to record an audio book of TimeSplash as my first audio novel. I thought it would be a good experience for me, that it would help to raise Graham’s profile too and that we could do it like pioneers of a new land; having no real idea of the huge work ahead and the pitfalls on the way, but knowing that there was something on the horizon worth striving for.

To my delight Graham said yes and for the last 3 months I have been recording TimeSplash.

And I have loved every minute of it. It’s a great book.

But the story gets even better…

About three weeks before finishing it, I was commissioned for my next audio project by a rather splendid fellow called Greg McQueen. You may recognise Greg (assume Simpsons-esque Troy McClure voice here) from the amazing 100 stories for Haiti project. It’s a novella, and one of the first projects for his new micro-publishing company.

So we get talking and it turns out that we have very similar plans and ideas about audio book publishing. We agreed we should collaborate on other projects, and I had several to bring to the table that I thought would really benefit from such a collaboration.

To cut a long story short (too late!) he has picked up the audio book of TimeSplash and offered Graham a print deal to boot. How fantastic is that?

So any day now I’ll be announcing that my first audio novel will be available for sale. Squeeeee! And double-squee for Graham; his book is fab and I will be one of the first people to buy it in print. I want it on my shelf. I want to hold it in my hand. Even though I have read every single word of it aloud and then edited it for hours and hours, I still want to own it. That’s how much I enjoyed it.

You can read Graham’s happy announcement on the TimeSplash blog here and find out more about Big Bad Media here.

So what’s next?

Well, I’m working on a novella for Big Bad Media, and there is another novella at the audition stage that I am hoping will happen too. Then there’s the re-recorded and professionally produced audio book of 20 Years Later in the pipeline too, plus a few other things…

Friday Flash Prize Draw

I had to miss this in July, but I am opening this up again for your August flashes. Here are the details:

So, just like last time, I am going to record a Friday Flash written by someone in the community (for free), publish it here to showcase their writing and of course, send it to the flash author to do with it what they will. I get a chance to practice producing other people’s work, and the winner gets a professionally produced audio version of their story. The only thing I ask is that at the end I get to say that I recorded it and give out my URL in case someone who listens would like me to record something for them.

Here’s how it works:

• You look at the Friday Flashes you wrote in August and pick your favourite one

• Leave a comment below, telling me that you’d like it to go into the draw, and include a link to that flash so I know where to find it if it wins, and your Twitter name too

• I’ll pick one at random using the random.org number generator (I’m not going to judge or pick a favourite as I don’t want to get tangled up in that)

• Over the following month I’ll record it and produce an MP3 which will get posted here with a link to the original flash and send you the file.

• Then you can put it on your own site, and if you link back to me to spread the word, that would be great.
Sound good? If you don’t follow the instructions above be warned that I won’t have a chance to chase you for details.

So if you want a chance to have me record one of your stories, you’ve got a week to submit – starting now. Please spread the word!

And if you can’t bear to wait (or you want to have me record one as a present for a fellow writer), you can always commission a professional story recording by me – the details are here.

The winner of the previous prize draw was the effortlessly stylish and all-round gorgeous Icy Sedgwick. The story is in one of my favourite genres and is called No Place Like Home. Enjoy.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

{ 5 comments }

I’m sorry… I’m very drunk

by Emma on August 23, 2010

So I got ill for a while. Then I was recovering and catching up on all my client work. Then… well, where the hell have I been?

My twitter friends have been wondering about my absence, and when I have popped in briefly to reassure them that I’m not dead (please don’t put me on the cart) they’ve been reacting like I’ve been gone for ages.

And by my standards, I have been gone for ages, so I thought the least I should do is explain where I’ve been and what I’ve been doing.

I’ve been in post-apocalyptic London.

When I was recovering from the latest bout of illness, I felt a reluctance to immerse myself right back into my intense online writing schedule, and even my online socialising. Catching up on work was a struggle, it’s true, but I also felt like I just needed a bit of quiet time.

Whilst I love Twitter and my online life, it does also drain me. It leeches away time in tiny little bursts, but also attention – there are just so many interesting and lovely people that I know online now, all doing such lovely and interesting things that I feel like a child walking through a fun fair every day. You all know how tired kids get after a day at the fair, right?

Trying my best to look after myself a bit better, I decided to give myself a break. I was writing 2,000 words or so of stories to publish on the blog every week, plus writing thousands of words for clients every week and also short stories for my club (which have also been paused lately). As a result I was producing a lot of flash fictions and short stories, but the sequel to 20 Years Later simply wasn’t getting written. I was lucky to get more than 5,000 words down a month, and that simply wasn’t good enough for me, or the book.

When I stopped everything else and just recovered, the story that kept coming back to me was book two. Yes, I occasionally thought about Mickey and the Split Worlds, but Titus and Zane and Erin were shouting the loudest.

So I began to write it again. Just quietly, no Twitter, no blogging, and thought I’d aim for 1,000 words a day in the Ray Bradbury tradition.

Since then, I have become fully immersed in the world again. Writing a novel is completely different to writing an online weekly serial. Many might say “Well, duh!” but I don’t mean in terms of required word counts or differing schedules, I mean immersion.

Not allowing myself to be fully immersed in my novel’s world meant that it was so much harder to start writing it again. Every time I set aside for it, half of it was spent getting back to the mindset I was in when I last planned out some chapters. Stopping and starting, leaping between different worlds just wasn’t working for me.

When I wrote 20 Years Later, the first draft was finished in 26 days. I was writing anywhere between 3-4000 words a day, but my life at the time was very different. I was a psychology teacher during exam time, so I had exam invigilation duties that gave me time to daydream and plot. I had an hour commute each way into London and back, again, all time to be in the world.

I wasn’t a professional copywriter, so all my writing muscle’s energy went into the book. I also didn’t have a son, nor was I the sole breadwinner for my family.

I assumed I would never be able to have that intense writing experience again. I was wrong.

You see, I realised a while ago that even though I had decided to shelve plans to build my copywriting business and just focus on keeping current clients and building my writing career instead, the decision hadn’t filtered down to my daily work routine.

Anxiety disorder- induced thinking was making me plan my day around clients that I was terrified of not doing enough work for, when that was just crazy. They are happy, I work very hard, but it’s not where my full energy and focus needs to be every day in terms of my writing.

When I realised how much my anxiety was controlling my life and schedule, I changed my day completely. I write my novel first now, then I do client work. No loss of quality to the client work – it’s a completely different type of writing – but a massive increase in my novel progress as I am signalling to my brain that it’s a priority.

I am also keeping myself in that world. Every moment I’m not actively concentrating on something else, my brain is writing, just waiting for the next time my hands can do that too.

Now I am drunk though. The book has its own momentum, the characters are swept up in their stories and the sequel is hammering along to its finish. I’ve gone from writing 1000 words a day to 2500 or more, and that itch, that desperate compulsion to write is still not satisfied.

Only the need to keep my clients happy pulls me away. I do the work, I see my family, then I am writing again. I am drunk I tell you, I am only partially in this world.

And it is glorious.

I’ve put a cute little widget up on the right hand side that enables me to track my daily writing – like a micro blog for my novel. If you click on it you can see what I’ve been doing every day. So if you’re wondering why I haven’t written a flash for a while, or why I haven’t been on Twitter for days, that’s the place to look.

I’m into the last 10-15 chapters of book two, and it’s like I’m riding a stallion. Nothing can stop it, and I am just holding on for dear life, enjoying the thrilling ride. I can see the world, hear the characters  speaking, I just have to turn up and write it all down. And you know, it’s almost effortless. The only thing that’s hard is tearing myself away.

I feel that’s the right way to write, and the right way to live my life. Nothing makes me feel as calm and content as writing down all the stories in my head. The story of 20 Years Later has been in my head for many, many years. I just have to get it out. Until then, I’m afraid I won’t be around as much, but you will be getting a sequel as compensation in time.

So that’s why I’ve been quiet lately. Bear with me and my compulsion to write, please.

“You must stay drunk on writing so reality cannot destroy you.”

Ray Bradbury

Reality cannot destroy me at the moment. It barely exists.

{ 18 comments }

Ramblings during recovery

by Emma on August 3, 2010

It’s been so long since I’ve posted here, I have an urge to get out a duster and start polishing. It’s been a tough few weeks and between two bouts of illness back to back and my husband being away a lot over July, things have fallen apart a little bit here.

I’m still recovering, and trying not to be stressed about all I haven’t done. I got into a bit of a tizz about it yesterday before realising that I am the only person getting upset about the fact that I haven’t posted a story here for a while. A part of me was bludgeoning myself with a big stick, berating me for slipping from my schedule, but I see now that it was absurd. At the worst, some of you may be impatient to know the next part of Mickey’s story, but I’m sure that none of you are sitting there, fuming away and shaking your fist at the screen shouting “That slacker Newman! How dare she not entertain me right now!”

Honestly, the amount of energy I have spent fretting about this over the past couple of weeks is ridiculous, it’s as if I were the CEO of a grand corporation not meeting the expectations of my shareholders.

I forgot that this is fun, something I do out of a passionate love for writing. I forgot that it’s actually more important to get well, then return. Yet again, I forgot to take care of myself.

This is a repeating pattern. I work too hard, I do too much, then my body shuts me down by getting horribly ill. Then I get stressed about the work and writing I’m not doing, take longer to recover, am utterly miserable (and hell to live with) throughout, until I am finally well again.

It’s time to find a different way to do this…

I’m better than I used to be, but, to be honest, life is short and there are so many damn stories in my head to write down. I also have to earn money to keep our house and feed my family, and so what this boils down to is frequent 14 hour days and very, very little time off.

I am currently negotiating with my inner Sergeant Major, trying to explain that being horribly ill for two weeks is not the same as taking time off. He isn’t listening.

I find it hard to relax. No, who am I kidding here? I don’t even know how. Those who have known me for years will be nodding as they read this. I come from a family of ‘doers’ who never sit still for long. I suppose it seeped in over the years as I grew up, like damp through an old wall.

I get a lot done, but there’s no slack in my schedule, so when I do finally fall over, the effect feels pretty catastrophic. I don’t have a solution, I don’t even know why I’m writing about this, but hey, I miss you guys, and it’s been a while since I just came here and burbled. I used to do that, before I started a weekly web serial and weekly flash fiction and all the other crazy things I get up to.

And talking of patterns…

I’ve noticed another pattern too. Earlier in the year I got horribly ill, and that was the week after I did that presentation. I got into a complete state about being seen by people.

And what happened a week or so before this most recent bout? The photo shoot. I thought I handled that anxiety pretty well, but I think it took its toll on some level. I know the vomiting bug was caught from friends we visited, but maybe I would have fought it off if I hadn’t been stressed before, and maybe I would have been able to resist the cold that chased the bug (and still plagues me) if I had been less tired. I don’t know.

So that’s where I am at the moment. Normal service will resume shortly. You don’t mind if I take a few more days off do you? And if you have any idea what I could do to break these patterns, I’d love to hear it.

{ 15 comments }

Friday Flash Fiction: The Bell

by Emma on July 16, 2010

The bell rang and he looked at the woman sliding into the chair opposite him. She had thick brown hair and something of the Mediterranean about her.

“Hi.”

“Hi.”

He smiled and said “I’ve never done this before.”

She laughed. “Neither have I!”

He didn’t believe her. “I’m Anthony by the way.”

“Carmela,” she extended her hand across the little table. “Pleased to meet you.”

Her hand was soft and cool. “So what do you do Carmela?”

“I’m an estate agent,” she patted the air. “But I’m not evil, really! What do you do?”

“I’m an author.”

“Wow, had anything published?”

He smiled. “The third book of my trilogy is coming out later this year.”

She leaned forwards, revealing her cleavage. He resisted the tug at his eyes to look down into it. “That’s so exciting. I’ve always wanted to meet a novelist. Do you have an agent?”

He nodded. “Yes, he’s-”

“Oh wow, could you introduce us? I’ve written a romance called ‘The Lady’s Salvation’ set in the eighteenth century and it’s about this woman who’s left destitute when her father dies and this evil solicitor diddles her out of the will, so she has to go and live at this amazingly wealthy Lord’s house and teach his child as a Governess, but then they fall in love, and the Lord finds out about the solicitor and puts it all right. Then they get married, but not because she needs to – ‘cos by this point she’s independently wealthy – but because they love each other.”

He realised she’d stopped and blinked a couple of times, wondering if her prose contained such long sentences. He took a breath to reply, but she spoke first.

“Could you introduce me to your agent? I’m not getting anywhere, and it’s all about who you know in publishing, isn’t it?”

“Well… my books are science-fiction thrillers. My agent doesn’t represent romance novels.” And thank God for that, he thought.

“Oh,” she said, shoulders dropping, breasts retreating. Then she perked up. “I could so easily re-write it so that the solicitor is actually an… an alien from the-”

The bell rang. “Next!” called out the speed dating host. “People on the outside move one to the right!”

He smiled thinly and shook her hand. “Good luck with the novel,” he said as she slid her phone number across the table.

He had enough time to sip his drink before a blonde took Carmella’s place. “Stephanie,” she smiled, shaking him by the hand.

He smiled back, liking her blue eyes. “Anthony.”

“So what do you do?”

“I’m a novelist.”

“Really?” Stephanie’s eyes brightened and she twisted a lock of hair. “I’m a writer too!”

He perked up. “Really? What kind of books do you write?”

“Oh, sci-fi, and just the one so far.”

He swallowed down the excitement. Maybe the evening was looking up. “I write sci-fi thrillers,” he said, leaning forwards. “My third is being released in a few months.”

“Wow,” she said. “I’d love to be published, but I’m not getting very far. Would you mind reading my manuscript, giving me some pointers?”

He looked at her moist lips, the platinum hair. Oh he was tempted, but he’d promised himself never to do that again. He knew he’d regret it. “I’m sorry, I couldn’t do that, but I can recommend a great freelance editor.”

“Oh.” The hair twirling stopped, she looked away and sipped her drink. He sighed as the bell rang again. “Nice to meet you,” he said but she was already smiling at the next man.

Another brunette arrived, they shook hands. She had a confident air, expensive looking dress, nice figure. He wondered what was wrong with her, and immediately chastised himself. After all, he was here, and there was nothing wrong with him.

“Alexandra,” she said and he introduced himself.

When the inevitable question came, he hesitated. She nodded when he told her, he was relieved to see no change in her behaviour.

“I’m going to write a book,” she said.

“Oh? What about?”

“I have a few ideas. I’m going to write a high-end literary novel. Not looking for commercial success, I don’t need the money, but critical acclaim.”

“Do you write as a hobby?”

“Not yet,” she sipped her drink. “I run an investment firm, but I’ve blocked off a week in August. I’m going to my house in France to write.”

“A whole week?” he failed to keep the sarcasm from his voice. It didn’t seem to penetrate the confident bubble around her.

“What do you write? Have you won any awards?”

“Science-fiction. I was nominated for the…” he trailed off, seeing the curl in her lip.

“Oh. I don’t read that.”

The bell rang. He was growing fond of that sound.

He sat back and took in more of the room, filing the awful experience away for later use.

A blonde sat down with dimples in her cheeks as she smiled. He took in her round face and cheerful eyes, liking her immediately, despite himself.

“I’m Annie,” she said and smiled again when he told her his name. “What do you do?”

“I’m… I’m an office manager.”

{ 27 comments }

The photo shoot

by Emma on July 15, 2010

em_black_dressAs you can see, I had the photo shoot, and I have to thank you all again for the group therapy you gave me when I wibbled out about having my picture taken. It really did help. I got my head together at about the same time the opportunity to have some shots by the wonderful Harry Duns came up, so fortune does indeed smile upon the brave.

Harry is a lovely chap and made me feel at ease immediately. He also has very good taste – hence all those great Steampunk pictures in his portfolio, so when I told him the shots were for the publisher of my dystopian YA novel he didn’t just give me a blank expression. He likes the genre and was excited for me too, hooray!

I had a terrific urge to giggle throughout. A part of me felt ridiculous – I mean, having professional photos done? Me? Get out of town!

But then I remembered that it was to go in my book. My book! Then I got so excited I wanted to giggle again. That cycle repeated about a hundred times…

Emma NewmanIt was surreal experience. I took one of my favourite apocalyptic novels with me (The Kraken Wakes by John Wyndham), and my favourite tea cup for moral support, and one of the shots with the book made the grade as you can see. This is my favourite, probably because you see more of the book than me :) Maybe I’ll have a similar shot done with my book when it comes out.

So there you go; a decent picture of me, who’d have thought it was possible? Big thanks to the lovely Harry Duns again, and to Mick Dickinson who arranged the shoot.

What do you think?

{ 39 comments }

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