So this was a surprise. A reader (or is that listener?) contacted me in late September via Twitter to tell me how much he enjoyed The Black Fire Concerto excerpt that appeared on Tales to Terrify (“Part One: The Red Empress,” read by the amazing C.S.E. Cooney) and to ask if there were any plans to release the entire novel in audio form. When I replied that there were not, he came back with, I know a guy…
 

 
That guy turned out to be Robert G. Davis, a voice over artist in Los Angeles who does freelance book narrations through the Amazon satellite program ACX. He worked with astonishing speed — the complete first draft of the 8-hour-plus recording was in before Thanksgiving, and he turned around the extensive and nitpicky changes I asked for within a day or two of when I asked for them, sometimes within an hour. Just as vitally, he was extremely patient, as I was already overbooked with other projects, and it took me quite a while to weave hours upon hours of sitting and attentively listening into my schedule, heh.
 
But now I’ve listened to my own novel twice (and what a curious experience that was!) and I’ve clicked the “approve” button, and this totally unexpected audiobook should be available in January.
 
For the record, for my fellow writers who might be interested in trying this, I endorse both trying out ACX and working with Rob.
 
Those few and proud who have actually paid attention will note that this edition of the The Black Fire Concerto is billed as “Book One” and the series now has a name. This might have something to do with the existence of “Book Two,” The Ghoulmaker’s Aria, which I also plan to release in 2015, though making the time to do that will be a peril-fraught venture…
 
#SFWApro
 

Posted in Audio, Fiction, Novels, The Black Fire Concerto, Writing