I’m excited to be returning to Leaves Book & Tea Shop 120 Saint Louis Ave. Fort Worth 76104 this coming Sunday, March 26 for an event with three other authors. Misty Hayes writes young adult paranormal. Linda Wood writes a history about Fort Worth Girl Scout Troop 11. Jeffery Lynch writes poetry. I, of course, write later in life romance with touches of suspense. The time is 2-4 pm. We will all answer questions about our writing process and read for 5 minutes from some of our work. If you haven’t visited this book shop before, you’ve been missing out. Hope to see you there. And yes, I will have books to purchase.
Picture above is of me reading from TAINTED at Leaves last summer.
This next piece is really exciting. I wanted to share it first in my newsletter, but I can’t wait to tell you that for those of you who like to listen to books, one of mine is now available in that form. You can listen to TAINTED on Apple through iTunes. https://books.apple.com/us/audiobook/id1669096821
This was a special opportunity for authors who publish their books through Draft 2 Digital and Smashwords. (Those two have merged recently.) I’ve wanted to have my books in this format, but frankly it’s been too expensive for me. While I could read and record the books myself, I don’t have the equipment or space necessary for that.
Before I started writing books I gave thought to becoming a voice over actor, even took classes at KD Studios over in Dallas. I loved it. But the equipment part was a problem for me then as it is now, even though I’m much more tech savvy than I was then.
So this recording is by a digital voice. Have you ever used the program on your computer to listen to what you just typed? It’s a great way to find things you’d never see just reading it. This digital rendition is way better than that application. I haven’t heard the whole thing, only a sample, because I don’t listen to audio books, but still I was pretty surprised at how “real” it sounded. I got to pick the voice, but that’s all. I didn’t get to give any input into the process.
Here’s the link. https://books.apple.com/us/audiobook/id1669096821 (in case you missed the one above) And it’s the same price $4.99 as for an e-book. I think regular audio books (recorded by real people) are much more expensive.
Now I admit to a bit of angst over the fact this puts actors out of work. But then I wasn’t going to hire one of those actors. I just can’t afford to do it. Others will continue to hire them.
So how many of you listen to books? What platform do you use? When do you listen?
See this is new territory for me, and I’d love to hear from you. If you buy the book and listen, please let me know what you think. I have to decide whether to do another book this way. (FYI For those of you who take my newsletter, you’ll get something of a repeat of this post in April. 😊 But you are getting to hear the news and the book first.)
Congratulations, Marsha. How exciting for you and for your “readers”.
When driving across the state alone, I have listened to books in the car. Once I reached my destination after almost 6 hours and I wished I hadn’t gotten there yet because the book was so exciting. I’ve also listened to them on the treadmill.
Hey, Susan, thanks for your input. Yes, it’s pretty exciting. I’ve got to get the word out to those folks who’ve kept telling me they only “read” audio books. We’ve listened to pod casts on long trips to Red River, but not ever a book. May have to try it. What “app” or whatever do you use to listen? Thanks so much for stopping by. 🙂
Hello Marsha, that’s really exciting about the audiobook. I don’t listen to audiobooks myself, but I know many people who do, and I’ve heard sales have gone up and up in the past few years. Wishing you all the best, and I hope it leads to many more!
Congrats on the audiobook release! I listened to the sample. I really like the narrator’s voice. I love love love audiobooks. I download them from my library on hoopla and libby.
Marsha R. West, Author 
Congratulations, Marsha. How exciting for you and for your “readers”.
When driving across the state alone, I have listened to books in the car. Once I reached my destination after almost 6 hours and I wished I hadn’t gotten there yet because the book was so exciting. I’ve also listened to them on the treadmill.
Best wishes.
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Hey, Susan, thanks for your input. Yes, it’s pretty exciting. I’ve got to get the word out to those folks who’ve kept telling me they only “read” audio books. We’ve listened to pod casts on long trips to Red River, but not ever a book. May have to try it. What “app” or whatever do you use to listen? Thanks so much for stopping by. 🙂
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The books were on CDs.
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Hello Marsha, that’s really exciting about the audiobook. I don’t listen to audiobooks myself, but I know many people who do, and I’ve heard sales have gone up and up in the past few years. Wishing you all the best, and I hope it leads to many more!
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Congrats on the audiobook release! I listened to the sample. I really like the narrator’s voice. I love love love audiobooks. I download them from my library on hoopla and libby.
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