Ta-da! The first book from my catalog to become an audio book will be Bad Dreams! Just look at that new beautiful cover art by the talented Ben Adams (you can find his artwork on dozens of popular book covers, including inside the paperback edition of best-selling author Hugh Howey's book, Beacon 23).
So, we have new art, and also, a new voice. To find that voice I went through Amazon's ACX, which is essentially the KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing) of audiobooks. Or really, more like a Fiverr website that's strictly for audiobooks. Once I had this new slick artwork for Bad Dreams I uploaded my prepared script (I picked scenes that highlighted the tone and the main characters arcs) and hit the submit button. After that the auditions rolled in. I did some reading on this process, as it's a big decision and a lot of work and cost, and was afraid that I wasn't going to be able to afford a high quality narrator. I had my project listed in the $100-$200 PFH section, and from what I read you needed to be in the $200-$400 PFH section to get the professionals (I've waited this long to make any of my novels into audiobooks, so having something sloppy that will have to be replaced later didn't appeal to me).
Needless to say I considered canceling the whole thing. I wrote the blog post in my head, telling you, dear readers, that I wasn't going to be able to bring the story to your ears just yet, but hopefully one day. But then a day or so went by and I decided to look through the auditions despite what I had read. I clicked on some profiles, and saw that indeed most of the auditions were from people who had never produced an audiobook. But then I saw something that caught my eye. It was a yellow checkmark next to the name of a narrator, and I knew this meant something important, because Twitter and Facebook have taught me well. So, I clicked on Steve Carlson's audition, and I was blown away by the world he created with the words I had written. It was the kind of thing that makes you feel like you're not half-bad at what you do. So, after that I talked with my wife, I listened to all the other auditions (some were not good at all, others were not the right fit) and in the end I decided to go with Carlson.
Carlson's a professional. He's an author, TV and film star, and more recently the narrator of over 60 audiobooks. You can check out his resume here if you'd like more details (check out that Bruce Campbell flick!)
Now, as far as release date, I would say this will probably be out on the world of Amazon in a month or two. But, if you don't think you can wait that long you could always get yourself a copy of the paperback or ebook with that new awesome art! Click here if your heart desires.