I’m so excited to have author Jennifer Wilck on my blog today! She writes about having her book made into an audio book. Since I’m right in the middle of this process myself, I found this piece very helpful toward knowing what to expect. Read on:
By Jennifer Wilck
The audio version of Addicted to Love came out over the holidays. I thought I’d tell you a little about the process of creating an audio book, since it’s my first one.
Once I signed a contract that let my publisher know I wanted Addicted to Love out on audio, they submitted it to the voice company they work with and we waited for audio narrators to express interest. I was sent a number of narrator auditions, and I listened to them trying to envision them telling the story. For a writer, this is tough, because we have a voice in our head telling the story and there is no possible way a real person is ever going to sound like our imaginary voice. But finally, I received an audition from Megan Parent. While she didn’t sound like the voice in my head, she infused the characters with emotions and was pleasant to listen to—you’d be surprised at how many narrators sounded like they were reading a grocery list.
My publisher sent her the book and Megan began recording. My book was challenging because the characters are Jewish and there are many Hebrew and Yiddish words sprinkled throughout. So to make things easier, I created a list of all the words and phrases with their English phonetic pronunciation. She sent a few sample chapters for me to listen to and I sent back a few corrections. Then I left the book to her.
When she was finished, she sent it to me and I listened to the entire thing, looking for mistakes or things that needed to be re-recorded. It’s really strange listening to someone else read your words, but I knew it was good when I was able to disappear into the story. There were a few places that needed fixing—the trick isn’t whether or not she says every word on the page; it’s whether or not there’s a glaring error that pulls the listener out of the story. I didn’t follow along with the manuscript. I listened as a reader. Totally new experience for me, but fun!
Once the corrections were made, it was another two weeks until the audio book was complete and available for purchase. If you’re an audiobook listener, I’d love you to try it and let me know what you think, because I need to decide if I want her to narrate my other books in the series. So let me know!
Here’s a little bit about Jennifer and her book:
Bio
Jennifer started telling herself stories as a little girl when she couldn’t fall asleep at night. Pretty soon, her head was filled with these stories and the characters that populated them. Even as an adult, she thinks about the characters and stories at night before she falls asleep or walking the dog. Eventually, she started writing them down. Her favorite stories to write are those with smart, sassy, independent heroines; handsome, strong and slightly vulnerable heroes; and her stories always end with happily ever after.
In the real world, she’s the mother of two amazing daughters and wife of one of the smartest men she knows. When she’s not writing, she loves to laugh with her family and friends, is a pro at finding whatever her kids lost in plain sight, and spends way too much time closing doors that should never have been left open in the first place. She believes humor is the only way to get through the day and does not believe in sharing her chocolate.
She writes contemporary romance, some of which are mainstream and some of which involve Jewish characters. She’s published with The Wild Rose Press and all her books are available through Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
Blurb
Dan Rothberg struggled after an accident killed his wife and he nearly lost custody of his daughter. He can no longer allow himself to get attached to anything or anyone. Until he meets Hannah.
Hannah Cohen is a young executive with a meddlesome grandmother and a troubled brother. She’d like nothing better than to find her own Mr. Right, after too many Mr. Wrongs. A sexy older man with a teenage daughter was never in her plans.
As they navigate their relationship through adolescent attitudes and grandmotherly interference, they realize age is just a number and love can be right in front of them. But when the terrible truth of Dan’s former struggles is exposed, Hannah must decide if she can get past his deception and allow love to conquer all.
Excerpt
“What are we looking at?” she whispered out of the side of her mouth, pursing her lips together and giving him an insane urge to kiss them.
“What?”
“I assumed since we’re standing here you must be looking at something, and I wanted to join in the fun. Or did you not realize we weren’t moving?”
Her nostrils flared and she bit her lip. Dan realized she was trying not to laugh. Now he really wanted to kiss her, to capture her mouth with his, to make her his own. Before he could act on it, his stomach growled.
“Was that yours or mine?” She looked at him, an eyebrow raised.
His lips twitched. His breath hitched. He couldn’t keep his amusement to himself any longer. It bubbled in his chest, and he let it out as he shook his head.
“Okay, while I am older than you, I’m not old enough to be senile. Yet. So yes, I did know we weren’t moving. But thanks for that. And yes, my stomach growled, because I’m hungry. Except I think I need to put eating on hold for a moment, because what I need more than anything else right now, what I’ve needed all night long in fact, is to kiss you.”
Buy Links:
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Addicted-Love-Serendipity-Book-1/dp/B07L8M5FVL
Author Links:
Website: http://www.jenniferwilck.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Jennifer-Wilck-201342863240160/
Facebook Readers Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2055470311366345/
Newsletter: https://www.jenniferwilck.com/contact.html#newsletter
Twitter: https://twitter.com/JWilck
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/authorjenniferwilck/
BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/jennifer-wilck
