Over the Cliff I Go

     I finally did it. No, I didn’t lose my mind, just threw myself over a cliff. Okay, so maybe I did, but that’s not what I’m talking about. No…I entered the world of audiobooks! Yay me!
     The thing is, I’d talked about it but that’s about. Of course I’ve heard about other authors doing audiobooks and hear that readers liked them, I just never thought of myself doing them. Why? I just figured that was something that publishers did or other Indie authors who were more successful than me.
     HA! Well I did it, and boy did I get it done. Yeah, I have to give myself a pat on the back for this one. Now I do have to say that it wasn’t without some trials and tribulations, but eventually it came together. The biggest part of the putting this puzzle together was finding the right narrator/producer, and that was the hardest part.
     I listened to some of the worst auditions I’d ever heard. There were times that I wanted to stab my ears with an ice pick, if anyone even knows what that is anymore. There was this one guy that hit it out of the ballpark. I’m going to use that metaphor because, it is very fitting here.
     You see, the guy that was so good, who was from Tennessee, who wanted to do it, was good at it, withdrew his audition after reading the book. He was afraid that he couldn’t do it because he was also an announcer for a baseball team and he also did a sports radio program. I can't blame him really. So it was back to hunting for that perfect guy.

The talented Jared Bradford

     You see, I started this hunt last October. I’d thought I found the perfect guy two other times, but it always seemed to fall apart on me. Just when I was about to throw in the towel, I found Jared Bradford, thanks to Monique Thompson. It was well worth the wait. He really is perfect for this. He stands head and shoulders above anything I'd heard. Now that the book is done, I couldn't have done any better. After that, the process was a breeze. I’m now looking forward to working with this brilliantly talented young man again.
     I  have to give Kudos to May Wilson who did the trailer for me. She did an outstanding job. If there were awards for book trailers, I think she'd win this one hands down.

My Hero Book Trailer

     Here is a clip for the audiobook. You decide for yourself. I have to say he nailed the character Anita, who was one of my favorite people in this book.

Audio Sample Here

     After listening to this audiobook, it really got me back in the mood to finish My Hero: The Olympian. This is both a good and bad thing. I knew this was going to be a big book, but once again, Johnny and Rich have hijacked the damn thing and it has taken on a life of its own. Damn this is starting to feel like it might be as big as War and Peace which isn’t exactly what I had in mind. I’d actually hoped to be close to finished by now, but… well that didn’t happen. I guess we’ll see where they end up.

     Okay, so this morning, while trying to do the blog, I fell into Youtube. Okay, face-planted. Yep, splat! It wasn’t pretty either. I think it would have looked like I’d gone face first into a plate of pasta. I’m so dangerous on that damn site. I can get lost for hours and suddenly look up and the day is gone. Why I rarely go on there.

     So, I was totally perving over Garrick Ohlsson. I can hear you all the way from here… who? Yeah, time to edcucamate y’all. Garrick Ohlsson was the first American to ever win the international Chopin competition. Oh, and he’s a total bear and just my type, and he’s gay! Of course he’s married. I wanted to go to his concert in Miami last March, but well that didn’t happen. Probably just as well. I’d have been drooling like an idiot. The things that man can do with his hands.

     Of course it doesn’t hurt that he’s one of the leading authorities/teachers on Chopin, who also is my favorite composer. Hell, I even made a special point of going to Chopin’s grave while in Paris. Oh, and I’ll be going back when I return to France. The last time we were on a fairly tight schedule and I didn’t get to spend as much time there as I’d have liked. Next time, I will know better and give myself more time. 

     Now that I’ve been able to pull myself out of Youtube long enough to finish this blog, I have to say I’ve found myself a new favorite. Such the total nerdy musician. I couldn’t help but smile and sometimes laugh at some of his videos. There is such talent there. Kyle Landry. Check him out. He’s just fun and brilliant at the same time.

     Oh hell, I’m rambling again… oh well. Y’all should be used to that by now.

     What else…

     Hmmm, I’m supposed to be looking for hot, sweaty, manly, beefcake cowboy pictures. Yeah, well I’ve not had the time. So if anyone knows of any, send ‘em my way. I’m looking for something that has a straw cowboy hat, where the model’s face isn’t showing. Yeah, I know I’m being pretty specific, but that’s what is what’s in my head. There’s no big hurry, since the book isn’t anywhere near finished.

     I had someone ask me the other day what sub-genre I wrote in? Pfft… like I know? Hell, I’m all over the place when it comes to that.

     Like, My Hero is a total jock story about college guys. Why? Because it was football season and I was watching the Vols. The Olympics were coming up and I always like to watch men’s diving.

     Then there was P.O.W., a very gritty, hard war story where I was inspired by a short clip by Anderson Cooper. That was a hard one to write. Hell, I even got nightmares while I was writing that one. It was published by MLR, the last time I used a publisher. Yep, still haven’t seen on red cent from that book.

     And then on a dare, I wrote The V Unit. I swore I’d never write a vampire story, and yet, I did. I mean, after Anne Rice, who can top the ultimate vampire story? And no, I didn’t make them glitter either. I do love the concept of that book. Too bad it wasn’t much of a seller. There was a whole lot of research that went into that book.

     I then put together all the short stories that I’d done in Inappropriate Roads. It really does show the progression of my writing. It was actually a little difficult to put together. That first story, Cooking English, was the first thing I published. It was hard to look at again. I’ve learned so much since then.

     Finally, Going Home. That was another one that was difficult to write. There was so much going on in that book. It was personal challenge for me to write in a first person point of view, which I personally don’t much care for. But I was determined to make it work. Then there was the whole taboo aspect of it. It is still one that I’m proud of. I’m glad that so many people liked it. Of course, it would have done better in the market place if others didn’t want to pick and choose what adults could or could not read. Oh well, I still am pleased with the book.

     So, you tell me, what sub-genre of the M/M world do I belong?

     It’s that time of the month again where I go and look at the wish list for Lost –n- Found. I try to look at things that they have requests for but haven’t gotten yet. I try to stick to a budget of $20.00 - $30.00 a month. It really is pretty easy to do. A lot of things on their list are under $15.00. A lot of things they are asking for are snacks. That’s always easy, so I may go for something like that. How about you?

Lost n Found Wish List

     Well, I guess that’s about it for this this time. Have a great week, y’all.

     Max