Yvette Keller's Blog, page 16
May 26, 2019
New Audiobook Release (For Reals This Time) The Wizard King!
Amazon had trouble getting my latest audiobook release–The Wizard King–actually released. There was some confusion on the technical end, and our new audiobook, about an innocent young woman in a magical Regency world, was attached to a racy bodice-ripper with a bare-chested hunk on the cover.
Needless to say, that would. not. do. So although the audiobook was “finished” nearly two months ago, it is finally easy for fans to find it!
This book was a new challenge in several ways. It’s the fi...
May 22, 2019
The Crisis
For most authors I know there’s a crisis. The moment that they don’t want to write. If it goes on awhile, some call it writer’s block. At the Writing Excuses Retreat (WXR 2017), author Emma Newman called it by its real name: FEAR.
Fear, in the vivid and detailed imagination of a writer, is many and varied; real and unreal. And we can’t just get rid of fear by shutting off our imagination. Our imagination is how we describe non-existent people that you feel like you know. From a floating mote...
May 15, 2019
The Legitimacy of Round Numbers
You heard it here first, people: 1000 audiobook sales makes you a fully legitimate audiobook producer!
As of last week, I have 10 titles and I’ve been in the audiobook business for 2 years, 8 months, and 22 days.
This is a very fun milestone, and I hope all my friends and fans will save the date for a rockin’ party at Casa de Bessey on August 24th to celebrate!
May 12, 2019
My First “Meet The Narrator” Interview
There’s a great interview with me posted now at Viviana MacCade’s Blog as part of the Viola Roberts Cozy Mystery Series Audiobook tour:
Audiobook Tour: Viola Roberts Cozy Mystery by Shéa MacLeod, narrated by Yvette Keller and Meet the Narrator
May 10, 2019
Writing to Heal
Wednesday was the last session of Writing to Heal. I miss it already. Facilitated through Visiting Nurse & Hospice Care of Santa Barbara, the class has given me time and space to look at grief that has been piling up. It is natural that as I age, more and more mentors, family, heroes, friends, and authority figures are leaving this phase of their existence.
I’ve been grateful, especially in later life, to one of my teacher-mentors, Steven Crain. He insisted in Jr. High School that we memoriz...
May 9, 2019
Daily Grind
“Writing our stories takes us beyond the grueling grind that life can unfortunately become, beyond the constraints of roles we find ourselves in each day, to make the world a bigger place.“
– Grant Faulkner, Pep Talks for Writers
Grant Faulkner at the 2016 Night of Writing Dangerously
This is not just a picture of a man who looks fabulous in a fascinator. Sporting those frisky red plumes is Grant Faulkner, a man who cares about writers.
He’s written the book, Pep Talks for Writers, and my up...
May 2, 2019
Destruction of the Favorites
Do you know your five favorite pieces of clothing? If you’re like me, they’re the first things you pack for a trip and the first things that go in the wash when you get home.
The soft purple hoodie with huge pockets that your friend Linda helped you find for your terrifying trip to Europe. The quilted down vest that belonged to your dad. You’ve been wearing it since he passed away and yours went missing. The black fleece sweatpants that have literally saved you from hypothermia on uncountab...
March 29, 2019
Finnemore Fridays: A New Kind of Dog Show
My dog was absolutely adorable this week. The very best, most Blue Heeler-like Blue Heeler there’s ever been. Which put me in mind of this John Finnemore Sketch. It’s from Series 2, Track 7, 2:53 (which you should absolutely purchase because it is AWESOME.)
March 21, 2019
How to Compliment an Audiobook Narrator
I had a long walk and then lunch with a new friend today. She recently listened to one of my audiobooks, The Remains in The Rectory, for the first time.
I’ll paraphrase slightly, because I can’t remember her verbatim words, and I didn’t stop dipping my grilled turkey and cheddar sandwich in my tomato basil soup to write them down:
As I was listening, I couldn’t help wondering: Do you record all the lines for one character, back to back, and then go back and record all the lines for another...
Happy Spring
Hello, 1 AM!
The full moon of Spring Equinox woke me with inescapable silver brightness. Instead of digging up my sleep mask, I’ve come to blog for you, friends.
WINTER IS OVER.
My creative energy has returned with a vengeance: I want to go everywhere and see everyone, and do everything…NOW.
What things do I want to do? Produce The Wizard King Audiobook; Write travel essays for my non-fiction project; Remind you that I wrote a Coven of The Bowler story about Ostara, the Wiccan ritual ce...
