MultiMind's Blog, page 7

Listen to Me! I guest starred on the Written in Melanin podcast for Melanin Library

Listen here or listen below as I talk about my writing style, The Glassman, and more! I am very much stoked that I was able to be part of the Melanin Library’s podcast, given that I actually use Melanin Library quite a bit to find my next reads since I’m big on reading fantasy and sci-fi from Black authors. Or really anything from Black authors. All available in a free-to-use One-Stop-Shop.

And yes, another location where I yammer about my fountain pens. I will always talk about my fountain pens, and none shall stop me. lolz.

Live on Aug 11 at 10 PM EST, Talking with GoIndieNow for Multiverse

I will be live on GoIndieNow on Friday, Aug 11, at 10 PM EST to talk about my new upcoming book, The Glassman, attending Multiverse and whatever else may come up. You can watch live here and the video will be available on their channel afterwards in case you miss the livestream.

Bookish Brews Giveaway of The Glassman, Ends Aug 5

If you weren’t part of Storygraph Giveaway, here is another opportunity for a copy of The Glassman, provided by Bookish Brews. The details and the methods to apply are available on their twitter and their instagram. Giveaway ends Aug 5th, only two print copies available.

What you win:

Signed copy, signed with glass pen in blood inkGlass-like page holderGuitar pickSticker

What you have to do to win:

Either go on Twitter and retweet BookishBrew’s tweet or tag a friend on BookishBrew’s instagram post.

You can go to both and thus get two entries total. For an extra 3rd entry, check out BookishBrew’s Instagram Post, especially if you’re on GoodReads.

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A post shared by Amanda | stories & protest (@amandasbrews)

New Review! Independent Book Review

I received a review from the Independent Book Review:

A lead singer survives a devastating accident only to discover that he can now control and create glass. What would you even do with this power? How could it help? Or could it only hurt? The Glassman is a dark fantasy that sings.

– Independent Book Review, Upcoming Book Releases We’re Excited About | Fall 2023

I’m really happy to receive such a positive review and to be put so close to the top for their Fall 2023 Book Releases.

I’m Fine but The Industry Isn’t: Audiobooks and SAG-AFTRA Upcoming Strike – Pt. 2

I wrote about SAG-AFTRA’s potential strike and how it affects audiobooks, particularly mine. Long story short, I’m fine since I’m indie and already have a contract with SAG-AFTRA. I also chatted some more with the audiobook person at SAG-AFTRA about this and was told basically: all audiobooks are safe, it’s just TV/Theatrical productions that are being struck. No change in response time, work rules, nada. It’s all business as usual in the land of making audiobooks.

This is good. One, good for me because I don’t have to worry about strike stuff as I onboard the new narrator. Two, good for actors in general because while doing audiobooks isn’t a star in a Marvel movie, it sure can pay the bills during these lean times (audiobook pay is nyot cheap, a four hour audiobook could certainly pay someone’s rent in a single check, if not a whole streak of bills alternatively) and it is not as intense as, say, video game voice acting. You sit there in a padded room (literally could be a closet) with your water and green apples (reduces mouth noises), recite a book with emotion and performance and thar ya go. Striking is hard, especially on the pockets of the workers, so it is a good thing that it is not all dead end in terms of accruing money to live on.

New Narrator for The Glassman Audiobook – and this round of auditions was A Time!

A new narrator for The Glassman has been chosen and now the final paperwork is being worked through: Alejandro Antonio Ruiz!

More details to come.

Also, I would like to say a word about this current go-around for finding a narrator:

It is absolutely astonishing how often White individuals – even with a role call that distinctly asked for a person of color by name – I asked for “Chicano or Afro-Chicano” – have still tried to audition for the role despite:

They’re not of the ethnic background specifically statedNot capable of the accents asked for. This work demands Chicano and Dominican accents – the last narrator picked was Chicano and struggled with the Dominican accent, I expect way less of someone of the European diaspora. Even if someone of the European diaspora can do the Dominican and Chicano accent – I still am asking for someone from the Latin diaspora. Not any drip of what I was asking for: Not Chicano/Afro-Chicano, not queer, (sometimes) not male – If you don’t fit the job, don’t apply. It chunks up the application pool, I only want talent and only am interested in seeking talent from the background specifically described in the narrator role call. Only White (Euro diasporic (making the distinction as White Latinos exist)) people did this, no other racial/ethnic group. Not Asian people, not non-Latin indigenous, no one else. Pay attention to what is being asked.

Every White person that tried to go for this role is getting blacklisted from any and everything MultiMind Publishing ever does, audio or film or whatever text-derivative art form that comes into fruition next, because they not only proved far beyond the extraordinary that they can’t follow directions – thus proving that they will be difficult to work with on official and professional terms – they also showed that they don’t care about the role, the job, their fellow actors in the field or the art. If you can’t even follow basic or simple directions that are plainly laid out in readable text, that means you’re most likely not going to be able to handle a script of any grade. I’m small potatoes so it is extra troubling if any actor has this type of difficulty with the smaller fish in the pond. It only means they’re a literal waste of time for any of the medium or bigger fish.

On top of that, I’ve already mentioned to others who are in the market for narrators to avoid these people in particular because of the difficulty they provided me and the fact they are not suitable or professional enough to work with.

Will there be future calls for narrators at MMP? Yes, I do plan on having future narrator calls but here’s the thing: I expect the description of those calls to be respected. If you are serious about having a career in the performing arts where you have to audition, read the role, and if you don’t fit then please do not apply. Already for the follow up books for The Glassman, the Glass and Dreams duology, I am planning to have narrator calls for an Asian American male narrator (pref. Chinese American with a bit of a handle on Mandarin, pref. queer) and Black British narrators – and I expect only people of those backgrounds to apply and audition. Given my writings, I don’t really have White characters in my works and even if I did, they’re most likely (and by “most likely”, I mean “definitely”) getting voiced by BIPoC narrators for the simple fact that many BIPoC, especially Black people, usually have to and/or are expected “sound White” just to not be seen as less than because of how racist the world still is today. In other words, they have a seamless adaption of cultural dialectal range and I want to use it for something remotely positive while these incredibly harmful structures and institutions that created and often times necessitated this behavior are being disrupted and dismantled into non-existence. Frankly put, a White person has never needed to “sound Black/Latin/non-White” to get a job/get a house/not get murdered or mistreated by a cop/not be assumed stupid or less human ever so their ability to do great BIPoC accents, it’s lacking – and is usually downright insulting. Imagine Black English (IBE) does exist and it is revolting (Actually, even when I look for non Black PoC (NBPoC) narrators, I hunt for any sign of IBE so I can keep them off my list also. I’m simply not interested in hiring an Awkwafina or Lily Singh type either, plain and simple). When I hire actors, I want to hire versatility and range so I can hire the actor back again and again. More jobs for them, less work for me, everybody wins.

Everyone, I know that I’m small and just starting out but that doesn’t mean I prefer to shirk on quality. And I do expect the same basic candor and respect that the bigger folks are given. If there is a role call that asks for a background that you are not, it does not impress the casting person when you go for the role anyways. If anything, they’re agitated because they already have to sift through a bunch of people who are the fitting background and now they have to put up with you, the person who does not need to be there.

Especially for roles that specifically call for BIPoC actors and you are not any shade of BIPoC. I found the newest narrator through the PGM VO list, which lists only BIPoC voice over actors, but I wanted to cast my net wider since the list does not have everyone on it and not every BIPoC actor is aware of such a list (if you are a BIPoC voice over actor, join it if you haven’t. They also have a list call for queer people in general also). I wanted to make sure even newbies who still do not fully know the ropes professionally but do know how to act and fit the background of the role call could audition and I did get a few of those. But I got way too many White people that simply didn’t know how to follow basic directions and in this field, that’s an extremely bad sign. I’ll probably be sticking with that list from now on because I can hyper select what actors to work with and I won’t have to worry about people who shouldn’t be auditioning for the role popping up in my inbox.

If a random BIPoC actor shows up in my inbox and says “Hey, I see you’re auditioning for this role. I don’t fit and thus I’m not trying for it but I still wanted to be on your radar” and shows a site containing demo reels, I’m at least willing to take a gander because at least they were up-front and clear. The most I would do is, if their demos are good enough, tuck their name to the side and suggest they put their names on the voice actor lists I check (PGM and AAVADB) but still inform them to mind the role call descriptor. Is it a promise I’ll use their talents or have a call for their talents? Nope. But I do want to make sure I have as wide a net for BIPoC and QBIPoC* actors as possible.

No matter what, always pay attention if you want to do well in the performing arts.

*QBIPoC – Queer Black, Indigenous, People of Color

The Glassman Audiobook and SAG-AFTRA Possible Strike (I’m Fine but The Industry Isn’t)

Okie dokie do! Still underway with narrator auditions for The Glassman, which is nearing to a close. What is also nearing to a close are the SAG-AFTRA negotiations with big players in film and media, such as Netflix and such.

SAG-AFTRA stands for Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists. They’re the union/guild that helps protect actors and vocal artists and their careers. (It’s also currently led by Fran Drescher, who I know from watching The Nanny growing up, so it is a sheer delight to see her as president of SAG-AFTRA.) Also, the WGA, who is currently striking, is the Writer’s Guild of America. I’m not part of WGA, but I am part of ALLi, which is the Alliance of Independent Authors, who does support WGA’s strike. I also do as well, people should be paid fairly for their work and creative careers should not turn into a gig economy.  

While there has been an extension in contract deliberations, it does indeed look like the forecast will include a strike. The same big players in talks with SAG-AFTRA are the exact same ones that chatted with WGA and that ended in a strike that is still ongoing.

Audiobooks count as “New Media” (if I have my labels correct, I’m still new to quite a bit of this) so it does matter to me if a strike happens.

What I know so far, as it pertains to my work:

The Glassman audiobook, since I’m an indie with a union contract signed for this project, this means, as far as I know and with what I have checked, will be perfectly fine. There will be no barriers in getting actors, recording, nothing. It’s business as usual. (The strike may affect traditionally published authors depending on contracts and how traditional publishing companies handle narrator hiring.) As long as I treat my narrator like a human being and also stick to contract, I won’t have to worry about being struck (having all actors forbidden from working with me). Since I try to do that as a rule, I ought to be fine. All projects that currently have functional and valid contracts with the SAG-AFTRA are fine and don’t have to worry about anything.  

Long story really short (TL;DR): My audiobook is fine, contract/strike-wise. If a strike happens, it’s just another day for me and whoever will be the new narrator for my book.

Multiverse is coming up! Register now!

Multiverse is in the fall but you can always register now! I’m about to soon see and decide which panels I will be on (which I will definitely post here) but please remember to register for Multiverse! Oct 20-22! Atlanta, Georgia! Things! Occurrences!

Also, the Storygraph giveaway is still ongoing for The Glassman. That ends July 18th.

Update on Audiobook for “The Glassman”

Looks like there will need to be another narrator for The Glassman. The narrator selected simply discovered he bit off more than he could chew when he took on this project and opted to bow out. No recording had begun yet by this time so that means nothing was really lost except for just a little time, which is fine.

This does mean I am back to square one in looking for a narrator for The Glassman, tho.

Stuff and things

One, The Glassman, finally has a narrator. Seth Fuentes will be the narrator for The Glassman. Woo.

Two, one of my friends showcased my book and the accompanied goodies! (This is roughly what print book winners of The Storygraph giveaway will get but hers has a specialized page holder because she is a friend of mine. It looks dark because it is colored with blots of fountain pen ink. She also has a DIY printed LR sticker and regular sticker, hence why she has two). Also, I made her BTS phone case.