Jane Lindskold's Blog, page 15

Reading Aloud

Reading From Library of the Sapphire Wind

Last week, I revealed the deep dark secret behind why I prefer not to use voice to text for my writing.  This week, as promised, I’m going to tell you why doing a reading is always an adventure.

Let me start by saying that I have a lot of experience reading aloud, pre-dating becoming a professional writer, which is a career that comes with the expectation that authors will read aloud from their work at various occasions.  My first experience reading aloud came when I was reading to my younger siblings.  My younger sister is nearly eight years younger than me, so I read to her a lot.  Her favorite book was Fox in Socks.  To this day I can still recite the ending tongue twister with fair accuracy.  I started babysitting very young, and reading bedtime stories aloud used to be a routine part of the job.

Later, as both an English major and English professor, I did a lot of reading aloud.  Enter the publication of my first short story in the early 1990s.  With this came opportunities to do public readings and the revelation of a new wrinkle in my personal timeline.

I discovered that reading my own fiction aloud transformed the work.  One reason for this was because, as I mentioned last week, I’m a very immersive writer and even though I’m fairly good at coming up with different voices for characters, I certainly can’t make them sound like they do in my head.  Especially the first few times I read from a piece, even if I rehearse in advance, I find the sound of my voice subbing for the characters’ “real” voices startling.

The other reason reading aloud from my works to an audience requires me to shift my perceptions is because, like many writers, I use reading my work aloud to myself as a means of proofing the work and checking the flow of the prose.  This means that, for me, I need to have two different mindsets for reading aloud: the one that is hyper alert and critical, and the one that’s reading to entertain.

Sometimes separating these can be a struggle, because the two are quite antithetical to each other.  As a frequent listener of audiobooks, I have heard how a really talented reader can make an indifferent piece of prose much more entertaining.  Equally, I have heard readers maul the prose as written, completely changing the story in how they choose to interpret a character.

When I read to proof my work, I deliberately don’t perform it.  I focus on detail.  I mentally critique just about very word and make sure the punctuation signals how I want the emotional or informational content of the prose to be interpreted as the reader.  Needless to say, this would make for a terrible style when giving a public reading.

So, there’s another reason why switching to voice to text would be a challenge for me.  I’d do it if I had no other option, but right now, the idea does not amuse.

FF: Artificial Stress

Drowsing Persephone

My list is shorter this week in part because I tried one audiobook and found it too hard to read about a very vulnerable character in jeopardy.  I’m not listing title or author because the book is neither bad nor weak.  I’m just not in a mindset to read some of the situations at the pace of an audiobook.  I may find a print copy, because I read a lot faster than I listen.

Essentially, I have enough real stress in my life that I don’t need to borrow any!

A reminder.  The Friday Fragments is not a book review column; it’s a list of what I’m reading and maybe a bit about my opinions.  I always read the comments section and enjoy learning what other people are reading.  Oh, and I don’t usually list shorter works unless in a collection or articles, I also don’t usually list scattered research reading.

Completed:

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers.  Audiobook. Re-listen.  Really good small spaceship adventure set in a universe with lots of well-developed aliens.

In Progress:

Witchy Winter by D.J. Butler.  Very different from the first book in the series in that there are numerous plot threads and timelines.  I’m enjoying and at this point plan to continue the series.

Paladin’s Grace by T. Kingfisher (aka Ursula Vernon).  Audiobook.  I’ve read, but I don’t think I’ve ever listened to it.

Also:

Having finished reading the most recent Smithsonian, I seem to have caught up with magazines for the moment.

The Sound of My Voice

Geese Stepping Out

Last week, when I posted about my upcoming rotator cuff surgery, I mentioned how almost as soon as I mention that my right (dominant) arm will be in a sling for six weeks following the surgery, I receive some variation on the suggestion that I set up so I can use voice to text.

Sometimes a specific program is suggested.  Often there is a kind offer to show me how to use the software.  In a few cases, the suggestion is worded in a fashion that makes it clear that the person making the suggestion thinks that I’m one of those old people who is “afraid” of technology.

The reason I don’t plan on using voice to text during those six weeks has nothing to do with technophobia.  I may not be one of those people who needs to adopt the latest gadget, but I’m far from a technophobe.  I started using a computer back when it was necessary to type in code for routine things like underlining.  I had one of the first two PCs used by the English Department at Fordham University back when I was a grad student.  My first job as a college professor was at one of the first colleges to require incoming freshmen to have a PC, and I taught classes in a networked classroom.

To me, technology is a tool, not a lifestyle choice.  So why am I not making that lifestyle choice to help make my life easier when I’m not going to be able to get full use out of my right arm?

One reason, as I explained last week, is that I plan to concentrate on healing, which means cutting back on all the things I do, many of which involve using my computer.  But there’s an additional reason that voice to text doesn’t appeal to me.

The sound of my own voice gets in the way of my composing, especially when writing fiction.

Back when I taught at Lynchburg College, I was one of two members of the department who did a fair amount of creative writing on the side.  The other was a poet named Loren.  The department was small and friendly and enthusiastic, so it’s not surprising that from time to time we’d actually end up discussing literature.  And often when someone was outlining their theory as to why some author had done this or that, what influences there might have been, whatever, Loren and I would just look at each other, because, for us, stories came from wherever they came and sort of wandered out the ends of our fingers onto the page.

Loren, who was a fisherman, as well as an award-winning poet, said that his poems often started as if he was hearing a voice over a lake, and trying hard to capture the words.

I’ve never been so poetic in describing my writing, but the process is similar.  Sure, I do a lot of thinking, a lot of research, but the actual experience of writing can approach on mystical, with the characters and situations taking on a life of their own.  Sometimes I experience the evolving story with all five senses.  Hearing my voice can get in the way of the writing.  It’s that simple.

Doing a reading is always an adventure, but that’s topic for another time.  Ask if you want more…

FF: No ’Rithmatic

Roary Dreams of Life on the Trail

This week I’ve been reading and writing, but no arithmetic, at least this week.

A reminder.  The Friday Fragments is not a book review column; it’s a list of what I’m reading and maybe a bit about my opinions.  I always read the comments section and enjoy learning what other people are reading.  Oh, and I don’t usually list shorter works unless in a collection or articles, I also don’t usually list scattered research reading.

Completed:

The Galaxy and the Ground Within by Becky Chambers.  Audiobook.  Re-listen.  Quite enjoyed.

Horse Tales by Maxine Dellinger and Kathy O’Neal Pressing.  Two women take to the trails.  Anecdotal, a little odd, very fun.

In Progress:

Witchy Winter by D.J. Butler.  Opening is a bit confusing as there are numerous new characters and some events actually happen before the end of the prior book.  That said, once I got into the substance, I’ve been caught up in the various threads.

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers.  Audiobook. Re-listen.  Think Firefly set in a universe with lots of well-developed aliens.

Also:

Having finished the latest Archeology, now reading the most recent Smithsonian.  Yes.  There is a pattern here!

Upcoming…

Resting Doves

Some of you (such as those who subscribe to my newsletter) will have already heard some of this, but for the rest of you here’s the news.

Last week, I was informed that an MRI showed that the ache in my right shoulder is the result of a severe tear in my rotator cuff.  Surgery is scheduled for April 3, 2024.  My right arm (and, yes, I am righthanded) will be in a sling for six weeks after the surgery.  I may be able to type some during that time, but I’ve also been told that the worst thing I can do if I want to heal completely is to push too hard and endanger the healing of the tear.

So, I’m going to do something novel and worthy of a novelist.  I’m going to concentrate on getting better.  Yes.  I am aware that there are various speech-to-text programs.  I don’t plan to use them.  I plan to rest and heal.  To do PT when the time comes.  To make sure that the constant ache in my shoulder and arm goes away.

Aside: Next week, if folks are interested, I can talk more about why I don’t feel a great desire to use speech-to-text to write.  It’s not just about taking downtime to heal!

My surgery should not interfere with my collaborations with David Weber, as currently the project is on his desk.  If he finishes and needs to send me a manuscript to review, I certainly will be able to read (and will enjoy reading) our current book.

Additionally, starting April 1, my website bookshop will not accept orders.  Not only won’t I be able to sign books, but I don’t want to add the job of assembling and mailing packages to Jim’s certain to be very busy schedule, since he’s going to be taking over everything I can’t do one-handed, as well as all the driving.  I hope to reopen the bookshop in early June, but that will depend on how my healing is going. 

I will do what I can to continue my Wednesday Wandering and Friday Fragment blogs, but I may also take the option of asking Jim to post updates.  I might also re-run some past columns. 

There is still over a month until the surgery.  During that time, I hope to finish off the new e-book of The Buried Pyramid.  We’re in the final proofing stages now.  I will also continue to work on my new Over Where novel.

Now…  Writing time!

FF: Moving Along

Dandy Has Witchy Fur

Winter and Spring are busy fencing as to which is in charge.  I can see advantages to both, so I just lean back and watch.

A reminder.  The Friday Fragments is not a book review column; it’s a list of what I’m reading and maybe a bit about my opinions.  I always read the comments section and enjoy learning what other people are reading.  Oh, and I don’t usually list shorter works unless in a collection or articles, I also don’t usually list scattered research reading.

Completed:

Witchy Eye by D.J. Butler.  Very solidly researched alternate history into which a classic “hidden heir” Fantasy plot is convincingly integrated.  The second edition (which I am reading) includes an excellent essay on how the author’s alternate “America” evolved.  One of those rare alternate history works in which scrupulous attention to worldbuilding does not mean characterization takes second place.

In Progress:

The Galaxy and the Ground Within by Becky Chambers.  Audiobook.  Re-listen.  Almost done.  Quite enjoying.

Witchy Winter by D.J. Butler.  The hidden heir is no longer hidden.  Looks as if this book will really expand the setting.  Just started.

Also:

Finished the latest Smithsonian, now on to the new Archeology.

Learning to Wait

Persephone Waits in Style

For reasons I’ll get to, probably next week, I’ve been doing a lot of waiting, which has led me to think about the value of speculation and how speculation differs from worry.

Not all that long ago, most human societies were structured around waiting in one form or another.  You didn’t have fresh peaches all year.  You had to wait for peach season.  You didn’t have central heat or refrigerated air, so lifestyles shifted around keeping within your personal Goldilocks’ zone.

As mass entertainment evolved, there was an element of waiting.  Stories that were serialized in magazines meant readers had to wait for the next part.  When radio dramas appeared, the serialized story also had a place.  Soap operas grew popular by encouraging listeners to tune in the next day or next week for the new installment.  Later, when movies became a thing, the weekly serial encouraged people to hurry back to next week to find out how The Masked Marvel or Trader Tom would get out of the latest peril.

And all of this, of course, led to speculation.  Wondering and guessing without the need to worry.

I’m too young for the radio drama.  Since I never got into soap operas, and most television available to me didn’t feature the cliffhanger ending, this wasn’t a part of my universe.  (Yes.  There were exceptions.) Books were one area where one needed to wait for the next book, sometimes well over a year, and speculating about what would happen next occupied many a conversation.

In these days of binge watching, of spoiler-filled sites and chat, overnight delivery, streaming downloads and all the other ways waiting time has been reduced, has the pleasure of speculation vanished?

I’d like to hope not.  I’d like to think that the joy of savoring is still there, in different forms, even if the intensity often has dropped to weeks, rather than years. Still, I think that there’s a danger to expecting instant or near instant gratification, and that maybe it can have a negative impact on creativity.

What do you think?

A Provocative Insight

Mei-Ling Poses As Witchy Eye

Not as much reading time lately, in part because my achy shoulder is restricting my ability to read in bed.  MRI this week.  Ortho next week.  Grateful to live with access to 21st century medical technology.

A reminder.  The Friday Fragments is not a book review column; it’s a list of what I’m reading and maybe a bit about my opinions.  I always read the comments section and enjoy learning what other people are reading.  Oh, and I don’t usually list shorter works unless in a collection or articles, I also don’t usually list scattered research reading.

Completed:

American Ghost: A Family’s Extraordinary History on the Desert Frontier by Hannah Nordhaus.  Non-fiction.  Audiobook. Nordhaus decides to investigate her ancestor Julia Staab, who ostensibly haunts La Posada in Santa Fe.  Nordhaus states repeatedly that the book is more about herself than about Julia, so I’ll add that I’ve seen a lot of the places she mentions, and she definitely projects her interpretations onto everything from the burro statue in Burro Alley to the landscape, and, of course, onto Julia Staab.  Read as a personal memoir of the author, not as scholarly analysis of a historical figure.

A Prayer for the Crown Shy by Becky Chambers.  Audiobook.  Thoughtful, gentle.  Sequel to other “Monk and Robot” stories, but can stand alone.  As I was saying to a friend, Chambers’ work is not without conflict.  The conflict is the subtle contrast between what she envisions as possible and what “everyone knows” is how societies work. 

In Progress:

Witchy Eye by D.J. Butler.  Very solidly researched alternate history into which a classic “hidden heir” Fantasy plot is convincingly integrated.  The second edition (which I am reading) includes an excellent essay on how the author’s alternate “America” evolved.  One of those rare alternate history works in which scrupulous attention to worldbuilding does not mean characterization takes second place.

The Galaxy and the Ground Within by Becky Chambers.  Audiobook.  Re-listen.  Just starting.

Also:

Almost done with the latest Smithsonian.  Been very interesting.

Chat With Audiobook Narrator Elisabeth Ashby

The Doves Listen

Today is Valentine’s Day, which also happens to be the day on which Library of the Sapphire Wind, the first of my Over Where novels, begins.

As my Valentine’s present to you all, I’m sharing an interview I did with audiobook narrator Elisabeth Ashby, the narrator for the new audiobooks of my Over Where series.  The first of these, Library of the Sapphire Wind was released yesterday, February 13, 2024, and the other two are soon to follow. You can find them at audiobooks.com or on Audible or probably at other vendors. I’ll let you know as I find out more.

I’ve been told I’m a good reader of my own works, but as an audiobook listener, I know it takes special skills I don’t have.  Today I want to talk to Elisabeth both about her professional experiences and a bit about her reading of the Over Where series.

JANE: Hi, Elisabeth!  Your professional webpage notes that you are a professional actor.  How did you come to be an audiobook narrator?  What was your first job in the field?

ELISABETH: I’ve been a huge fan of audiobooks since I was a kid. There’s a production company in my hometown called Full Cast Audio that’s been doing the multi-cast production thing since the 90s, and my sister had roles in a couple of their books when we were kids. I was focused on stage work at the time (I figured the acting schools I was getting ready to apply to would be more impressed by that, though in hindsight I’m not sure I was right) but it always sounded like such a cool experience and it was always something I had wanted to try.

As I built my acting career I always kind of had audiobooks in the back of my head as something I should look into, but I could never seem to find the time to actually sit down and figure out how to make it happen. When the theaters shut down in 2020 I figured it was finally time, so I converted a closet in my basement into a studio (the original configuration consisted of a cheap microphone and blankets stapled to the walls, nothing fancy), started teaching myself audio editing and mic technique with the help of online tutorials, made a few demos, and started auditioning! My first title was a short self-help book, which was a great way to get my feet wet.

JANE:  I have enjoyed some of Full Cast Audio’s works.  That’s Bruce Coville’s company, right?  I bet I heard your sister. 

I love how proactive you were in pursuing your advance into becoming an audiobook narrator.  So many people would never think to just build a studio and get going.

 What sort of works have you narrated?  Were there any you felt were particularly challenging to your skills?

ELISABETH: Non-fiction and fantasy are my biggest genres so far, though I’ve done a bit of range within each of those genres. One of the more challenging was a sociology book that had a lot to do with fertility medicine and technology. I spent about a decade doing standardized patient work so I’m pretty comfortable with medical terminology, but a lot of the language in this book was pretty niche and getting it all right definitely took some work. I’m extremely proud of the fact that when the publisher got back to me with the list of lines they needed me to re-record (there are always at least a couple of mistakes that sneak in, no matter how good you are), not a single one of my corrections was for having mispronounced a medical term!

JANE: Building on my prior question, what skills do you think are absolutely essential if someone wants to pursue a career as an audiobook narrator?

ELISABETH: The number one thing to remember is that narrating is so, so much more than just reading aloud. Your phone can read aloud. Narrating is acting. That doesn’t mean you have to have formal acting training to be good at it (some of the top names in the business have never set foot onstage or in front of a camera and it certainly hasn’t stopped them) but you need to be able to connect with a piece of text and breathe some life into it, take the way it sounds in your head when you read it to yourself and find a way to bring the listener in on that.

JANE: I very much enjoyed talking with you before you started reading the Over Where series.  Can you talk a little about your experiences with that project?

ELISABETH: First off, it’s always a treat to be able to do longer works, whether that means a series or a single 30-hour epic. It lets me do a real deep-dive on the world and the characters, and my performance gets to evolve with them. It was especially great to be able to do this on a project that felt a bit more unique—fantasy heroes are getting more and more diverse all the time, which is absolutely amazing and can only help the genre grow, but you still don’t often see age taken into consideration as a demographic worth exploring. Having a group of heroines who not only start out older than your average fantasy adventurer but for whom age and the experiences that come with it is one of their strongest assets was such a cool thing to see, and such a great thing to explore.

JANE: You’ve narrated a number of Fantasy and SF works for younger readers, and you told me you were excited to be reading a Fantasy series for adults.  Do you read Fantasy and Science Fiction for pleasure?  If not, what do you enjoy?  If so, could you share a few you like?

ELISABETH: I do read fantasy and sci-fi for pleasure! The ones I read on my own time tend to skew a little darker, often overlapping with my other favorite genres, thrillers and horror. My absolute all-time favorite is American Gods by Neil Gaiman—I re-read it every time I travel to a part of the US that I’ve never visited before. I’ve also really been enjoying Juno Dawson’s Her Majesty’s Royal Coven series and the Alex Stern novels by Leigh Bardugo and am eagerly awaiting the next installments of both of those, and I’m currently about three-quarters of the way through The Magician’s Daughter by H. G. Parry.

JANE: As you know from our phone chats, I could keep asking questions, but I’ll respect your time (I know you have a big event coming up), and thank you for spending this time with me and with my readers.  I certainly hope we get to work together again.

FF: More Comments Than Usual

Persephone Reads

This week I have more to say about my reading than usual.  Don’t consider these reviews, just my thoughts as I go along.

A reminder.  The Friday Fragments is not a book review column; it’s a list of what I’m reading and maybe a bit about my opinions.  I always read the comments section and enjoy learning what other people are reading.  Oh, and I don’t usually list shorter works unless in a collection or articles, I also don’t usually list scattered research reading.

Completed:

Conrad’s Fate by Diana Wynne Jones.  Audiobook.  Twelve-year-old Conrad has had instilled in him that in his past life, he did something terrible.  Now it looks as if that deed is catching up to him.  Features Christopher Chant at about age fifteen.  And has an epilogue taking the characters into young adulthood.

Among the Gray Lords by D.J. Butler.  Third book featuring sword and sorcery duo Indrajit and Fix.  Beneath the spiraling-out-of-the-protagonists-control plot rests a quietly deeper tale about the value of friendship and loyalty.  Read for the romp, stay for the resolution.

In Progress:

American Ghost: A Family’s Extraordinary History on the Desert Frontier by Hannah Nordhaus.  Non-fiction.  Audiobook. Nordhaus decides to investigate her ancestor Julia Staab, who ostensibly haunts La Posada in Santa Fe.  Nordhaus states repeatedly that the book is more about herself than about Julia, so I’ll add that I’ve seen a lot of the places she mentions, and she definitely projects her interpretations onto everything from the burro statue in Burro Alley to the landscape, and, of course, onto Julia Staab.  Read as a personal memoir of the author, not as scholarly analysis of a historical figure.

Witchy Eye by D.J. Butler.  Very solidly researched alternate history into which a classic “hidden heir” Fantasy plot is convincingly integrated.  The second edition (which I am reading) includes an excellent essay on how the author’s alternate “America” evolved.  One of those rare alternate history works in which scrupulous attention to worldbuilding does not mean characterization takes second place.

Also:

Finished the latest American Archeology.  Some good pieces in there, including one on all the different ways dating of sites and artifacts can be done.  Now starting the latest Smithsonian.