Craig Brummer's Blog, page 2
December 7, 2013
Interview by Australian Blogger Clancy Tucker
Nice interview by Australian Blogger Clancy Tucker. Check it out if you want to know more about me or my writing. He's also got a lot of good authors featured in the archive section.
Audio Edition Released
Well, it took longer than I thought, but the audio edition of A New Beginning is now available on Amazon, iTunes and Audible.com. The story is narrated by actor Jack Nolan and is seven-and-a-half hours long; I am delighted with his reading of the story. The price, set by the retailers, is currently $17.95 to $19.95, although www.audible.com offers it for free as part of a 30-day membership program. That offer is also available through the Amazon website as Amazon owns Audible.
Some fellow writers told me I should not do the audio version until I have a large following because of the cost. However, my goal was to have A New Beginning available in whatever format you, the reader, prefer. As a writer, it was an interesting experience working with Jack, an actor, on getting the character voices just right, not to mention learning the editing process for audio. Completion of the editing and release work ending up being in perfect time to have it completed just before my daughter came down for a visit during her summer teacher's break. She returns home tomorrow and will be greatly missed.
I would be very interested in hearing from those of you who listen to the audio version as working in that medium was a completely new experience for me.
Two Busy Months!
It's been a bit since I posted anything new as the wife and I have been busy doing things to the house here in Atlanta. We have painted every room, hall and bath except one entryway. The new colors are much more to our liking with blue being the dominate color, although the sunroom is red, yes red; but it looks great. We've also done some improvements such as adding a soaking tub in one bath and a double sink 6-foot cabinet in another. Our next project is likely going to be having 12 feet of custom bookcases in the formal dining room to convert it to a library. That's a project that I'll hire a cabinet maker to do as it's beyond my handyman skills to have it done the way we want. We're coming up on the one-year mark of having moved into the new house and it now feels like home. It takes a while to get everything to one's own taste and liking.
I've made very little progress on book two during the last two months, but should have it moving forward again now that some household things have been completed. Book two is still untitled but tells the story of a young man (Justin) trying to overcome obstacles to build a life for himself in space. It is set in the same time as Kristin's struggles aboard the Valiant Lad but involves a different set of characters (although a few of the old characters reappear).
Reviews on A New Beginning have been positive, and I thank the readers who have taken the time to write reviews on Amazon both the US and UK sites. The audio version is doing well and the publisher, ACX, has sent me some codes to offer a few free editions of it in a promotion. I'm looking now at the best way to set up a promotion for them that will hopefully attract more attention to the novel. Any suggestions?
Win a Free Audio Edition of A New Beginning
To celebrate the release of the Audio version of A New Beginning, I am giving away 10 FREE copies (audio book only). If you win, please consider doing a review on Audible.com, although that is of course optional. To enter, simply post a comment below and include your Twitter handle.
One winner will be randomly selected every three days and a Twitter Direct Message sent to you with the redemption code. Only my Twitter followers can win as I can only send DMs to followers. If you have Twitter DM messages blocked or turned off, an alternate winner will be selected. If you do not currently follow me, my Twitter handle is @craigbrummer. Only 1 entry is needed as your name will remain in the pool throughout the contest.
By entering, you consent to my listing your Twitter handle on this site, Twitter and Facebook as one of the winners. That’s so others can see folks actually won.
To redeem the code, please follow the instructions below from Audible.com:
Visit http://www.audible.com/at/redeem
Enter the download code (sent to you by Twitter DM) into the "Redeem Your Promotional Code" field and click "Redeem".
If you’re not an Audible customer, you’ll need to create a new Audible.com account or log in using your Amazon account.
Follow the instructions. You’ll have 1 credit applied to your account.
Go to my book’s listing at http://www.audible.com/pd/Sci-Fi-Fantasy/A-New-Beginning-Audiobook/B00ESKZXWI/ref=a_search_c4_1_1_srImg?qid=1385820803&sr=1-1
Add it to your cart. When you check out, you’ll see an option to apply the free credit. Be sure to APPLY the credit.
Good luck!
October 27, 2013
Two Busy Months!
It's been a bit since I posted anything new as the wife and I have been busy doing things to the house here in Atlanta. We have painted every room, hall and bath except one entryway. The new colors are much more to our liking with blue being the dominate color, although the sunroom is red, yes red; but it looks great. We've also done some improvements such as adding a soaking tub in one bath and a double sink 6-foot cabinet in another. Our next project is likely going to be having 12 feet of custom bookcases in the formal dining room to convert it to a library. That's a project that I'll hire a cabinet maker to do as it's beyond my handyman skills to have it done the way we want. We're coming up on the one-year mark of having moved into the new house and it now feels like home. It takes a while to get everything to one's own taste and liking.
I've made very little progress on book two during the last two months, but should have it moving forward again now that some household things have been completed. Book two is still untitled but tells the story of a young man (Justin) trying to overcome obstacles to build a life for himself in space. It is set in the same time as Kristin's struggles aboard the Valiant Lad but involves a different set of characters (although a few of the old characters reappear).
Reviews on A New Beginning have been positive, and I thank the readers who have taken the time to write reviews on Amazon both the US and UK sites. The audio version is doing well and the publisher, ACX, has sent me some codes to offer a few free editions of it in a promotion. I'm looking now at the best way to set up a promotion for them that will hopefully attract more attention to the novel. Any suggestions?
August 31, 2013
Audio Edition Released
Well, it took longer than I thought, but the audio edition of A New Beginning is now available on Amazon, iTunes and Audible.com. The story is narrated by actor Jack Nolan and is seven-and-a-half hours long; I am delighted with his reading of the story. The price, set by the retailers, is currently $17.95 to $19.95, although www.audible.com offers it for free as part of a 30-day membership program. That offer is also available through the Amazon website as Amazon owns Audible.
Some fellow writers told me I should not do the audio version until I have a large following because of the cost. However, my goal was to have A New Beginning available in whatever format you, the reader, prefer. As a writer, it was an interesting experience working with Jack, an actor, on getting the character voices just right, not to mention learning the editing process for audio. Completion of the editing and release work ending up being in perfect time to have it completed just before my daughter came down for a visit during her summer teacher's break. She returns home tomorrow and will be greatly missed.
I would be very interested in hearing from those of you who listen to the audio version as working in that medium was a completely new experience for me.
June 30, 2013
Interview by Australian Blogger Clancy Tucker
Nice interview by Australian Blogger Clancy Tucker. Check it out if you want to know more about me or my writing. He's also got a lot of good authors featured in the archive section.
June 29, 2013
Hardcover & Audio Versions Soon
It's been an exciting week. LSI finally completed the hardcover edition of A New Beginning, and two days later I signed the agreement to have the audio version done. The hardcover should show up on Amazon and other outlets soon. The audio narration is being done by actor Jack Nolan, who has had appeared on television shows: Star Trek Voyager, Star Trek Enterprise, The X-Files, Galaxy Quest, NYPD, etc. as well as multiple roles on the big screen. The recording and editing is scheduled to be completed in late July and the audio books themselves will hopefully be available on Amazon, iTunes, and Audible.com by mid to late August.
For those wondering why I did not record the narration myself, I believe that is a special skill and talent that I simply don't possess. I didn't want my delivery of the narration, which I'm sure would have been poorly done, to be a distraction to the story, or to be less than your expectation for a quality audio version.
I'm starting to make progress on book 2 now that most of the setup and launching of book 1 has been completed. My goal is to have book 2 (untitled) completed by March. I know as a reader that is a long time between stories, but that's about the best I can manage.
On a personal note, the weather here in Atlanta has alternated between perfect summer days and sudden thunder storms. Those sudden storms have caused a few quick changes to plans to spend some time with the wife out in the yard or pool to, "Well, I guess we stay in and read." Overall, the summer has so far been very enjoyable so far. We love the new home and the area. It's so much quieter and more peaceful than the highly congested area we lived in up in Maryland. We're still going through the process of making little changes to the house and yard to modify it more to our lifestyle and taste. That will probably continue for the next year or two as time and money permit. There is no shortage of things to do when you settle into a new home!
