Behind the Story: The Ifs Audiobook

It has been another crazy week. I’ve had family come to visit, so my time has been divided between them and work; hence the late post this week. I should probably plan my time better, but I get to it when I get to it.

Today, I wanted to tell you the story behind The Ifs audiobook. It should be available any day now for purchase. There’s a sample on the side of my blog for you to check out and listen to. I promise, it’s worth your time. The narrator did an amazing job!


I’m kind of addicted to creating audiobooks. It started out a bit rocky , but then things really took off and fell into place. It’s so much fun to hear other people reading my words and bringing my characters to life. One day, I hope to have all of my books in audio form.

The first book I converted was Life After the Undead , my young adult zombie book, and I didn’t exactly have narrators beating down my door to read the book. Not a big deal. The one who ended up doing it did a wonderful job, and I’m happy with how it turned out. I assumed the process would be the same for The Ifs. 

For my middle grade book (which The Ifs is), my narrator parameters weren’t as stringent. I didn’t care if a male or female read it, and it was totally fine if they had an accent. I put the script up and waited for the auditions to come in—although I didn’t hold my breath. Past experience told me not to expect much.

I got my first audition in, and I really liked how the guy read, so I figured he would be the narrator. Then, I got another one in. And he did an awesome job too. After that came another and another.

When all was said and done, I had EIGHT auditions, and my mind was blown. I couldn’t believe it. I hadn’t expected that at all. And then I had a tough decision to make.

There were a few auditions that I knew wouldn’t work for the book, so they weren’t in the running. I asked my spouse and my kids for their opinion of who they liked best, then we decided from there. It was agonizing—seriously—because I appreciated everyone taking the time to audition, and it was so fun to hear how they interpreted my work.

In the end, though, Peter J. Taylor did a phenomenal job with the narration. His accent is fantastic, and he does voices. He even adds in a few sound effects—which is really what sold all of us on having him narrate the book.

I can’t wait for you to be able to hear the entire story. I think you’ll enjoy it just as much as I do.
 •  0 comments  •  flag
Share on Twitter
Published on June 14, 2018 22:00
No comments have been added yet.