My How Drafts Change…
I was shuffling through my iTunes playlists and found this little gem. About 2 years ago, I had this blog (long gone) where I would post podcasts of early UMS drafts. A few members of my band at the time, Rustic Charm, helped me record the intro tune and they even did various "voices" for characters in the book. I still LOVE you guys!
Anyway, it was one way to spend a few hours in the summer and listening to the first chapter….wowza, so much has changed. Okay, like most of it. Alright, so the only similarity is that in the published version of UMS, Eryn is spelled with a "y" (an inside joke for me, poking fun at how I was originally going to spell "hunter" as "huntyr" to make the story more gothic) and that she's running in the first scene. Not all of my stories have gone through as many changes as poor UMS, I have one book I've been working on for a few years and the first line will NEVER change….it's too damn funny. 
Also, recording yourself reading your work aloud is an excellent way to pick out wonky sentences or dialogue that falls flat.
I thought I'd post a short clip of the UMS old draft podcast…if anything it gave my husband a few laughs and now he's going around the house, dramatically saying "Under My Skin….chapter 1″. Sigh. Hmmm….maybe I'll redo this baby over Christmas break. Get the band back in action…you never know…
Click on the link below to play the podcast:
