Q&A with Josh Lanyon discussion
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What we're listening to
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I'm not sure whether I was distracted by Jake at a roundabout and took a wrong turn, or if it was becau..."
Oh sure, Hj, just blame it all on Jake... ;-)
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Isn't that the truth. Every single word. :-)
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Yep, I think Josh, Johanna, and I, among others, are fans. And I went to an outdoor concert in Taos, NM last June with a daughter and friends. : )"
*nod nod and smile*
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Jason Isbell:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHJhyr..."
Thank you for posting these, Valerie. I especially liked Jason Isbell's Elephant. I'm going to listen to the whole album next. :-)
Johanna wrote: "Valerie wrote: "I've been on a quest recently to discover some new-to-me music. I'm currently obsessed with Jason Isbell's album "Southeastern" and "White Lighter" by Typhoon.Jason Isbell:
http:..."
You can't NOT be moved by that song. I think the whole album is amazing and I just fell in love with it. He writes/sings a lot about his new found sobriety.
I had a driveway moment in the work parking lot this morning listening to In From the Cold: The I Spy Stories. :)
Susinok wrote: "I had a driveway moment in the work parking lot this morning listening to In From the Cold: The I Spy Stories. :)"Welcome to the club!!
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This is a great year for us! Thank you.
2013 will go down as the year of the audiobook, I think. I've loved them for a long time but they have improved so much in terms of being performed as opposed to just read. And it does feel as though a good number of new people have been lured into trying them and then becoming addicted by the really superb ones which Josh has put out. Even though I'm biased of course, being as dispassionate as I can his audiobooks are truly exceptional because they have exactly the right narrators doing an excellent job - with wonderful material, of course!
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I do think audio books are finally coming into their own.
I will say -- at least in this genre -- I am flabbergasted at some of the readings I've heard. It seems to me that the #1 most important thing a writer would consider when choosing a narrator is AN ATTRACTIVE, ENGAGING VOICE. I don't care if that seems superficial, that's the deal. That's the key. You need an attractive voice -- and a brain that understands and can correctly interpret the work.
And yet I hear these GHASTLY readings and I just can't imagine what the author was thinking. Is that how they hear their character's voice? Or do they think the voice itself doesn't matter?
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Now you've got me curious as to which ones sound ghastly. But I wouldn't want to spend money on them if they are ghastly, so perhaps I'll never know. lol.
But what you're saying makes perfect sense. You can't just hire your Uncle Joe to narrate your novel, unless your Uncle Joe happens to be amazing at reading out loud and can pick up the emotions of your characters and sounds like your characters should sound. Not just any narrator will do!
Maybe it comes down to cost, they hire the cheapest person who contacts them first?
Sadly, all too often the author doesn't get a say because the publisher organises the audiobook, sometimes without even liaising with the author - or so I've been told when I've wondered at some choices. My own bugbear is getting narrators of the wrong nationality. I can't believe that Sean Kennedy would have chosen a non-Australian to narrate Tigers and Devils, for example - quite apart from the fact that the first person POV character is Australian, the book is quintessentially Australian - it just wouldn't work in a different country. Thank goodness I listened to the sample before I bought it (and then chose not to buy it).
But at least the narrator doesn't attempt to do an Australian accent. Another time I'm thankful I listened to the sample is for Harper Fox's Life After Joe. Actually, I can't get beyond the first few words of the sample, it's so awful. Nothing against the narrator - I've bought others narrated by him, the Cut and Run books - but even an English person would hesitate to attempt a Geordie accent. Again, I can't believe Harper chose that narrator.
Even when someone does an English accent well, I find myself distracted out of the story thinking about how well he's doing it, and noticing the little things he gets wrong. Sometimes it's justified, when there's a mainly American background to the book and the other characters are American, and then I don't mind - it's a necessary evil. But other times you do wonder what they were thinking, when the book is purely English.
Oooohhh I've heard a few ghastly voices. Flosnik who reads historical romance, grates on my nerves so much I can't listen. They say she has improved a lot due to feedback. I still avoid her.One guy reading a paranormal was soooo monotone it made the entire story confusing and difficult to follow.
It takes a combination of a good voice and good voice-acting/readings skills to make a successful audiobook.
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I can tell you one problem is that there is an absence of qualified English narrators. I waited a long time to pick the narrator of Strange Fortune (David Lazarus is genuinely English). And I have heard from readers who don't find his delivery "sexy" enough.
So for some readers it might be legitimacy, but for others it's going to be emotional shadings that carry the story.
Hj wrote: "But at least the narrator doesn't attempt to do an Australian accent. Another time I'm thankful I listened to the sample is for Harper Fox's Life After Joe. Actually, I can't get beyond the first few words of the sample, it's so awful. Nothing against the narrator - I've bought others narrated by him, "Ha! Same with me. :-) I saw the "Life after Joe" on Audible and wanted it. Luckily, I listened to the sample first. It was an absolute no-go. But sadly that means I can't listen to the book...
Josh wrote: "Very happy to hear you guys are getting so much pleasure from the audio. And we've still got The Dickens, Dangerous Ground, and The Dark Tide to go."Good thing I've got a suscription :)
Hj wrote: "Sadly, all too often the author doesn't get a say because the publisher organises the audiobook, sometimes without even liaising with the author - or so I've been told when I've wondered at some ch..."I loved the story, but the narration was awful,good think I tried the sample*shudder*
As to Sean Kennedy, I think Dreamspinner staff had the final narrator vote, it was published through them after all.
The key is sample, sample, sample. Take the time. I trust Josh and will buy it. Books from publishers, SAMPLE or you could get burned.
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I guess I'll let you know what I think when I get there, but rest assured, Josh's books come first!
Jordan wrote: "Gah. I bought Life After Joe. Haven't had time to listen to it yet. Maybe in December on my train ride. Or it might be good while I knit the scarf I'm making that has to be done by Thanksgiving. ..."It may not be too bad if you don't know how it should sound...
I'm surprised to hear, Josh, that there's a shortage of qualified English narrators. There are so many good English actors (I know not all of them will do book narration). How do you find your narrators?
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Johanna wrote: "... and I'm the one who has recommended the Life After Joe audio book. I guess sometimes the foreigner thing is a bliss... :-)"Sorry Johanna, no offence meant! It is a fantastic book, and I really want to be able to listen to it.
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Sorry Johanna, no offence meant! It is a fantastic ..."
No offense taken, love! :-)
And I don't want to shock anyone further but I even thought that the narrator of Life After Joe sounded really sexy. LOL.
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How odd. I really like and listen to Life After Joe often. I thought the narrator suited the work. I also love listening to Nine Lights Over Edinburgh by Harper Fox. It would be interesting to know which narrators she would have preferred for them. I do love the narrator for Fair Game, which I believe was chosen by the publisher, but I think Josh has done an outstanding job of selecting narrators for his and I'm so glad each is chosen for a particular work.
Carlita wrote: "How odd. I really like and listen to Life After Joe often. I thought the narrator suited the work. ..."It does seem that the clue is not to be English to be able to listen to it and enjoy it.
Just looking through all the audiobooks I own (no, they are not all Josh Lanyon books!) and realised that all but a couple have first person narrators. I must have a preference for that. First person just somehow makes more sense being read aloud.
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But I should have some time after work to listen to some more before my hair appointment. yay!
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Apparentl..."
The author has no say in the audio production. That is all up to the publisher. Now, if you ARE your own publisher, that takes care of that.
In the case of Carina, I didn't even know I was going to have an audio book, so I was thrilled with the narration. Thrilled with the whole idea of having an audio book.
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Some authors do read very well, and some readers do love hearing the author read. But for me, no. That is just another obstacle to my being able to suspend disbelief.
Josh wrote: "The other thing that I think is tricky is author's reading their own work. I think it can work well depending on the type of story it is. But generally I do NOT want to think of the author as a cha..."The only time this worked for me was Bill Bryson reading his books (autobiographies are different from fiction, of course - the author is already a character in his book!). Little compares to listening to his A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail, the section where he's cowering in his tent on the Trail remembering all the bear-attack stories he's heard...
I had to stop the car, I was laughing so hard.
ETA Warning - for some reason, the version in Audible of his reading of this book is abridged. The sample of the unabridged version (by William Roberts) is excellent, though - it's a very funny long extract.
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Neil Gaiman does a bang up job. Also Barbara Kingsolver. But I do think it's rare. Generally I prefer a professional narrator.
Jordan wrote: "I just started listening to In A Dark Wood and OMG, I love the narrator. He does a fantastic job with both character's voices. I'm really sad that I had to pause the story when I got into work toda..."I agree he's really good but just wait for In Plain Sight.... I was practically sobbing during parts.... the narrator did such a excellent job of conveying the anguish and sadness.
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I'm so glad! I haven't got a lot of feedback on that one, so I don't know ultimately how successful the multi-narrator idea was. The books has sold briskly, but that's kind of a different thing.
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Josh, I think the multi-narrator was a great idea. It works well for me. They're different, and yet, not too different that they stand out in a bad way. I've been enjoying these one at a time whenever I need just a little bit of audio to fill some time.
At first I wasn't sure I would like a collection of shorts, but I've found the lengths are perfect for those little moments I need something but don't want to get sucked into something that will take more time than I have.
And what really killed me after In A Dark Wood, was leaving it off knowing the next story was Heart Trouble. I really enjoyed reading that one. It's another of my favorites. Just thinking about it now is killing me. I might have to listen to it tonight when I get home. Maybe over dinner. :-)
Josh wrote: "Ame wrote: "Jordan wrote: "I just started listening to In A Dark Wood and OMG, I love the narrator. He does a fantastic job with both character's voices. I'm really sad that I had to pause the stor..."I am already putting all kinds of praises together in my mind.... so many were so excellent but I want to listen to all the stories before talking about them.... but so far it's just been fantastic.
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Josh, I think the multi-narrator was a great idea. It works well for me. They're different, and yet, not too different that they s..."
Planning out the print anthology was complicated -- choosing which stories should follow which...and knowing that these selections would later affect the audio (because this was the first time I planned a collection knowing an audio book would follow). The main thought was that each story should stand alone, so the subsequent story needed to be different enough that they would not blur -- and yet I wanted the transition to be relatively painless.
These are new ways (for me) of thinking as far as collecting stories and putting together creative media. I'm finding the process fascinating and challenging, and so all your opinions carry enormous weight for future decisions. :-)
NO. PRESSURE.
Josh wrote: "NO. PRESSURE. ..."None at all! We're happy to venture an opinion! :) I have not listened to the story collection yet. I'm still in Pirate King.
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I really really liked the narration of the In Sunshine or in Shadow story from the collection. I love the lighter moments in these stories and this one surprised a few laughs out of me which was fun.
Jordan wrote: "Decided to listen to In Plain Sight before reading it. I've got no words. Not only was the narrator perfect for this one, the story blew my breath away! The perfect mystery and romance ties togethe..."Told you! LOL
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That was a story that I was afraid might be too quiet, too low-keyed for a lot of readers. I'm startled by how many people have begged for a follow up.
Josh wrote: "I'm startled by how many people have begged for a follow up."I can join the begging crowd, no problem! ;-)
Any hope?
Antonella wrote: "Josh wrote: "I'm startled by how many people have begged for a follow up."I can join the begging crowd, no problem! ;-)
Any hope?"
I know, right? Quiet and low-key are as unappealing as a Bill Evans record - i.e., not at all.
Antonella wrote: "Josh wrote: "I'm startled by how many people have begged for a follow up."I can join the begging crowd, no problem! ;-)
Any hope?"
One more joins the request :-)
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Q&A with Josh Lanyon
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I'm not sure whether I was distracted by Jake at a roundabout and took a wrong turn, or if it was because I'd turned off the sound on the sat-nav because I didn't want to miss a word. Either way it's his fault.
I'm always surprised again by how funny these books are. Adrien has some seriously good lines, both spoken and thought, which make me laugh out loud. And Chris delivers them perfectly!