JEAN RABE LISTENS!

 

People who follow me on Facebook and this blog will know that I am a fan of Jean Rabe’s. She's a generous and wise person and a good and caring friend. But she is also, at her core, a damn fine writer of popular fiction with a well-honed power of description of both people and places that elevates her work above the crowded field of stories on offer out there. Right now she is on a blog tour touting the audiobooks of three of her four (so far) Piper Blackwell Mysteries. So I asked her to drop by and offer her thoughts on discovering the thrill of an author hearing her work beautifully narrated. 

So...ladies and gentlemen...Jean Rabe. 

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Spencer County’s Fancy Frosting

by Jean Rabe

I hadn’t thought much about it, having an audiobook, when I wrote my first mystery, The Dead of Winter. A freelance editor approached me with the notion, said he’d handle it, and that he had a narrator in mind. Okay, I said, let’s go with it.

The narrator was the most magnificent Catherine Wenglowski. 

I watch The Holiday Baking Championship on the Food Network. I am AMAZED at what a group of talented bakers can make … works of art, really. (I am also amazed that they would put that much time and effort into something that would be cut up and eaten … seems like a waste, eh?) Anyway, to my point: sometimes they frost their concoctions with this stuff called “mirror glaze.” It’s bright, shiny, smooth, and pours over a cake or cookies seamlessly.

Catherine’s voice is mirror glaze—bright, shiny, perfect, smooth.

When some of my friends heard my first audiobook, they looked up other things Catherine had recorded so they could buy more. To them, it wasn’t about the story …it was about her voice.

Apparently, Catherine liked Sheriff Piper Blackwell enough to record the next two books in the series: The Dead of Night and The Dead of Summer. All three are featured as part of this blog tour. Yeah, I read the books over and over as I was writing them. And now I’ve listened to them multiple times because she brings Spencer County to vivid, shiny life.

I feel incredibly fortunate that the editor suggested I take The Dead of Winter to audiobook form. I wouldn’t have done it without that nudge … and I wouldn’t have gotten to hear the most magnificent Catherine Wenglowski narrate the adventures of Piper Blackwell.

Before this experience, I’d only listened to two other audiobooks. One a Robert Crais novel (have to love Elvis and Joe), and the other one of my Rogue Angel adventures. Neither were as good … oh, the books might have been. But they didn’t sound as good. I hadn’t purchased more audiobooks because those two hadn’t been TERRIFIC. Once in a while I have Alexa play something Patrick Stewart narrated … but that’s not the same thing as an entire audiobook.

If I’d had heard a book earlier by Catherine or someone as talented, I certainly would not have stopped with Roger Crais and Rogue Angel. It’s nice to sit back and have someone tell you a story. I finally ‘get’ why people appreciate audiobooks.

Steven Paul Levia, who is graciously hosting this blog post, was fortunate with his audiobook, Creature Feature, which was narrated by actors Seamus Dever and Juliana Dever, who were on the Castle television series. I’ve listened to that one twice, and will again during the Thanksgiving weekend.

I’ll also listen to my Dead books again, hearing Spencer County, Sheriff Piper Blackwell, and Deputy Oren Rosenberg reflected in the mirror glaze.

It’ll be grand to curl up next to the fireplace with a few dogs, a blanket, and listen to Catherine pour the fancy frosting over Spencer County, Indiana. 

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Piper Blackwell is the newly appointed sheriff in this intense mystery-thriller series set in a small town in Indiana from Faust Lifetime Achievement winner, Jean Rabe. Narrator Catherine Wenglowski lends her voice to this series of books that will keep you up at night...              

About the Books

BUT FIRST! I hasten to remind you that on Amazon if you buy the ebook you can get the audiobook for around half off. What a deal! Sometimes it's fun to read and hear the words simultaneously. I recommend it. So check out the PIPER BLACKWELL MYSTERY SERIES! I bet you won't hate me for suggesting it.

THE DEAD OF WINTER

In a deceptively peaceful county, a murderer hides in plain sight.

Fifty-eight minutes into her first day on the job, 23-year-old Sheriff Piper Blackwell is faced with a grisly murder, the victim artfully posed amid decorations on his lawn. Drawing on former military training, Piper must prove herself worthy of the sheriff's badge, and that won't be easy.

Genre: Mystery/Thriller

Length: 8 hr 47 min

Language: English

THE DEAD OF NIGHT

As Sheriff Piper Blackwell rushes to a clandestine meeting with an aging, paranoid veteran who believes spies are trailing his every move, she is caught in a fierce thunderstorm. Pounding rain drums against the bluff, washing away the earth and revealing a grisly secret someone tried to bury a long time ago.

Putting a name to the skeleton on the bluff, and searching for the thief who robbed the old veteran of his life’s earnings, sends Piper delving into the sleepy towns that dot her rural county. Now she’s digging into pasts perhaps best left alone.

Accompanied by Chief Deputy Oren Rosenberg, Piper seeks to expose a truth someone wants to remain forever hidden. The investigation may have started with a thunderstorm, but Piper aims to finish it and find justice. Uncovering fragments of Spencer County’s history could prove more dangerous - and deadlier - than she ever expected.

Genre: Mystery/Thriller

Length: 8 hr 32 min

Language: English

THE DEAD OF SUMMER

Shouts of delight turn to screams of terror when a carnival ride goes berserk at the Spencer County Fair. Sheriff Piper Blackwell must contain the chaos and investigate the possible sabotage, even as she tries to solve a local businessman’s horrific murder.

But managing two investigations with at least one killer on the loose pushes the young officer and her tiny staff to their limits. Can Piper catch the murderer, or will the summer’s body count continue to rise?

Genre: Mystery/Thriller

Length: 8hr 19 min

Language:English

                                                                                                  

About the Author

USA Today Bestselling author, Jean Rabe's impressive writing career spans decades, starting as a newspaper reporter and bureau chief.

From there she went on to become the director of RPGA, a co-editor with Martin H. Greenberg for DAW books, and, most notably, Rabe is an award-winning author of more than forty science fiction/fantasy and murder-mystery thrillers.

She writes mysteries and fantasies because life is too short to be limited to one genre--and she does it with dogs tangled at her feet because life is too short not to be covered in fur.

Find out more about her at www.jeanrabe.com

About the Narrator

Catherine Wenglowski is a New York City-based audiobook narrator. With a background in theater and as a classically trained singer, combined with her lifelong love of reading, Catherine uses her trained ear and creativity to add breath and life to characters and to connect with her audience. Visit her website at: https://www.wenglowvo.com/

 

 

CREATURE FEATURE SPEAKS!

 

That storytelling is a mark of our humanity is not, I believe, a debatable concept. We humans love to tell stories; we love to be told stories.

Early humans lived in a world that must have been quite confusing and, frankly, disconcerting. Big, fiery ball flying overhead every day; bright shining orb doing the same thing at night. And that damn orb kept de-orbing, then re-orbing, then completely taking a powder for a few nights every now and then.

And then there was the heat of the day and the cold of the night, how was one supposed to dress? Once one began dressing at all. And dangerous predators. And rough terrain. And certain foods made you sick and didn't even taste good. And big fluffy things in the sky that sometimes were happy and sometimes were mad. There was also the fact that some of our fellow early humans were nuts. Or wise. Or lovely. Or just stinkers. Not to mention that there were two kinds of us, alike yet different, the difference sometimes being a joy and at other times an annoyance. How did anyone make sense of all this?

By telling stories, of course. By making the best guess as to the reasons why, and hopefully amusing the family—later tribe, later village, later city, later nation—along the way.

After 200,000 to 300,000 years of experience and experimentation, we don’t really need to tell stories to make sense of the physical world anymore. But the world within, the landscape of us humans, some of whom are still nuts, or wise, or lovely, or just plain stinkers, is still great fodder for stories we tell and stories we like being told.

Stories, as you know, were first told orally, as there really was no other choice. Humans had discovered that their voice was a helpful instrument for more than just screaming out warnings of impending danger. It created sounds of not just rhythm and tone—like beating on stones and trees did—but when formed into words, it created sounds of meaning, of sense, of drama, and, I hope, even of comedy.

Then writing came along, scribbling on clay tablets, papyrus, or stone. At first, such scribbles merely noted trades and inventory. Then one day, or series of days, one individual, or series of individuals, possibly got bored with recording an inventory and decided instead to tell a story. Perhaps a well-known one the scribe first heard as a child. 

Despite the efficiency of the written word, which I happen to love, there is something special in being told a story through the human voice. Indeed, the best writers, it is said, are those whose writing has a “voice” unique to them. And the best readers, I’ve always maintained, are those who “hear” that voice when they read—and not just concentrate on the dialog and action as if they were watching a film. This is why I have always strived to write prose—despite it being destined for the printed page—for the human voice. I want my words to sound in your head while hopefully making sense out of something. I hope I have succeeded more often than not.

There is one way to assure that your “voice” is heard by some people, at least. Have an actual sonic voice read or narrate or perform (take your pick) your book for an audiobook edition. Three of my past novels have audiobook editions. Traveling in Space, published by Bluroof Press and performed by Jeff Cannata. And Blood is Pretty (read by Jonah Cummings) and By the Sea (read by David Gilmore), both published by Crossroad Press. All three were a joy for me to see done, enhancing not only my experience as an author but the reach my novels had in finding an audience.

As some of you may know, I am now publishing my novels under my own imprint, Magpie Press (see my blog entry, DON'T HATE ME BECAUSE I AM ECLECTIC). My first novel under Manfred M. Magpie's wing was Creature Feature: A Horrid Comedy, published last September in ebook and print editions. Once it was launched, I immediately began thinking about an audiobook edition. I knew what would be the ideal if I could have waved a magic wand and bring it to life instantaneously. I wanted the clever Mr. and Mrs. Dever to read or narrate or perform (take your pick) my horrid comedic tale of monsters and creatures and grassroots politics. 

That's Seamus Dever and Juliana Dever, of course. If you were a fan, like I was, of ABC's Castle (2009 - 2016), starring Nathan Fillion and Stana Katic, you know Seamus as Detective Kevin Ryan, part of the crime-solving team on the show.

And you'll remember Juliana Dever as Lt. Ryan's girlfriend, later wife on the show.

I first met Seamus when I directed a staged reading of Ray Bradbury's one-act play, "The Better Part of Wisdom," at the Writers Guild of America.

Seamus Dever with Jeff Cannata, Steven Paul Leiva,
James Cromwell and Ray Bradbury

It was one event in a series for Ray Bradbury Week in Los Angeles, a celebration of Ray's 90th birthday in 2010 that I created and produced. "The Better Part of Wisdom" is one of Ray's Irish plays, and Seamus had been recommended to me by a casting agent—and not just because he's of Irish descent. I was thrilled, having seen the first season of Castle and enjoying his performance as Lt. Ryan. Seamus performed in the one-act with the great James Cromwell, both doing flawless Irish accents. Jeff Cannata joined them, doing a just as flawless English accent. 

James Cromwell and Seamus Dever

In subsequent years Seamus joined in another Bradbury tribute I organized. And My wife Amanda and I have enjoyed a number of his performances on stage here in Los Angeles.

Seamus Dever and Luisina Quarleri in “The Abuelas”
at the Antaeus Theatre

Seamus is a dedicated actor who loves not only performing on film and especially, I believe, in live theater. And, quite wonderfully for my purposes, is also active with L.A. Theater Works, the leading producer of audio dramas in the United States.

So I knew Seamus not only as a fine actor but one who really knew his vocal way around a mic.

I only knew Juliana from her appearances on Castle. That is until I checked out some of her videos on her travel blog CleverDever Wherever.

I then saw some of her Virtual Pub Happy Hour Instagram videos with Seamus made during the lockdown.

What was clear from both was that she was a bright, funny, energetic performer and that she and Seamus had great chemistry together. Which is a good thing, seeing how they are married. But for my purposes, it meant more to me that they would be perfect together, bringing their voices and performances to Creature Feature.

The audiobook of Creature Feature demanded not just to be read or narrated but also performed with style, wit, comedic timing, and a playful sense of fun. And as the lead protagonist of my novel—Kathy Anderson/Vivacia the Vampire Woman—was a woman, she had to be voiced by a woman. Yet, the novel's narrator had to be not only a character and not just an omniscient voice from above but male. Why male? Because that's the way I saw it, and I am the author, therefore the authority. 

To have Seamus and Juliana recording the audiobook, playing all the characters that matched their particular genders, was my ideal. Not to mention my birthday wish and my fondest hope.

The problem was that I was planning on publishing the audiobook through Amazon's Audio Creation Exchange or ACX program. ACX allows an author to receive auditions from audiobook narrators from here, there, and everywhere. Especially narrators who are their own producers and editors and recording engineers with in-house recording booths. Which allows for one-stop shopping, and eases the path from print to audio. Audiobooks have grown in popularity over the last decade or so, and there are hundreds of narrators listed under ACX. Despite how excellent many of them are, though, I already knew who I wanted. But neither Seamus nor Juliana was on the ACX list of narrators. I assumed they had probably never done audiobooks. And that they probably didn't have a way to professionally record. Nor the wherewithal to produce and edit.

Which didn’t mean I couldn’t call and ask. Maybe, just maybe, Seamus and Juliana had at least an audio recording set up at home. Many actors do these days to remotely audition for animation, video games, and commercial voice-overs.

But I balked. A rare moment of shyness hit me. Did I really want to bug Seamus and ask him? Especially if asking would be implying that if he didn’t have a setup, maybe he would set one up in his home just to accommodate me. Horrible, horrible chutzpah, I thought that would be. 

But then the wonderful writer Jean Rabe,

who had encouraged me to start publishing my work under my own imprint, set me straight. “Call him,” she said. “You never know, maybe he has a recording booth, maybe he would set one up if he doesn’t. The worse he could do is say no.” “But-but…” I said. But Jean would hear of no “Buts.”

I’ve learned to listen to Jean. She held my hand and gave me sage advice all through creating Magpie Press and publishing Creature Feature.

Manfred M. Magpie looks over his first publication

Indeed, you might say that she is the mother of Manfred M. Magpie. Why would I not listen to her now?

So I picked up the phone to call Seamus despite knowing full well that the ideal rarely happens. That usually birthday wishes only extinguish tiny flames on little candles. And that magic wands are nothing but props in fiction.

“Hi, Steven,” Seamus said. And from that moment, the ideal became real. The wish was granted. The magic wand demanded that I retract my slander.

Seamus was interested. He was used to doing remote video auditions from his home. And had actually been thinking of having an audio recording set up. As part of his performing arts education in college, he had taken an audio engineering course, so he felt that he could produce the audiobook himself. He loved the idea of Juliana recording with him as well. He cautioned me, though that she was very busy with her travel blog and arranging for post-COVID tours she would be leading. But well, first things first, he would read the book.

As you can guess, I would not be writing this blog if all did not work out wonderfully well.

Juliana and Seamus at the mic!

Seamus had an early suggestion that Juliana only voice Kathy/Vivacia. He would handle all the other characters, male and female. It was utterly the right idea as Kathy/Vivacia is the dominating presence in the novel. She demanded her exclusive interpreter.

Seamus created a setup to professionally record at home. But not without having to solve several technical problems which he strived mightily to overcome. Which I feel some guilt about—putting him through all that. But the results have assuaged my guilt. 

Seamus has produced, directed, and edited the audiobook. He suggested having original music, which I happily agreed to. He recruited a friend, Ray Zigler, a bandmate of Seamus' from years past, to compose the music.

Ray created a witty, creepy, jazz score that I just friggin' love. It has been released on Spotify as a mini-album under the title of Suite for Le Cinema De Créatures (Music from "Creature Feature - A Horrid Comedy").

Seamus applied his innate fine sense of comedy timing to the directing and editing, giving all the right colors to the piece. 

But most of all, Seamus gives a delightful and funny performance narrating Creature Feature, voicing Gerald, the nerdy/genius male protagonist, the demon Quntirextionkeedumtemgar, and all the other characters and creatures in the book.

And Juliana! Juliana is the perfect as Kathy/Vivacia, giving distinct voices to the two sides of this character, matching and complimenting Seamus in wit, comedy timing, and fun.

This ideal which became real has been a most satisfying experience. 

You can purchase it on Amazon, Audible, or iTunes.

Happy listening, folks!

     

   

COVER OF MY NEXT NOVEL—BULLY 4 LOVE: A RATHER ODD LOVE STORY

 

Here’s the first look at the cover for my upcoming novel BULLY FOR LOVE: A RATHER ODD LOVE STORY, which I hope to publish in early Spring. It is a mainstream novel and the second one in my “Love, Sex, and Pursuit of Happiness” series of novels. BY THE SEA (2015) was the first in the series, and I hope to get the third, THE RELUCTANT HETEROSEXUAL, published by the end of the year or early next year.

In the meantime, Seamus Dever and Juliana Dever

are now recording the audiobook of Creature Feature: A Horrid Comedy, which I’m very excited about. They are wonderful actors and bring a tremendous new dimension -- the fifth, or maybe the sixth -- to my story. (There’s a joke buried in that last sentence for those of you who have read Creature Feature.) I’ll announce the release date later.

Cheers!

AN AUTHOR'S HAPPY NEW YEAR

Nothing starts a new year off well for an author like indications that his work is appreciated. Oh, possibly a royalty check in six figures would do the trick, but barring that….

On January 2nd I got a notice via email that a message for me had been posted on Goodreads. Dutifully, I went to Goodreads to have a good read of the message:

Well, I was, of course, delighted. What author wouldn’t be, what author does not like being give a second chance and coming out a winner. Especially since Joanna’s first reviewed Traveling in Space in July of last year, giving it, I believe only two stars out of five and and writing this:

“I did not get very far in. I don't care for flippancy in first-contact novels. A little humor is fine, but not complete ridiculousness. I didn't mind it in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, but usually I don't care for it.”

I remember noting the review as an example of a reader honestly not liking a certain style of writing. Fair enough -- horse races and all that. I was, though, sad that she did not continue with the book to find that the “flippancy” was possibly but a mad method to get somewhere else. However, I do not remember contacting Joanna to express that or “guilt-tripping” her into trying the audiobook. I suppose I might have, but as I had no way to contact her outside of a message via Goodreads and there is no record of my having messaged her, I do not quite know what happened. But I am happy to leave that as a mystery, because the outcome is quite lovely. Especially since Joanna not only privately messaged me, but was good and kind enough to correct her impression of Traveling in Space publicly by amending her original review:

I now, of, course, very much wanted to contact Joanna, thank her, and answer the question she asked in her message::

As has often been pointed out, the writing of novels is an individual, lonely pursuit. But serious readers like Joanna make it less so.

Still feeling the glow of Joanna, the next day I got an email notice that lead me to this webpage:

The delight here was in now knowing that there are listeners out there who enjoyed the experience  of the audiobook that Jeff Cannata and I worked so hard to achieve, not to mention my co-producer and audio engineer, Peter Lonsdale. A “droning, monotonous performance” is definitely what we did not want. As Joanna said in her review, “The audiobook is more like a one-man radio show.” As Jeff is a fine actor, and I love audio drama, that’s exactly what we were going for, and it’ grand to have that not only recognized, but appreciated. So thank you Joshua.

And yesterday, only the fifth day into the new year, Jeff Cannata and I got this lovely Tweet. Not the first of it’s kind we have gotten in regard our audiobook, but the first one this year. I thanked the tweeter and he responded:

What I love about Scott’s tweets is that the term “Factually speaking” and him saying, “...no joke (it’s definitely NOT the season)” are both references to things in “Traveling in Space.” Lovely, that is.

Appreciation is a wonderful way to start the new year, and leads to much gleeful anticipation as my latest novel, By the Sea, 

is set to be published on February first, and I am deep into finishing another novel this year. 

Story, characters, incidents, thoughts, ideas, humor, emotions created and given shape to is a fine clay to have your hands in.

Thanks to my publishers, my collaborators, my readers for making it all real. And a great and productive and joyous new year to you all.

Traveling in Space is available as a trade paperback or ebook from Amazon

Or as an audiobook from Audible.com.