Category Archives: audiobooks
Voices in the Darkness Anthology Released
When I realized at some point in early 2020 that it was not going to be a good year for me as an author, I decided to take a different route to achievement. I decided to edit an anthology. First I’ll post the links (It’s available everywhere in eBook, Hardcover and Paperback and in Audio from Audible, iTunes and Amazon) The very cool cover was painted by an old friend of mine, Steve Smith, who also created some of the artwork that adorns my arms and back. This book includes authors I admire : Kathe Koja, Nadia Bulkin, Elizabeth Massie, Cassandra Khaw, Nick Mamatas and Brian A. Hopkins (who wen told “go long” on the wordcount turned in a short novel…) The eBook is on sale for a short period at only $2.99 due to a new release promotion through Bookbub. If you pick up the Kindle edition at that price, you get a big discount on the audio because the book is “Whispersync” ready. (That means if you listen to it on a Kindle, or a device that does eBooks AND audio, you can stop the audio and pick up reading at the same place in the eBook. Pretty cool. Our audio is narrated by Gigi Shane, Joshua Saxon, Seylan Baxter, Claire Suzanne Elizabeth Cooney, Edward Gist & Laurie Catherine Winkel. “Wilson (A Midnight Dreary) brings together six strong speculative shorts that impress with imaginative concepts and powerful writing…” Publisher’s Weekly.
This was my shot at 2020 (Middle-finger-salute) and was a lot of fun because it’s been years since I edited anything. I have copy-edited and proofed, of course, being a publisher, but the days of The Tome – my small press magazine, are decades behind us.
Buy on : Amazon B&N Apple Smashwords Kobo Audible Google Play Books
Voices in the Darkness
A Foreword by David Niall Wilson
It has been a long time since I set out to edit something like this. When I first started writing, I launched a small press that did well for about thirteen issues. I’m certain that I learned more from editing, publishing, and interacting with the many authors, poets, and artists that graced the pages of The Tome than I could thank them for. Editing, though, is hard. Finding what you want, reading things that you don’t, picking through the words and sentences and images, not just to enjoy them, but to try and polish them. It’s an art form very different from the writing itself. I thought I was done with it. And to a point, I guess, I was.
Voices in the Darkness was not an open anthology. I thought long and hard about creating this project. Like a lot of others, my own creative output has been sort of stuck in the mud of 2020, but I wanted to create something memorable. I wanted something to hold and be proud of. I did not give this book a theme, I just told the authors involved that I wanted to publish something special, and that I wanted them to be part of it. I wanted it to be a middle finger flipped up at 2020. I also wanted a book that would make people think, something to entertain and confuse and touch readers.
I decided on six stories before I asked anyone. The invitation I wrote invited authors to go long on the word count to be sure we reached a good length for a book. Just like everything else in this crazy year, we reached that goal in strange and unexpected ways. Once I had my structure, I had to choose the creative minds to bring it to life.
The first four came easily. I know what I love to read, fiction that, while usually based in one genre or another, is hard to define. Stories that are often considered to literary for a mostly dark fantasy project. I had just finished listening to the amazing audiobook of Kathe Koja’s novel, Skin, one that I consider a big influence on my own writing. I put her on my short list. There are several stories by Elizabeth Massie that will never leave me, the most powerful (to my mind) being “Smoothpicks,” which appeared in Deathrealm magazine long ago. That was number two. Over the years, I’ve written a lot of collaborations. Some of the best of those were written with one of my oldest friends, Brian Hopkins. Among the stories we wrote were “La Belle Dame Sans Merci,” and “La Belle Dame, Sans Regret”. I approached Brian, who has not been writing for years, and asked him to do a story. Little did I know he would launch into an epic historical fantasy, more than forty-eight thousand words… and I knew it was perfect when he titled that story “La Belle Époque”. It’s really a short novel, published here for the first time.
Nick Mamatas is an author I know for stories that wash over the genre walls like smoke. My first (and still favorite) of his novels was Move Under Ground, a perfect mesh of Lovecraft and Jack Kerouac. I was very pleased when he agreed to be part of this, and very pleased at his homage to the original “Mack the Knife.”
At this point I still had two slots and was out of ideas. The problem was not that I did not know enough perfect authors, I know so many I could fill volumes… maybe a series? But the more I thought about the year, and what was going on in the news, and in the world, the more I realized that I wanted this book to be diverse. I wanted stories that would be unexpected to me. I reached out to award-winning anthologist Ellen Datlow, and she gave me a short list of possibilities. On that list I found Nadia Bulkin and read her collection She Said Destroy: Stories and was mesmerized. Nadia became the fifth author. The final slot went to a lady who is best-known for being an award-winning game writer, but whose fiction keeps popping up in best-of anthologies and on awards lists. That author is Cassandra Khaw, and her story “I’d Rather Wear Black” was a perfect addition to the book.
There was no theme, but one developed. Several of these stories are historical in nature. Brian, Beth, and Nick will be taking you on journeys into the past. The other stories, those in between, are shorter, but powerful in an entirely different way. Kathe, Nadia, and Cassandra went more surreal. The stories are shorter, darker. Kathe’s story, as so many of hers do, is going to be a different story for nearly everyone who reads it. Cassandra’s is going to make people remember past relationships, and think about others… Nadia experiments with telling a true crime story through fiction and will possibly make you reconsider your thoughts on life, and death. Beth’s story revisits a theme that I know to be her biggest fear. Long ago she wrote a book review for me, for The Tome, of Harvest Home, by Thomas Tryon. In that review, she said her biggest fear was one person gaining total control over another. “Baggie” hits this from many angles and will likely give you bad dreams. I love this book.
The final piece is the cover by West Coast artist Steve Smith. I’ve known Steve most of my adult life. He’s also a tattoo artist of amazing ability, and several of his works walk through life with me daily. He painted the book’s cover, has been reading the stories as they come in… it make think of books, an stories—a voice—lost at sea, washed where the waters will take them. If you are reading this, they have been delivered to you. The tiny red object floating in the wake is a gate. Turn the pages and see where it takes you.
Category Archives: audiobooks
March Madness – an Update
I’ll start by pointing out that I have added a new excerpt, short story for your reading pleasure. Considering all that is going on currently, it seemed appropriate to post my story “The Masquerade,” written as E. A. Poe in the pages of the novel A Midnight Dreary, my most recent addition to The DeChance Chronicles. You will find it on the Short Stories and Excerpts page (linked above) or can simply click HERE to go to the story.
Works in progress are many and varied. I am outlining the second book in the HOODS young adult superhero series. We will introduce a new hero in this one, and another currently relevant sort of villain for the group to tangle with. These books are fun. The first one has not taken off as I’d hoped, but I will continue because I think they are great stories – and the reviews actually garnered have agreed.
I am also a good ways into two longer projects – Jurassic Ark – the story of Noah and his family, building an Ark in a time when men and dinosaurs roamed the earth together… it started as a sort of sarcastic jab at Creationism, and turned into a deeper, more interesting story. I am also working on a Thriller titled “Tattered Remnants” that is one of my all-time favorite projects. The first chapter of it appeared (alongside Stephen King) in the most recent installment of Cemetery Dance’s SHIVERS anthology series. It has hints of Thomas Harris (back when he was good) and of Dexter (both the novels and the series)… and is set (of course) in San Valencez California, home of Tommy Doyle, the Psychos ‘r’ Us detective, the band from Deep Blue, Donovan DeChance, the heroes in Hoods, and many other stories. It’s a city with more than it’s share of darkness.
My first novel – This is My Blood – will re-release any day in unabridged audio, voiced by the talented Skye Stafford. I’m hoping this relaunch will bring new readers and listeners to the story that has brought me the most recognition… if not, I’ll enjoy listening to it again and visiting with Mary Magdalene and the crew.
The current obessive project is titled Into Nothing … it’s a complex beast. It’s going to be a novel in ten parts (Ten or so) … each part will also have a TV drama style screenplay written as I go, and will contain the lyrics for at least one song by the band Into Nothing – formed in the novel. It’s based around a vision that a young dishwasher, would-be song-writer named Jesse experiences when he blacks out in his apartment. Part two will be based on my Absinthe story “The Milk of Paradise,” but told from the perspective of one of the characters in the story, and not the main story itself. I have finished part one – song one – and am about 16 pages into the screenplay. I will keep you posted.
I also have as story in the next upcoming SHIVERS anthology – “Hickory Nuts and Bones,” that I love… and that Richard Chizmar sort of poked me into writing. Keeping busy. If you are an audiobook lover, keep this link handy. This is a link to free downloads of my Audiobooks from Audible.com – there are limited quantities – you can select to show those with available US or UK codes. These get reloaded from time to time, so if the one you want has no codes, don’t get discouraged, and the site has a LOT of titles with available codes, so if you can’t get one of mine you may find something else you like: FREE AUDIOBOOK CODES.
Category Archives: audiobooks
A Storyteller’s Birthday Wish
I am a storyteller. For years now I’ve spent more time helping bring other people’s stories out than I have writing my own… and I’m okay with that, because I AM still writing… but tomorrow is my birthday. Instead of just stopping by and saying Happy happy… let’s interact. Below is a link to my Amazon page with almost literally everything I’ve written available… in the first comment will be a list of my books available through Kindle Unlimited for those people who subscribe, so you can find my books that are available for you to read for free. Most of my audiobooks are whispersync ready and can be had for a pittance beyond the eBook price. MANY of them are available in print, some for the first time just this year in trade paperback. What I want for my birthday is simple. Read something of mine. Tell me what you read, what of mine you have liked (or loved) (or even hated). If you have a favorite thing of mine, leave a review on Amazon, or Goodreads… sign up for the free signed copy giveaway on Goodreads for my novel Gideon’s Curse… buy “Remember Bowling Green” so I can donate the money to the ACLU… the thing that would make me feel the best on my birthday would be to entertain some people, and to feel as if I write – and I talk about that – and it’s of more than slight, passing interest to a few of the thousands of folks who follow me between this profile and my author page… Going to put this on my author page as well, and on my blog so it goes to Goodreads, and on Wattpad, where literally tens of thousands of people read my novel Heart of a Dragon for free, and loved it (from the comments) but could not ring themselves to pay the $2.99 or $3.99 to read the rest of the series… writing is a lonely profession… help a fella out.
AMAZON’S DAVID NIALL WILSON PAGE
DAVID NIALL WILSON ON KINDLE UNLIMITED
Category Archives: audiobooks
Thanksgiving Note to All Who Have Supported Crossroad Press
LAUNCHED A COMPANY LIKE A ROCKET…
Several years back i got the crazy idea to start getting my old books and stories digitized, and I started a very long, very involved learning curve that led me through the creation of Macabre Ink, and then the expanded Crossroad Press Digital, and finally – to what we have now – Crossroad Press Publications – print, audio, and eBooks from more than 130 authors.
First and foremost I want to thank David Dodd, who came on board early on and has been a lifesaver to the company. He is the master of spreadsheets, formatting scanned documents, and keeping me organized through years that have not grown simpler, but crazier – mostly in good ways. He is also responsible for a HUGE number of book covers, a talent he took up from scratch and has brought to an artform.
Many don’t understand how little of what we make, we keep. If we invest any money at all up front in a book, it can take hundreds of sales for us to even break even. Why? Because we have stood by our guns, and will continue to stand by our guns. This is an author’s first company, and most of the money goes to them. This means some books never make us any money, and others make us a lot – we share the risk, and the profit. We do what we can to promote and build readership, and I can tell you that the number of hours spent doing this is incredible – for myself, Dave Dodd, the love of my life Patricia Lee Macomber who has edited HUNDREDS of books in recent months – Kurt Criscione, Daz Pulsford, Anita Smith and an entire small army of proof readers have helped us present clean products, and as we’ve always said – the beauty of digital is you can fix things. We have been quick (and will remain quick) when it comes to remedying any mistakes we make or problems found by others.
I could go on and on with the thanks but instead, I’ll just end this with some pretty impressive numbers, and let it go at that:
Here is a short growth curve (rounded slightly in some cases) to show how our company has grown since 2010.
…………………Net Sales…………………………………Royalties to authors
2010………… 3094…………………………………………$4,324.39
2011……….. 27,971……………………………………..$56,268.51
2012……….135,410……………………………………..$88,064.25
2013……….170,523…………………………………….$197,600.00 (so far)
We are looking forward to great things ahead. We are making inroads in promotion, and have completely redesigned our website, and our presence, breaking into imprints for the various age groups and genres. You can see the beginnings of this at OUR NEW WEBSITE – once we get all of the author pages populated on all the various imprint sites, it will be much simpler to find our books, and our authors, without digging through more than 700 digital titles at the old online store. We have also published more than 350 unabridged audiobook titles, and have an impressive number of books available in print. Right now we are hard at work on the Official Book of the Winter Olympics – 2014 edition – which should be huge for us.
I hope you all have a wonderful holiday season, and to all of you – readers, listeners, authors, copy-editors, partners, and family. Thank you… I can honestly say, I never saw this coming.
-David Niall Wilson
Category Archives: audiobooks
The Blog Tour Comes to an End. Buy the Book Already…
And so more than a month of blogging, interviewing, pimping, and otherwise striving to find ways to introduce Nevermore, A Novel of Love, Loss & Edgar Allan Poe to the world has reached its end. Yesterday the final two blog posts went live – they are linked below, along with all of the other stops along the way. More than 40,000 words written to promote a book that is about 52,000 words long… I must be crazy.
But I love this book. I have huge faith in the story, and the characters. Reviews have borne this out – but no matter what I do, or say, despite a “social media reach” that should be in the ten thousand range, the book only trickles out. Such is a writer’s life.
I’ve been buried nose deep in writing The Note Quite Right Reverend Cletus J. Diggs and The Crazy Case of Foreman James, and in marketing / formatting / proofing and editing books for Crossroad Press all along, but I’ve dedicated myself to pushing this book. I will remain so dedicated. You should go and buy it and read it. If you are a print only person, it’s available in hardcover and trade paperback. If you like eBooks, it’s available in every format at a cost of only $2.99 for the moment (the sale price I set it at for the promotion). If all of that fails to move you, Gigi Shane has narrated an unabridged audiobook of the novel which is fabulous, her voice bringing things to the novel that the written word cannot. I can’t think of a single thing to say beyond what I have said in all the posts below, and all the blog posts pointing people toward them, so I will now let this go.
Congratulations to those who have entered to win copies of the book; I will have your names / etc. soon and will have all the copies out to you.
-DNW
Audible.com | Barnes & Noble | Crossroad Press
THE ENTIRE TOUR! READ THEM ALL, INTERVIEWS, GUEST POSTS, CHARACTER INTERVIEWS…
Read My Post “Ancient Evil is the Best Evil” at the Sun Mountain Reviews Blog
Read about how I was Drawn to the Darkness in my writing at the Blog of A Chick Who Reads
Read My Interview with Edgar Allan Poe at the blog of Deal Sharing Aunt
Read some about the birth of the novel Nevermore at Paranormal Dimensions!
Read a Character interview with LENORE (My version) at Michelle Lee’s blog
Read my post about what influences my writing at Rinn Reads!
Read my guest post about Donovan DeChance at the Paranormal Book Club
Read my post about romance in books over at Fierce Dolan’s Blog..
How personal and North Carolina history affect the novel – read at the FLYING HIGH blog!
Read about mining history for your fiction at Christine’s Words!
Read about the cover art by Lisa Snellings at Workaday Reads
Read the review of the book, and the guest post on keeping your series new
Read the interview at One More Chapter
Read my post about writers – and reading – at Janna Shay’s blog!
Read My post – Everybody Loves a Mystery – here in this blog!
Read my post “Let There be Magic” at the main Buy the Book Tour Site!
Read my post about “The Dark South” at The Open Book Society Blog…;
Read about Genres & Why I hate them : ==> AT THE AUTHOR’S CAFE
READ THE Guest Post about History in fiction at MELISSA’S BLOG!
Interview with me at the Blog of author Hywela Lin
Interview with Donovan DeChance at Laurie’s Thoughts and Reviews
Interview with Edgar Allan Poe at MJ Schiller’s Blog (join the discussion)
Get the details of the book tour – and the giveaways – at Buy the Book Tours…
BUY NEVERMORE! AT AMAZON.COM or BARNES & NOBLE or CROSSROAD PRESS
DOWNLOAD THE AUDIOBOOK FROM AUDIBLE.COM – NARRATED BY GIGI SHANE!
Category Archives: audiobooks
Why I'm glad Nevermore Was Not Traditionally Published & Return of Blog Tour
So, I’ve been conducting this blog tour for some time now. Today I’m nearly at twenty separate posts, trying to convince you that the read you must complete this summer is Nevermore, a Novel of Love, Loss & Edgar Allan Poe. I think I must not be very good at this – I’ve averaged about one sale per post…but I slog on – it’s what writers do.
On an unrelated note – while my beloved San Diego Chargers did not win their first preseason game, the “starters” were nearly unstoppable. I am pleased. In honor of that today’s featured image is NOT a cute cat, but my favorite football lol – a shot taken from a game between the JETS (note this – it’s important) and the Chargers a few years back.
I discovered something very cool on Friday. I found the lost, hand-written manuscript to a novel that was well on its way to completion. “The Not Quite Right Reverend Cletus J. Diggs & The Crazy Case of Foreman James”. I wrote this in small bursts just before going to sleep each night. I was well into the book when we finally sold our old historic home in Hertford, NC and moved to the new house in the county. During that move…the notebook disappeared. Lost. Gone. No sign of it, and I had (at that point) only typed out about 1,000 words of it. NOT a good feeling, I can tell you. On the other hand, FINDING that after all this time has been a very cool thing, and I’ve been busily typing it into the computer so that I can move on, finish the story, and get it out to the world.
While I’m working on that, though, you should all pop over to “What Reader’s Want” – where you’ll find today’s blog post on why I’m glad Nevermore did not come out from a traditional publisher…and you should get yourself a copy of the book. It’s discounted from $4.99 to $2.99 for the length of the tour. You can get the print editions at a bargain price at the Crossroad Press Store … the audiobook is amazing, thanks to narrator Gigi Shane… Go have a visit with Edgar.
Here’s an excerpt from today’s post, and a link to the rest!
“I am here to talk about my new novel, Nevermore, a Novel of Love, Loss & Edgar Allan Poe. One of the questions I’ve been asked over and over again is – what type of book is it? What genre? Where would it be shelved? Let me tell you, this is a question I’ve come to hate – and I believe it’s probably among the most hated questions asked of most authors, because the simple fact is – it’s a novel. It has romance. It has dark fantasy. It has magic, and history, and even alternate history. It’s got action and adventure, and could probably be shelved without anyone batting an eye in the horror section, the urban fantasy section, and the paranormal romance section of a major bookstore.
The simple truth is, if my book got stuck on any of those shelves, I think a lot of people who would love it would never see it…” =>Read the entire post at the What Readers Want blog!
THE TOUR SO FAR:
How personal and North Carolina history affect the novel – read at the FLYING HIGH blog!
Read about mining history for your fiction at Christine’s Words!
Read about the cover art by Lisa Snellings at Workaday Reads
Read the review of the book, and the guest post on keeping your series new
Read the interview at One More Chapter
Read my post about writers – and reading – at Janna Shay’s blog!
Read My post – Everybody Loves a Mystery – here in this blog!
Read my post “Let There be Magic” at the main Buy the Book Tour Site!
Read my post about “The Dark South” at The Open Book Society Blog…;
Read about Genres & Why I hate them : ==> AT THE AUTHOR’S CAFE
READ THE Guest Post about History in fiction at MELISSA’S BLOG!
Interview with me at the Blog of author Hywela Lin
Interview with Donovan DeChance at Laurie’s Thoughts and Reviews
Interview with Edgar Allan Poe at MJ Schiller’s Blog (join the discussion)
Get the details of the book tour – and the giveaways – at Buy the Book Tours…
BUY NEVERMORE! AT AMAZON.COM or BARNES & NOBLE or CROSSROAD PRESS
DOWNLOAD THE AUDIOBOOK FROM AUDIBLE.COM – NARRATED BY GIGI SHANE!
Category Archives: audiobooks
Blog Tour Day #2 – Interview in Which I Speak of the Amontillado & More
So, it’s day two of the big blog tour has arrived, and I have been interviewed by Hywela-Lin for her blog. This was a fun interview, not necessarily the same old questions, and I went out of my way not to provide the same old answers, as well. One of the tricks of this blog tour thing is – in my opinion – mixing it up. If you have nothing new to say, and twelve blogs interview you, asking the same old questions and getting the same old answers in slightly different hats, well, I think you can see how boring that would be. I am not famous. Instead, I strive for interesting. I believe (probably foolishly, but there you go) that if I make a real effort, I can show people who I am, and why I write what I write, and why it would be worth their time to check it out. One thing you learn in life is that even those who are already mildly interested in you have their reasons. Sadly, for me, only a small portion of those interested enough in me to know who I am are also interested enough to read my books.
I wish I had a small truckload of copies of Nevermore … I would ride to the next two fan conventions I could reach and just hand out copies. I wonder how many I’d have to hand out before a sufficient number actually read them, and then talked about them, and it became a “thing?” We’ll never know, sadly – books are expensive. I DID lower the eBook price on Nevermore – a Novel of Love, Loss & Edgar Allan Poe to only $2.99 for the duration of this blog tour. $2.99 is still in the impulse buy range, right? I want to give you that impulse, so, without further ado…
Here is a very short bit from the interview with me over at Hywela Lin’s blog… and a link to the rest. Below that are links to yesterdays posts, where I conducted interviews with my own characters, Donovan DeChance, and Edgar Allan Poe…
”
READ THE ENTIRE INTERVIEW AT HYWELA LYn’s Blog – along with an excerpt from Nevermore. Enter to win copies of the book – or just buy it already!
Interview with Donovan DeChance at Laurie’s Thoughts and Reviews
Interview with Edgar Allan Poe at MJ Schiller’s Blog (join the discussion)
Get the details of the book tour – and the giveaways – at Buy the Book Tours…
BUY NEVERMORE! AT AMAZON.COM or BARNES & NOBLE or CROSSROAD PRESS
DOWNLOAD THE AUDIOBOOK FROM AUDIBLE.COM – NARRATED BY GIGI SHANE!
Category Archives: audiobooks
In Case You Wondered Why I Was So Quiet
In my continuing quest to try every means possible to find and reach new readers, I will be starting an extensive Blog Tour on July 22. It will run on through September 2nd, and you can see the schedule below. I have been busy answering questions, writing guest posts, and writing interviews with my own characters. I now have invested almost as many words in this promotion as I have in the book (well, that’s a slight exaggeration, but only slight).
During the course of the tour, the price of the eBook editions of Nevermore will be dropped from $4.99 to $2.99 on Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble. You will have chances along the way to win copies of the print editions, the unabridged audiobook (narrated by Gigi Shane) – and the eBooks. You will learn about why I wrote this book, how it was researched, what influences me – now, then, tomorrow – music I listen to, books I read – more, in other words, than anyone should have to know JUST TO BUY THIS BOOK. If you have already read and enjoyed this, PLEASE take the time to drop by Amazon & / or Barnes & Noble and leave me a review. I’ll be saying more about this as the day approaches. I’ll be interacting with any comments at all of the below sites on the appropriate dates (and beyond).
Enter the Rafflecopter Giveaway below for your chance to win a copy of Nevermore – A Novel of Love, Loss & Edgar Allan Poe and a $15 Amazon Gift Card!
July 22, 2013
Laurie’s Thoughts and Reviews {Character Interview with Giveaway}
M.J. Schiller, Author {Character Interview with Giveaway (Paperback)}
July 23, 2013
Hywela Lyn – Romance That’s ‘Out Of This World’ {Author Interview with Giveaway}
July 24, 2013
Nancy’s Novels – Welcome to she said, he said {Guest Post / Review with Giveaway}
July 25, 2013
Melissa Keir- Sexy Between the Covers {Guest Post with Giveaway}
HBS Author’s Spotlight {Author Interview}
July 26, 2013
Authors’ Cafe {Guest Post with BTB Giveaway}
July 27, 2013
Open Book Society {Guest Post with Giveaway (Paperback)}
July 29, 2013
Jenna’s Journal {Guest Post with Giveaway}
July 30, 2013
Slave’s Erotic Reviews {Guest Post / Review}
August 1, 2013
Janna Shay’s Fair Play {Guest Post with Giveaway}
August 2, 2013
Just One More Chapter {Author Interview with Giveaway (Paperback)}
August 5, 2013
The Realm of Fantasy and Fiction {Guest Post / Review with BTB Giveaway}
August 6, 2013
Workaday Reads {Guest Post with Giveaway (Paperback)}
August 7, 2013
Christine’s Words {Guest Post with Giveaway}
August 8, 2013
FLY HIGH {Guest Post}
August 12, 2013
What Readers Want {Guest Post with BTB Giveaway}
August 14, 2013
Fierce Dolan – Words Without Limits {Guest Post with Giveaway}
August 17, 2013
Brooke Blogs {Guest Post / Review with Giveaway}
August 19, 2013
Paranormal Realms {Author Interview with BTB Giveaway}
August 22, 2013
Paranormal Book Club {Guest Post with Giveaway (Paperback)}
August 26, 2013
Rinn Reads {Guest Post with Giveaway}
August 27, 2013
Overflowing Bookshelves {Character Interview / Review}
August 30, 2013
Paranormal Dimensions {Guest Post with BTB Giveaway}
August 31, 2013
Deal Sharing Aunt {Author Interview with Giveaway (Paperback)}
September 2, 2013
A Chick Who Reads {Guest Post / Review with Giveaway}
Sun Mountain Reviews {Guest Post with Giveaway}
Category Archives: audiobooks
The Public Domain … and Working for a Living
One of the things the Internet has made possible is the wide-spread sharing of work in the Public Domain. This is work that is not copyright to any estate, individual, etc., but is free to use – as a person sees fit – for fun, profit, or what-have you. All well and good. We have even scanned and presented a few older titles through Crossroad Press, sort of testing the waters…but here’s the thing.
Sharing Public Domain material is one thing, and trying to capitalize off of the work of others with no effort on your own part is ass-hattery.
Case in point. There is a wonderful site – Librivox – where narrators and readers are taking their time, effort, and love of books and the written word and making something wonderful. They are offering public domain narrations of public domain books and stories, as well as public domain podcasts, etc. available to listeners and readers everywhere. It’s a lot of work.
We have done over 200 audiobooks at Crossroad Press, so I feel somewhat qualified to comment on the number of hours our narrators spend reading, editing, mixing, and tweaking files to prepare them for listeners. It’s probably a ration of close to two to three hours for every one hour produced, and your average book runs around eight hours.
What I’ve seen lately is this…people going to these public domain sites, downloading the audio, maybe sprucing it up with some music (also public domain) and putting it up for sale through sites like Audible.com … profiting off of work that was done in good faith for the benefit of all…and for free.
Here are a couple of things to keep in mind. Public Domain work IS free for use in any way you see fit, but you cannot copyright it. If you add music, or content to it, you can copyright that music or content IF that music or content is – in fact – something you own the rights to. You can’t copyright the “production” of work you did not create and have no rights to.
And let’s be serious…only a jerk profits off of other people’s volunteer work. I just wanted to point out this practice, and to frown upon it publicly. If the narrators themselves want to make their Public Domain work available for sale, I see that as a way some folks can pay them back for their generosity. If a third party who did nothing more than download the files and then upload them back into a sales outlet profits, I consider that – if not illegal, at the least worthy of a golden-asshat award. (there should BE golden asshat awards…seriously…).
Go give LIbrivox a listen … you won’t be disappointed.
-DNW
Category Archives: audiobooks
Nevermore – Book V of the DeChance Chronicles Underway
I’ve started (finally) working on the next Donovan DeChance book. This story will follow directly on the tail of the events in Kali’s Tale – still a stand-alone story, and still something you could read without having read the others, though I realize that as time goes on…it’s less and less true that the full experience is there. It’s just not possible to rehash everything properly without detracting from the new story.
Those of you who have been reading along will remember we left Donovan and Amethyst in a bed and breakfast near Old Mill, North Carolina, as well as O.C.L.T. Team member Geoffrey Bullfinch. You’ll also remember that Donovan had decided not to return immediately to California, but to take a break, of sorts.
The whole crew is there, Cleo the oversized Egyptian Mau, Asmodeus the ancient Egyptian crow, and our heroes. In Kali’s Tale, Donovan referenced a place that once existed on the borderline of Virginia and North Carolina – the Halfway House – which was a bar / hotel that existed in both states at once.
People went there to get away with things that they could not on the other side of the border, marriages at a younger age were possible in NC, and the dueling laws were different. A lot of rough characters frequented the place, but a lot of famous “others” were known to stay as well. Among them?
Edgar Allen Poe.
One legend has Poe penning the first draft of THE RAVEN there, and so, I’m riffing on that…and Donovan is going to “tell a story” which will lead to questions – and a quest – taking them into ancient byways, through time and the Great Dismal Swamp, to what I hope will be a satisfying “could-have-been” piece with a twist of history.
If you want to catch up…
The DeChance Chronicles consist of Heart of a Dragon, Vintage Soul, My Soul to Keep (Which is the Donovan origin story) and Kali’s Tale. All are available in a multitude of digital formats (including digital audio for all but Kali’s Tale, and that’s on the way). Heart of a Dragon will be available as a trade paperback later this year.
Buy The DeChance Chronicles for Kindle or in Audio
Buy the DeChance Chronicles for Nook or other ePub ready devices
Buy direct from Crossroad Press