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“Just Dreams” Audiobook is on the Way.

Hi There:

I've been away so long that you've probably been wondering where I've been and what I've been doing.  Well, in addition to trying to get my new law practice off the ground, I've been working on creating the audiobook version of “Just Dreams.”

I auditioned 18 separate voice actors to narrate the audiobook.  When I started this project, I had no idea how hard it would be.  I didn't realize that I had written the virtual United Nations of books and that it would be difficult (but not impossible) to find a single actor who could not only handle both male and female character voices, but also, a myriad of ethnic accents.  “Just Dreams” has Cuban, Caucasian and African-American attorneys, a British C.I.A. agent, a Puerto Rican witness, a Jamaican hacker and an East Indian cab driver.  Don't ask me what I was thinking (or smoking) when I wrote the book – it just came out that way.  The story is set in Miami, after all.

It turned out that the Jamaican accent was the hardest for the voice actors to get.  Several of them mangled it so badly there was no way I could select them.  Then I agonized over whether to have a male or a female voice actor narrate the book.  In the end, I decided to use a male narrator because he was the best out of all those auditioned and because he has a deep sexy voice.  I thought the ladies listening to the story would appreciate that.  I certainly did. 🙂

The good news is that the diverse and sundry characters, accents and scenarios make for a lively and entertaining audiobook.  The even better news is that the voice actor I hired – Michael Gwynne – is extremely talented. He brought the story and the characters to life and was a joy to work with as well.

Making the audiobook was a lengthy process.  There are 23 chapters in “Just Dreams.”  As Michael finished each chapter, he put it up for me to listen to.  I would listen to the recordings at least twice and then send him notes on any changes that needed to be made.  I would always include the timestamps of the relevant sections of the recording so that he could locate them easily and make the revisions.  Our efforts paid off. When the last chapter was done, I listened to all 23 chapters again one last time and had only one minor proposed revision.

The audiobook recording is being checked by ACX which will then produce the audiobook and release it.  It will be available on Audible, Amazon and iTunes the first week in January, 2015, so keep an eye out for it.

I'm now working on completing “Dreams Deferred” – Ivy's story – which will be released in February, 2015.  I'm a busy child, but it's a labor of love to work toward making your dreams come true.

Thank you for taking this journey with me and making it all possible. May you and yours have a happy holiday season and happy, healthy and prosperous New Year.

Peace