Writing into the Sunset: Tarnished Remains

Over the weekend Ann M. Thompson and I wrapped up the third Shandra Higheagle book made into an audio book. Making audio books and working with Ann has been a new and exciting chapter in my self-publishing journey.

I was lucky enough to have met another Ann who narrates at the In'DScribe conference last fall. Having visited with her, learned more about what a narrator does for a book and how to capture a good narrator, I decided to get the mystery series out in audio book.

I put up my audition pages and offered a royalty split and a per finished hour amount and the third person to audition caught my attention with the tone of her voice and her comment she was teachable to get the characters right.

And Ann has been wonderful! When I wasn't happy with a voice she used for a secondary character she worked on it, talked with a person she knew of the same ethnicity, and after four tries, we came up with a voice that we were both happy with. I try to send her pronunciations of words I think she won't know. If there is a word she is still not sure of we discuss it.

She's been great at letting me know when things happen in her life and she won't get chapters to me as she had planned.

The best part, is she sounds like Shandra Higheagle and does a good job with the voice for Detective Ryan Greer. And even better was the response an audio book reviewer had to say about Ann:
"Ann M. Thompson is a good narrator, giving warm, earthy tones to Shandra and handling other voices with noticeable differences from one character to the next. In particular, I immediately picked up on Blane’s immaturity and brashness just from Ms. Thompson‘s interpretation."

You can find the whole review here.

My only downfall with the audio books is finding the right audience. If you have a place where you find audio books, would you let me know? I'm trying to find the right way to promote them and so far, it's not as easy as book promotion.

Did you know that by joining Audible.com you get the first audio book FREE? Here are the first two books in the series and their links to Audible. Deadly Aim will be published as an audio book this week.

http://www.audible.com/pd/Mysteries-Thrillers/Double-Duplicity-Audiobook/B01MZH4T06

http://www.audible.com/pd/Mysteries-Thrillers/Tarnished-Remains-Audiobook/B071CDS5LQ

Do you like to listen to books on tape/CD/MP3? I enjoy listening to a good story with a good narrator and so does Tink. ;)

I've been lucky so far with the narrators I've been able to get for my books. Holly Adams did a great job on Marshal in Petticoats. We had a good back and forth discussions on the character's voices and the jargon that comes with narrating western books.

Then I decided my money would be better served to have the Shandra Higheagle Mystery series in audio. I picked the second person who auditioned. I enjoyed her voice. It had the husky sound I think of in Shandra's voice. And she doesn't have to do too much to make a male voice sound like a man. She is Ann Thompson, a Cincinnati radio news anchor. You can now purchase Double Duplicity and Tarnished Remains in audiobook. Either by puchasing the ebook at Amazon and getting the audiobook as whispersync or through iBooks or Audible.

Making these audio books has been fun and has opened my eyes to more thing to look for when editing my stories. Listening to my books has made me think more ab out character's actions and dialog and writing narration for the story. I never dreamed having a book made into audio could push me to another level in my writing craft.

Marshal in Petticoats

After accidentally shooting a bank robber, Darcy Duncan becomes marshal of a town as accident prone as herself. Darcy's taken care of her younger brother the last five years, and she's not about to take orders from a corrupt mayor or a handsome drifter, whose curiosity could end her career as a marshal and take away their security.

Gil Halsey arrives in Galena looking for his boss's son turned outlaw. Getting the young man back to the ranch will seal the foreman's job. When he discovers the town's new marshal is a passionate woman with high regard for family, he turns to protecting her. Darcy reunites him with his estranged family as they romp through gold country after outlaws.

Buy Links:

Audio Amazon https://www.amazon.com/Marshal-in-Petticoats/dp/B00IX3F0QA

iTunes https://itunes.apple.com/us/audiobook/marshal-in-petticoats-unabridged/id838577070

Audible http://www.audible.com/pd/Fiction/Marshal-in-Petticoats-Audiobook/B00IUQF5HO

Double Duplicity

Book one of the Shandra Higheagle Native American Mystery Series

Dreams…Visions…Murder

On the eve of the biggest art event at Huckleberry Mountain Resort, potter Shandra Higheagle finds herself in the middle of a murder investigation. She’s ruled out as a suspect, but now it’s up to her to prove the friend she witnessed fleeing the scene was just as innocent. With help from her recently deceased Nez Perce grandmother, Shandra becomes more confused than ever but just as determined to discover the truth. While Shandra is hesitant to trust her dreams, Detective Ryan Greer believes in them and believes in her.

Can the pair uncover enough clues for Ryan to make an arrest before one of them becomes the next victim?

Buy Links:

Audible: http://www.audible.com/pd/Mysteries-Thrillers/Double-Duplicity-Audiobook/B01MZH4T06

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Double-Duplicity-Shandra-Higheagle-Mystery/dp/B01N3BA7K1
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/audiobook/double-duplicity-a-shandra-higheagle-mystery-unabridged/id1203452394

Tarnished Remains

Book two of the Shandra Higheagle Native American Mystery Series

Murder… Deceit… Greed…

Shandra Higheagle is digging up clay for her renowned pottery when she scoops up a boot attached to a skeleton. She calls in Weippe County detective Ryan Greer. The body is decades old and discovered to be Shandra’s employee’s old flame.

Ryan immediately pegs Shandra’s employee for the murderer, but Shandra knows in her heart that the woman everyone calls Crazy Lil couldn’t have killed anyone, let alone a man she loved.

Digging up the woman’s past takes them down a road of greed, miscommunication, and deceit. Will they be able to prove Crazy Lil innocent before the true murderer strikes again?

Buy Links:

Audible - http://www.audible.com/pd/Mysteries-Thrillers/Tarnished-Remains-Audiobook/B071CDS5LQ

Amazon- https://www.amazon.com/Tarnished-Remains-Shandra-Higheagle-Mystery/dp/B071D84QH3

iTunes https://itunes.apple.com/us/audiobook/tarnished-remains-shandra-higheagle-mystery-unabridged/id1227038294