Grover's Audiobook Blog: July 2009

Friday, July 31, 2009

Rick Bragg reads for Blackstone

My assistant and co-producer/director Andrew Barnes has just finished what had to have been an utterly enjoyable task--listening to Rick Bragg read his latest book, The Most They Ever Had. Rick is that rare animal, a masterful author-narrator who won an Audie Award for his 2004 performance of Ava's Man. The sessions, patched in from Mobile, Alabama, took all of two days and were a pleasure from start to finish. Those familiar with Rick's warm, spontaneous reading style and richly authentic sound will relish this tender, moving paean to the hard-working, hard-living residents of the Southern mill towns he grew up in. It's a heart-warming--and heart-breaking--experience. Blackstone is extremely proud of this "dual" acquisition--a great book and a great reader--and we're currently putting the finishing touches on the audio production in preparation for its October 1st release.

A Quiet Belief in Angels

R. J. Ellory is a British writer with a very unusual background and an admiration for Southern Gothic writers. His latest novel, A Quiet Belief in Angels, is a masterpiece--beautifully written and tensely plotted. The year is 1939, and a town in rural Georgia is plagued by a series of vicious killings. As one child after another disappears and the law stands helplessly by, young Joseph Vaughan and his friends form a group called "The Guardians" in an effort to protect themselves and the other children from the dreadful plague. The plan backfires badly, and Joseph goes on to live a life haunted by the past. Decades later he must confront the nightmare that has overshadowed his entire life.

In the tradition of Harper Lee, Truman Capote and Cormac McCarthy, this combination of coming-of-age memoir and hair-raising thriller is impossible to put down. I had to stop myself from reading it in one sitting. Mark Bramhall, one of my favorite narrators, will bring his warm, emotional approach to what I'm sure will be an unforgettable audio experience. We're pushing ahead on production and hope to get this out as close to the September 8th release date as possible.

Zombies and Vampires and Werewolves--Oh My!

In an effort to meet the seemingly endless demand for werewolf and vampire fare, Blackstone has taken the plunge with a host of new books that should go a good way toward satisfying the appetites of fans of this popular fantasy/action genre. For starters, we've licensed the beginning of a new series of werewolf novels by S. A. Swann. The first installment, Wolfbreed, is set in the late Middle Ages and centers around a pack of "wolf children" who become pawns in the battle between the early Christian church and the pagan tribes of northern Europe. Yours truly will narrate this September simultaneous release.

David Wellington is well known for his highly entertaining zombie and vampire gore-fests. 13 Bullets, 99 Coffins, Vampire Zero and 23 Hours all feature the indefatigable vampire-killer Laura Caxton. Frankly, I find these irresistible. Bernadette Dunne will have to stock up on garlic and crucifixes if she's going to make it through all four in one piece. With luck these will get to download before the end of the year.

Wellington will switch to werewolves in a new series, the first of which, Frostbite, premiers in October, followed by a second entry, Overwinter, early next year. I haven't seen a preview yet so I can't tell you which of our lucky narrators will be drenched in blood.

And then we have Nadya, a 1997 fantasy novel by Nebula Award-winner Pat Murphy that follows the adventures of its she-wolf heroine as she journeys from Poland to the American frontier of the 1860's. Kirsten Potter, who recently portrayed several old-time heroines for Blackstone (Gerald Koplan's Etta and Ann Parker's Leaden Skies) will take on this decidedly different twist on the legends of the Old West.

Hope these keep the demon-hunters happy for a while.

Monday, July 27, 2009

AudioFile Lobsterbake

Every year Robin Whitten, editor of AudioFile magazine, throws a Lobsterbake for members of the audiobook industry at her summer home in East Boothbay, Maine. This year it was packed, with over 80 attendees. Among the new faces this year were a bevy of narrators from Recorded Books in New York and a strong contingent from the West Coast who were putting in appearances for the first time.

Lobsters, clams and corn on the cob are roasted over a wood fire heaped with seaweed at water's edge, and the day-long event is capped with live performances by some of the most well-known names in the business. This year's readers included myself, Ralph Cosham, Barbara Rosenblat, Barbara Caruso, Jeff Woodman, Nick Sullivan, Stefan Rudnicki, Wanda McCadden, Steve Crossley, L. J. Ganser, Jeremy Gage, Alan Sklar, Ben Cheever, Hillary Huber, William Dufris, Suzanne Toren, and a host of others--twenty-four in all. It made for a lively and entertaining evening.

Bill Dufris gestures below...