Month: September 2016

Is Listening to an Audio book “Cheating?” – Daniel Willingham

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“Reading, as an evolutionary late-comer, must piggy-back on mental processes that already existed, and spoken communication does much of the lending.

So according to the simple model, listening to an audio book is exactly like reading print, except that the latter requires decoding and the former doesn’t.” […]

Source: Is Listening to an Audio book “Cheating?” – Daniel Willingham

Review | Omari and the People by Stephen Whitfield | Dab of Darkness

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Where I Got It: Review copy Narrator: Curt Simmons Publisher: ShirleyCastle Press (2016) Length: 11 hours 17 minutes

 

 

“Omari is a talented thief, but he’s not so smart when it comes to women. He has riches, a beautiful wife, and a big house. Yet his wife becomes angry with him and heads off to the city guard to tell of his many crimes. In an attempt to erase evidence of his wrongdoings, he sets fire to his house. Unfortunately, the flames don’t stop there and the entire city is lost. Now Omari, feeling quite bad about this, tells the people a lie about a wonderful land beyond the desert sands. There the adventure begins as a discordant group of people must either come together to succeed or will fall apart under the numerous assaults they suffer.

This is a beautiful, captivating story. In very little time,” […]

Source: Omari and the People by Stephen Whitfield | Dab of Darkness

Dab of Darkness | Book Reviews & More

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SEPTEMBER 29, 2016 Interview: Stephen Whitfield, Author Omari and the People

 

 

“Once I worked as a temp paralegal in Manhattan and I was so good at it the firm offered me a permanent job as an accountant. The problem was, I had no experience as an accountant, but the money was so good I could not turn it down. Lasted a week. I know something about writing, so writing compares favorably.” […]

Source: Dab of Darkness | Book Reviews & More

Jenn Faughnan | Jennielyreads: Book Reviews, Bookstagram and Writing

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Omari and the People was a GREAT listen! A brilliant story of love, loss and betrayal. When I started listening to this audiobook, I planned on listening for a short while whilst making dinner. Next thing I knew I was an hour in! I was hooked. […]

Source: Jenn Faughnan | Jennielyreads: Book Reviews, Bookstagram and Writing

Tales of the Ravenous Reader: Omari and the People – Guest Post, Audio Excerpt, & GIVEAWAY

 

Today we are here with Stephen Whitfield, author for the recently released audiobook, Omari and the People. Both of us basically live for books on audio because of our commute and were curious about Stephen’s process to becoming an author. We asked him to share some surprises with us today. […]

 

Source: Tales of the Ravenous Reader: Omari and the People – Guest Post, Audio Excerpt, & GIVEAWAY

Audio Blog Tour: Omari and the People – The Audiobookworm

Author: Stephen Whitfield – Narrator: Curt Simmons – Length: 11h 17m Publisher: Shirley Castle Press⎮2016 – Genre: Fiction

In a squalid ancient city on the edge of a desert (based in part on the African Sahara’s Empty Quarter) a weary, thrill-seeking thief named Omari sets his home afire to start anew and to cover his many crimes. When the entire city is unintentionally destroyed by the flames, the cornered thief tells the displaced people a lie about a better place which only he can lead them to, across the desert. With the help of an aged, mysterious woman who knows a better place actually does exist, they set out. The desperate people must come together to fight their way through bandits, storms, epidemics, and more. As a result of Omari’s involvement with Saba, a fiercely independent woman who is out to break him in the pay of a merchant whom he has offended, his ability  to lead – his very life – is jeopardized.

Source: Audio Blog Tour: Omari and the People – The Audiobookworm

Review of Nobody Wants to Read Your Sh*t: Why That Is And What You Can Do About It

by Steven Pressfield

I approach this material from what many may consider an unusual angle. I’m sure that authors who have achieved significant success will likely not find much new in Nobody Wants to Read Your Sh*t. It is not an all-inclusive and defining work and I don’t think it’s intended to be. But those struggling to be published, or follow up that first successful novel, and especially self-publishers will find gold nuggets and inspiration in Steven Pressfield’s work.

I am not an author, but I narrate audiobooks. So my job is to translate the written word into the spoken word and tell a story that is hopefully enthralling to the listener. That means more than simply reading sentences and paragraphs into a microphone. Not that the writing process is entirely alien to me, but I found this book very helpful in my work as I endeavor to faithfully interpret what is written for the eye into a pleasing and entertaining experience for the ear. In fact, before accepting an offer to narrate, my first question for any unfamiliar author whose book I’ve not yet read will be, “What’s the concept of your novel and what is the theme.” Moving forward depends upon the answer.

Thank you, Steven for your entertaining and enlightening story about how to write. I do hear your voice.