Today, I wanted to tell you the story behind The Ifs audiobook. It is now available for purchase on Audible. There’s a sample on the side of my blog for you to check out and listen to. I promise, it’s worth your time. The narrator did an amazing job!
I’m kind of addicted to creating audiobooks. It started out a bit rocky, but then things really took off and fell into place. It’s so much fun to hear other people reading my words and bringing my characters to life. One day, I hope to have all of my books in audio form.
The first book I converted was Life After the Undead, my young adult zombie book, and I didn’t exactly have narrators beating down my door to read the book. Not a big deal. The one who ended up doing it did a wonderful job, and I’m happy with how it turned out. I assumed the process would be the same for The Ifs.
For my middle grade book (which The Ifs is), my narrator parameters weren’t as stringent. I didn’t care if a male or female read it, and it was totally fine if they had an accent. I put the script up and waited for the auditions to come in—although I didn’t hold my breath. Past experience told me not to expect much.
I got my first audition in, and I really liked how the guy read, so I figured he would be the narrator. Then, I got another one in. And he did an awesome job too. After that came another and another.
When all was said and done, I had EIGHT auditions, and my mind was blown. I couldn’t believe it. I hadn’t expected that at all. And then I had a tough decision to make.
There were a few auditions that I knew wouldn’t work for the book, so they weren’t in the running. I asked my spouse and my kids for their opinion of who they liked best, then we decided from there. It was agonizing—seriously—because I appreciated everyone taking the time to audition, and it was so fun to hear how they interpreted my work.
In the end, though, Peter J. Taylor did a phenomenal job with the narration. His accent is fantastic, and he does voices. He even adds in a few sound effects—which is really what sold all of us on having him narrate the book.
I can’t wait for you to be able to hear the entire story. I think you’ll enjoy it just as much as I do.
