Coming Soon....

Ms. Juniper Jones, my personal assistant and nomination for sainthood, has informed me that any future requests for narrations are now on hold until "...your backlog is completed, Wayne". 

To that end, here is the running order for release from left to right: 

The Hawk And His Boy: an epic fantasy from Christopher Bunn. For me, it will in future years be recognised as a classic. Absolutely fantastic descriptions and scene-setting. Definitely the most rehearsal reads, re-takes, screams, mic-stand throwing and curled up in the corner whimpering ever done on an audiobook recording, trying to do justice to this amazing book. Oh, and there's two more in the series! "Where are my pills?!"

Ultimate Fear: a book of horror stories by Rob Rodenparker, the first of which I read as a practice run the other day, with the Pocket Ninja standing guard to chase away the ghouls that dropped in to listen! (There is no doubt in the world that this man can write horror.) 

On The Trail Of The Scissorman: The third story in the Bartleby & James series of steampunk adventures by the mind-blowingly talented Michael Coorlim. I have just finished narrating "Maiden Voyage of the Rio Grande" which was an absolute joy to read.

A Quest of Heroes: Noah Lukeman Literary Agency in New York dropped me a line and asked if I was interested in narrating Morgan Rice's #1 fantasy bestseller on Amazon.com, and I am delighted to say that it is coming to your earbuds at the end of June. Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit....and now this! Awesome stuff! Am really looking forward to recording it.

So, that's where I am at the moment folks. I will keep you updated as and when I can over the next month or so. 
Thank you all for your endless patience and wonderful support!

Scary Stories....

When you lie awake in the dark, do you hear noises? 
Shadows...do they seem to move by themselves? 
What about the corners of your bedroom? Who's standing there?
Who's watching.....waiting.....? 

Rob Rodenparker is letting me loose on his compendium of the sinister and the macabre. 

Ultimate Fear - coming soon. 

Sleep well! 

Maiden Voyage of the Rio Grande

The second audiobook in the "Bartleby & James" series by steampunk author Michael Coorlim is in the final stages of approval and, if all goes well, will be available for download in about two weeks time. 

Don't have much to say about the book, other than, much the same as the first book in the series "And They Called Her Spider", it is well worth a listen. 

I've even left you a little sample, to whet your appetite! 

A Quest of Heroes

It is with the greatest of pleasure that I can announce my upcoming narration of Morgan Rice's best-selling fantasy book "A Quest of Heroes". 

Check this out for a list of credentials: 


#1 Bestseller on Amazon (Fantasy)
#1 Bestseller on Amazon (Childrens Fantasy)
#1 Bestseller on Barnes & Noble (Pubit titles)
#2 Bestseller on Barnes & Noble (SciFi)
#6 Bestseller on Barnes & Noble (Teens)
#7 Bestseller on Sony (Childrens Fiction)
#24 Bestseller on Barnes & Noble
Top 50 Bestseller on Google Play

The book is the first in a five-part series and it is anticipated that it will be launched at the end of June - just in time for the school holidays. 

Please get your tweeting hats on and spread the word! 
This is a fantastic book!

Time For Some Changes

Lots of changes happening at the moment, and that is why there has not been much activity on my blog. 
First of all, "Spiggot" by Craig Saunders will be released to the publishers this Friday. 
This is not a book for the faint-hearted and is definitely top of the 'most swear words to ever come out of my mouth' list. 
My parents are so proud! 

It is wonderful to be able to explore genres through the ACX medium and be able to safely experiment with characters and moods across so many different environments and scenes. The feedback has been simply amazing. 

Due to enquiries from the more established audiobook production houses, I am in the process of changing how I record narrations. There are now two exclusive spaces in my studio. An acoustically treated recording room, and a separate mastering suite. 
Earlier in the year, I pondered a move from an aviation career to full-time audiobook production, and I have many people to thank for their advice and guidance on what to do. 

Having thought things over, I am going to keep doing this part-time for at least another year. Whether I choose to go full-time or not, will be partly down to me, and partly down to the production houses who have asked me to narrate for them. 

It is also time to start moving slowly away from the royalty schemes and instead to work on a "per finished hour" basis - but it ultimately depends on the book. If it's a bestseller with a demonstrable sales record on Amazon.com then fine, but if it's got a low number of ratings then it will have to be paid work. Any agreements I have made with authors so far for sequels etc will be honoured of course! I just need to look a bit more at the financial viability of projects. As a business, an eight-hour audiobook regardless of royalty deal or per finished hour, is all about that vital return on investment, and with a minimum of 40 hours going into production per title, you can see where time versus revenue becomes an issue. 

Some of the authors that I have narrated for in the past have really pushed their marketing and sold a lot of audiobooks. Others have disappeared into the ether. But what I was surprised to find was, when someone listens to one book and enjoys it, they have purchased another one that I have narrated, so I guess the benefit is two-fold. 

It's been about a year since I started this, and it has been fantastic. I'm excited about the new projects in the pipeline and thank you all for your continued support and encouragement. 

Next up is Christopher Bunn's "The Hawk And His Boy" and also some more steampunk and ...my first horror series... Ooooooh!

Time to go back to work!