All About Romance’s News & Commentary Blog

As audio enthusiasts we often wonder about routine decisions made by production companies.  How are audiobooks and narrators chosen?  What are the considerations when matching a narrator to a particular book?  Do they take listeners’ requests seriously?  What is a general production schedule?  Why is notification of upcoming releases often such a mystery?

Over the next few months, Speaking of Audiobooks will feature a number of columns to address those questions and more.  First in line is Tantor today, followed by Harlequin and Audible in May, Penguin in July, and a Narrators’ Forum in August.  There’s more to follow in the fall but we’ll get to that  later.  Right now, it’s time to talk about the most exciting news of the day.

Slave to Sensation Giveaway and Group Listen

If you’ve been hanging around Speaking of Audiobooks lately, you know we’re excited about Tantor’s decision to release all ten of Nalini Singh’s Psy/Changeling Series (over a period of 4-5 months) starting with the release of the first the series, Slave to Sensation, on April 25^th.  In our last column, we announced that Slave to Sensation is our next Group Listen (see more details below) and to celebrate it all, we’re giving away ten audiobook copies of Slave to Sensation courtesy of Tantor.

Place your name in the hat by commenting on this column by 11:59 p.m. eastern time on Friday, April 22^nd.  Due to the cost of postage, the giveaway is open only to listeners in the U.S. and Canada.  We encourage multiple comments, but you will only be entered in the contest once.  If you review for another Web site or blog, please refrain from entering.  The winners will be notified by email on Saturday morning and will have 24 hours to respond.  Another winner will be selected on Sunday morning if a winner has not responded.  Audiobooks will be mailed to winners on Slave to Sensation’s release date.

Moving on to our narrator discussion, I’ll start by explaining that it includes two segments and both focus on the process of choosing a narrator.  The first is an interview with Karen White about the narrator’s side of the process, as well as insights into the audio industry in general.  The second segment features a look from the production side as Tantor comments on their efforts to select the right narrator.

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Oh yes, we’ve definitely started 2011 with a bang!

Our 2011 Listening Challenge is up and running and, as far as I can tell from comments and emails, we have at least twenty committed to the challenge!  I’m certain there are more participating quietly or still making up their mind about joining in.  Remember that you can start at any time and, for easy reference, we’ll have the basics of the 2011 Listening Challenge here throughout the year.

Our Fever Watch Party has inspired many to join in the fun of listening to Karen Marie Moning’s Fever series with the release of the final in the series, Shadowfever, last week.  Our interview with Phil Gigante gave us a look into the production of audiobooks and I don’t know if any of us who read Phil’s comments will ever listen to his books in the same manner again!  Below, you’ll find a mini review of Shadowfever.

Now to continue the Fever Series party, we are giving away two Shadowfever audiobooks in CD format. The same rules apply as in our recent Fever Series giveaway.  Enter your name in the contest by commenting on this column by 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, January 30th. We ask that you specify in your post that you are entering the contest since we want our posts to include our regular Speaking of Audiobooks discussion posts as well.  Due to the cost of postage, the giveaway is open only to listeners in the U.S. and Canada.  You will be entered only once if you make multiple comments (and we hope you will) and if you review for another Web site or blog, please refrain from entering.  Two winners will be notified by email on Monday morning, January 31^st, and will have 24 hours to respond.  Another winner will be selected on Tuesday morning if a winner has not responded.

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Angie G is the winner of the Fever Series audiobooks as chosen by Random.org. She’s acknowledged her win and her audiobooks are on their way.

Thanks to all who entered and showed your enthusiasm for Phil Gigante. And, once again, thanks to Phil for taking the time to join us. You’ll see more narrator interviews and giveaways in 2011 here at Speaking of Audiobooks.

-Lea Hensley