The World of Earl Dean Spires

The audiobook is now a fourth of the way complete. Matthew Billman, the voice actor, is doing a great job of making the book interesting. I listen to a lot of audiobooks driving to and from work, and many times I am almost put to sleep at the wheel. Not with Mr. Billman. His differentiation of the different voices is spot on.

Listening to the narration of a book you created out of your own mind is an interesting experience. I didn’t expect to have feelings about the audiobook one way or another, but I find myself smiling and feeling like a kid again listening to the story come alive. There is no dollar value you can place on that.

The audiobook is now in production and should be complete by the end of July. I know that it is a relief for all my friends, family, and fans that don’t have time to sit down and crack open a good book. I like to listen to audiobooks to and from work each weekday. I had many auditions submitted for the chance to narrate the book, but one stood out from the crowd I am pleased to announce that Matthew Billman will be the voice of World in a Bottle. Some of his work can be heard at https://www.acx.com/narrator?p=A33Z3MBFK2M3LG. I think you will agree that he brings an energy to his voice acting that gets him noticed.

I am running a promotion of World in a Bottle on Barnes and Noble beginning June 27 and ending July 4. If you use Coupon Code BNPDROXLEN you can download the ebook for free. If you take advantage of this promotion and read the book, please leave a review on the Barnes and Noble site. The reviews are very important.

I received my box of books in the mail yesterday afternoon. It was an interesting feeling opening a box filled with copies of my book. It was also frustrating to open the book and find an editing error. Now I’m wondering if I need to see if there is a way to get a do over on the upload or just leave it as one of those little quirks that I will notice and hopefully no one else will.

I delivered several copies to friends and family this weekend and experienced a mixture of emotions. It’s humbling that people want a copy of the book because they want to support me in my writing and because they know me personally. I signed books. I wrote messages. It’s a connection between the author and the reader that most never experience. It’s a good memory for me and hopefully for my new fans as well.

For many weeks I have been setting up accounts on Amazon, Barnes and Noble and Ingram Spark so I can get my book published. I spent 3 months writing it, a couple months editing it and about a month getting it published. It seemed real at the time, however holding the paper copy in my hand today was an experience I wasn’t prepared for. As I looked the book over I kept thinking about how this looked like a real book. Of course it’s a real book, but it’s something I created and not something I purchased. I didn’t realize there would be a difference until I held it in my hands. When I downloaded it to my Kindle I thought that was pretty cool but holding the paper in my hands was much cooler.

I pulled a few hairs out this evening but finally managed to link my book to the Amazon site and the Barnes and Noble site. Now purchasing is just one click away (maybe two) in the links section of the website.

I have been struggling with creating this website for a couple weeks. During that time I have discovered that writing and expanding the characters in my story is much easier than getting my homepage to point to the correct location. If only Deucexis were here to guide me.