Lisabet Sarai
A few days ago I received an email from Jim Loftin, who runs WordWoozePublishing. I’ve been working with his company for at least five years now. They’re responsible for all currently available audio editions of my books.
Jim identified about twenty-five of backlist my titles that he wanted to bring out in audio format. I laughed and told him him was perhaps too ambitious, given that he has to find a human narrator for every book. (I’m proud to say that WordWooze does not use AI voices.) We agreed on a somewhat scaled back agenda to start with. Still, I was pleased that he thought he could sell more of my stories in this form.
To be honest, I do not personally enjoy listening to audio books. I don’t like to wear earphones in general; it makes me feel cut off from the environment and a bit vulnerable. Nevertheless, I know that there are some “readers” who will only consume books in audio form. I’ve gotten messages from fans eager to know when, or whether, the next book in a series is going to available as an audio book. They’d read (i.e. listened to) the earlier volumes; they didn’t want to switch to ebook or print, even if they had to wait.
I guess I can understand why people enjoy listening to books. After all, our ancestors told stories around campfires for thousands of years before writing was invented. We are primed, perhaps, to listen and imagine. Before television, radio dramas were incredibly popular and perhaps dangerously compelling. (If you don’t know about Orson Welle’s 1938 War of the Worlds broadcast, find out more here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_War_of_the_Worlds_(1938_radio_drama)
Words paint pictures and summon emotions, whether we read them on the page or have them whispered in our ears. Modern methods for consuming audio books make the experience particularly intimate. No one else knows what you are hearing or what you are imagining. The advent of ebooks provided a new level of privacy; with no covers or titles visible, others cannot easily tell what it is you are reading. Audio books are even more private; it is, after all, possible that the person next to you could look over your shoulder at your Kindle. Nothing comparable threatens your privacy with audio books.
Anyway, the communications from Jim motivated me to review my current audio offerings. I discovered that my website was sadly out of date with regard to audio links. In additon there was no way for my readers to tell which titles exist in audio format.
I’ve now remedied this. Readers can visit my master book page, https://www.lisabetsarai.com/books.html and choose from a wide variety of categories and genres. I’ve now added “Available in audio format” as one of those categories, updated the set of books for which this is true, and tested all the buy links.
I discovered that I currently have sixteen titles available in audio, including my full Toymakers Guild series. So if you like to listen to your stories, go check out the new information.
And if there’s some other title that you’d really like to listen to... email me at lisabet [at] lisabetsarai [dot] com and let me know!
Speaking of email, I’ve switched to a new bulk email provider and updated my VIP subscriber list. As part of this process, I’ve created a new sign-up page. The link is here: https://lisabetsarai.eo.page/kqyq4
If you’re not already a VIP subscriber, why not sign up today? Everyone who joins has the opportunity to download a free copy of my paranormal romance The Eyes of Bast – one of my most popular titles.
Thanks! See you in October, since there’s no September 31st!
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