Yesterday, I told you about ACX, the audiobook opportunity for authors through Amazon. I’m so excited, I had to say more!

I’ve already started receiving audition tapes from potential narrators — and it is so cool. I never imagined how much I would enjoy hearing others read my book aloud! These professionals have taken time to record nearly 15 minutes of an audition script I put together, a script which features 11 different characters from Cobwebs: A Suspense Novel.

To get started, I filled out a questionnaire about the project. What kind of voice was I looking for? Does the voice have an accent? And lots more questions.

Then I put together the script, pulling paragraphs from different scenes in my book to give the narrator an opportunity to show me how they would characterize the people. I included ten different scenes. Jamie was in most of them, allowing me to hear how she would sound in different situations with other characters.

These ‘readers’ are doing a fantastic job. Although I haven’t heard quite the right one yet, I know I will soon.

Some have said I should read the book myself, and I thought about it. Of course I know the characters better than anyone, but I don’t have a recording studio, and even more importantly, I don’t think I have the time this summer to get this project done. And I’d love to have it offered to the public sometime this year and then have the other books of the series done.

On my website, http://www.marycoley.com, I have included readings of all the prologues of the Family Secret series books, as well as the first few pages of my latest mystery, The Ravine. Those were easy to record – they are short. I can’t imagine sitting in a studio for the time it would take to get this entire book recording done. If you think I’m wrong in this decision, let me know!

So, here’s your update on the ACX project. Stay tuned for more next week.