Storytelling Out Loud
Before we get down to it, I would like to remind you all that I’ll be at Gaylaxicon this coming weekend, here in the Twin Cities. I’ll be speaking on panels about: cyberpunk and bodily autonomy, the de-queering and re-queering of found family, fandom as mental health support, advice for queer authors, and using real-world locations in scifi and fantasy. I’ll be on with a variety of fantastic other speakers and it should be a great time. I’ll also be selling and signing books …I think. Probably.
This month I’ve been having a fantastic time collaborating with the narrator of Names in Their Blood’s audiobook, Kai Stewart. I’m fascinated by the way it’s different from working with Jack Evans, who recorded the audiobook for Secondhand Origin Stories. To be clear- I think they’re both fantastic! I’ve enjoyed both processes. Both narrators are long time friends of mine who I have every faith in and enjoy working with.
With Jack, I sent them the book, and they recorded it, and I listened to it and approved it with a couple tiny changes. Very professional, easy process. That’s because Jack is a pro at this and had recorded loads of books, and continues to do so (We’re working on freeing the book from Audible’s exclusivity clutches). It was just magical. I wrote a book and then look! I have an audiobook! So fancy!
But, partly because Jack is such a pro, they just didn’t happen to be available for Names in Their Blood. No hard feelings on my side, they’re just in demand!
Kai hasn’t done an audiobook before, but is a storyteller by nature, performing locally, recording their surreal podcast stories at Bedtime Stories for Nobody, and even some stories for Starling’s yoto box because they’re an incredibly sweet human being. I was so happy they were excited about the project!
When they originally offered, I said I didn’t think a lot of acting-acting was necessary. I favored a more straightforward reading. Then they sent me a kind of proof of concept of the first chapter and I was sold on letting them go as all-out as they want.
For one thing, their reading was really, really funny. I mean, I do think my books have some solid humor but they really bring it out! I had to pause a couple times because I was laughing too much to listen properly. I know, it’s tacky or cringe or whatever to talk about laughing at my own jokes, but a fresh delivery on a bit I thought was funny enough to keep in the first place just slays me.
Kai’s process is incredibly collaborative. We text back and forth about the things that influence how a character speaks- including things that aren’t explicit on the page yet, but that are in the back of my mind about that character’s backstory and approach, as well as some key line deliveries.
My favorite example of this is the back and forth we’ve had about Solomon. Solomon has a fairly classic superhero backstory. So, naturally, Kai originally gave him a classic, gruff, stoic vibe for his voice. But, because Kai is so keen to collaborate, I was able to chat with them more about the cult that engineered and raised him. I wanted an overly-polished, somewhat artificial vibe to him. He was expected to be a spiritual orator and a public figure, and was trained from birth to do that, by some real whackos, after all.
Those aren’t factors that have been super forward in his arcs so far, but we’re going to learn more about where he came from and what that was like later in the series, and this gave me a chance to foreshadow some of that.
We talk about various character gender representations (happy to have two nonbinary narrators to entrust Yael to) gooberishness levels (so important), where they grew up (I know where many characters were raised, even if it’s not explicit in the text), internal habitual pressure levels (it’s important, for example, that Jamie is not more laid back than her brother, she just has slightly more tact), what Yael sounds like when xe’s trying to Sound Professional, and more!
If I was more strategic, I’d probably wait till Names in Their Blood’s audiobook came out to do this newsletter, but I was just so excited that I wanted to share.
Also, did you know that many email providers use things like the number of pictures, the number of links, and how often emails from a source get opened to determined whether an email address gets flagged as spam? Earlier in the year I sent a bunch of newsletters that I had researched to hell and back, and included a lot of source links and opportunities to learn more. The email providers didn’t like that, and I’m still trying to get my rating back to good so email carriers stop hiding my newsletters to you all.
There were some letters I was really proud of in there, so maybe check your email and/or peruse the archive in my signoff in italics at the bottom of the email. (see me trying to reduce links?). I love writing sciency, history-filled, researched letters for you all, but I need to get back on solid footing before I can go back to that many links!
As a thank you for reading this far, his is a bonus cat picture of Kai’s recent rescue, Madrigal Marigold, who is enjoying the indoor life and just had three kittens yesterday!
So, you know, if you feel impatient about the audiobook, know that kitten-care might be delaying it. I find that makes me very patient.
Before I sign off, I am once again asking you to sign this petition to help clean energy. Remember- Trump doesn’t care about petitions, but he needs the cooperation of a whole lot of lackeys to get things done, and those lackey’s can see that he’s putting through incredibly unpopular policies. Petitions are for those folks, not for Trump, and they do have some solid track record with this administration.
Thank you, as always,
Lee Brontide
Thank you for joining me for another month of Shed Letters. If you know someone who you think would like to join us, please feel personally invited to share any of these emails, or send them an invitation to sign up here. And remember that Secondhand Origin Stories and Names in Their Blood are available as ebooks here, or in paperback form from your local independent book shop. And don’t forget, as a subscriber to Shed Letters, you have exclusive access to my free novelette, Doll’s Eye View, the Martin focused story that takes place between Secondhand Origin Stories and Names in Their Blood.