OK, so I'm rarely in jeopardy, but I write woman-in-jeopardy novels—otherwise called "Modern Gothics"—and this is my blog. It will probably have lots of time between posts, but I'll try not to bore you. Welcome.

Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Doing the Voices (and Giveaway)

Katherine Kellgren, Narrator of The Firebird, in the Studio at Audible
When my children were very young, reading them stories at bedtime brought certain demands. "Do the voices," they'd tell me, since Toad in The Wind in the Willows could not sound like Mole, any more than the Tin Man could sound like the Scarecrow, or Kanga like Winnie the Pooh. Every book was a challenge, remembering whose voice was whose.

So I have great respect for the narrators who bring my own books to life in their audio versions.

Whenever a narrator takes on one of my books, I'm always reminded of Neil Gaiman's reaction when he visited Pinewood Studios during the filming of his novel Stardust and saw the crew working to create the flying pirate ship: “I felt so guilty," he recalled in this MTV Interview. "I wasn't saying how great it was; I was going, 'I am so sorry I made it up!' Because it didn't cost me anything, just the price of whatever tea I was drinking and some ink. And now 70 people have spent two months working to build this thing and you can dance on the deck.”

I understand this guilt. I feel it in my gut each time I talk or correspond with those poor narrators who have to perform my books. Because I simply wrote the story as it came, and put the people in the mix with one another without ever once considering the headaches it would bring to any actor who would have to "do the voices".

Nicola Barber
For instance, it seemed natural when creating the heroine of my novel The Rose Garden to give her a wandering background: born in Cornwall, England, emigrating to the west coast of Canada as a child, and then moving south to California as a young adult, where she lived several years before returning "home" to Cornwall. I never once stopped to think that her resulting hybrid accent would be difficult to render into audio.

So I felt a bit guilty to dump it on narrator Nicola Barber, along with the various Cornish and West Country people my heroine meets, and the Irishman from County Cork, and a handful of Londoners, some of whom live in a previous century.

I felt guiltier still when I took the first phone call from Rosalyn Landor, who narrated The Winter Sea (for which she very deservedly won the Audie Award for Best Female Narration). Because she had to take on a Canadian first-person narrator and a host of characters, some fictional and some lifted right out of real history, whose accents came from very different areas of Scotland.

Rosalyn Landor (Photo by Arielle Rudman)
Accents are tricky. There's no one "Scottish accent" any more than there's one single "American accent", and just as a person from Tennessee doesn't sound anything like someone raised in Wisconsin, so too a Scot from Aberdeenshire sounds nothing like someone from Glasgow.

Roz was determined to get all my characters' voices exactly, from the Glaswegian doctor to the Perthshire-born past hero to the Doric-speaking landlord of my heroine. I listened in amazement as she mimicked all the voices I could hear so very clearly in my own head. But I still felt guilt.

And I'm surprised that Katherine Kellgren, when she called to go over the voices for The Firebird, didn't hang up on me right then and there.

Here's what she had to say, after the fact, about her experience with the novel:
"There were technical requirements in The Firebird in terms of the many dialects spoken in contemporary and historical scenes which made the book both a challenge and a joy to record. Luckily I was able to enlist the help of a wonderful and very experienced dialect coach when preparing to go into the studio - but we were both working overtime on this one! I was practically dreaming in Scots dialect by the time we were done!"

And here's why. When she first got in touch on the phone, we began with the Scottish voices. The Firebird, as a sort-of-sequel to The Winter Sea, contains a few of the same characters, so I was ready with the references I'd given Roz, sometimes matching the accent of a living actor to that of a character, to make things easier.

For example, Colonel Graeme, who's in both books, is a Perthshire man. He looks and sounds in my own mind like Scottish actor Brian Cox, which proved to be a useful thing for Katy, as she actually knows Brian Cox, so she's familiar with his voice.

Rob, the modern-day hero, is from Eyemouth, which becomes more problematic, since the accent is sui generis, unique to that one town, and even if you do it properly it can be somewhat difficult to follow. "But," I said to Katy in an effort to be helpful, "he'd modify the way he speaks when talking to the heroine, because she's English. So it would be sort of watered-down Eyemouth. Except when he's angry. Or drunk."

I could hear Katy jotting that down, at her end of the phone. 

We moved on, to the cast of historical characters. Irish nuns in Flanders. Siberian servants in St. Petersburg. In the house of General Lacy, who was also in St. Petersburg, we had the general's wife, who was Livonian; their children, who had been raised on the general's estate in Livonia; Edmund O'Connor, an Irishman from County Kerry; the family priest, who would most likely be Italian, and the general himself, who had come out of Ireland as a young teenager and lived abroad ever since. "So his accent," I said, "would have altered a bit, though it may become stronger when he's speaking to other Irishmen."

"Right," Katy said. More notes jotted. "And Charles, the nephew of Vice-Admiral Gordon...?"

"Well, Charles," I said, "is a second-generation expatriate Scot. His father was born and raised near Aberdeen and sent as a young man to serve under a Scottish general in Russia, where there was a fairly large community of British expatriates, so Charles would most probably have grown up speaking English with an Aberdonian inflection but also some influence from his mother, who may or may not have been Russian…"

And that's where she should have hung up on me, really.

I'm glad that she didn't, because her performance is beautiful, as were the others. (Below you'll find samples of all three American audio books, so you'll see what I mean when I say I've been much more than lucky with all of my Audible narrators). 

I still do feel guilty for making my narrators build the equivalent of a full-scale flying pirate ship out of the voices I've put on the page. But it is always an awesome experience seeing that ship built, and getting to dance on the deck.

Thanks to the generosity of Audible, I have three copies of the audiobook of The Firebird to give away to American listeners. Leave a comment below before midnight on Saturday, September 7th, and I'll choose three winners at random from all who have commented. Best of luck!




Tuesday, August 13, 2013

Adventure Across Time



Today's Adventure: The Firebird (by Me)

10 Great Authors, 10 Unforgettable Adventures. With every “Today’s Adventure” post between August 1 and August 13, you can register to win the featured book and the grand prize of all 10 books. We’ll announce winners on August 14.  You may enter today’s contest by leaving a comment right here on my blog. 

Nicola’s not looking for adventure. But when a client brings a family heirloom—called “the Firebird”—to her gallery to be appraised for sale, she has to help, despite the fact that helping means she’ll have to use the psychic “gifts” she’d rather hide, and call a favor in from an old boyfriend, Rob, whose gifts are even greater than her own.

Using Rob’s abilities to “see” the distant past, they start their search in Scotland for the client’s long-dead ancestor, a little girl they know will one day own that family heirloom. When they find her, she’s in danger.

Anna sat up fully, straightening her back as her own gaze slipped to the colonel and she asked him, ‘Is the devil really on his way here?’
Colonel Graeme, as he often did, delayed his answer with a question of his own. ‘And do ye fear the devil, Anna?’
Anna heard again the wicked wailing of the wind, and was not sure. She looked to where her mother and her father stood, and then towards the door that was still blocked by Captain Jamieson and guarded by the colonel, and it seemed to her that nothing could so easily get past those two men and their swords, and suddenly she knew that she was not afraid. Not really.
So she said as much. And when she asked the colonel, ‘Can your ship outrun him?’ she felt something stir within her, like the thrill at the beginning of a great adventure.

Nicola knows there are risks in following a firebird. In Russian folklore, when a firebird drops a feather, any fool who picks it up and tries to chase the bird itself is in for trouble. But…

A single white feather had snagged on a low clump of blowing grass and withered wildflowers, fighting the wind that was trying to tear it away.
It was only a gull’s feather, ragged and plain, not a feather of flame from a firebird, but I felt Rob’s amusement before I looked up at him.
There were those eyes again, daring me, waiting.
‘That’s how it begins,’ he said, ‘isn’t it?’
Hands in his pockets, he patiently watched while I looked down again at the feather. The wind caught its end and it started to lift and on impulse I bent down and reached for it.

So two women in two different times set out on separate quests, connected by a simple carving that—just like the Firebird in the fairy tales—may lead them to a treasure nothing like the one they each set out to find.

Leave a comment below before 8 p.m. EST today and you'll be entered to win a copy of The Firebird. And don't forget to check out the other authors who took part in this Summer Adventure week:

Alison Atlee, The Typewriter Girl     Facebook
Jessica Brockmole, Letters from Skye          Facebook
T.J. Brown, Summerset Abbey: Spring Awakening  Facebook
Sarah Jio, The Last Camellia            Facebook
Katherine Keenum, Where the Light Falls 
Stephanie Lehmann, Astor Place Vintage   Facebook
Kate Noble, Let It Be Me        Facebook
Deanna Raybourn, A Spear of Summer Grass       Facebook
Lauren Willig, The Ashford Affair   Facebook


The adventures are now officially concluded, but be sure to come back here tomorrow for a full list of winners for all of the contests! And thank you for travelling with us.

Monday, August 12, 2013

Adventure in New York City



Today’s Adventure: Astor Place Vintage, by Stephanie Lehmann


10 Great Authors, 10 Unforgettable Adventures. With every “Today’s Adventure” post between August 1 and August 13, you can register to win the featured book and the grand prize of all 10 books. We’ll announce winners on August 14.  You may enter today’s contest by going to the Astor Place Vintage Facebook page and liking it. Find links to all the authors below--follow any of them to keep up with the latest adventures.

Here's Stephanie:
 

Adventure? What do I know about Adventure? I’m not an adventurous person. I’d rather stay home than travel. And if I do go anywhere, the natives will speak English, wifi will be available, and the restaurants will ideally offer hamburgers and apple pie. If I’m feeling particularly daring, I’ll get cheese on my pie.  Activities that will never appear on my to-do list are sky diving, mountain climbing or African safaris. I like my routines. Give me the same streets in my boring old neighborhood any day.

I suppose Olive, the heroine in my novel ASTOR PLACE VINTAGE, does something pretty adventurous, especially for a woman in 1907. Soon after moving from a small town to New York City, she experiences a catastrophe that will impact the rest of her life. Instead of moving back to the protective circle of her childhood home, she decides to remain in the city, where she’ll have to forge for herself with no emotional or financial support.

It’s not a coincidence that I moved to New York City at almost the same age as Olive. I came to attend NYU, and though I did have emotional and financial support, the city scared me in a big way. I was timid, quiet, and easily intimidated. Moving to Manhattan seemed like the last thing I would do – even to me. And then, as it turned out, I never left. Coming to New York wasn’t on the order of trekking to the North Pole, but it may have been the most adventurous thing I’ve ever done.

I suppose “adventure” is a relative concept. Some people won’t fly in planes. Some people are afraid to go outside. Some people are even afraid to write fiction. And writers must have the dullest, safest routines of anyone as we sit at our keyboards all day, perhaps venturing out to the library or a coffee shop.

But I have been told by more than a few aspiring authors that a novel is inside, clamoring to get out. They just can’t seem to sit down and write it.

Could it be that writing a novel counts as an adventure? The endeavor does involve undergoing a huge challenge while facing the unknown with totally uncertain results hanging in the balance. The threat of danger just happens to be mental, not physical.

Of all my novels, ASTOR PLACE VINTAGE would certainly have to be my most adventurous. I actually dared to travel back in time. When I began, how did I have the audacity to think I’d be able to re-create the social customs, food, clothes, and language particular to New York City in 1907? I didn’t even know if people back then used toothpaste.

But, I suppose, like an adventurerer, my audacity also involved some bravery – the kind that involves faith that you will rise to the occasion… even as you stay seated at your desk. I have to say, I do feel proud of having traveled to the past and returned unscathed. I’ve definitely become a more well-rounded person, and not just because of the weight I gained from all those hours in front of my computer. I have to say, Olive handled herself pretty well, too. She’s just lucky I didn’t make her take a ship bound for Malaysia to hunt wild boar.

Remember to like the Astor Place Vintage Facebook page, and you’ll be entered to win it and the other nine stories. Keep up with the latest adventures and get more chances to win through any of the authors:

Alison Atlee, The Typewriter Girl     Facebook
Jessica Brockmole, Letters from Skye          Facebook
T.J. Brown, Summerset Abbey: Spring Awakening  Facebook
Sarah Jio, The Last Camellia            Facebook
Susanna Kearsley, The Firebird       Facebook
Katherine Keenum, Where the Light Falls 
Stephanie Lehmann, Astor Place Vintage   Facebook
Kate Noble, Let It Be Me        Facebook
Deanna Raybourn, A Spear of Summer Grass       Facebook
Lauren Willig, The Ashford Affair   Facebook

  

The adventures conclude tomorrow with my own book, The Firebird, so be sure to come back here tomorrow to find out how to win a copy. In the meantime, you can find out more about the book at my website, or read the first three chapters by scrolling right to the bottom of this link to find the built-in ebook viewer.

Sunday, August 11, 2013

Adventure in Africa




Today’s Adventure: A Spear of Summer Grass, by Deanna Raybourn 


10 Great Authors, 10 Unforgettable Adventures. With every “Today’s Adventure” post between August 1 and August 13, you can register to win the featured book and the grand prize of all 10 books. We’ll announce winners on August 14.  You may enter today’s contest by leaving a comment at Deanna’s blog. You’ll find the form on the right-hand sidebar of her blog.


Here’s Deanna: 

The very last thing Delilah Drummond expects when she goes to Africa is a proper adventure. Most travelers journey there on safari, but Delilah is banished abroad by a family that has weathered one too many of her scandals. She’s a flapper with a sharp black bob and a slash of scarlet lipstick, a party girl with a penchant for gin and men other women have left lying around unattended. She is a woman who has seen it all and done most of it.

But nothing prepares her for Africa. Exiled to her father’s savanna manor house, Delilah finds to her dismay that Fairlight is the crumbling, sun-bleached skeleton of a faded African dream, a world where dissolute expats are bolstered by gin and jazz, cigarettes and safaris.

And against the frivolity of the expat community, Ryder White stands in sharp contrast. He is her guide to Africa and all its dangers and thrills—and he is more than a match for the complex beauty of this new land she comes to love. For Delilah, letting down her guard just might be the greatest adventure of them all… 

Leaving a comment at Deanna’s blog gets you entered to win A Spear of Summer Grass and the other nine stories. Keep up with the latest adventures and get more chances to win through any of the authors:


AlisonAtlee, The Typewriter Girl    Facebook

JessicaBrockmole, Letters from Skye         Facebook

T.J.Brown, Summerset Abbey: Spring Awakening  Facebook    

SarahJio, The Last Camellia           Facebook

SusannaKearsley, The Firebird      Facebook

Katherine Keenum, Where the Light Falls           

StephanieLehmann, Astor Place Vintage   Facebook

KateNoble, Let It Be Me        Facebook

DeannaRaybourn, A Spear of Summer Grass       Facebook

LaurenWillig, The Ashford Affair Facebook
The adventures continue tomorrow with Stephanie Lehmann's Astor Place Vintage, in which the proprietor of a Vintage Clothing store gets more than she bargained for when she finds an old journal sewn into the lining of a piece she's just purchased... 

Stephanie received her BA at U.C. Berkeley and an MA in English from New York University. She has taught novel writing at Mediabistro and online at Salon.com, where her essays have been published. She currently lives in New York City. Astor Place Vintage is her fifth novel.

Be sure to come back tomorrow to read Stephanie's guest post and find out how to win a copy of her book.