The Intermingled Actor and Writer (And a Chance to Win Free Audiobooks)
As a kid I spent over 10 years working as an actor in TV and movies. I had recurring roles on shows like Dynasty and Highway to Heaven, was on a TV special of The Popples (remember those creepy stuffed animals?!?), the movie Colors (I was Sean Penn's son), and even an episode of The Twilight Zone that Ray Bradbury wrote. While other kids would go to after school sports, my mom would take my brother and I out to LA for auditions three or four times a week.
I'm grateful for my parents who raised us to believe this was normal. We didn't think we were anything special (fact check: we weren't), but acting has certainly impacted my life and has likewise informed my writing.
In acting, one of the most important things you learn is to play to the subtext. Characters that say exactly what they feel ring false to an audience's ears, but it's also up to the writer to create that disparity, to turn words into living characters in the reader's mind. As my path has lead me behind the camera instead of in front of it, or behind the narrative construct that's playing in someone's head, I strive always to create characters that are complex. That are damaged. That feel real.
<Enter a new character from stage left>
Last year I decided to dive into the production of audiobooks with some of my work. Cue the need for a narrator who could handle not only the complexity of the characters I've tried to create, but the many varying voices. The Creation Series includes characters with French, British, Somalian, Spanish, and heavy Native-American accents, with Indian dialects. And my novel Housebroken has a villain with a lisp.
NOT easy narrations.
After receiving well over 50 auditions, I finally encountered a narrator who was up to the task. And, to no surprise, this narrator is an actor and theater-buff (as well as an Edgar Allen Poe enthusiast). Needless to say, I finally felt comfortable handing my work over, and the end products are something I couldn't be more proud of.
Don Warrick's journey into audiobook narration is fascinating, and something we'll have to explore at another time. For now, you can check out the audiobook of HOUSEBROKEN below. The first book in The Creation Series will be coming soon as well.
And to celebrate this first release into an "Audible world," I'll be giving out 5 audiobook copies to subscribers of my newsletter. So if you haven't yet subscribed, there hasn't been a better time to jump into the arena. (Subscribe here).
Some Rules Hurt when Broken. Others Can Kill.
Meet the Crotchets, the quintessential American family; so perfect, that complete strangers decide to learn from them...at gunpoint. But these psychotic kidnappers offer no motive; want no ransom. They are here only to "observe".
What begins as a harmless experiment soon escalates into a maddening descent as the very definition of "family" is torn asunder. As the Crotchets fight for their lives, they'll learn the consequences for both action and inaction are more frightening than they could imagine.
But while these home invaders may not be what they at first present, the Crotchets harbor secrets far darker - and more dangerous - than these kidnappers might be prepared for.
"Fast-paced and relentless ... Housebroken is a read not to miss." (Review by HellNotes)
"Horror and thriller fans that pick up this book will have to ready themselves for an experience that will affect them mentally and physically.... Put Housebroken on the list of must-read horror novels." (Review by Horror Palace)
"This book was terrifying...an emotionally brutal read from beginning to end. Highly recommended!" (Review by Horror After Dark)