It's Beginning to Sound a Lot Like Audiobooks
Today the audiobook for The Gathering Storm is available! If you’ve been waiting to listen to this monstrously long story as narrated by the fabulous Shiromi Arserio, now’s your chance! At 38 hours and 29 minutes, volume five of the Crown of Stars series will definitely give you value for your credit. The story also includes one of my favorite exchanges in the entire series ** (all the way at the end if you’re curious).
Tantor Media has In The Ruins listed for release on April 18, 2023 and Crown of Stars on September 26, 2023 so the entire Crown of Stars series will be available in audiobook sooner than I anticipated, all with Shiromi Arserio narrating.
Here is a link to Audible.
To Audiobooks.
To Libro.
In addition to the (soon to be complete) Crown of Stars series, the following novels are available in audiobook: the Spiritwalker Trilogy, the Court of Fives trilogy, Unconquerable Sun (with Furious Heaven forthcoming in April 2023), and Black Wolves.
Most of my short fiction is available in audio form. Eleven stories are up on Realm Media (I’m particularly fond of the narration of “To Be A Man” which is charmingly done). My stories that appear in the anthologies The Book of Swords, The Book of Magic, The Book of Dragons, and Lost Worlds and Mythological Kingdoms all have audio versions in those collections. “A Compendium of Architecture and the Science of Building” has an audio version on Lightspeed Magazine (it’s a Spiritwalker Universe story).
The two Tordotcom novellas, Servant Mage and The Keeper’s Six will be released in audiobook in late January 2023 to coincide with the hardcover and e-book release of The Keeper’s Six, but I don’t yet have a link (the audiobook is being done by Podium Audio).
That leaves the Highroad Trilogy, the Novels of the Jaran, Labyrinth Gate, and the Crossroads Trilogy yet to find an audiobook publisher. If that happens, you’ll all be first to know. I’m hopeful because there is more demand than ever for audio versions.
Technology and work changes have really accelerated audiobook sales in recent years. Back when audiobooks were solely on CDs, it was difficult for a midlist writer with modest sales to get an audiobook deal because audiobooks focused on bestsellers due to the physical costs of burning CDs and of packaging. With the advent of mp3 files and the ability to have multiple files on a smart phone or computer, audiobooks have taken off to the degree that a company like Audible now commissions audio originals.
I don’t myself listen to audiobooks because I process better visually, but I know a lot of people who listen to audiobooks while they drive, commute, work on the kind of projects that leave a part of their brain free to listen, cook, clean, or just for pleasure because some people process better aurally. I’m delighted the technology has made audio versions so much more widely accessible and have allowed many more writers to see their work in audio form. For example, I had figured that Crown of Stars would probably never get an audio version and yet here we are.
What I’m reading and watching:
I recently finished ARCs of The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty (March 2023) and The Water Outlaws by S.L. Huang (June 2023). Both are fantasy novels set in Earth’s historical past with strong fantastical elements, and I adored them both although they are quite different books.
Here are quotes I gave the publishers:
The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi: A marvellous and enthralling tale filled with wonders (and horrors), the best of which is Amina herself: witty, conflicted, loyal, ambitious, (mostly) honest, (occasionally) foul-mouthed, and so very relatable as she struggles to save herself, her crew, and the family she loves but so often left behind.
The Water Outlaws: This queer retelling of a Chinese classic is a fantastic and entertaining blend of action, humor, profanity, social justice, delightfully larger-than-life characters, and so many magnificent fight scenes!
I also watched all 12 episodes of ANDOR Season 1. It is excellent television and, at this point, my favorite of all Star Wars things I’ve seen, including the films. Really well done story of the ordinary people living under the thumb of a bureaucratically and economically oppressive empire, and not a Jedi in sight. Nothing against Jedis but in my opinion too often the SW universe relies too much on the magic of the Jedi and not enough on everyday people’s heroism. It’s all here. Highly recommended.
These paws are made for walkin’
Finn at camp, headed somewhere with a determined expression.
As always, I couldn’t do this without you. Thank you.
Kate Elliott
(spoilers)
**
Eadig stepped forward with the fearless manner of a man accustomed to ruling and being obeyed. His tone was sour and scornful and he trembled, as tense as a dog straining on a leash.
“You have no authority to steal the inheritance of those who came legally into possession of these lands!”
“Have I not?” Stronghand asked curiously. “I have the right granted me by force of arms. Can you say otherwise?”
“It goes against nature for slaves to take the place of free men and claim to rule as masters over those who are rightfully lords by law and divine favor!”
Stronghand closed with him, unsheathing his claws a handbreadth from the earl’s face. Eadig’s expression changed utterly; his eyes flicked nervously to the corpses littering the ramparts and field and his nostrils flared in a pallid face, but he did not retreat.
“In truth, your objection puzzles me,” said Stronghand, turning his left hand the better to display his wicked claws. “You ruled over them. Fortune’s wheel turned, and now you have lost both law and divine favor. How does this go against nature? One day a wolf may be flourish, hunting down the sheep, and the next he may be pinioned by the spears of the sheepherders.”