Dear Readers,
The Resistance
Readers and (here’s the clue) listeners kept asking me ‘when  …?’ Reasonably, as it had been almost 4 years since the last one. But the process of creation, necessarily mostly before dawn, and editing for three times as long, had, I admit, put me off. For years. Of what do I speak? The audiobook for the second book in the series, Amanda Cadabra and The Cellar of Secrets. Yes, the first one is out there, running wild and free.
So What Changed?
Last year, inexplicably, my resistance to recording the audiobooks unaccountably melted, and I even began editing before I was swept away by book 9: Amanda Cadabra and The Twilight Toxin. Nevertheless, during the run-up to its release recently, there had been a sudden and, for me, uncharacteristic pause where there was nothing more I could do. As if by magic, what poured into that pause was the editing of the next audiobook.
The Bald Truth
The process is long, arduous and requires intense focus, removing every unwanted sound (except mouth clicks, which a sound engineer will take care of): car doors, appliances clicking, rain splatting, embarrassing borborygmi. Repeats for mistakes have to be dealt with (the best one chosen), and pauses measured carefully. I got only so far when …
Swept Away
Yes, friend and illustrator, Tim produced the cover for Book 9, the last piece of the launch machine, and we were off, up, up and away. Launch followed, post-launch with the thank you video, followed by preparation for The World of Amanda Cadabra Shop on Redbubble launch. And then … I threw myself once more, determined to finish, into the task. Earphones in, Garageband app on my screen, attention zoomed in. But I had not reckoned with …
The Charge of the Light Brigade
This poem of an idiotic and pointless military assault, contrasted with the extremely efficient and effective campaigns that now assailed my audiobook editing efforts, but it was one o
f the things that kept going through my head. Especially this quote, ‘Cannon to right of them, Cannon to left of them, Cannon in front of them, Volleyed and thundered.’ Just not the volleyed bit. The rest? Not far off.
On the front of the building they were busy on the other side of the wall of my office, to the right of my desk: the grinding whirr of scaffolders applying electric screwdrivers, the thud of the boards, the clang of the pipes, as they erected safe platforms for the workers.
Next came hammer drills, just plain drills, just plain hammers, screwdrivers (see above for the variety), Â the ssss, ssss of sanding, the sigh sigh of the paint brush, rrrripp of plastic to cover the carpets inside.
To The Left?
The splendid groundskeepers arrived with generator, leafblower, then drills to dig out the old concrete fence posts, the ripping out of the old boards and forests of ivy, hammering, screwdriving, calling to one another over the distances and power tools.
Ahhh, a pause. Brrrrrrr! Oh joy, the skip lorry had arrived, and the gentlemen were in conflab while the engine whirred away whatever chance I had of charging the gap of temporary quiet.
A song kept playing in my head … what was it? Ah. ‘The Anvil Chorus’.
Two More Hurdles
It was in these challenging circumstances, under siege, that this new audiobook reached the end of its editing stage. It was now fit to be passed into the hands of an expert who could master it to a standard that would pass ACX quality control, through to Audible on Amazon.
Just one problem.
My sound engineer had gone to ground. However, another manifested himself, in the form of the splendid Frank Block, of whom you will hearing more, who was the perfect fit for the book, (and vice versa, I hope!). And so …
Out of the smoke of noise-versus-focus battle … after a gap of almost 4 years, Amanda Cadabra and The Cellar of Secrets audiobook now goes through the rigorous tests of the mighty ACX before it will be unleashed on Amazon and iTunes. I will announce it’s release here shortly.
And so, we have had the Twilight Toxin launch, The World of Amanda Cadabra shop on Redbubble launch, and now this new audiobook. What else awaits?
https://amandacadabra.com/new-audiobook-book-2/
Next?
The next collection for the shop hovers in the wings. The next audiobook sits ready for editing, there is a something else that I will keep under wraps, and finally, a tremendous opportunity that will involve much writing. More of that next time.
Meanwhile, happy catching up with Amanda Cadabra and The Hidey-Hole Truth audiobook, with new Twilight Toxin, the book that was free, The Nightstairs, or any other that thrills, intrigues and delights you.
Happy listening, happy reading,
Holly
PS If you want to start the series now:
