Now out! Narrated by the very tallented Daniela Acitelli. I LOVE her voice for this story!

Fall, I love ‘ya, but where did Summer go? I’d like tell you I was diligently writing away all summer, finished my second manuscript, and had all manner of author appearances scheduled, but it would be a lie… fiction!

I spent the summer dealing with life! And all it throws at you. Nothing we don’t do all the time. My former business - a little suburban flower farm in Southport, CT - is now in the very capable hands of a new, YOUNGER flower farmer and his family. I am excitedly watching it grow as Butternut Farm, instead of Butternut Gardens, as I had called it. The farmer and I planted dahlias together in June, and I am thrilled to now see the incredible blooms heading into people’s homes, without my having to lift a finger! So, why did this stop the writing process? All summer, I was madly digging and moving plants, cleaning out a barn and workspace, and removing fencing to give plants and growing supplies to the new Butternut Farm and to recreate my own home landscaped gardens. Oo la la, I have gardens (not farm rows) again! On top of this, I was dealing with “the little brown dog,” who had her second CCL (like our ACL) tear and related surgery in less than six months and then, mid-summer, developed allergies and hives! Little Brown Dog and I will be dealing with this allergy business for a while! Finally, one of my family members needed my help when his body decided it was time to pop in the request for open-heart surgery! Oh, hooray! Thankfully, all went well. Needless to say, my writing did not! Oh well, life goes on.

So, what did I accomplish writing-wise? Well, I accomplished life, and this is a big help. I cleared some things off my plate, which needed clearing so I can now move ahead more freely. This is good.

In addition, I saw through the release of the AUDIOBOOK of Clean Sweep: A Novel. So, for all you travelers, or read-as-you-do-chores kinds of book people, here is a great opportunity to dive into Clean Sweep!

I want to share a bit about the process of creating an audiobook. It was new to me, and is likely something with which most of you are not familiar either. Here is the secret recipe: First, you find a narrator. I decided not to narrate my own book. I considered it, but chose a professional narrator instead. My reading of Clean Sweep would have sounded wonderful to me, as it would have been exactly how I hear the book, but it would not have been very dramatic or attention-grabbing. Enter the professional narrator to make the book come alive! I decided to find a narrator through Findaway Voices, which also does production and distribution of the final audiobook. Saves me the trouble, for which I am grateful. With a bit of information about Clean Sweep from my end, Findaway Voices suggested a number of possible narrators. I listened to their generic audition pieces through my computer and then selected a handful of these narrators to read passages of Clean Sweep. After listening to the Clean Sweep audition pieces, I chose the one narrator who would bring life to my novel in audio format. Daniela Acitelli, in my mind, has the perfect voice for Clean Sweep. I was listening for tone, inflection, cadence and overall feel. This last element might not be so scientific, but it mattered to me. Daniela and I exchanged emails pre-recording, so she and I were on the same page. She very professionally suggested I leave most of the narration decisions to her. Yes, I had to let go. I was not narrating. The result would not be my take on the narration. It would be Daniela’s. And I had to give her room to do her best professional work. Great advice!

As Daniela finished chapters, she sent them along to me to hear. This was after she had her own professional editor/proofreader ensure the words were narrated as they were written. Daniela’s narration was nothing short of spectacular. Oh, and did I tell you Daniela is in the UK, but produced the audiobook with an American accent, as requested? More impressive.

In nearly 100,000 words, I found less than a handful of words I wanted Daniela to say differently. For example, “BOGO” for Buy one Get one first came to me as a short “o” sound after the B, rather than a long “o” sound to which I am accustomed. Easy fix. And, I might add, Daniela did find a few words, which were misspelled in the text, and brought them to my attention. Outstanding!

Next, in the production process, I gave the okay for the nearly 12 hours of audio, after listening diligently days and days in a row. I gave the go-ahead to Daniela to include the Discussion Questions so book club members, who listened to the audiobook, could have the same questions as other members, who picked up a hard copy or read Clean Sweep in ebook format. So, all formats have the same discussion questions.

Now, it was time for production. Well, not much for me to do except give the go-ahead to Findaway Voices to use the narrated files, create some metadata for potential buyers, choose my distribution options, and upload the audiobook cover. Uh oh! Emergency request to my graphic designer required! Yes, I forgot to ask for a “cover design” in audiobook size, and I absolutely wanted to give credit on the cover to Daniela Acitelli for her narration. Well, thank you to Kathleen Lynch of Black Kat Design for creating the audiobook cover in a pinch so I could make my September 14 release deadline.

With a few more clicks on the computer, the Clean Sweep audiobook was headed for final production with Findaway Voices and its distribution partners. It is all yours to listen to! Enjoy, and tell me what you think of it by contacting me through my https://eblee.me/contact form!

Until next time,