Reader's Review of Genre Shotgun

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"Ervin knows his technologies and how they relate to the world around him. His collection is what I'd call sci-fi with a nice touch of horror and time well-spent in reading."


Monty Wheeler

FandomFest 2013--Will Be There!

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I just sent off my bio and photo for the Literary Track at FandomFest 2013.

I'll have a table in Author Alley (reserved that and a hotel room two weeks ago) and hopefully I will be invited to participate in an interesting panel or two.

In addition to some cool authors, there will be more than a few big-name film/media stars including Stan Lee and William Shatner.

One individual I'm really excited about being there is:

I'll post more information as it becomes available, and it appears it'll be even bigger and better than last year. Really, think about attending--you'll have a great time. Hope to see you there!

(Where/When: Louisville, Kentucky, July 26 to 28, 2013)

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Roger Zelazny reads his short story "Loki 7281"

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Below is a video clip from 1986 that features Roger Zelazny reading his short story "Loki 7281".  His reading begins at about 2:48 into the clip.



Roger Zelazny is an excellent narrator of his works. I have audio CDs of his Amber Series and also the novel, A Night in the Lonesome October, all of which he narrated and are still available through Speaking Volumes.

Recently I learned that a new audiobook release of the Amber Series is available at Audible.com, but I'm just not up for a new voice. Who could voice the characters better, get the emotion, tone and inflection better, than the author?

Mr. Zelazny remains one of my favorite authors and I've studied his works in an effort to improve my own writing. As far as narrating, that isn't and never well be one of my strengths.

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Audiobooks and Kindle Fire

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For my birthday last year my wife gave me a Kindle Fire. While I've downloaded and read some novels and short stories on it, for me the Kindle's main function is a conduit for me listening to audiobooks.

While the Kindle's built-in speakers project sound loud enough that I can listen to a novel if the house's background noise is minimal, I mainly plug it into my truck's stereo and listen while on the road, sometimes to and from work but more often when on a trip (in the truck or in my wife's Camaro). Someday I might get speakers to boost the sound for around the house or while doing outside work like staining the fence or trimming the grass.

Other than audiobooks and ebooks, the main function it serves is a platform for playing Angry Birds--myself, wife and daughters.

I obtain my audiobooks through Audible.com now that audiobook CDs seem to be on the way out, and on average are more expensive. An additional treat is that Flank Hawk is available on audio through Audible.com and through iTunes (Yes, I've listened to it several times) and the audiobook version of Blood Sword is in production, with Michael Slusser once again narrating.

As a side note: The audiobook version of Flank Hawk is currently $1.99 (92% off the retail price) if the Kindle version of Flank Hawk is downloaded first ($2.99) under the Whispersync grouping. You don't need a Kindle to accomplish/obtain either or both formats from Amazon.com/Audible.com, and you can even burn an audio CD of Flank Hawk if that's the preferred format.
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