...Rejected by the Interweb, literally...

While this may be a strange and random post to many of you, I felt compelled to post it for two reasons. First, it's been making me laugh all day, getting me through my last official work day before I nestle in to write over the next three days. Second, if you're quirky and a little, tiny bit twisted like me, you might be able to relate or at least have a laugh. So why not share?

Here we go...

I was very pleasantly surprised when opening my inbox this morning only to be greeted with this courteous, human-like failure-to-deliver notification from the yahoo account I was trying to connect with.


Perhaps many of you have noticed this before, but this was a first for me...

Hi. This is the qmail-send program at yahoo.com.
I'm afraid I wasn't able to deliver your message to the following addresses.
This is a permanent error; I've given up. Sorry it didn't work out.
I'm not going to try again; this message has been in the queue too long.
At first, I felt a bit slighted. "Sorry it didn't work out"? It was as if the internet was breaking up with me and I was in a relationship I didn't even know about.

Then I smiled at how polite "he" was, how human and genuine. "I'm afraid I wasn't able to deliver your message..." I immediately thought of Sonny from I, Robot and how freaking endearing he was AND HE'S A ROBOT. I'm such a damn sucker.

I chuckled to myself again, but amusement immediately dissolved, and I was left with a chill shimmying up my spine. Maybe I've seen one too many science fiction flicks?

*Cue the creepy, ominous little girl with an English accent*

...That Surreal Moment: Listening to audiobook auditions...

Yesterday, LF and I had one of those author moments, when it hits you that your dream is coming true, like a "Oh, $h!t this is actually happening" sort of thing. I was equal parts giddy and nervous.

After getting great news that Audio Creation Exchange (ACX which partners with iTunes, Audible, and Amazon) was promoting After The Ending to their slew of producers and narrators, the auditions for Dani and Zoe came pouring in.

Creating an audiobook is a HUGE deal. Not only does it give us the opportunity to reach a whole new audience, but there's the pressure of finding the voice to represent your book as perfectly as possible. In our case, Team Lindsey is pressured to find two such readers, one for Dani AND one for Zoe. If we're really lucky we'll find one reader who can do each of them justice, because bad, unrealistic, unrelatable narration is a make-or-break-you type deal.

There's something extremely surreal about listening to a narrator reciting the words you've written AND who's competing for the opportunity to be that one voice to bring your character to life, into the world of audiobooks, and making an impression on listeners everywhere.

The most magical moment though? Actually FINDING that PERFECT person. A narrator that is the embodiment of your character in all ways--who brings your creation to life with the perfect intonation, personality, and cadence--making them more real than you ever thought possible.

I guess this is a long way of saying that After The Ending is coming to audiobook, and I seriously couldn't be more excited!

I'll keep you posted :)