Note: This post was automatically generated from John’s weekly newsletter, The Daly Grind. If you encounter broken links or images, you can go here to read from the original newsletter: Read More

This is going to be a pretty short newsletter this week, being that I’ve been very busy with a number of projects lately. One of them is my author review of the soon-to-be-released “Restitution” audiobook.

Yes, for those who’ve been asking… it’s just about done. In fact, I expect the official release to be sometime next month (I’ll let you know when it’s out). Shawn Compton is doing the narration again. He was the voice behind two of my other novels, Blood Trade and Safeguard. He does a fantastic job, and I’m very happy with his work on Restitution.

Since I have audiobooks on the mind, and I get asked about them fairly often as an author, I figured I’d touch on the topic in this week’s newsletter (including answering some common questions I receive).

One thing people wonder about, since I’m told I have a decent radio voice, is why I don’t do the narration for my own audiobooks. My publisher would be more than happy to let me (a number of their authors do their own narration), but truth be told, I really don’t like reading out loud.

It’s always felt slightly awkward to me, and when it’s my own work, it feels especially awkward. I can’t explain exactly why, but I’m just not comfortable enough with the flow of my delivery. I often tell people that I’m a much better writer than I am a talker. I’ve done a number of brief author readings, of course, but the thought of doing it for long, exhausting hours in front of a microphone is extremely unappealing to me. I’d much rather leave that type of thing to professionals like Shawn, whose work I have the deepest admiration for.

Another question I’m asked is if I ever listen to audiobooks myself. I really don’t. In fact, I think I’ve only listened to one (besides my own). It was my wife’s idea on a road trip through Kansas well over a decade ago, and I couldn’t get into it.

It’s just a personal preference. I totally understand why others enjoy that medium. It’s very convenient, especially for people who spend a lot of time in the car. And since us authors tend to get our largest royalty returns on audiobooks, I highly recommend that each and every one of you order my novels on audiobook! 😉

Now, here’s the kicker… Though I’m not personally a big fan of audiobooks, one of my absolute favorite things about being an author is listening to my audiobook narrators bring to life some of the my more outlandish characters. I find it extraordinarily entertaining, as I reminded Shawn just the other day:

Thankfully, Shawn’s a good sport about it:

In this respect, I suppose I’ve put all of my audiobook narrators though a lot. And over the years, I’ve posted some of my very favorite Sean Coleman audio-excerpts on social media. I figured I’d wrap up this week’s topic by featuring some of them for your listening pleasure (warning: they include some profanity).

And here’s the aforementioned excerpt from the upcoming “Restitution” audiobook. We’ll call it a newsletter exclusive:

Well done, Shawn. Well done.

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Are you into audiobooks? Have a favorite narrator? Let me know in an email or in the comment section below.

Upping Their Game

In early 2018, in what seemed to be a sign of the times, my city’s last remaining bookstore permanently closed its doors. Most of us here in Greeley, Colorado didn’t think we’d ever get another one, but late last year we were happily proven wrong. The Midnight Oil, a family-owned independent bookstore, opened up in the downtown area, and it’s been a real blessing to the community.

The store recently moved locations (just a block away from the old space) to a much larger spot, and co-owner Pablo Guzman saw the new building’s high ceilings and four central pillars as an opportunity to get pretty creative.

That’s my father below (an avid reader of Westerns) providing some scale.

If you’re ever passing through Greeley, make sure you check out The Midnight Oil!

Random Thought

Obligatory Dog Shot

“Yep.”

“Mm Hmm.”

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Featured Vinyl

Okay, I realize that the Toadies have already been represented quite well in my newsletter over the past couple of years, but being that they’re one of my favorite bands (and also that a lot of their music is on vinyl), I’m gonna keep going with it.

This week’s selection is “Feeler.” Originally recorded in the late 90s, it was supposed to be the follow-up to the band’s hugely successful 1994 “Rubberneck” album. But for whatever reason, their record label rejected it and the band moved on to recording what became their official second album, “Hell Below/Stars Above.”

Years later, the band went back to the studio to re-record Feeler, and released it in 2010, including on picture disc (the version below). The album is perhaps more punk-oriented that a lot of their stuff, which may have been why record executives weren’t enthusiastic about it the first time. I, however, dig it.

That’s all for now. Thanks for reading today’s Daly Grind.

Want to drop me a line? You can email me at johndalybooks@hotmail.com, and also follow me on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. If you haven’t subscribed to this newsletter yet, please click on the “Subscribe now” button below. Doing so will get these posts emailed directly to you.

Also, if you’re not caught up on my Sean Coleman Thrillers, you can pick the entire series up at a great price on Amazon. And if you’re interested in signed, personalized copies of my books, you can order them directly from my website.

Take care. And I’ll talk to you soon!