Amazon.com and Audible.com.
(Updated 8/28/13 - if you run to Amazon or Audible, both sites have the audiobook at a HUGE discount right now. Don't wait!)
A few months ago, ACX, the audiobook arm of Amazon.com, extended a very generous offer to me to help fund production for this audiobook. It was something I had wanted to do for a long time, so I didn't hesitate to accept.
The process was glitch-free from beginning to end. I opened up auditions and had one within the first day. While I was truly impressed with the narrator, I kept sampling from the ACX-approved narrators who had English/Welsh accents listed and stumbled upon Kyle McCarley's profile. When he sent the audition piece, there was just something about the quality of his voice that brought to mind Iolo Goch, the Welsh bard who tells the story of Owain Glyndwr.
There was lively debate in my house over which narrator to use. I even recruited friends for their opinion. The verdict was evenly divided. So I did that thing my husband can't quite understand, but has learned to trust me on: I listened to my intuition. I hired Kyle.
I can't sing his praises enough. He kept me apprised of his progress at every step of the way. When the chapters started coming in, they came quickly.
There were numerous names that were tricky to say, but he took the extra time to work out the proper pronunciation on every one. Let's just say I've been saying a few words wrong in my head for years. Now I know better. Spelling Welsh words like Treffgarne or Aberystwyth, or even English ones like Beauchamp is far different from knowing how to say them.
My thanks to Kyle for being so easy to work with, to Sarah Woodbury for helping with the pronunciation guide, to ACX for their generosity, and to my liaison at Amazon who connected me with ACX.
Until later,
Gemi
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