Monday, August 14, 2017

My YA Sports Novel "Swim Season" is Now Available in Audiobook!

photo by stokkete via Adobe Stock

I love audiobooks, so much so that all of my books and short stories find their way to Audible. Today I am thrilled to announce that Swim Season finally landed on its own Audible bookshelf. 

Quick blurb: Swim Season is the fast-paced, drama driven story of Olympic hopeful Aerin Keane, starting senior year in her third high school and trying NOT to win. But can she hide her natural talent and competitive streak? Especially with a 50,000-dollar scholarship on the line?

Narrated and produced by the talented Evelyn Eibhlin through ACX (Audiobook Creation Exchange), it clocks in at 14 hours and 43 minutes of action and drama. With a cast of almost 20 active characters, Evelyn had a big task on her hands, but I suspected she was up to it, and did she ever deliver! She's given each of the main characters their own distinctive voices and infused the story with the emotions and tensions I imagined when I wrote it. If she sounds familiar, you may have listened to her on books 1 and 2 in my Daisy Hunter series, also on Audible. I have an interview with her at the end of this post. 

For those interested in reviewing the audiobook I have free download codes, courtesy of ACX. Please email me at mariannesciucco@gmail.com and I'll send you one asap.  

Find Swim Season on Audible (on sale right now for 7.49) and Amazon (free with an Audible trial.) It's Whispersync for Voice enabled, allowing you to switch seamlessly from reading with your Kindle app or tablet to listening. And the Kindle version is just 99 cents right now in my Back to School/Back to the Pool eBook sale. Regular price: 2.99. Get it here.

And now, Evelyn Eibhlin:

Hi Evelyn. I was thrilled when you said "yes" to Swim Season. What was it about the story that motivated you to narrate/produce the audiobook? 

I found Aerin's choice to deny her natural competitive instinct and suppress her significant talent intriguing. I also liked how she learned to open herself up to other people and make real friends, as well as come to terms with what happened between her parents.


Did you have any favorite characters?


I thought Justin was a great guy - who wouldn't fall for him? Handsome, athletic, dedicated, and loyal. He was also a strong person who didn't hide from his feelings.

There are a lot of characters with speaking roles. Describe what it was like developing each of the girls' voices. 

The way the author described each character really helped provide the context I needed to create each girl's voice - their cadence and pitch came from a sense of their personality: sharper, bitter, and a little nasal for Jordan; deeper, gruffer, more jovial for Erica, etc.

Any favorite scenes?

I really enjoyed the banter between the friends, so the scenes where they are all joking with each other, encouraging each other - those were fun to do.

Any special challenges? 

I wasn't expecting a priest with a Haitian accent! Or an au pair who spoke French. For the Haitian accent, I relied on phonetic skills I picked up from a dialect coach in college and researched the French sentences and phrases and listened to them spoken by a variety of French speakers as a way to practice.

Have you ever been a competitive swimmer or athlete?

I played on the varsity soccer team in high school and was on the women's rugby league in college.

How long have you been narrating/producing audiobooks?

About a year and a half now, my first project was actually Marianne's Collection, the first Daisy Hunter story!

How many books have you done? 

I am currently working on my sixth project. I don't produce audiobooks full-time and am limited to the number of projects I take on, so I've had to pass on a few offers that have come my way.

Do you have any other relevant experience you bring to audiobooks?

I have a B.A. with a double major in English and Theatre, was a stage actress, and taught high school English, Theatre, and Speech. I also directed plays and coached speech team, so I've got lots of experience with vocal skills and characterization.

What's up next? 

I'm excited to be producing a YA Romantic Thriller that won the RWA (Romance Writers of America) RITA Award for Best First Book in 2015! The author is doing a re-release of the book which comes out August 15th and the audio version will be available later this fall.

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