Richard Freeborn

Fiction and Non-Fiction

Month: October 2022

Thoughts on AI Audio

October 18, 2022 /

The use of an artificial intelligence voice to produce an audio version of a work of fiction or non-fiction has been around for quite a while now. Early versions were clearly early versions. The voices were monotone and robotic sounding and not really suited to the nuances and inflexions of a fiction story.

Time has passed, and the quality and ability of the AI voice to sound more human has improved in leaps and bounds. Joanna Penn provides regular updates on her podcasts (The Creative Penn Podcast: Writing, Publishing, Book Marketing, Making A Living With Your Writing | The Creative Penn), and earlier in the summer, she spoke about a new, and currently free, service on Google Play that takes your text manuscript and converts it to audio, with the option to select one of several AI voices.

As an experiment, in June, I put Thieves in the Temple through the process and added it to my Google Catalog along with the eBooks (Thieves in the Temple by Richard Freeborn – Audiobooks on Google Play). The quality wasn’t bad, so I priced the audio the same as the paperback, and added a notation it’s AI narrated. I intended to put a proper cover on it, like the eBook and paperback versions, but something bright and shiny distracted me, and I never got around to it.

And I’ve sold copies! That surprised me as I’ve done no marketing or promotion, just added it to the catalog and left it there. It’s now my top seller on Google!

Who knew?

Meeting a Book Club

October 5, 2022 /

A few months ago, a friend asked if I’d come to her book club and talk about Thieves in the Temple.

Of course, I said yes, and last night (October 4th), arrived with a bottle of Pinot Noir and a certain level of nervousness as the six members of the book club congregated with more copies of the book than I’ve ever seen in the same place.

I wasn’t sure what to expect but the first question put me at ease – how did the Judeans get to Babylon? After that I relaxed, and everything flowed until one lady asked: We know who took the fall, but who was really behind it?

What?

It’s a while since I really looked at Thieves in the Temple, but as we talked further, I realized she was right. The people in the climax were pawns, not the people really behind what happened. As I drove away later, the thought wouldn’t go away, and a glimmer of an idea came to me.

It was still there this morning.

I don’t think it’s a Jacob story, but it does fit in with some other ideas I’ve been fleshing out, and it actually brought some of them more into focus. I’ve tentatively slotted it in my head for after Death at a Wedding and Murder of a Dead Man, but who knows what bright shiny object might come up before then.

And a huge thank you to the Pine Nuts Book Club for inviting me.

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