SUMMER SHORTS ’14 BLOG HOP FEATURING TANYA EBY

SUMMER SHORTS ’14 BLOG HOP FEATURING Tanya Eby

I am so happy to be participating in Going Public’s Summer Shorts ’14 , promoted by Spoken Freely, a group of more than 40 professional narrators. They have teamed with Going Public, and Tantor Media to offer Summer Shorts ’14, an audio collection of poetry, short stories and essays. All proceeds from sales of the collection will go to ProLiteracy, a national literacy outreach and advocacy organization. (See the end of this post for more information on this program)

This year I had the pleasure of getting to know a new to me narrator Tanya Eby who was nice enough to answer all my questions and offer a giveaway to any book she has narrated (details at the end of the post).

Tanya Eby is an Audie-nominated narrator. AudioFile Magazine said "Listening to Tanya Eby is like listening to a full-cast recording". She has a BA in English language and literature and an MFA in creative writing. Besides narrating, Tanya blogs, and works on her own novels. She has published four novels and is at work on her fifth.

Free Listen: The Girl at the Gate, by Lucy Maud Montgomery

Bonus Track: The Perfect Neighbor, by Tanya Eby

Story Summary:

This is a fun little story about a man on his deathbed, young love, and a ghostly encounter.

Let’s get to know Tanya:

Did you get to pick your short story or did Xe assign them? If yes, What made you choose this story?

Xe gave us total freedom in choosing a piece we wanted to read. I decided right away that I wanted to read an L.M. Montgomery short story. She wrote the Anne of Green Gables series, which was a huge influence on me growing up. Also, I’ve narrated a lot of steamy romances and mysteries, and I wanted to do something that my kids could listen to (if they ever wanted to). It’s a bonus that it’s a little ghost story.

Let’s get the routine questions out of the way first…

How did you get started in audiobooks?

I was a Theater and English major in college. When I was having trouble figuring out a text, I’d read it out loud and suddenly the characters would come to life for me. I got into doing radio commercials for extra cash while finishing up school and trying to figure out what to do with my life. Eventually, I heard that some actor friends were narrating. I recorded a demo, sent it to companies, made wishes to the fairies, and was miraculously cast.

What was your first book?

Oh my gosh! Can you believe I don’t remember? I think it was a Debbie Macomber book. All I remember was that the first time I narrated a full book, I was completely exhausted after the first day. My voice was hoarse and my dinner was a big bowl of soup followed by an even bigger bowl of ice cream. When I finished the book after three days of non-stop talking, I cried with relief. Then I asked when I could do it again.

I see you are also an Author, which do you prefer writing or narrating?

I love storytelling in general. In writing, I get to build a different world and kind of shape things as I go. In narrating, I slip inside a world that’s already created and explore characters. They’re both really satisfying. My own work doesn’t sell as much as I’d like, but ah well. I keep trying. It will be great if I can keep doing both. 

Can you give us a scoop on any upcoming books you are especially excited about? Can be a book you are writing or one you are narrating or both.

There’s a book coming out in July called “Expecting” by Ann Lewis Hamilton. It’s funny, heartwarming, bittersweet, and has fantastic characters.

My book “Tunnel Vision &Other Stories From The Edge” was just released. It’s a novella narrated by Mikeal Narramore and then it also has two short stories I narrated. They’re dark stories. I guess I was exploring my dramatic side. My other work is comedic.

I enjoyed listening to your narrations on your website and your blog is a hoot I highly recommend everyone checking it out. I see you also have a food blog how did that come about?

Oh, thanks! I do a bunch of weird little stuff. I’m a foodie and I like to think I’m funny. When I’m not working on book stuff, I’m in the kitchen. My newest food blog is “Dips, Balls and Logs Blog” mostly because I laugh every time I say the title. It’s food for quirky people. You know, my soul mates. 

Thank-you so much for joining me and thanks to Xe Sands for asking me to join in the fun!

And thanks for the great questions!

I’d like to offer a giveaway. The winner can choose whichever book I’ve narrated on Audible for an instant download. There are all sorts of genres to choose from. Or they could choose a book narrated by my saucy doppelgänger “Tatiana Sokolov”.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The entire collection Summer Shorts ’14 is available at Tantor Media.

Past post:

6/27  A Discussion with Author Jane Cawthorne and Narrator Dawn Harvey @ My Books, My Life

Upcoming

6/28   Tish Hicks, How They Broke Away to Go to the Rootabaga Country, by Carl Sandburg @ Going Public

6/29   Karen White, Sharks and Seals, by Susanna Daniel @ Every Day I Write the Book

6/30    Xe Sands, Virtue of the Month, by Kathleen Founds @ The Oddiophile

About the Program

The audiobook community is giving back! Spoken Freely, a group of more than 40 professional narrators, has teamed with Going Public andTantor Media to celebrate June is Audiobook Month (JIAM) by offering Summer Shorts ’14, an audio collection of poetry, short stories and essays. All proceeds from sales of the collection will go to ProLiteracy, a national literacy outreach and advocacy organization.

Throughout June 2014, 1-2 stories, poems and essays will be released online each day via Going Public, as well as on various author and book blogs. As a “Thank you!” to listeners, pieces will be available for free online listening on their day of release. As a bonus for those who purchase the full collection from Tantor Media in support of ProLiteracy, there are over 20 additional tracks only available via the compilation download. Full release schedule on the Speak Freely page.

ProLiteracy, the largest adult literacy and basic education membership organization in the nation, advocates on behalf of adult learners and the programs that serve them, provides training and professional development, and publishes materials used in adult literacy and basic education instruction. ProLiteracy has 1,000 member programs in all 50 states and the District of Columbia and works with 52 nongovernmental organizations in 34 developing countries. Its publishing division, New Readers Press (NRP), has for more than 40 years provided educators with the instructional tools they need to teach adult students and older teens literacy skills for functioning in the world today. Materials are available in a variety of media, including the flagship publication, the weekly news source News for You, which delivers articles online with audio. Proceeds from sales of NRP materials support literacy programs in the U.S. and worldwide.

Summer Shorts ’14 is made possible by the efforts of the Spoken Freely narrators and many others who donated their time and energy to bring it to fruition. Post-production, marketing support and publication provided by Tantor Media. Graphic design provided by f power design. Project coordination and executive production provided by Xe Sands. Nonprofit partnership coordination provided by Karen White.