My novel became available in print and e-book formats from Amazon and Barnes & Noble online August 20, 2020. To celebrate this one-year anniversary, the time seemed right to produce the audio version of #Bear Woman Rising. A bold decision for this novice #audiobook producer.
The only voice I ever heard when I imagined my audiobook belonged to long-time friend, actor, #Megan Cole. To my great joy, when I asked if she’d be willing to narrate my novel, she immediately said “Yes.” She then convinced her friend Larry Schaeffer to provide the necessary professional sound engineering support.
A shy but gifted senior at Lawrence College, at a friend’s urging, she tried out for the leading role of Claire Zachanassian in Friedrich Durrenmatt’s play, The Visit. Her reaction to getting the part. “Oh, this is nice. I like this.” Thus, began her long-acting career on the professional stage, and as a guest star appearing on “Seinfeld”, “ER”, “The Practice” and many other television shows. On stage, Megan originated her solo version “The Wisdom of Wit” inspired by Margaret Edson’s Pulitzer Prize-winning drama #WIT. In both plays she portrays a woman dying of cancer, a role she performed to encourage empathy in the medical profession.
As Artist-in Residence at the University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston, Megan developed workshops on empathic communication, medical ethics, and the connections between medicine and the humanities. She went on to conduct these workshops and other related performances to healthcare and end-of-life care venues across the country (www.megancole.net).
Narrating an audiobook represented a new challenge for her, but one she welcomed during the Covid pandemic when many dramatic venues had shut down. Megan chose to perform a #dramatic narrative of Bear Woman Rising as opposed to a one-voice narrative. Because she’d read the book several months before we began recording, she hadn’t realized that the story encompassed 88 different characters. Yet, Megan managed to give each character, even those with only one or two lines, a distinctive voice. Owing to her considerable talent and professional commitment, I promise audiobook lovers, Megan Cole’s narration of Bear Woman Rising will hold you spellbound.
I plan to release the audiobook, Bear Woman Rising, this month. Stay tuned for an audio preview on my website, Facebook page, YouTube and LinkedIn.
#Audiobook, #BearWomanRising, #MeganCole, #WIT, #www.megancole.net, #dramatic narrative, #www.BearWomanRising.com
