“you are hearing me talk”

I'm working on an audiobook — actually, a series of five audiobooks — for the next two weeks. I don't know if I can say what it is, but I think it's safe to reveal that it's a classic fantasy series from the 80s, and I'm actually quite surprised it isn't already available in audio.

I really like the studio I'm working with, and I'm in the process of finding out how much it would cost me to utilize their services to make audio versions of Dancing Barefoot, The Day After and Other Stories (including Hunter), and Sunken Treasure. Assuming it isn't too expensive, and assuming there is enough interest, I also want to do an audio version of the expanded special edition of The Happiest Days of Our Lives.

 

37 thoughts on ““you are hearing me talk””

  1. I want to give you large handfuls of monies in exchange for the aforementioned audiobooks right now please and thank you. Please to be pointing me in the direction of where I can do this RIGHT NOW OH GOD I WANT THEM NOW?

  2. Ooooo! I think I just had a nerdy little joygasm at the idea of you narrating an audiobook. Christmas gifts for everyone I know: sorted!

  3. Okay I cannot offhand identify which 80s pentalogy he’s citing but surely 95% of readers can; someone tell us!
    Edit: Oh snap is it the Belgariad do you think.

  4. Hmm… Does this particular series of books include the Riftwar Saga by Raymond E. Feist? Because that’d be so totally epic if it was.

  7. Five books instantly made me think Eddings, but a quick google search seems to implicate that both Belgariad and Mallorean have audiobooks already.
    Colour me intrigued.
    Not that I would complain if it was a re-release. If I was filthy, stinking rich, I’d hire the inimitable Mr Wheaton to read everything to me.
    Caveat: Except Pratchett and Adams. Audio versions of books from those authors should be read by those of the English caste only. Bonus points for being Tony Robinson.

  9. Yeah, I just checked and made a similar discovery, so I guess that rules out Eddings. What else is a major five-book saga from the Eighties? Prydain was a decade earlier. And of course Hitchhiker’s Guide, though mostly an 80s phenomenon, was in audio before it even became a book. The Lost Years of Merlin is too late.

  11. Wil, can you do different voices for the different characters? The reader in the Harry Potter audiobook series did that well, and it makes a difference both in enjoyment and ease of following the action. Look forward to this production.

  12. I really hope it’s not a series I’ve already read. I’m guessing it won’t be. The only 80s fantasy I’ve ever really read would be Roger Zelazny’s Amber Chronicles, which is actually 10 books, but it would make sense to have a different narrator for the first 5 and second five because the POV character changes.
    Now I’m trying to decide if Wil would make a better Corwin or Merlin. Best not to get my hopes up, besides I just re-read those books like 4 months ago, probably don’t need to buy the entire series on audiobook again.

  13. You know Wil that all you have to do to realize your audio book goal is start a Kickstarter for it. It would be immediately funded and would tell you how much interest you had for it.

  14. I just finished listening to the Fuzzy Nation audiobook, and you did such a great job that I wish you could read everything. But you’d probably lose your voice, so maybe you should just start with your own stuff, and I will eagerly throw money at you to hear it. After hearing you read some of your work on JCCC2, I really wish you had more time for podcasts and reading your own writing – you immediately connect with your audience, and you’re a wonderful storyteller.

  16. I agree with Adam! Get a quote from the studio so you know how much it will cost, set up a Kickstarter campaign with various combinations of your audiobooks as the reward for providing various levels of funding and the cash will be available to pay for the studio time with no risk to you and all of your fans showing you how much they love your work!

  18. For your own books, have you considered a podcasting setup to do the recording.
    For ~$100 you can get a basic rig
    For ~$500 you can get a good rig
    Fro ~$1000 you can get darn near pro
    Or go really cheap and just use your computer and a headset…

  21. I had this master plan that your would love “The 13 Clocks” and talk about it with Neil Gaiman and then you and he would hatch a plan for you to do an audiobook version of it.
    Any chance my plan has come to fruition?

  24. Ready Player One, Boneshaker, Peter & Max, and Agent to the Stars were all fantastic – whatever you’re working on goes straight to the top of my Audible queue henceforth.
    Above and beyond the enoyable performance, I trust you to only do books that are awesome on their own.

  27. So, I’m not sure if this is pure 80s or not but I recall this series of three books called Dragon Lance or Age of Dragons or something like that…anywho, its about these twins in a mystical land.
    And I pretty much had to physically restrain myself from making a loud noise of glee in the library. I hope its the Dragon Lance books.
    PLEASE LET IT BE THE DRAGON LANCE BOOKS!!!!!!

  28. I think Belgariad would be awesome, but I know it has audio versions. I then thought of the ‘Dark is Rising’ series by Susan Cooper, but research shows that started in the 70s AND it has an audio version. Don’t get me wrong, I’d love a Wheaton version of both.
    After that I was stumped, so I told my wife, who thought for a moment and squee-ed at the thought of the ‘Guardians of the Flame’ series by Joel Rosenberg.
    No guesses beyond that, but we do hope you can tell us soon!!
    P.S. – I would definitely go in on a Wheaton Audiobook Kickstarter project.

  29. Hey Wil. I just drove from Austin,Tx to Kingston, Ontario between Weds and Saturday morning. Almost the whole way you accompanied me. Reading Ready Player One. Thanks for keeping me awake. It was a great reading, and also a great book. 🙂

  30. Many mentioned the two Eddings series, but I have both in audio so I’m guessing those aren’t they. My personal pick would be the Rosenberg Gaurdians of the Flame books, though I think they finally reached beyond five as they stretched into books having less and less to do with initial characters and situations.
    I’m also currently reading Ready Player One. That’s going well so the combination of narrator and classic 80’s fantasy is exciting.

  31. Wil reading it might be the only way of getting me to consume that pile of tripe because he’s the one who could bring up the post-modern irony needed…

  32. Wil, I want to say that I enjoyed your half of Boneshaker’s audio production, so no matter what this series turns out to be, I’m interested. As a kid of the 80’s, the only series I can think of is Thomas Covenant. But that series was six books, and frankly, even the fastest, most efficient audio narrator would need two weeks just for one book. Suckers are DENSE. But good. Especially if you want to build your word power. And the awesome Brian Daley series of Han Solo books were only three in number… (talk about your “why aren’t these on audio yet?” series…).
    Looking forward to further updates!

  33. Looking forward to whatever this series is. Here’s another thought. While it won’t work as an audio book, there are some games made for the iPad/iPhone from Ian Livingston’s Fighting Fantasy series. How about Wil Wheaton narrating the passages for Warlock of Firetop Mountain paired with the game. That would make the bland into totally awesome. Well, in my books anyways.

  34. Wil was granted permission to tweet a fuzzy photo of the script, either because the person granting that permission didn’t care if word got out, or didn’t realize that “Pattern” is rarely capitalized.
    I would love to know who’s doing Corwin’s series, though.

  35. WHAT THE WHAT?!
    I loved those books so much as a kid, and I had no idea there were iOS games based on them!
    … TO THE APP STORE!

  37. I’m glad you finally get to make some more audiobooks. I’d love it if you made one for Happiest Days of Our Lives because I’ve been wanting that one for a while and it cost A LOT to buy the book alone 😛

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“The library is a safe place.”

In order to survive, I disassociated for much of my childhood, but I clearly remember the books. That's where I found comfort, companionship, inspiration and validation. It's where the imagination that powers everything I do creatively in my life today was born. And it all started in that library, with that librarian. She was one of the first people I can remember asking me, "What do you like? What's important to you? What do you want to know more about? How can I help you find it?"

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