Unfriendly Persuasion is finished!

Well, of course, my third novel, the second novel in my Arbiter Chronicles series, was finished a long time ago, back in the Fall of 2011. But I’ve been sloooowwwly releasing an audio version of it. Every other week I’ve put a chapter up on my podcast feed.

Very shortly after I began podcasting, late in 2005, I did the same with my first novel, Taken Liberty. Releasing a free audio of the book I’d put so much time and energy into getting published seemed a little risky, but I think it paid off. Over 10,000 people have listened to Taken Liberty, it got me a lot of attention in the podcast community, and it really helped me establish myself as a New Media Author.

I’ve released all my fiction as free audio, as well as all the episodes of my Arbiters radio show. There are over a hundred episodes in my feed, and I’ve broken a million downloads. Recording, editing and releasing this one was nothing new for me.

But I did spend a year doing it, following a year writing and publishing it. I feel like this particular work has been with me for a long time. And bringing it to a close reminds me how much has changed in the eight incredibly short years that have passed since I released my first podcast. Friends have drifted away, loved ones have died. The kid who provided the soprano voices of children in my early episodes is now six foot two and writing his own scripts. The other little guy who ran around my studio, wanting nothing more than to shout “hello!” into every mic because he couldn’t yet read a script, is now getting ready for High School and teaching martial arts.

A lot has changed. Don’t know what’s next, but I’m always up to something. If you were waiting until it was finished to listen to Unfriendly Persuasion, well, that excuse is gone. It’s all up there now and waiting for you. The chapters are in the feed here. If you’ve already listened to it, please let me know what you thought!

I believe now I shall sleep for a few minutes.