Synopsis

“If you want to find me, search within these pages.”

Bestselling author Richard Debden is missing. The only clue: a copy of his unpublished final novel delivered to his ex-girlfriend, Amy. When those closest to Richard reunite for his memorial, Amy turns to Chris, his former best friend, to help unravel the mystery. Could Richard still be alive and in need of their help?

Richard’s manuscript tells of two abandoned children in wartime Britain, instructed by a shadowy Postmaster to deliver letters to ghosts and release them from their torment. As Chris and Amy delve into the text, they identify parallels between fiction and reality; clues to a trail that leads across the country and – they hope – to Richard.

But they are not the only interested party. A mysterious society is following them, their motives unclear. Can Chris and Amy unlock the secrets of Dead Letters, or will more sinister forces get there first?

Dead Letters is the captivating second novel by P.J. Murphy, author of Troubleshot.

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Guest Post

In defense of audiobooks

Imagine being able to read a book while walking the dog, doing the housework, or completing any number of chores that occupy our hands but leave our minds free. Well, now we have the technology! (Actually, we’ve had it for a very long time, but I have only recently dipped my toes into the world of audiobooks).

I’ve read that if you don’t publish your novel as an audiobook, you’re missing out on a vast swathe of potential audience. I can absolutely see how that could be true. But it takes work to record a novel.  At the time of writing, I am in the final stages of preparing an audiobook version of my second novel, Dead Letters. It has been a huge learning experience. Here are some of the key considerations:

Who’s going to read it? Many top books are narrated by celebrities. I knew I was unlikely to get George Clooney to narrate my book. Another option often chosen is for the author to narrate. I could see the attraction of this, but recording a ten-hour book requires time and the right technology. Most importantly, it would have required me to listen to and edit recordings of my own voice. I can’t stand hearing myself speak. Decision made.

How do you choose a professional narrator? ACX is an audiobook exchange for indie writers. It includes a marketplace where you can upload an extract of your book and invite auditions. I received 26 auditions, and it was tricky to sift through them and make a final selection. I was aided by Dead Letters being written in the first-person, so my narrator’s voice had to match the character.

How do you deal with character voices? Honestly, this had not occurred to me beforehand. When you read from the page, the paragraph breaks make it clear who is talking. You don’t have those cues when listening. So, we had to consider how to differentiate the characters. The narrator I’m working with does this by picturing them as different well-known actors. This helps him to adapt the way he talks. We also played around with accents. One of the key characters in Dead Letters is a girl called Imogen, a Welsh name, so we tried giving her a Welsh accent. It was awful. And it made me realise that I pictured her like Hermione from the Happy Potter series, so that’s the direction we took in the end.

It has been interesting to see how different narrators approach voicing characters of another gender. I sought a male narrator, but they needed to voice female characters. Some of the auditions I received saw men increasing the pitch of their voices. It didn’t sound great. The narrator I chose just softened his voice a little. That was enough to differentiate the characters; that was all he needed to do. The magic happens inside the listener’s head.

I’m looking forward to seeing how the audiobook of Dead Letters is received, and I’m sure I’ll blog about it. Until then, you can read more about my audiobook journey at www.pjmurphywriter.com. Thanks for reading!

About the Author

P.J. Murphy writes novels that introduce unusual and humorous twists to classic genres. If you pick up one of his books, you’re in for an interesting read that never loses its sense of fun. As a writer, P.J. tries to stick to the adage ‘write what you know,’ although with the addition, ‘just make sure you exaggerate and distort it beyond all recognition.’ He is planning to write a novel about taking a road trip with a parrot. He has never owned a parrot.

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