Tag Archives: fiction

Ah! She Recorded Me…I Didn’t Recognize My Own Voice

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The audiobook for Multiple Exposure is available for purchase: Go to iBooks or iTunes and type in Shana Thornton, you’ll see the book. Also, buy on Amazon, Audible
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I said that I wouldn’t read Ellen’s book again. Technically, I’m the author, but to me, the story in Multiple Exposure belongs to the narrator, Ellen Masters, and I read it so many times while writing it that I told myself I wouldn’t again, not cover to cover, for years… decades. Maybe never again.

I told an audience recently, “I think writing this book gave me post traumatic stress disorder.” No one was laughing. I was serious.

Then, I had an opportunity to record an audiobook version with recording artist, musician, technician, and producer, Gwendy Joysen, who gave me a reason to read the book cover-to-cover again and in the best voice I’ve used, and all while making it a better book. Gwendy has many more skills, but these were the talents that helped me record my audiobook–technical and creative skills combined with openness, psychological vulnerability and wisdom, and positive praise–suddenly, Gwendy was helping me into a new phase of my life that I wasn’t even fully engaging.
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Walking into her recording space, the big mic waiting for my voice, waiting for the story, I was intimated to read the book again. When I flipped open the first page, I shuddered and cleared my throat. Faltered. When I heard that first line played back in my voice, I heard a flat tone. I closed my eyes and imagined an audience. Gwendy said the same thing when I thought it–to imagine telling my story to people. Don’t focus on the headphones and microphone, on the wires and levels and controls that I knew were there, just make the story come to life from the words on the pages.

As soon as that began, the need to shift and adjust became clear which lent the story extra clarity and tighter prose. Little clean ups: tags, words that just sound weird when said aloud together, verb shifts, and more. All those editing chores, considered “boring” by many but like tilling and weeding to me, were happening again. Ugh, I was exhausted after our first session. My legs were swollen and my lungs hurt. I found new admiration for singers and the physical demands and challenges required for singing and vocal performance. I was feeling how fragile I was when I wrote the story. I saw my own past pains and stresses reflected in the words.

When I least expected it, Gwendy asked me to sing–first, “You Must Have Been a Beautiful Baby,” and then, “Precious Memories.” Only the title of the former and a couple of lines from the latter, but I was recording my singing voice–oh, geez, while this lightened our recording time (Multiple Exposure is a heavy book), I’ve only considered myself a road trip crooner and fireside accompaniment, as far as singing goes. Gwendy volunteered to be my vocal coach, too, for those little bits of song. First, we listened to a couple different versions of each song until we found the one that seemed right. Gwendy quickly chose one and then, she sang and sang, instructing me to blend in with her voice. We sang the lines over until she dropped out when I captured it enough times to record my solo voice with the correct tone and melody.

My diaphragm and abdominal muscles were sore after reading for 4+ hours, and this showed me how taxing it can be for singers and musicians when they are in the recording studio. My feet ached from standing. Gwendy insisted on breaks and drinking water. I sipped coffee most of the time to soothe my sore throat.

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During our breaks, we naturally learned about each other, and Gwendy connected to my character’s PTSD struggles, since Gwendy recently emerged from a traumatic and abusive relationship that lasted a few years. I finally felt like Ellen received some validation, and that I did as an author.

We shared stories about overcoming anxiety issues and allowing art to carry us through the highs and lows in life. That ever-changing landscape, the sand painting of living the life of an artist and trying to make a living, looking for validation for your artwork and not wanting to need it but needing it, and the moments of being swept up in the exhilaration and escape of the creative process–we shared all those experiences in life. By being her own open, honest self, Gwendy helped with the inspiration for a new book and creative project that’s currently in the works.

Multiple Exposure was recorded, mixed, and mastered by Gwendy Joysen. I highly recommend her services! Her website: http://www.gwendyjoysen.com
I narrated. Recorded in Tennessee, spring 2014. Please, buy a copy: Go to iBooks or iTunes and type in Shana Thornton, you’ll see the book. Also, buy on Amazon, Audible

Cover Design by Steven Walker, http://www.stevenMwalkerImages.com

Cover Design by Steven Walker, http://www.stevenMwalkerImages.com

Some Stories Choose You as a Writer

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“Don’t you think some stories choose you?” I was asked this question after expressing my frustration with readers’ questions about why I wrote a book about a military family. So many people assume that the main character is me–that I was once married to a soldier. However, reading and listening informed me more than my personal experience.

I’ve read War/Military fiction since I was in junior high. Much later, I began writing the novel, Multiple Exposure. I began writing without realizing my personal influences on the work. If I consider only one branch of my own family tree, I can begin in the Revolutionary War with my great-great-great-great grandfather, Jeremiah Brown, who served in the North Carolina Militia. In that tradition, many of my relatives have served and do serve in almost all branches of the military.

But, it’s more than that. I’ve met soldiers and found myself listening for hours to details about many aspects of daily life during wars, skirmishes, the waiting, the wanting, and more. I’m often completely surprised by the disclosures and don’t expect them. My husband’s grandfather, Glen, gifted me with his story, and I wasn’t aware that he had been a soldier, even though I had been writing letters to him for about five years. Glen was awarded a Purple Heart for his service during WWII. I met Glen for the first time on my wedding day, and after that, I wrote many letters to him. He enjoyed my stories, and even though I tried my best to get him talking, Glen wasn’t a man of many words. He appreciated my letters about college and our new home in Memphis, our time in the Netherlands, and our struggles to find work after college. The last time I saw him, we went to a Mexican restaurant and drank a big pitcher of margaritas. I was having doubts about becoming a “real writer”. That’s when Glen told me that I could do anything and not to let people hold me back, and then he told me more about his life than my husband had ever known. He described what it was like to get shot in WWII, and how he didn’t realize it at first. He chuckled, and said, “The book in my pocket saved my life. Very small book, but it saved my life.” That book turned out to be a Bible. I don’t think it was complete, but maybe one of those “half” Bibles–The New Testament with Psalms and Proverbs. I quickly noticed that most of his stories were loaded with symbolism like that–little, but weighted. They contained heft.

I’ve applied his metaphor over and over… until, in my own mental story realm, that small book is ragged, creased, and over-used. Though, he was correct. The small books save my life. They save me from boredom, fear, and anxiety. The small books inspire me with their raw truth and courage. I made a promise to myself to write about war with consideration for how inconsiderate the very idea of war is in our lives. And when considerations are maintained in war procedures, it doesn’t seem possible that considerate humans could still be at war, which means killing one another, among other activities. With that promise and those considerations in my heart, Multiple Exposure wasn’t an easy book to write. The story definitely chose me one scene at a time along the way.

On this 4th of July, Many Thanks to soldiers who serve honorably. My gratitude goes to their families.

To read more about war/military fiction offerings, visit http://www.thorncraftpublishing.com

Flowing to the Edge

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Every time I go to yoga class, the teacher asks, “So what’s new?”

And, I answer, “I don’t know where to begin.” Or, “So much!” Or, “It keeps going and going and going…”
I’ll answer in detail for my yoga teacher and you. She teaches how to flow and find your edge.

First, Thorncraft Publishing releases a new book this fall. Beverly Fisher’s novella Grace Among the Leavings is the second title I’ll publish under Thorncraft. The narrator of the novella is Grace, a child whose father fights in the Civil War. Grace Among the Leavings has received advanced praise from Barry Kitterman, Amy Wright, and Malcolm Glass, all of whom are authors living in and familiar with this region.

I’m pleased that Steven M. Walker and I are working together again on the book cover. We’re expecting to release our final version of the book cover for Grace Among the Leavings within the next month.

I think of yoga positions as design with intention. In front of my computer, I try to do the same. I toggle back and forth between writing copy and editing little commas, to designing books and a website. Yes, a website for Thorncraft Publishing. I’m slowly designing it and expect to go live within 6 weeks with an abbreviated version of what I intend for the future.

The newness blooms. My to-do list never gets shorter. My baby is making music with pots and pans, and my daughter has a (roller-skating-in-circles) summer break plan for me. Wheeeee! the calendar fills. In yoga class, I breathe and flow. Stare at the screw in the wall. Forget about layouts, HTML code, diapers, dinners, and photo sizes. Stretch my joints and limbs. “Find your edge,” the teacher reminds the class, “but only as long as it feels good,” she says.

Back at home, I look at my daughters. I remember the to-do list. For Thorncraft, I made a decision to focus on publishing women authors and make their work available as I can. Even if I’m a one-woman indie publisher, the books are still available–the voices are in the world, not silenced in journals that don’t get printed and drafts that don’t become final versions. When I think about working all hours, “what’s new” is something every moment, and finding my edge, I do feel good right now.

More info about Grace Among the Leavings by Beverly Fisher and thorncraftpublishing.com coming soon!

Playing pretend with children & creating characters

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Cindy’s stuff

Anyone with an imagination can help with character creation. My 6 year-old daughter recently began playing pretend, though she calls each one a “game” and creates a new character to play. Today, she has been Cindy from Texas, who was a veterinarian, but “it became too much, too boring”, so a year ago, she moved to Tennessee, where she is a kindergarten teacher. She has four pets who moved with her from Texas, a dog that fits in a purse, a baby bear cub, and two white rabbits. She wears red boots and drinks chai spice tea with vanilla soy milk. I’ve noticed that her habits include saying, “You shouldn’t have,” when she’s offered something to drink or eat.

I’m keeping a record of these characters that she creates…that we all create.
 Many days, she asks Terry and me, “who are you today in the game?” And, we make up characters too. 
This is a great family interactive game and a way to invigorate your writing.  
Is there any way that you include your family in the writing process?