podiobooks

An Interview With Me On Podioracket Ep 64


You will find an interview with me here:

Podioracket Ep 64 James Keeling and Michael J. Parry

Michael J. Parry’s Elanore and Gurt Tales:
Synopsis: Book one The Spiral Tattoo introduces the reader to Elanore, the eight-foot tall troll, and Gurt, the six-inch tall (don’t you dare call me a fairy) Eleinu, both guardsmen in the city of Delvenport, tackle their most baffling case yet. When they find a dead waitress, naked except for an intricate tattoo in a spiral across her body, they’re launched into an adventure in the seedier side of Delvenport, filled with rogue mages, prostitution, and narcotics. But can they solve the case before madness and riots take over the city? And Book 2 The Oaks Grove is a fantasy country mystery.

You can get book one in Ebook right now on Amazon for only $.99.

Bio:Fantasy mystery author writes fantasy and science fiction, mixed in with the occasional piece of contemporary fiction. He live on a small block of land in the Tararua district of New Zealand, where he and his partner grow trees and our children. To earn a crust he works in a University library as the Digital Initiatives Librarian.

For more information
Website: https://michaeljparry.com/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/Michael_J_Parry
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Michael-J-Parry/177255755657054

The Writer’s Choices: Reflections On Owner’s Share


It has been a while since a piece of work has had me thinking so hard about the writing process as Nathan Lowell’s Owners Share. I have lots of thought on the story, and on writing, especially the choices authors make.

I have to give a lot of props to Nathan for superb delivery, engagement with the fans and support to fellow podiobook authors. As a series comes to an end it is a good time to say thanks for all the effort he has put in. 🙂

I won’t say too much about Owner’s Share, except I didn’t like the ending. As an ending to a series and a book, I can see why Nathan took it there. But for a number of reasons I feel it was a bad way to end. It is my personal view but I think a series ending should always be upbeat, leaving the audience with a strong feeling of satisfaction, and with the promise that if we never come back to there again, we can be happy with where we leave the story. The ending just didn’t deliver that for me and for a number of other fans. 😦

This has led me to reflect on the relationship between authors, readers/listeners and their characters. It is true that in the end the author “owns” the destiny of their characters, but in a series often the readers/listeners will feel a strong level of ownership of the character. They will have an invested interest in where the character ends up.  Where that differs from the authors, how much notice should the author take of the “fans” views? It can be problematic for the author as they risk alienating the fans if they take the story too far from where the fan base wants it. I am now unsure as to how I feel about the Share series as a whole, but I will still listen to my favourite stories again, and again, and agian. And then maybe a few more times. 🙂 So yeah I would recommend the series to anyone!

As an author I hope to one day have a strong fan base, so how I deal with that is going to be important. In the end I think as an author I need to listen to where my audience wants me to take them. In the writing of my current Fursk and Gurt story I started to take one of the characters down a particular path, and my chief sounding board sat me down and told me in on uncertain terms that as a reader she didn’t want me to go there. That story arch was cancelled and after a while I can see that was the right choice. It is still my story, and the characters destinies are wholly in my hands, but I feel I should  take that into consideration. Next time I come to that point I wonder which will win, the author’s voice or the fan’s. Best two out of three?

The Spiral Tattoo: The Podiobook


My first novel, The Spiral Tattoo, will be coming to a computer near you soon.

When you’re six inches tall and fly, life can be tough in a big persons world. What better then than to be partnered with a seven foot troll. She’s the brains and I’m the brawn, and if you believe that I have a castle to sell you. I’m Gurt and she’s Elanore Fursk. Don’t forget it.

The Spiral Tattoo. The exciting new podiobook by Michael J. Parry from Podiobooks.com

In the darkened alleys of Delvenport the discovery of a naked corpse sets off a surprising chain of events. Leads will seem to unravel at every turn, although Elanore appears to know what going on. I just tag along for the ride. With the rising tide of drugs, magic and ambition that threatens to engulf our city, trouble will lurk in our every shadow. But as long as no-one puts a knife in Elanore, or calls me a girly voiced fairy then the bodies won’t be piled too high.

Otherwise all bets are off!

The Spiral Tattoo, a tale of Fursk and Gurt, written by Michael J. Parry and read by Kylie Parry. Now available from podiobooks.com.

I am podcasting it via podiobooks.com. Many of you will know what podiobooks are, and others won’t. So first up what are podiobooks.

Podiobooks are an audiobook version of a book, released on the internet as a podcast serial. Sometimes they are read by the author, other times by a guest narrator, and other times the author has managed to pull together a cast of people to read the work. And best off all they are released free!   Although you can donate to the author at podiobooks.com

The Spiral Tattoo has a release date on podiobooks.com of the 13th of September. It will be read by my partner in crime Kylie Parry, otherwise know as my Editor In Chief. She does a fabulous job at the narration and I am really lucky to have her support in this project.

If you want to listen to the novel you will be able to subscribe via the Itunes store, or at podiobooks.com. I will also be linking to them from here as well. 🙂