GypsyLaura.comVoice Actor, Writer, Editor, Gypsy Pirate

Hello my frequent visitors and friends,

Well it is 2011 and I hope you all had a wonderful and safe holiday. Mine was filled with a lot of laughter, great food, great people (thanks Val and Bri), and (I will admit) a little bit of alcohol. So everyone makes resolutions for the new year… and few stick to them. As for me I make goals. Sometimes I reach them and sometimes I don’t. Last year my goal was to finish the novella “Prisoners of the Alliance” with my partner in crime, David Sobkowiak. We succeeded and I also finished the first draft of another novel, which was pretty damn cool. It makes me think that a lot more things are possible having made those goals and I am very grateful for the people who supported me and challenged me all the way. I always did love a good competition (thanks Brand). Read the rest of this entry »

I am not ignoring all my wonderful people who are checking out my sites and my Twitter feed, just attempting to catch up on sleep after Balticon (unsuccessfully I might add). Read the rest of this entry »

I am posting to you all from Maryland where I am attending Balticon! I am so excited to be here and to meet some of these great people that I have been chatting with on Twitter and listening to their audio books. Kinda bummed out right now because apparently I am missing some fun according to the Twitter feed, but I am in some more than minor pain and need to get that taken care of before I can truly go and enjoy myself. So as I am sitting in Cobbler’s pose to help stretch the muscles allow me to commence with more self promotion, cause that’s why you’re here… to see what I’m up to. Read the rest of this entry »

Hiya people, I know this is a late entry but it is Monday and that means that there is a new episode of Prisoners of the Alliance. We are down to the last couple of introductions before we totally envelope you in how all these people come together.
Head on over to www.ScrivenersCircle.com and listen. You know you want to.

I have been listening to a great many different podcasts lately and it is only fair that I share them with the people that pay attention to what I have to say. These are in no particular order just so you all know.

If you have a sick twisted sense of humor like I do, then you will really enjoy Patrick E. McLean’s “How to Succeed in Evil”. It was the first podiobook that I have listened to and entertained me for hours last year as I drove back and forth for filming in Massachusetts. It is a straight up podiobook where the author expertly voices each character with vastly different voices.

“FETIDUS: The Foundation for the Ethical Treatment of the Innocently Damned, Undead and Supernatural“ by James Durham. Now, for those of you who like horror and zombies, you’ll enjoy this. Now I also listened to this diving from film sites. The mistake I made was listening driving on the dark, foggy, highways of Vermont. I am not usually a zombie person (well no I am not a zombie person at all) but this is a really good podcast. For all my AD people, this is a good transitional piece to go from AD to Podiobooks as it has a lot of SFX and a full cast.

“7th Son” by J.C.Hutchins. Now this novel made me think how people would want to see what kind of person we would turn out to be if we had taken a left instead of a right on the journey of our lives. And what would happen with the power to be everywhere at once.

“Earthcore” by Scott Sigler. How greedy are the corporations of the world that they would sacrifice so much for profit? This author is a legend in the podiobook world and if you want a taste of his brilliance, this is the best place to get started.

“Weather Child” by Philippa Ballantine. This story spans over the course of several years taking place in New Zealand. I have learned that this story is very personal to the author and it shows in the passion of her writing. Tee Morris lends his voice to this tale to compliment Philippa’s in the cast of characters.

“Chasing the Bard” by Philippa Ballantine. Anyone who knows me knows that my two undying passions are Faeries and Shakespeare and this story focuses on both. I don’t know why it took me so long to listen to this podcast but I just finished it yesterday and LOVED it. Made me giddy and such. Tee Morris also lends his voice to many of the characters here including dear, William Shakespeare, but I must say my favorite characters to listen to were Puck and Brigit. 

“Tumbler” by Brand Gamblin. If you had nothing and no one left in one area, what would you do to start over. Tumbler is a new version of the old frontier set in space. I enjoyed the way the author drew you into Libby, her world and her character.

“Trapping a Duchess“ by Michele Bekemeyer. This podiobook is in a word HOT! It is a historical romance, and like so many historical romances it contains a lot of steamy and not kid or work safe scenes. I have read romance novels but there is something to be said about the way voicing can enhance that experience, tension and passion.

“The Dreamers Thread” by Starla Huchton. Again totally in love with faeries, magic and so on, so this took my breath away and left me wishing there were more. Not to mention it starts off in a tattoo parlor and I totally heart well done tattoos.

“Tattoo” by Paul E Cooley. I love a good thriller as much as the next person. This one made my skin crawl a little and made me appreciate that all of my tattoos are original art work that I either created or helped to create.

“Archangel” by Scott Roche. I am not overly religious but I do happen to like stories where divine intervention moves around people in dramatic ways. Archangel is a recipe containing action and violence, with a dash of Christianity to spice up the total battle of good and evil.

“The Gearheart” by Alex White. This is the first exposure I have had to the Steampunk culture since “Around the World in 80 Days”. It is an imaginative tale with love, loss, pain, joy, trials and sacrifice. I think I have listened to this story 3 times so far because I miss things. It is a very well composed story enhanced by brilliant production and music.

And now some shameless self-promotion: 

If you didn’t know I’ve got some work out there too. For starters there is Prisoners of the Alliance. Now this story is very involved and people keep speculating that it has political undertones. Please know that I dispise politics. It makes people nasty. I vote for the lesser of two evils and let democracy do it’s business and then I can say I told you so if it goes ill or well. BUT I leave it out of my writing.

That being said we are on Chapter 5 of the prequel novel and I am excited to see that there is some interest drumming up on both my site and on Scrivener’s Circle.

The countdown is on now til I get to meet my co-author David Sobkowiak and several of the other fine authors I have listed above at Balticon in MD. 13 days. I am so incredibly excited. The only two things that will kinda suck is the drive will be long (9 hours) and that I can’t bring my husband along for the adventure (stupid retail).

We have been blowing up Twitter about it and have gotten a few people lined up for interviews including Jennifer Hudock (author of Goblin Market which I am currently listening to), Tee Morris, and Philippa Ballantine. This is very exciting for me to do a live interview with people whose work I am fascinated by.

In other news, my husband, Adam is getting back into writing music with fun new equipment that he has been saving for. He has stated that he will be attempting to write music for Prisoners of the Alliance. It may not come to fruition until the second novel as he also has his studies to consider, but it is exciting all the same.

For those of you who miss the Voice of Gypsy Audio. I will be returning. I have had a great deal of delays for Stargazers but those are being resolved and hopefully production on Episode 2 will begin when I get back from Balticon if not sooner. I will also be attempting to get rolling on more Wandering Minstrels Podcasts cause I’ve had some complaints that they’ve stopped. I’m glad that you all like it and hope you all tune in to the other awesome offerings at Gypsy Audio.

Until next time my friends, be well and leave me some love.

Laura

Hiya friends. Today is the day. The day where my official literary debut is live and online! Check it out at www.scrivenerscircle.com .

I really have to thank David Sobkowiak for this. He has been a joy to write with and without him this novella would not have happened. Here’s to you David, my literary partner in crime!

That all being said, I really hope you all will check it out and leave us some feedback about this opening episode.

*Update* In my haste to post this update to you all I forgot to thank all the important people who supported me throughout this process. First I want to thank my father, Alan. Without him I would not have gotten into audio drama and thereby met David.

To my husband, Adam and mother, Gerianne. They live with me and put up with my tangents, give me quiet time to record, and support my creative efforts. And also they remind me to take time off to relax.

I am still very new to the podcast novel community but these are a couple of the authors that have inspired and entertained me, furthering my commitment to work on this project.

Patrick E. McLean: How to Succeed in Evil was the first podiobooks I ever listened to and it really opened my eyes to the genre. I listened to it on my way to and from other acting projects and was entertained for hours. I almost wished my commute was longer. Almost.

James Durham: FETIDUS was another one that I listened to on my commutes but probably not the best idea when driving through the winding Vermont highways on foggy nights. It was more my element as it mixed podiobook storytelling and audio drama. So I enjoyed it, but some parts made me jump.

Scott Sigler: Not my first podiobook to listen to but definately one that sticks out in memory as his name pops up EVERYWHERE when you say podiobook. I listened to Earthcore and loved the diversity of the characters and the quality of storytelling. He sets the bar, and gives me something to reach for.

J.C. Hutchins: 7th Son was a brilliant way of giving one actor a way to explore what would have happened if you took all of the paths that life has to offer. It was brilliant storytelling that I throughly enjoyed.

I also want to thank GypsyAudio.org (Gwendolyn Jensen-Woodard and Alex Gilmore) because they gave me my first platform to put out my writing. Granted audio drama is very different from podiobooks but still extremely enjoyable to create and listen to and if you haven’t checked them out already, what are you waiting for.

And I have to thank my work family who has put up with me non-stop. I see them way more than my home family these days and they are also super supportive of me and have hopefully already checked out the site.

Finally I need to thank my fellow authors and bloggers on Twitter. You all have made me feel so welcome and included and for those who are going to Balticon, I can’t wait to meet you!

David Maciver
Michelle Bekemeyer
Michael Bekemeyer
Scott Roche
Starla Hutchins
Phillipa Ballentine
Tee Morris
Brian M Oldham
M Sieiro Garcia
and probably many more that I can’t think of right now.

Again thank you for listening and please give feedback. It’s the only way we can improve.

Hiya people in Internet land,

Well after an amazing writing session last night, Prisoners of the Alliance is right on schedule for release in the first or second week of April. The deciding factor will be how quickly we can record and mix each episode. I can tell you that we already have one in the can and several others waiting to be mixed.

I have recently been very sick, which has prevented me from recording. However, I am finally on the mend. I did attempt recording this morning, but that was ruined half way through when a family member decided at 7 am was the perfect time to start the laundry. *Sigh* Well, my husband is going to give me a couple of hours to record tonight and tomorrow so that should help. Otherwise I will just have to get up really early to get recording.

In other news… I’m getting a second dog. She is a little yorkie/chihuahua mix that we have named Aria. She is only about 5 pound and will hopefully get along well with our dog Parker. I seriously recommend getting a dog from a shelter. For 1 they are usually cheaper with all vet procedures and costs taken care of. Secondly, they are very deserving animals, either coming from homes who couldn’t keep them, or from people who didn’t love them. Aria was a stray that the shelter found on their doorstep one morning. Now this little girl is incredibly cute. 12.5 on the cuteness scale. I don’t know how anyone could have abandoned her. So anyway, one of the best places to look for shelter dogs is www.petfinder.com and I totally recommend it.

So that was my public service announcement of the day.

The other countdown I have going is for BALTICON! Yes I am making the 8 hour drive *9 hours if you include the stops* to Maryland to go to my first con ever! There are only 68 days left and as it gets closer I am getting more and more nervous and excited. First of all it will be the first time I meet my co-author, David Sobkowiak face to face. It will be weird to actually see him, since we usually chat through IM or txt messaging… or Twitter if you all follow us ( @ln_dragonsong, @dsobkowiak ). Secondly I am going to meet some of the other podio novelists that I have become a fan of in recent months. I might even get a little star struck. If you’re going to be there, let me know. We can meet and chat and … well I don’t know what happens at a con really, but I’m sure there will be plenty of fun to be had.

Alright I suppose that about does it for me today, have to get back to work. Post a comment or e-mail me if you have questions you want me to address in my own weird, spastic way!

Hiya friends and followers.

Well the time has come for me to unveil the promo for my joint venture with David. The story is called Prisoners of the Alliance, a novella preceding the stories of the coming Zareen Series. There will be a couple more promos to be created before the release of the novella next month but I wanted to give you all something to whet your appetite since I know you are all on the edge of your seats to see what the hell I am up to.

Prisoners of the Alliance Promo

Please feel free to tell your friends, co-workers and family about it. If you want to blog about it, post it on your podcast, or something along those lines just drop me a line and let me know so we can keep track of whose putting the word out. Also we are looking for promos to play on the podcast, so if you want us to give you a shout out, or play your promo send an e-mail to ln.dragonsong@gmail.com.

Alright all, that’s about it for me today. Happy St. Patty’s Day! Drive safely. I will leave you all with a profound quote from my all time favorite Irish type move Boondock Saints.

 ”We must all fear evil men, but there is another evil that we must fear most. And that is the indifference of good men.”