In a secret, undisclosed location...

Two Fridays ago, my son Jonah and I headed to the edge of town — a desolate locale populated by warehouses and storage units — to begin a new project.

One of my New Year's resolutions for 2023 is to publish the audiobook version of Much Ado About Corona. And, as AJ says in the novel, "You should always start your resolutions before the new year. That way you’re rocking and rolling by January first.” Hence, why I booked a professional recording gig in December.

The name of the recording studio and its exact location will remain undisclosed, as the recording artist didn't want his brand tarnished by my controversial novel. I, however, was simply grateful he was willing to handle the recording and editing — as he has plenty of experience recording books for the big publishers like Penguin Canada.

At $100 per hour, the studio is top-notch, with a dedicated sound-proof booth where I began what will be a long and expensive journey of recording all twenty hours (with probably another 20 hours of editing) of the 500-page story...

I almost cancelled as I was suffering from an allergic reaction to a raw plum I ate. Plums and strawberries cause my mouth and throat to break out in ulcers. Nonetheless, I couldn't be more happy with the recording and how it was edited. Let me know what you think. You can listen to a free preview of my reading the prologue and chapter one here.

Stay sane, stay real,

 John C. A. Manley

PS I estimate it will cost between $3000 and $4000 to have the book recorded and edited. To help fund this, I'll be launching the Blazing Pine Cone Patrons program in the New Year — which will include a monthly members-only print newsletter and conference call.

PPS A new five-star review of the novel on Amazon UK says: "A heart-warming, sometimes heart-breaking, tale of friendship, love and courage.... Highly recommended as a must-read, to not only serve as a reminder of what we endured (cos now that things appear to be returning to normal, it's so easy to forget), but to give us the courage to stand for what we believe in, even if we stand alone."

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