And now for something completely different...
Well, not completely different, since it is a podfic, and that seems to be my raison d'etre, lately. The "completely different" part is that this is not the next chapter of Foundations. Instead, it is the Spike/Xander podfic that I recorded for amplificathon's Podbang fest.
I signed up back in September (when I was under the delusion that I would be done recording Foundations long before Christmas - silly, silly me). The Podbang is the podfic version of a big bang exchange fest. The idea is to get more long podfics recorded.
I signed up and said that I would be happy to read either HP or BtVS slash. When my assignment came back, I had the choice of either of those (or several others that I know nothing about). After thinking about it, I decided that I wanted to give the Buffy!verse a shot. Two reasons: I had an idea of a Spike/Xander fic that I thought would make a great podfic and, well, I was already having these niggling feelings of disloyalty for working on something other than Foundations. Getting involved with someone else's Harry/Draco just didn't seem right.
The next concern, of course, was to find out if the fic that I wanted to read was actually long enough to qualify for the podbang (30,000 words minimum). The story I had in mind was There's Your Trouble by savoytruffle. It's funny, sexy, and has some of the best Xander-babble every written. And I knew without a doubt that it would sound good read aloud.
I crossed my fingers and went to my bookmarks. And hallelujah! There's Your Trouble weighed in at 34,000 words: long enough to qualify, and short enough to give me a chance to actually work it in to my crazed schedule.
So, I promptly, and without any delay, procrastinated.
My justification, of course, was that I was busy at work, and when I had time, I wanted to work on Foundations. That was perfectly true, and also a total cop-out. The truth was that trying to read Spike scared the crap out of me. I was pretty comfortable with Xander-babble, but Spike! Accents intimidate the hell out of me at the best of times (ask Nat - she's had to talk me off the ledge more than once on the topic of accents, namely Marley's Irishness, in Foundations). And James Marster's voice as Spike...
And thus, avoidance. However, I had committed, and I really, really didn't want to renege. So just before the last possible minute, I messaged the author to ask permission to record her story. She responded with lightening speed with an enthusiastic yes! and I realized that I would have to get over my little hang-up and get on with it.
Recording it went smoothly, although I will admit to some challenging moments trying to find a place to breathe during Xander's wilder excesses of babble, and in my final listen-through, I felt cautiously optimistic that it sounded reasonably decent.
Once again at the last minute, I asked Savoytruffle if she had any particular art that she would like used for the cover of the podbook, and - again in record time - she lined up a gorgeous cover made by the amazingly talented katekat1010. Look! Look at this beautiful art!
In the end, I met the (extended) deadline. Initial responses seem to be positive (and Savoytruffle says she likes it - always a huge relief when the creator is pleased. Feels like a blessing, really!)
You can download the mp3 or mp4 here. This page also had the podbook of Reparations and will eventually have the podbook of Foundations when it's done.
For those who are patiently (or not so patiently) waiting for the next chapter of Foundations, it's recorded and off to Beta. Since it's the holidays, I'm sure that Nat has many, many things on her plate, and then I need a bit of time to make any corrections; so it could be a bit still before it posts. Soon, though!
I signed up back in September (when I was under the delusion that I would be done recording Foundations long before Christmas - silly, silly me). The Podbang is the podfic version of a big bang exchange fest. The idea is to get more long podfics recorded.
I signed up and said that I would be happy to read either HP or BtVS slash. When my assignment came back, I had the choice of either of those (or several others that I know nothing about). After thinking about it, I decided that I wanted to give the Buffy!verse a shot. Two reasons: I had an idea of a Spike/Xander fic that I thought would make a great podfic and, well, I was already having these niggling feelings of disloyalty for working on something other than Foundations. Getting involved with someone else's Harry/Draco just didn't seem right.
The next concern, of course, was to find out if the fic that I wanted to read was actually long enough to qualify for the podbang (30,000 words minimum). The story I had in mind was There's Your Trouble by savoytruffle. It's funny, sexy, and has some of the best Xander-babble every written. And I knew without a doubt that it would sound good read aloud.
I crossed my fingers and went to my bookmarks. And hallelujah! There's Your Trouble weighed in at 34,000 words: long enough to qualify, and short enough to give me a chance to actually work it in to my crazed schedule.
So, I promptly, and without any delay, procrastinated.
My justification, of course, was that I was busy at work, and when I had time, I wanted to work on Foundations. That was perfectly true, and also a total cop-out. The truth was that trying to read Spike scared the crap out of me. I was pretty comfortable with Xander-babble, but Spike! Accents intimidate the hell out of me at the best of times (ask Nat - she's had to talk me off the ledge more than once on the topic of accents, namely Marley's Irishness, in Foundations). And James Marster's voice as Spike...
And thus, avoidance. However, I had committed, and I really, really didn't want to renege. So just before the last possible minute, I messaged the author to ask permission to record her story. She responded with lightening speed with an enthusiastic yes! and I realized that I would have to get over my little hang-up and get on with it.
Recording it went smoothly, although I will admit to some challenging moments trying to find a place to breathe during Xander's wilder excesses of babble, and in my final listen-through, I felt cautiously optimistic that it sounded reasonably decent.
Once again at the last minute, I asked Savoytruffle if she had any particular art that she would like used for the cover of the podbook, and - again in record time - she lined up a gorgeous cover made by the amazingly talented katekat1010. Look! Look at this beautiful art!
In the end, I met the (extended) deadline. Initial responses seem to be positive (and Savoytruffle says she likes it - always a huge relief when the creator is pleased. Feels like a blessing, really!)
You can download the mp3 or mp4 here. This page also had the podbook of Reparations and will eventually have the podbook of Foundations when it's done.
For those who are patiently (or not so patiently) waiting for the next chapter of Foundations, it's recorded and off to Beta. Since it's the holidays, I'm sure that Nat has many, many things on her plate, and then I need a bit of time to make any corrections; so it could be a bit still before it posts. Soon, though!