[JamesStoddard]

I'm a writer with a couple of award winning fantasy novels out--The High House, and The False House. I'm also a recording engineer and musician. I've recently placed a free MP3 file on www.mp3.com (http://www.mp3.com) of myself reading a short portion of The High House, along with background music I've composed. The MP3 is, I'm afraid, a blatant advertisement for the book, but I hope it's entertaining as well.

I was wanting to get the opinions of some dedicated SF/Fantasy fans as to whether they liked this sort of thing. You can download it by doing an audio search for James Stoddard either on www.mp3.com (http://www.mp3.com) or at Amazon.com. As I said, it is free, and I would appreciate any feedback.

Thank you,

James Stoddard

[This message has been edited by Keyoke (edited March 28, 2002).]

[Keyoke]

Mr. Stoddard! Welcome to the Sffworld message forum. I, for one, am a fan of your two books, and I am hoping that we may see a new one in the near future? (Hint Hint)

I am currently d/l your Mp3 and I'll let you know what I thought. Btw, I had to edit your message as the link you provided had a slight error in it. http://www.sffworld.com/ubb/smile.gif

Keyoke


[This message has been edited by Keyoke (edited March 28, 2002).]

[Cadfael]

This humble member has also heard of Mr Stoddard... *falls to his knees*

"We are not worthy!!"

But.. as regards opinions... brace yourself friend... these guys do not pull the punches http://www.sffworld.com/ubb/biggrin.gif

That's why I Luv 'em http://www.sffworld.com/ubb/biggrin.gif

*Don't take too long reading this... you have work to do!!... <hint hint>*

[This message has been edited by dennizm (edited March 29, 2002).]

[Hobbit]

And so have I.... in fact I mentioned 'The High House' in the thread on famous dragons the other day here.

Nice to see you here James - allbeit virtually. Hope you can drop in again and join in the, erm, 'discussions' ( http://www.sffworld.com/ubb/smile.gif ) here in the Forum.

As I am a big fan of the High House I'm off to get a download. Will let you know later!

Hobbit

[Rob B]

James:

Welcome to the forum. I thoroughly enjoyed The High House and thought it was one of the best first novels I've read. Any plans for third and more books on the horizon?

I'll get back to you about the MP3, being at work now...

[JamesStoddard]

Gosh, nice to know you've actually read my books. Very flattering, as the print runs have been relatively small. I really want to release a third book in the Evenmere series--in fact I have a rough draft done of it, but sales have not quite reached the point where my editors can give me the go-ahead. Thus, the MP3. My own peculiar attempt at introducing it to more readers. If you discover you like it, please feel free to send it to a couple billion of your friends.

I did, by the way, have an Evenmere short story appear in the January issue of the Magazine of F & SF. Its long left the newstands, but you might be able to get a copy directly from the publishers.

Oh, and thanks for editing the errors out of my original message. I'm afraid I'm a bit new at bulletin boards, etc.

This, by the way, is a very cool web-site, which I found by a random search.

Thanks

James

[Rob B]

James, glad you like the site. I just listened to the mp3 and it was pretty interesting. I am not a big audio book fan, but I liked the music you put together for the background.

[kassimir funk]

Dammit.... I wanted to be the first musician/sound engineer/author!!!

Just goes to show that it's hard to be original these days.

Anyhow, I checked out your MP3. I thought the begining was great but after that it got kind of dull and almost stale. I would add some more compression to the voice to cover the "recorded" sound. Musically(this is just my opinion), I would diversify the rythm throughtout the piece. I'm refering to the segment that begins after the intro(which was very cool). Just sorta beef up the percussion and have it build to a small climax. Music starts with the beat.
Regardless, I LOVE the idea of what you have done. You sir have inspired me. http://www.sffworld.com/ubb/smile.gif
Might I ask what you used to record this on? (protools??) I would also suggest investing in a U87 mic. I had the opportunity to use one in L.A. They are friggin great. Now that I think about it, buy me one too.

Sincerely,
Kassimir Funk

[BoxingGriffin]

Good stuff, James!

I listened twice - once for the story and once for the music.
The story intrigues me, and I will definately be checking it out. What an original concept!
The music was also very cool. I teach band so I deal more with "live" instruments than those of the digital variety, but I dig what you've got started. I hate to admit it but I agree with K-Funk in that I would like to hear a bit more percussion. The beginning struck me as sort of a Renaissance feel, so maybe some tambourine or frame drum? Like I said I'm not too knowledgeable on what is possible in the world of digital music. And as the music gets darker and more formidable, I'd love to hear some toms or bass drum rolls...maybe some suspended cymbal to accent the "wind" sounds you already have. Ooo, and a rainstick effect would add to the creepiness of this strange man at the gate.

Well, I'm off to find a copy of High House!
Thanks for sharing your work!

BG

[estranghero]

Too true.

I managed to find a copy of the High House and I really enjoyed reading it. Unfortunately, I haven't been able find a copy of the next book but I'll certainly be on the lookout for this and whatever books Stoddard comes out with.

Unfortunately, we're banned from downloading mp3s at work so I have to do this at home (with a slower connection too...).