Wednesday, September 21, 2022

Curveball at the Crossroads Audiobook Review

 


I never realized how difficult it is marketing an audiobook. While the audiobook market is in the billions, how do you promote an audiobook? With a physical book, I can show it to people anywhere and they can touch it, feel it, and hopefully buy it. But with an audiobook, there is another level of engagement. They have to play it and find the time to listen to it.

One of the ways I learned to promote the Curveball at the Crossroads audiobook is to submit it to audiobook review websites. A few months ago, I submitted the Curveball at the Crossroads audiobook to AudioFileMagazine.com. They publish dozens of audiobook reviews. I wasn't sure if they were going to review it or not. Lo and behold, last week they sent me an email stating their review was published.

Narrator Torian Brackett gives star treatment to each character in this story of a faustian bargain. Seventeen-year-old JaMark Reliford is poised for big league baseball--until he blows out his arm. After leaving home, depressed, drinking, and smoking, he meets a tall man in a zoot suit. The tempting voice that Brackett gives the devil entices JaMark with promises of baseball glory in return for his soul. Soon he meets Betsy, the love of his life--and another standout performance by Brackett--and moves to the Major League. But these successes are marred by his heartbreaking worry about the future of his soul, coupled with terrifying visits from the devil. Audio is a must for the subtle humor that shines through JaMark's anxiety. S.G.B. © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine [Published: SEPTEMBER 2022]

I agree. Torian did an amazing job, although the review failed to mention my favorite part - Torian's spectacular job as the play-by-play radio announcer.

Hopefully this is the start of the audiobook taking off in sales. Or at least the start of other reviews. I hope other enjoy the Curveball at the Crossroads audiobook as much as I do.

For those who haven't heard, he is a preview of Torian Brackett's narration of Curveball at the Crossroads.