INDEPENDENT ‘AUDIO-FIRST’ ENTERTAINMENT STUDIO RELEASES FIRST-EVER TRAILER FOR AUDIBLE’S #1 SCI-FI AUDIOBOOK SERIES: EXPEDITIONARY FORCE BY CRAIG ALANSON

Author: Craig Alanson

Narrator: R.C. Bray

Length: 16 hours 23 minutes

Series: Expeditionary Force, Book 1

Publisher: Podium Publishing

Released: Dec. 13, 2016

Genre: Science Fiction

From multimillion dollar, best-selling author Craig Alanson (and narrated by fan-favorite R.C. Bray) Expeditionary Force is a New York Times best-selling military science-fiction series that will be composed of 14 novels. The first audiobook in the series, Columbus Day, was one of five finalists for the prestigious Audie Award in 2018 and has been optioned for film and television by Milmar Pictures (AIR FORCE ONE, CASTLE, HOLLOW MAN). Zachary Quinto (STAR TREK, NOS482, HEROES) and Kate Mulgrew (ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK, STAR TREK: VOYAGER) starred in the epic Expeditionary Force audio drama HOMEFRONT; Armageddon, Book 8, debuted at #1 on all of Audible. Books 1-9 are available now on Audible.

Nominee, 2018 Audie Awards — Audiobook of the Year

We were fighting on the wrong side of a war we couldn’t win. And that was the good news.

The Ruhar hit us on Columbus Day. There we were, innocently drifting along the cosmos on our little blue marble, like the Native Americans in 1492. Over the horizon came ships of a technologically advanced, aggressive culture, and BAM! There went the good old days, when humans got killed only by each other. So, Columbus Day. It fits.

When the morning sky twinkled again, this time with Kristang starships jumping in to hammer the Ruhar, we thought we were saved. The UN Expeditionary Force hitched a ride on Kristang ships to fight the Ruhar wherever our new allies thought we could be useful. So, I went from fighting with the US Army in Nigeria to fighting in space. It was lies, all of it. We shouldn’t even be fighting the Ruhar; they aren’t our enemy. Our allies are.

I’d better start at the beginning.

Podium Audio is thrilled to announce the debut of the studio’s first audiobook trailer to mark the release of Valkyrie, the highly-anticipated ninth installment of New York Times best-selling author Craig Alanson’s Expeditionary Force sci-fi audiobook series. Voiced by R.C. Bray and edited by leading advertising agency Jump/Cut (trailers for PARASITE, FIRST REFORMED, CAPTAIN FANTASTIC), the audiobook trailer is Podium’s first foray into the audiovisual realm.

Podium Audio’s First-Ever Trailer Marks the Release of Valkyrie, the Highly-Anticipated Ninth Audiobook from the #1 Independently Published Sci-Fi Novelist in the World

Craig Alanson is a NYT best-selling author. His first audiobook ‘Columbus Day’ was one of five finalists for Audiobook Of The Year 2018 Visit craigalanson.com for FAQs, blog posts, merchandise, etc.

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From an early age Audie, Earphones, and SOVAS Voice Arts Award-winning audiobook narrator R.C. Bray despised reading. Truly hated it with a passion.

And audiobooks? Even worse. Those were for people too lazy to read (not to be confused with those like himself who didn’t want to read to begin with).

R.C. eventually got older and wiser (he was always good-looking) and eschewing his capricious convictions fell head-over-heels with reading. Not just to learn words like “eschew” and “capricious” so he could use them in a bio line, but because someone was actually going to give him money to do it.

Note: R.C.’s gorgeous wife and three beautiful children begged him not to make this his official bio. Clearly he misunderstood.

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Podium is an industry-leading independent audiobook publisher built upon the foundation of successful partnerships with self-published authors and narrators. With deep share of voice in the genres of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Romance, the company has enjoyed quick commercial and critical acclaim, releasing almost 1,300 audiobooks, numerous best-sellers, winning an Audie Award and 13 Voice Arts Awards. Podium is best-known for supporting, nurturing and discovering independent authors and narrators from the U.S. and around the world. The company gained international notice when it took a risk on one-time unknown author Andy Weir (The Martian) and turned his e-book into the largest audiobook seller in the world.

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Q&A with Author Craig Alanson: Part I

• Tell us about the process of turning your book into an audiobook.
  • I send the manuscript to Podium, they give it to Bob. Magic happens
• Do you believe certain types of writing translate better into audiobook format?
  • Dictionaries make for terrible audio. Also any “classic” you were forced to read in school like Beowulf would be a terrible audiobook, because it is a long, boring way for teachers to torture students. Although if RC Bray narrated a dictionary, I would at least listen to a sample.
• Was a possible audiobook recording something you were conscious of while writing?
  • For the first three books, no. Back then, I did not expect anyone would read my books, so I thought there was no point creating audio versions.
• How did you select your narrator?
  • Podium selected RC Bray and Tim Gerard Reynolds and MacLeod Andrews, and each of them were perfect for the books they narrated.
• How closely did you work with your narrator before and during the recording process? Did you give them any pronunciation tips or special insight into the characters?
  • Pronunciation tips yes, and in a few cases I did send notes about a character’s accent, background etc. if it was not already clear from the text. Other than that, let the pros do their jobs. I did not give RC Bray notes about how I imagined Skippy’s voice, so Bob created it by himself. The voice is exactly as I imagined!
• Were there any real life inspirations behind your writing?
  • I have never been a wizard, a soldier, traveled on a spaceship or talked with a beer can, so, no. Ok, maybe I have talked to a beer can but that is another story.
• How do you manage to avoid burn-out? What do you do to maintain your enthusiasm for writing?
  • My long-suffering wife knows that when I am 2/3rds of the way through writing a book, I am annoyed with it. But that is mostly because I am excited about writing the next book, and the current book is in the way. I maintain enthusiasm for writing, by only writing books that excite me.
• Are you an audiobook listener? What about the audiobook format appeals to you?
  • I listen to audiobooks when I’m running, at the gym, driving, etc. They are convenient because they are on my phone or my watch so I never have to remember where I put my book or Kindle. Also, a good narrator brings a story to life in a way that doesn’t happen when I am reading words on a page.
• Is there a particular part of this story that you feel is more resonating in the audiobook performance than in the book format?
  • My writing style is heavy on dialog, light on description. That makes the story move faster. One issue is that the rapid-fire back-and-forth dialog in my books can be difficult for narrators because they have to constantly switch between voices, so I am terribly sorry that I am not sorry at all about that.
• If you had the power to time travel, would you use it? If yes, when and where would you go?
  • This question is awkward because I already did. All I can say is, I would never have predicted a Cleveland Browns football dynasty.

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