Recorded over Christmas and New Year, Amanda James’ The Cornish Retribution has just been released on Audible.com and I’m pleased to see has secured a 5star review to kick us off.
This is the first novel I’ve narrated in the first person and that made it challenging, strangely. I enjoy bringing characters to life in audiobooks and although I always think of the narrator as someone connected in some way to the story, they’re usually a little more ephemeral and don’t need so much work in pre-planning their exact personality, flaws, relationships with other characters and countless other decisions as they travel through their narrative.
Something that helped get to grips with building Sam’s voice is her bad side – her flaws. The character does something really nasty early in her life and her worries that she’ll lose control of her emotions again as she’s tested by life’s disappointments and hard luck makes for a complexity that feels real. Sam tries to be a good person whilst recognising that everyone has a dark side and has to learn to live with that is a constant tension we all have to grapple with.
I loved building Sam’s life – introducing each character into the story and especially enjoyed giving Alison a voice somewhere between naughty, vindictive and wide-eyed innocent.
Add to that the backdrop of the Cornish seascapes and its a recipe for a wonderful time in the vocal booth.