Karen Commins

The Story Behind The Story Part 1: Illustrations

6 September 2014

In July, I published the Kindle edition and audiobook of Edna Ferber’s classic coming-of-age story Fanny Herself: A Passionate Instinct. On the surface, the task of publishing new editions of a public domain work might seem simple. After all, the author has done the hard part of actually writing the text. As you’ll discover in a short series of articles from several journal entries I want to share, the effort and decisions occurring behind the scenes were almost as difficult and time-consuming as creating a new story.

You may remember from this post that in order for me to publish an audiobook from a public domain book on Audible.com — my end goal — I have to create a new Kindle version of the text. This version must be distinguished from the free version in the Kindle store in 1 of 3 ways:

annotated with substantive, hand-created content
illustrated with 10 or more pictures that are relevant to the text
translated into another language

I had illustrated my first book The Heart of The New Thought and decided to illustrate Fanny Herself.

Monday 31 March 2014

When it comes easy, you know it’s meant to be, and the Universe was certainly smiling on me this afternoon to make it easy for me to illustrate Fanny Herself!

Last night, I started looking for stock images to illustrate the book. I thought it would be easy to find a Victorian, plush photo album shaped like an acorn. I’m sure I’ve seen such a thing in a magazine. I spent at least an hour and maybe even 2 looking for that one picture but came up empty. As we went to bed, I thought I should plan to annotate my Kindle book instead of illustrate it.

I started researching the famous violinist Schabelitz to see if he really was a violinist or an imaginary character. Ferber mixes real and imagined people and things so easily that I don’t know where fiction ends and facts begin.

I found info about the German influences in Wisconsin and a journalist in Cincinnati named R. E. Schabelitz. These were interesting finds, and I thought of other things to add.

I saw several links to the book and looked at a few. One was the Emory Women Writers Resource Project, which might be a useful repository of future publishing projects.

Another link was the JACKPOT! I found Volume 83 of The American Magazine containing their issues from Jan.-June 1917. Fanny Herself, I quickly learned, was serialized in that magazine starting in April 1917! And guess what?! Within each month’s portion were hand-drawn illustrations by M. Leone Bracker! I found 10 between April and June, which is all I need to offer the book on Kindle. I also found a picture of Ferber and made copies of the magazine cover and some promotional paragraphs.

I looked for volume 84 in Google. They have digitized a number of volumes of The American Magazine, but they weren’t in order. I never could find volume 84. I was thinking about checking libraries to find it.

I decided to look on eBay. I queried “American Magazine 1917” and got 41 results, most of which were for different magazines like the American Magazine of the Arts, Mentor, etc. Someone had the April 1917 issue of The American Magazine for $20.

I about jumped out of my skin when I saw the holy grail: Volume 84, bound like a library copy, of the July-Dec. 1917 issues of The American Magazine!! I didn’t even read the description! I saw the pictures and the price of $18 plus $3 shipping, and I bought it!

I then saw that the front and back covers of each magazine are missing, along with about 12 pages throughout the book. The probability that those 12 pages were the pictures I want is too remote to even consider. It’s coming from North Carolina, so I should have my book later this week.

When I think of the probability of the very book I need being on eBay at the precise time I looked, my astonishment and elation increase. What are the odds?! Obviously the Universe and perhaps Edna Ferber herself want me to have an easy time of bringing new life to this book! I’m soooo excited that I will be able to include the original illustrations from the magazine in my book!!

M. Leone Bracker’s 1917 artwork for Fanny Herself

Audiobook Releases Summer 2014

16 August 2014

Dirty Harriet Rides Again is book 2 in Miriam Auerbach’s Dirty Harriet mysteries. Once again, Harriet Horowitz has to kick some serious butt in Boca Raton….after consultation with her friendly local alligator Lana, of course! 🙂

It’s not the first time that Harriet has been at a wedding when a murder occurs. The first time was when she shot her abusive ex-husband. (Well, he did deserve it.)

This time, she is attending the wedding of her gay friends Chuck and Enrique. I won’t tell you who gets killed, and I certainly won’t tell you how Harriet figures out the killer! I will say, though, that the zingers in the book are hysterical, and the singers in the Holy Rollers Motorcycle Club and Gospel Choir provide more than just a little entertainment!

This cozy mystery audiobook runs 5 hours and 36 minutes. It’s a fun listen, especially while poolside or at the beach.

By the way, I was thrilled to learn that author Miriam Auerbach is a finalist in the Best Novel: Cozy/ Traditional category for the 2014 Silver Falchion award! I loved narrating the audiobook of her nominated book DIRTY HARRIET. Congrats to Miriam and Bell Bridge Books on this honor!

The next new release really means a lot to me because I published it!

For the first time on Audible on iTunes, I’m proud to present the UNABRIDGED edition of the classic text FANNY HERSELF by renowned American author Edna Ferber.

Due to Amazon/Audible/ACX publishing rules, my audiobook has a different title: Fanny Herself: A Passionate Instinct.

This wonderful, coming-of-age story follows Fanny Brandeis from her childhood in Winnebago, WI into her 20s as a businesswoman in Chicago. Even though the book was written in 1917, many of the themes are still relevant.

Fanny’s mother, a widow, makes a decision about her children’s education that affects all of them throughout their lives. Like many of us, Fanny has to decide how whether she will pursue wealth or her creative dreams. We also wonder whether Fanny will find love.

I have recently discovered Edna Ferber and find that she is a brilliant storyteller. Ferber won the Pulitzer Prize for Novel in 1925 and may be best known for her book Show Boat, which was adapted into a successful and long-running musical.

Rather than relying on dialogue to progress the story, she offers such vivid descriptions that we feel we are right there with the characters, experiencing the world as they did. Her female characters are strong and assertive, and I could identify with both Fanny and her mother. I was sorry when the story ended!

The book runs 12 hours and 44 minutes, perfect listening for those long drives to and from the beach or rainy weekends.

Ferber originally published this book as a serial story that ran in the April-November 1917 issues of The American Magazine. Check out my companion Kindle ebook which contains the original, beautiful, hand-drawn illustrations that accompanied the magazine segments.

I love Edna Ferber’s work so much that I narrated the first of many of her short stories to come: Cheerful By Request.

As a child, Josie Fifer always spoke in front of crowds and liked to make people laugh. She thought she would be an actress on the stage. However, her life changed in a freak accident.

Can she find happiness and fulfillment in a new career?

Although the story is over 100 years old, it offers an important truth that is still relevant to the modern listener.

The black, the pearls, the theatre marquee, the star, and the mauve — oh, especially, the mauve! — are all important elements of this wonderful short story. I get giddy with delight when I think about how perfectly the cover art and the music in the credits complement the story.

The story runs just over an hour, an ideal length to hear while commuting, cooking, or doing other tasks.

TDIMH — Maybe When I Retire

26 June 2014

This Date In My History is an ongoing series of blog posts taken directly from my private journal entries written at least 10 years ago.

I decided to make it a little more obvious that these journal entries are not current after the last article in this series caused a few people to think I was really down in the dumps. While I truly appreciate their friendship and encouragement, I share these journal entries to help encourage others along their path.

Situation

In this entry, I was in Phoenix for 2 weeks to attend a class for my day job, which I described in an earlier entry:

One down and 7 more to go. Seven more weekdays of mind-numbingly boring class on Exchange 2000 with all these people, 2 of whom are constantly, obnoxiously loud and on my nerves….The temperature here has been 109 degrees. Everyone says “yes, but it’s a dry heat.” It’s still hotter than hell. It’s like poking your whole body into an oven.

Journal Entry

TDIMH — Wednesday June 26, 2002 10:45pm watching Seinfeld in Phoenix

“Maybe when I retire” seems to be a common phrase and state of mind for most people I know.

I was trying to get [a coworker] thinking about her dreams this morning at breakfast. I guess the questions not only came too early in the day but also too early in her life. She’s 43 and said she might like to open a dive shop in Japan — someday — “maybe when I retire.” Most people can’t seem to think about the here and now, preferring to think of “somedays” that may never happen.

Not me. I am so focused on my goals, and I am determined that no one or nothing will stop me from achieving them.

Half of the people attending the class have spent the last 2 weeks drinking by the hotel pool.

Not me. I’ve spent time almost every day trying to make new contacts for voice work. Tonight, I was online for 3 hours. I posted a situation wanted at [one web site]. I looked at web sites on Mandy.com and sent an email to one company. I also have spent time today looking at [at least 5 other sites].

I am a working voice actress who makes my living voicing commercials, narrations, audiobooks and cartoons primarily from my home studio. I am well-known in the industry; well-loved by legions of fans; well-respected by peers, directors, and producers; very well utilized because I can pick and choose my projects; and EXTREMELY well-paid.

Today’s Take-aways

1. How you spend your days is how you will spend your LIFE. How will you spend your next 24 hours? If you have a day job, realize that it isn’t the thing that is holding you back. I’ve previously written about ways to find happiness when you hate your day job. Taking active steps toward your dream will spill over into every other facet of your life.

3. A dream is just a wish until you WRITE IT DOWN. Most of the last paragraph in the journal entry was so far away from my reality in 2002 but is becoming truer for me every day. It’s important to write what you want to happen in the present tense as if it’s already here. Doing so rewires your brain so that you can feel and live the truth of the thought. You become filled with a joyful expectancy that naturally inspires you to take action to make your statements a reality! To prove this point, take a look at Jim Carrey’s wonderful true story about visualization and manifestation.

Photo: iStockPhoto/maxmihai

Livin’ La DIVA Loca

25 June 2014

When we last left our hero and heroine (also known as Drew and me), they were leaving Memphis, TN and headed down 78 Highway to Holly Springs, MS. If you’ve never heard of Holly Springs, you obviously haven’t heard one of the Dixie Diva Mysteries audiobooks that were written by Virginia Brown and narrated by me!

These fun books revolve around Trinket Truevine, her cousin and best friend Bitty Hollandale, and several (ahem) “ladies of a certain age” who live in Holly Springs and can’t seem to stay away from chocolate, alcohol, and murders! I’ve narrated 5 of these books, and I understand that Virginia Brown is writing the next one in the series. I can’t wait to record it!

As I was narrating book #5, Divas Do Tell, earlier this year, I commented to Drew that it would be fun to go on the Pilgrimage some time. You see, Holly Springs has a number of antebellum homes, and each year the town Garden Club convenes a house tour known as the Pilgrimage. Many of the home owners or hostesses dress up in period costumes, and all discuss the history of the home and its furnishings.

I looked on-line for the dates and was thrilled to see it was in mid-April. (I’ve since learned that it always is in mid-April.) We decided to go so I could get some pictures and videos for future marketing efforts.

One of the homes on this year’s Pilgrimage was the Walter Place. As Virginia Brown wrote in Dixie Divas (book 1):

Since she’s been six years old, Bitty has wanted a particular house on West Chulahoma Avenue. The Walter Place is built of stone, has twin turrets like a castle, estate size grounds, and was a temporary home for General Grant and his family when they stayed in Holly Springs in 1862.

Once I saw it, I could understand why Bitty would want it! Antiques fill the house, which again would fit Bitty’s style perfectly.

The Terrace on Chulahoma is almost across the street from the Walter Place and also was on the tour. I liked how the owner of that house had mixed old and new furnishings in order to make it livable and comfortable. Some of the homes seemed more museum-like. They were full of fine antiques and knick-knacks without a TV or recliner in sight.

Much of the action in Divas Do Tell (book 5) occurred at Montrose. The author wrote:

Montrose is a beautiful home that now houses the Holly Springs Garden Club and events like weddings or graduation parties. It also hosts the annual April pilgrimage.

Like the Walter Place, Montrose has one of those beautiful curved staircases in the foyer. As we walked up to the second floor, I had to wonder how the women wearing hooped skirts — both on the Pilgrimage and the original owners in the 1800s — could actually navigate the increasingly small turns without taking a turn for the worse!

We were very interested to learn how the house was kept cooler in the days before the invention of air conditioning. The slaves who built the house knew to use charcoal in the walls before adhering the bricks. The charcoal worked as a natural insulator. The front and back doors would be opened to allow the breezes to flow through the house.

After a delicious lunch at JB’s On the Square, we went in Booker Hardware. I think Booker Hardware is mentioned in every book, and a particularly funny and memorable scene occurred in that store in Divas Do Tell. In Drop Dead Divas (book 2), Brown describes it this way:

Booker’s Hardware has been in the same place since the mid-eighteen hundreds. It still has the same wide plank floors, old wooden cabinets that hold screws, and a lot of the same kind of merchandise. It’s a great place to buy a Number 8 washtub or a butter churner, or the newest in chainsaws or drills.

Before leaving Holly Springs, we walked around the square and visited the cemetery. I was especially happy to hear Memphis radio station WKQK playing Barry Manilow’s Copacabana that Friday afternoon as we left Holly Springs and headed about 30 miles away to Oxford, MS.

Oxford is the home of the University of Mississippi, or Ole Miss as it is usually and affectionately known. In each book, we’re reminded that Bitty graduated from Ole Miss, and her twin boys are enrolled there. The campus features prominently in Divas and Dead Rebels (book 4) as the story line centers around a dead professor (gasp!).

Since I went to a commuter college, I’ve adopted Ole Miss as my football team. If I had gone to school there, I probably also would have been in the marching band.

While I only got to spend a short time in Holly Springs and Oxford, I look forward to Livin’ La DIVA Loca some more when I narrate the next audiobook in the series!

Photos: Drew Commins

Hangin’ with Harley Davidson

16 June 2014

Has a character in a book ever inspired you to visit a place?

After narrating 2 series of books written by Virginia Brown, I decided it was time to visit the 2 cities she described with such love and detail: Memphis, TN and Holly Springs, MS. Of course, my main goal for the trip was to get lots of pictures and videos to use in my future marketing efforts for both series!

The Blue Suede Memphis series is set in — you guessed it — Memphis. The main character is Harley Jean Davidson, and she drives a tour bus for Memphis Tour Tyme. Drew voices all of the male parts in this series. We’ve done 3 books so far and are looking forward to recording the final book Return to Fender this summer.

Drew and I started our April trip in Memphis. We went to several of the touristy spots mentioned in the books, with the first stop naturally being Graceland. We’ve heard for years how tacky Graceland is, so we were surprised to find out that statement is not really true. Sure, everything in it looks very 1970s, but what do you expect?

Many of the rooms seemed very tastefully and expensively decorated, with crystal chandeliers and traditional furniture upholstered in velvet. For its time, the kitchen was very state-of-the-art, with double ovens and a TV. In fact, TVs were in every room. In Elvis’ lounge (think: man cave), he had three TVs on the wall so he could watch multiple stations at once. It all seemed very comfortable and homey.

The pool room was covered in fabric on both the walls and the ceiling. The stairs leading up from that room to the so-called jungle room were covered in green shag carpet. I suppose that people found those elements to be tacky.

Someone in front of us on the stairs commented that those materials on the walls would provide excellent soundproofing. They told us that Elvis recorded one album in his jungle room, so soundproofing would be a much-needed aspect of his house. The jungle room was called that because many of the pieces of furniture had animals carved in the wood. You also saw cow skulls like you would find on the street in the old West.

The most impressive thing about the tour was the trophy room. It’s more than a room, really; it’s actually a small building. Inside this building, one side was filled with all his music awards. The walls were literally lined from ceiling to floor with gold records.

On the other side of the building, they had posters, apparel, and other mementos of his many movies. I didn’t realize he had been in as many movies as he had! No matter what you think of Elvis or his music, you can’t argue with those many physical reminders of his unparalleled success.

They also had several displays showing his many donations to charitable organizations. I was glad to see that they carried on that commitment to charity at their own cash register in the gift shop. I bought a little brass guitar Christmas ornament, and they asked if we would like to contribute to St. Jude Children’s Hospital, which we did.

Two horses were in the back pasture. One was a Palomino, and I saw signage that said a Palomino was Elvis’s favorite horse. The meditation garden contained his grave, as well as those of his parents and his grandmother.

Our tickets allowed us entry into his car museum, where we saw, among other vehicles, not 1 but 2 Rolls Royces, Priscilla’s 1960s Mercedes convertible, a snowmobile converted for lawn use, a couple of motorcycles, and two Cadillacs — the pink one (of course) and the one I liked, which was purple with white interior!

It was interesting going on board his private plane, the Lisa Marie. I don’t think I’ve ever been in a private plane before. It looked very comfortable and housed TVs in the compartments, as well as a phone where you could call anywhere in the world. Elvis had a bedroom on board, too.

We also saw an exhibit of Elvis in Vegas. They had a lot of his flashy costumes in there. We could imagine why there would be so many Elvis impersonators both in Memphis and in the book Suspicious Mimes!

After a long but completely delightful afternoon meeting with the marketing director of the publishing company, we took the car back to the hotel and walked to Beale Street, thinking we might eat there. Every place had loud music, and smoke was everywhere. Let’s just say it’s not my kind of environment.

We walked on back toward the famous Peabody Hotel and ended up in a nice conversation with a member of the Blue Suede Brigade who was standing near the hotel entrance. This group of volunteers serves as ambassadors for the city to help tourists. The brigadier suggested we dine at The Majestic, which is a converted silent theater on Main Street.

People talk about the food in Memphis with good reason. The meal at The Majestic was most enjoyable, in part due to the subdued lighting, dark furniture and excellent wait staff. We had an appetizer consisting of cheese, gourmet crackers, sausage, barbecue pecans (spicy!), apple wedges and a couple of other things I’ve forgotten. For our entrees, Drew had ribs, and I had a filet. It all tasted great!

Next stop: Holly Springs, MS!

Photos: Drew Commins

Winter 2014 Audiobook Releases

7 May 2014

I’ve got several recent releases to post, so you might want to get a cup of coffee and relax!

Earlier this year, I published The Heart of the New Thought by Ella Wheeler Wilcox, one of the leaders in the New Thought movement in the early 20th century.

This short book was first published over 100 years ago, but Wilcox offers advice for living a better and more spiritual life that is still practical today. Wilcox suggests ways to change your thinking and specific actions to take in order to feel better about yourself and improve your life.

For instance, have you ever noticed that the more you talk about being sick, the illness worsens and stays with you for a longer period of time?

I’m especially proud of this book because it is the first publication for my new audiobook company Jewel Audiobooks! Jewel Audiobooks will specialize in self-development and travel treasures and long-hidden gems of fiction.

Fans of Melissa F. Miller’s Sasha McCandless legal thriller series will be happy to know that book 5, Improper Influence is now in audio!

In this book, Sasha meets forensic pathologist Bodhi King, who asks her help in solving a case where young, healthy women in Pittsburgh are dying. In determining the cause of deaths, Bodhi also becomes a target.

Meanwhile, Sasha is working on a legal case involving corruption and another with a breach of contract. Could these cases be related to the deaths?

As if she didn’t have enough on her plate, her hunky fiancé is getting antsy about planning their wedding.

It’s never a dull moment in this series!

I had the honor of narrating Mary Potter Kenyon’s Chemo-Therapist: How Cancer Saved a Marriage .

When Kenyon’s husband David contracted oral cancer, she looked for books and inspirational stories to help them get through the experience. She lets the listener know early on that her husband DID NOT DIE from his cancer treatments as she wanted to provide hope to those who are ill or caregivers for cancer patients.

She wrote with honesty and frankness about the state of their marriage at the time of his diagnosis and their steps to become closer as he went through treatments.

She also discussed the effect that his treatments and the couple’s re-commitment to each other had on their 8 children.

I wanted to narrate it because so many people are in a similar situation. I think this book can offer hope and encouragement to people who need it most.

Just in time for pool season, I’m delighted to announce that the Dixie Divas — your favorite summertime companions — are back with book 5 in this funny, cosy mystery series, Divas Do Tell .

You’ve heard of the book The Help? Well, this isn’t that book….but Holly Springs, MS resident and sister to one of the Divas Dixie Lee Forsythe was inspired by that book to write one of her own!

Bitty Hollandale and other own residents were upset about the publication of Dixie Lee’s tell-all Dark Secrets Under the Holly due to its thinly-veiled descriptions of townspeople. They were even more upset about the movie version…..that is, until they found out they could be IN the movie! Of course, wherever the Divas are, murders seem to follow.

It’s a fabulous day when I get to voice the dialogue between the main characters Bitty Hollandale and Trinket Truevine! I’m thrilled to learn that author Virginia Brown is already at work on book 6!

My latest release is Two Shades of Morning by Janice Daugharty. It falls in the category of literary fiction.

A woman looks back to the early 1960s and tells us about her relationships with her next-door neighbor. At the time, our narrator Earlene was 19, married, and accustomed to being the prettiest girl in her little N. Florida town.

Nothing changed — yet everything changed — the day her friend and neighbor Robert Dale Sharpe brought home his pretty new wife, Sibil.

“Nobody ever believed much about Sibyl Sharpe, least of all that she would die, and yet death is the first thing I heard about her.”

With an opening line like that, you know there are secrets to be kept and others exposed!

All of these books are great listens for those summer road trips and lounging by the pool. Enjoy!