The year-long odyssey of writing and recording my new collection of stories is finally over. “These Stories Are True” - both the book and audio versions - will be available to download as soon as website genius Kyle has figured out the best and most seamless avenues of doing so. Though I had high hopes of announcing this news as early as last June, pre-2020 is not bad. Especially for a project that didn’t even begin till this time last year.
I’m pleased. I’m tired. I’m ready to return to NYC…
The decision to finally delve into the world of non-fiction proved worthwhile, I feel. The process of recording and listening to my own voice relay the written words proved, at best, humbling. Much like the discovery of my singing being the weakest link in my song demos, my reading delivery had me wondering at first why I simply didn’t let a computer program do the job. Lots of time-consuming GarageBand editing was utilized in order to present a hopefully-competent version of the promised audio book.
I did get a little better as the process wore on. I THINK I did, at least…
Well - let me present the table of contents for you. Maybe even with a brief blurb about each selection…
01 - Prologue: Yeah, well - this is basically a warning to everyone on what’s about to happen…
02 - Crime: Believe it or not, I made a couple of dumb choices as a young man…
03 - Bumping Into Elton: Yep - it happened - at a Tower Records store in Boston.
04 - The Problem With Dentists: Written like a fictional short story - but completely true.
05 - A Vote for Bernie: Sanders, of course. Short, succinct - and more relevant today than ever.
06 - Spider-Man: A friend who is a New York Times reporter reports on a crazy story he witnessed first-hand involving me in real time.
07 - My Bob Dylan Song: I had a dream where I was listening to a Bob Dylan song that hadn’t been written yet. My demo of the song is included in the audio book.
08 - Leather Jackets: Crazy two-part story involving 9/11, restaurant work and leather jackets.
09 - Judy: My first-ever job gifted me with wonderful co-workers. Judy, for both inspiring and tragic reasons, will never be forgotten.
10 - A Route to New York: Lots of trials and errors were involved in getting this small-time Vermonter into an apartment of his own in the Big Apple.
11 - Wine and Lou Reed: Yep, I served the man wine. Twice.
12 - Chasing Down U2: You never know who is going to be rolling down the NYC streets on a flatbed truck on a cloudy afternoon…
13 - Jamming With Tom Petty: We also wrote a song together. In another dream, of course. The tune is included in the audio book, as is a brief aside not available otherwise.
14 - Sabine: International travel, coincidences, and romance. Maybe my version of a rom-com?…
15 - The Co-op Coup: It’s not easy or fun to be part of an apartment complex revolution. But rewarding moments DO occasionally arrive…
16 - Bombing at Bread Loaf: Some writers are much more famous than others, and deservedly so. But, apparently, repeated and repeated revision is a necessary tool for all of us…
17 - James Taylor Moments: A love letter to Martha’s Vineyard, littered with occasional superstar sightings.
18 - The Elusive Literary Agent: My fiction is reminiscent of the work of a highly-regarded non-fiction writer. Now that I have an entire book of non-fiction stories available, maybe it’s time to seek out his elusive literary agent again…
So there you have it. “These Stories Are True”. Available on michaelaba.com soon!
Maybe I’ll start recording audio versions of these blogs someday. Now that I’m finally more proficient at the process, continued practice might do me some good.
I’m making no promises, though. This recording artist is ready for a break.