I think I summed up most my gratitude for the 2024 editions of the first three Woodcutter Sisters books in the back of Enchanted. But I feel the need to give an extra shout out here to the gracious and wonderful people of Audible.
And, of course, my dearest Katy Kellgren.
When Brilliance first approached me about the Enchanted audiobook, they asked if I wanted to read it myself. Sure, I had some acting experience, but voice acting is its own kettle of fish. I was an Audie Awards judge at the time, so I knew I didn’t have the skill needed to properly do justice to Arilland’s diverse cast of thousands. I remember sitting between Jim Dale and Tim Ditlow at my first Audie Awards ceremony, and when my friend Katherine “Katy” Kellgren won for Best Female Narrator of the Year, I leaned over to Tim and whispered, “When my novel gets published, that is who I want to narrate it.”
When I immediately suggested Katherine Kellgren instead of myself, Brilliance tried not to laugh. Didn’t I know just how big a deal Katherine Kellgren was? My book was small potatoes. I’m sure they were rolling their eyes when they promised they would ask her.
I was the one laughing when Katy said yes.
We had multiple long phone discussions about character motivations, accents, and pronunciations. My background in acting and the little podcasting I had done by that time were definite assets in those conversations. Katy even came to the launch party of Enchanted at Lady Jane’s Salon in NYC and read a chapter with me on stage, completely unrehearsed. (We were magnificent! There’s a video of us on YouTube.) Brilliance delivered CDs especially for the occasion. As I listened to Enchanted all the way home on the bus, Katy made me laugh and cry and fall in love with Sunday and Rumbold all over again.
I was also in the audience when Enchanted lost the Audie award that year to The Fault in Our Stars. But I got to watch Katy walk away with the Best Female Narrator of the Year award again anyway. I might have clapped harder than anyone.
Katy won Best Female Narrator of the Year four times in a row. I was in attendance all four times. She called me her good luck charm. She said of all the authors she had I was one of the most vocal when it came to promoting my audiobooks, and she appreciated that. Some authors don’t even listen to their audiobooks. I don’t understand that at all. Katy was not only beautiful and talented, but she was also my friend, and that really made all the difference.
Even after the publisher officially dropped my series, my agent and I never stopped working to get Hero and Dearest into audio. Finally, we made it happen.
Some scuttlebutt informed me that Katy took a massive paycut in order to narrate the books for Audible, but I was honored to my toes even before I knew that. And at the last Audie Awards I attended, I made sure to tell her how much that meant to me.
I forget what convention I was at in January of 2018 – Bianca and Nathan might remember because I was rooming with them at the time – when I woke to the news that Katy had died. And I just…lost it. She was still so young. I didn’t even know she had cancer. Had she taken on Hero and Dearest knowing she was sick? Had she been sick the last time I saw her? I was so unprepared.
It was also my birthday.
Fast forward to 2024. I have my rights back, and I’m working on getting Enchanted and Hero back out into the world. We have to decide things like which cover goes where. Amazon owns both Brilliance and Audible now, but we still have to find two separate contacts in order to update the covers.
And then there was the issue of Dearest.
The original manuscript of Dearest had 20 chapters, just like the books before it. But it was suggested that I remove the last chapter, as it made too many allusions to future books. Friday’s story wrapped up nicely enough in Chapter 19, so we should leave it there. (I suspect they knew then what was about to happen to the publisher…and my series…but that’s another story.)
For the 2024 re-issue, the Brute Squad wanted to put Chapter 20 back where it belonged. So did I. But I know audio publishers. It’s okay if there are tiny differences between the book and the audio, but not to the tune of a whole chapter. Sarah and I hunted and hunted. Finally we found a contact at Audible who could help make the decision for us. The execution was almost too easy.
What exists on audio now is Dearest with Chapters 1-19 read by Katherine Kellgren, and Chapter 20 read by Alethea Kontis. The credits were simply changed to say that the book was narrated by both of us. Everything else remained just as it was.
I am honored to be listed in the credits alongside Katy. I still miss her every day.
Thank you, Audible.
Now…will the rest of the Woodcutter Sisters books be available on audio? I don’t know. As of this writing there is no money left in the budget for me to properly produce them, and you know I won’t release anything into the world unless it’s done properly. And who on earth would be the narrator? Thankfully, that’s a question for another time.
First, I have to write them.
Much love and many hugs,
xox
Princess Alethea
✨🖤✨🖤✨🖤✨🖤✨🖤✨🖤✨🖤✨
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