Wondervox

Now you can find more of my audiobooks on Spotify and other retailers where your listening is pleasure. These thrillers are narrated by digital voices so good it’s frightening!

See my profile on the Eleven Reader App

I’ve been using Eleven Labs to create audio editions of my blog posts, articles, and some fiction for the past several years. I also use it as the platform for my own Wondervox venture, offering AI/synthetic audio production for clients who want that.

Before going further … I embrace technology. I consider AI a tool that can be used to make my work less time-consuming, and to make my writing available to more people. I always wonder: how many people who criticize, if not hate,  AI have insisted on using taxis instead of Uber or Lyft because of the toll those services took on taxi drivers and their families? How many of us refuse to use self-checkout because of the toll it has taken on cashiers? There are dozens of ways in which we take advantage of changing technology because of the convenience it provides us. As an author and artist, I personally do not consider what I do to be of some higher-level than the rest of humanity. A taxi driver or cashier is every bit as valuable as I am, and whatever my creative endeavors are. Writers are not special, as much as we like to think we are.

As another practical matter, I cannot afford to hire human narrators for everything I write. I’ve hired several  over the past 15 years and paid them, sometimes substantially.  I simply can’t do that anymore. I also can’t hire graphic artists to do book covers, let alone the flow of images I use on my websites. So the idea that I’m putting anyone out of work when I could not have hired them anyway is just not a strong argument.

So …  I’ve uploaded some of my books to an app called Eleven Reader, owned by Eleven Labs. And you know what? I love it! You can listen to anything you find there by choosing a voice of your liking. You can change the voices any time! You can browse all kinds of writing, from fiction, to essays, to (soon) my own collections of columns and short stories. Give it a listen. Sometimes I’m still a kid discovering new and fascinating things …and sometimes I’m a writer using everything available to me to reach new readers.

About the Eleven Reader App

The Eleven Reader app blends the tradition of reading with the innovation of audio technology—catering to users who crave flexibility, accessibility, and a broad literary experience. Whether you’re a book lover, a news junkie, or someone seeking new ways to enjoy content, Eleven Reader may enhance your listening experience.

The Eleven Reader app is a multi-platform reader that offers both text and audio versions of books, articles, essays, and more. The app makes it possible to switch between reading on-screen and listening on-the-go. It’s a hybrid approach that gives you personal choice and convenience.

Key Festures

• Seamless Reading and Listening: Users can read digital texts or opt to listen to professionally narrated, AI-generated, or even author-voiced versions.
• Personalized Content Library: Eleven Reader curates a personalized library based on your reading history, preferred genres, and topics of interest.
• Offline Access: Download your favorite books, articles, or audio tracks to enjoy anywhere, with or without an internet connection.
• Accessibility Options: The app is optimized for users with visual or reading impairments, featuring screen reader compatibility, adjustable text sizes, and clear navigation for all abilities.

I’ve just begun exploring the Eleven Reader App myself, and so far I like it. I also like being able to offer my writing to an audience that may otherwise not have found it. Love it or hate it, it’s something to consider. Check me out when you do!

LISTEN TO THE PREVIEW!

I’ll be distributing this through INAudio to Spotify and other select retailers, but I’ve also made it available directly from me for half  the cost! Just click here for the product page on my PayHip storefront and check it out. There’s even a free preview you can listen to (or just listen to it with the audio above). This is exciting, and it’s only $8.95 from me. Fasten your headphones!

The Mark McNease Mysteries Podcast returns with narration provided by Wondervox! Show #73 continues ‘A House in the Woods 2: The Devil’s Due.’ This story was inspired by an old house along the road where we live. It’s since been torn down—too many ghosts hanging around, possibly—but every time we walked by it when it was empty I kept imagining something evil behind the old faded door. It helped that we live in the woods, providing a read-made title. We called it the spooky house. It soon became the center of two books: A House in the Woods, and A House in Woods 2.

A House in the Woods 2 picks up where A House in the Woods left off. Laurel Calloway is still in the mysterious town of Strickland, New Jersey, where nothing is as it appears to be. Two years have gone by, and they’ve been good to the Calloways. Laurel and her husband Jeremy have a new house, and a new family with baby Isabel about to celebrate her first birthday. Everything seems perfect, until Laurel begins to have dreams. Bad dreams. Something tells her these dreams could really be memories. But of what? Of whom, and of when?

Did she really run over a woman in the road at night? Had they once had a dog? Why are these things trying so hard to surface, swimming slowly up from her subconscious? The more she begins to tell the people around her about these dreams, the more convinced she is that they’re part of it, and that these nightmares aren’t really dreams at all. Page after page, the pace escalates as Laurel begins to learn the truth and plot her escape. But will she succeed? The Devil is in the details.

Welcome to the episodic audio edition of A House in the Woods 2: The Devil’s Due. Fasten your headphones and enjoy one new chapter each week. This is not an audiobook in the conventional sense, and no audiobook narrators living or dead were harmed in its production. This is a way for me to share some of my writing in an audio format. So settle back and enjoy the screams. You can  find all the episodes here.

About A House in the Woods 2

A House in the Woods 2: The Devil’s Due picks up where A House in the Woods left off. Laurel Calloway is still in the mysterious town of Strickland, New Jersey, where nothing is as it appears to be. Two years have gone by, and they’ve been good to the Calloways. Laurel and her husband Jeremy have a new house, and a new family with baby Isabel about to celebrate her first birthday. Everything seems perfect, until Laurel begins to have dreams. Bad dreams. Something tells her these dreams could really be memories. But of what? Of whom, and of when?

Did she really run over a woman in the road at night? Had they once had a dog? Why are these things trying so hard to surface, swimming slowly up from her subconscious? The more she begins to tell the people around her about these dreams, the more convinced she is that they’re part of it, and that these nightmares aren’t really dreams at all. Page after page, the pace escalates as Laurel begins to learn the truth and plot her escape. But will she succeed? The Devil is in the details.

PROLOGUE AND CHAPTER 1