TBG: Max, welcome back to the Blogger Girls. As always, it’s a pleasure to have you.
Max: Of course, always my pleasure.
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TBG: My Hero is your first audio book, how amazing is that, huh? You have many books published so what made you choose this book for audio?
Max: It was the first book I wrote and it was the one that had been the most requested.
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TBG: Jared Bradford is a new narrator, how did you two connect and what made you decide to use him as your narrator?
Max: We connected through a mutual friend, Monique Thompson. She sent me some of his music where he was singing. He had an amazing voice with a great range.
I’d been looking for a narrator for this book since last October. I knew what I wanted and when he sent me an audition recording, I knew I’d found the perfect guy.
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TBG: Are there any plans for future collaborations?
Max: Yes. I just sent Jared a manuscript to look over. Can’t wait to see what he thinks of it. It will be a real challenge, I think. And no, I’m not telling anyone what it is until he’s done with it. 🙂
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TBG: Many have been asking, so I must too, will there be a sequel?
Max: A sequel to My Hero? Yes, it is already in the works. I’m a little more than three-quarters done with it. As soon as it is finished and published, I want to give it to Jared. He did a fantastic job with the first one and I loved the way he brought it to life.
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TBG: What are you working on now?
Max: My Hero: The Olympian. It continues right where the first book left off.
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TBG: Are your books, characters, and locations based on actual people, experiences and places?
Max: I love this question. In My Hero, most of the characters are based on real people, or a combination of people that I’ve known. The character Anita, in My Hero, Johnny’s cousin, is my favorite character in the audiobook. Jared nailed her. It’s perfect.
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TBG: What type of scene is the easiest to write, the hardest to write, and your favorite to write?
Max: Ahh, that’s a hard one. It really depends on the book and the characters. Sometimes sex scenes are really easy for me and then there are times, like in The V Unit, where they are difficult. It’s much easier I think when it is a male and female. You can use he and she, whereas in M/M they are both guys, so you have to be creative in the descriptions.
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TBG: What is your biggest fear? As a writer and in life.
Max: My biggest fear in real life is snakes. They terrify me. In writing… The sequel to My Hero has terrified me. I think it is the readers expectations and then my own. I don’t want to disappoint the readers.
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TBG: What do you want your tombstone to say?
Max: That is one ugly corpse. He must have done it right.
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TBG: Final question: Is there one subject you would never write about as an author?
Max: There are several. The will never do’s: Children, animals, scat and het sex scenes (I wouldn’t even know where to begin with that.).
TBG: Jared, welcome to the Blogger Girls. We know this is your first narration, which is extremely exciting, and we are thrilled to host this interview session with you and Max Vos.
Jared: Thanks! The pleasure is mine.
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TBG: First off, how did you become an audio book narrator?
Jared: That’s a great question. It actually all started when I met Susan and the blogger girls! Before that, I had no idea the GRL world existed. Because of that friendship, I met Max’s and my mutual friend Monique Thompson, who introduced me to Max. She knew that I was in the habit of recording music at home and releasing it periodically on my Soundcloud (www.soundcloud.com/Jared-Bradford). She sent my information to Max who then approached me about the possibility of narrating “My Hero.” I also have a background and interest in acting so the project seemed like something I would enjoy and after discussing it with him, I agreed to create the audiobook version of his story! The feedback has been great so far and I’m looking forward to the next one.
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TBG: Describe your experience while recording My Hero.
Jared: Since this was my first foray into home narration and audiobook production, there were definitely some things to learn and pitfalls along the way. I really enjoyed the first phase of reading the book and giving voices to the different characters. Max’s writing is very entertaining and he writes some lively characters with rich emotional lives. The Greek accent of Johnny’s mother was particularly difficult. Her chapters definitely had the most outtakes of any lol. I did notice as I continued that I became more and more comfortable switching between characters though.
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TBG: Did you have any past experiences that you could pull from to make the jump in to audio book narration? What secret talents do you have?
Jared: Yep! I’ve been using computer software to record and edit music for a while. And I’ve done a lot of acting in plays and musicals that definitely helped me give life to the characters.
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TBG: How long did it take, from beginning to completion? Was this what you expected?
Jared: It took two months. Yes, I planned originally for it to take 6 weeks, working on it around Seth’s and my busy travel schedule, but I definitely ended up working on it down to the last seconds of our deadline. The computer crash didn’t help lol.
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TBG: What happens when you make a mistake? Were there any particular scenes that gave you trouble, and took multiple takes to get it “just right”?
Jared: I frequently redo paragraphs or lines. I simply make a clap or loud noise that is visible on the waveform and redo it. Most chapters are at least twice as long before they are edited to remove all the outtakes.
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TBG: How difficult was it to narrate multiple characters? Did you ever get the “voices” confused in your head?
Jared: Definitely! Lol. Sometimes I’d have to go back and listen to remember how a character sounded, especially if they hadn’t been around for several chapters. But it was also a lot of fun. I really enjoyed acting out all the parts. I had the most fun with the character Virgil. The voice I used for him reminded me of my grandmother. She always told me I spoke too fast for my southern grandma.
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TBG: Sex scenes are hot for all of us to read, what affect, if any, did they have in bringing them to life? Was it difficult to get into the groove?
Jared: Max asked me about this during production haha. It’s very different to read or listen versus acting and producing. If I did my job right, you should get the same effect listening to the book as you do reading it 🙂
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TBG: Now that you’ve got that first audio book in the vault, what are your future narration plans?
Jared: Max and I have been discussing starting production on another of his books. I’m actually looking over the manuscript and the calendar now! And I plan on auditioning for other titles in other genres as well.
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TBG: What do you want written on your tombstone?
Jared: I don’t plan on having a tombstone lol. So nothing. I hope everyone has a huge party celebrating my life and I want to be put in a biopod and planted where I can grow into a beautiful tree.
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TBG: Final question: What do you consider to be your best accomplishment in life?
Jared: I’m actually proud of a lot of things that I’ve done but I think my best accomplishments have been those times when I’ve helped someone to better understand the world around them or themselves. I’m an educator at heart and love learning about science, philosophy and psychology. Passing on knowledge is a legacy that never stops giving and creates a better world for us all.
About My Hero
When he was sixteen years old, Rich Miller saved a young man from drowning at his local pool. Little did he know that years later, as a senior in college and Olympic diving hopeful, Rich would meet up once again with Johnny Milloway, now a big football player – and when Rich says big, he really means ‘bear’. The shy jock remembers his saviour, and the two men become friends.
Johnny isn’t put off by the fact that Rich is gay. In fact, the more time he spends with Rich, the more curious he becomes. Johnny wants to know all kinds of things – what it’s like to kiss a guy, for instance. Only it doesn’t stop there…
Rich finds it difficult to believe that this relationship can go anywhere. Johnny is straight, and Rich isn’t prepared to deal with the heartache he knows will come his way in the future. He has enough on his plate as it is – the Worlds are just around the corner, his father would rather watch a football game than spend time watching his son dive…. What he doesn’t count on is Johnny, who can be very determined. And having Johnny in his life proves to be a catalyst for some pretty earth-shattering changes. . For readers who purchased the original edition, this second edition is not substantially different.
View the trailer!
Read Susan’s review of My Hero.
About Max Vos
Max Vos is a classically trained chef with over 30 years of food service experience. After retiring in 2011, Max found himself with time on his hands and was urged to turn his talents to writing. ‘Cooking English’, a short story, was his first published work, and has four other short stories currently in publication with Ravenous Romance. His first novel, My Hero was a number one best seller on Amazon. He continues to challenge himself with varying topics, from Marine Vampires to taboo subjects. The one thing you will always be guaranteed to find in his writing is hard, gritty, man-on-man sex.
Max loves hearing from readers. You can keep up with him by reading his weekly blog posts on his own blog page: Max Vos | Facebook | email
About Jared Bradford
Jared Bradford has been a nation-wide gay nightlife icon, actor, go-go dancer, singer, model,
classically-trained pianist, yogi, and educator in physics and mathematics. He is originally from
Louisiana, but now lives very happily in New York City with his partner of three and half years,
Seth Fornea, and adorable Chihuahua, Miley. As a debut narrator and producer, Jared is proud to present his performance of My Hero as his first introduction to the audiobook world.
Jared has always had a strong interest in music and the theater and has starred in several
productions of plays and musicals including Hay Fever, Old Wicked Songs, The Exonerated,
Godspell, and A Grand Night for Singing. He also recently portrayed Chandler in the daytime
web series La Fleur de Mai. Now, he is delighted to be able to bring his interests in music
recording and acting together to produce quality audiobooks.
Like most, Jared loves to enjoy life, and always tries to find the FUN in everything. If you have
the chance to see him twerking it on a box somewhere around the world, don’t be shy and come say hi!
Connect with Jared online at: Facebook | Twitter | Soundcloud | email
Max has graciously offered up two audio and two ebook copies of My Hero, as well as two copies of a book from Max’s backlist The giveaway starts now and ends September 27, 2015 at 11:59 p.m. To enter, just click the link below.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Please be aware that the only way to enter the giveaway is to click the Rafflecopter link above. Any comments on this post will not count towards entering the giveaway, except to verify your Rafflecopter entry.
Good luck!
The Blogger Girls 