Young Adult Reads: TOUR Audio w/NARRATOR INTERVIEW - YA FANTASY - THE FLAMES (Feud, #2) by Kyle Prue Narrator Jon Eric Preston

THE FLAMES
Feud Trilogy, #2
by Kyle Prue
Narrator: Jon Eric Preston
Length: 12 hours 17 minutes
Released: January 8th 2018
Publisher: Cartwright Publishing
Genre: Fantasy; Young Adult

The Book Junkie Reads . . . Review of . . . THE FLAMES (Feud, #2) . . . Neil is back with his own epic fantasy filled with more adventure, treachery, and a bit of ruthlessness than he could have ever bargained for when leaving the walls of his city. The words flow from the pages and the vivid visual provided is all consuming. The imagination of the scenery, the supernatural events/activities makes this all the more rich and filled with depth.

There comes a time when Neil has to make grown-up decisions and choices that could cost him his life, his friends, his family, and maybe an ally/enemy. There was no turning back for Neil in this installment of the Feud. He has no real choice but to move forward. Just which way he does that was the real choice.

Jon Eric Preston has lead us through book one (The Spark) and now he takes us on a journey with the voices he has created for the characters old and new. Seatback put on some headphones/earbuds, close your eyes and allow for it all to unfold via Jon's voice and depiction of each character though his narrations of The Feud's second installment.

I received this audiobook as part of my participation in a blog tour with Audiobookworm Promotions. The tour is being sponsored by Kyle Prue. The gifting of this audiobook did not affect my opinion of it.

To survive incredible odds, one teen may have to trust both his former enemies and his fire-forged destiny....

Neil Vapros is one of the last free warriors of the great city of Altryon. He and his brother’s only chance of staying alive involves trusting an uneasy alliance with their former enemies. But in the world beyond his city’s walls, Neil’s life is much more dangerous than he ever imagined possible....

The Emperor has hired a ruthless madman and a vicious pack of assassins to hunt down the last supernatural survivors. As the allies attempt to hide from their enemies, the leader of a rebellion singles out Neil as the answer to a prophecy. Neil isn’t sure he believes he’s been "chosen", but he knows one thing for sure: their only chance for survival lies in sticking together. While treachery and pain wait around every corner, Neil and his allies may win the day, but victory without casualties could prove impossible....

The Flames is the second book in the award-winning Epic Feud trilogy of young adult fantasy novels. If you like rich fantasy settings, imaginative supernatural abilities, and tough-as-nails characters, then you’ll love Kyle Prue's electrifying adventure.

Buy The Flames to fire up the action today!

Kyle Prue is an award winning author, actor and comedian. Kyle wrote The Sparks: Book 1 of the Feud Trilogy when he was just 16 years old. Kyle has spent the past year on a national book tour visiting over 80 middle and high schools and meeting over 60,000 students. Kyle is now a freshman at the University of Michigan, studying acting and creative writing. He still visits schools and is a keynote speaker for conferences. Kyle is the founder of Sparking Literacy, a non-profit dedicated to lowering the high school dropout rate by inspiring teens to read, write and follow their dreams. The Sparks has won numerous national awards including Best YA Fiction awards from: The Florida Authors and Publisher’s Association, the Florida Book Festival, New England Book Festival, Midwest Book Festival, Southern California Book Festival, and the International London Book Festival. Kyle also won an International Moonbeam Award and IndieFab Award for Best Young Author.

Jon Eric Preston received his Theatre degree from Florida State University after returning from the London program. He earned top honors narrating in the Dramatic Interpretation category on the Speech and Debate team, and performed professionally in Children’s Theatre companies and did National Tours of A Christmas Carol, Twelfth Night, and Othello. As a SAG BookPAL and a father reading to his two boys for more than 12 years, moving into the booth to record audiobooks was a natural and joy filled progression. He is thrilled to be narrating and giving voice to the characters for Kyle Prue’s Feud Trilogy.

Q&A with Author Jon Eric Preston

When did you know you wanted to be an audiobook narrator?
- I was told by several peers in the VO world that they thought I possess the perfect combination of having a great story telling ability and a voice they connect with and enjoy listening to . As I had been a SAG BookPAL reader, read for both my boys classes in school, and love long form narrative, it just seemed like a natural fit.
A lot of narrators seem to have a background in theatre. Is that something you think is essential to a successful narration career?
- Having received my degree in Theatre from Florida State University, the training of breaking down a script/story has proven to be incredibly useful to me when approaching books to narrate.
What type of training have you undergone?
- Working out at the Don LaFontaine Voice Over Lab through the Los Angeles SAG/AFTRA Foundation, and learning ProTools has been of incredible value to me for narrating audiobooks. Continuing study, workouts and Narrator forums are ongoing. There is always something that can be learned.
What would you say are your strongest narration abilities?
- The ability to paint the picture and tone of each scene, and giving a full range of emotions and depth of life to all of the characters.
How did you decide how each character should sound in this title?
- As I had narrated book 1 “The Sparks” and book 2 “The Flames”, some of the characters were already set and determined. When I read a book, I see and hear the story in my mind, so in reading “The Ashes”, with any new characters, the qualities that are given to them individually usually allows the character’s voice to just come through for me.
Has anyone ever recognized you from your voice?
- I’ve had people tell me that when they hear commercials I’ve done that they knew immediately it was me.
How does audiobook narration differ from other types of voiceover work you've done?
- Audiobook narration is the marathon of Long Form voice-over. While every script or piece of copy should be approached with the sense of giving a three dimensional life to the read, being responsible for giving the entire book and characters a life is utterly different from a one liner.
Do you read reviews for your audiobooks?
- I do. It’s good to know how the listeners are receiving the story, and it let’s me know where anything I’m doing can be improved upon.
If so, which ones stand out to you most, positive or negative?
- I’ve learned to take reviews as a cumulative experience. As I am self-directing, I have a pretty good sense of how I need to come across to let the characters have believable arcs and justify their actions with the way they are speaking. It’s rewarding to get reviews that the listeners have laughed and cried because of my narration.
What do you say to those who view listening to audiobooks as “cheating” or as inferior to “real reading”?
- Personally, I would love for the Audiobook listening community to use the expression “I’m listening to...”, unless of course they are doing it with whispersync, which is listening as you read along. The spoken word and oral tradition of telling stories came well before humans gained the ability to write. The spoken word is the predecessor to the “written book” form of conveying ideas. Who didn’t love having a bedtime story read to them as a child? There is no reason to stop enjoying having a story read to you just because you are a “grown up”. I would also ask them if they knew that Audiobooks have been an incredible tool for helping those with reading difficulties such as dyslexia, and those who want to learn a language. Perhaps if they asked “What was your favorite part of the story?” instead of being judgemental, they might actually find a friend, make a connection, and help rehumanize us all...one story at a time.