Ever since publishing my debut novel earlier this year, (The Berylford Scandals: Lust & Liberty if you weren’t aware by now, having sold 62 copies including two overseas), I have been told again and again that I ought to produce an audiobook version next. I was immediately dismissive of the idea. For one thing, I couldn’t pay someone to read my work for me. The general response has been, “Just read it yourself!”

That struck me as very vain and self-serving at the time. I mean, I would love to do an audiobook, reading from someone else’s work, perhaps! I have the background and training in radio and broadcasting to carry it off, plus anyone who knows me will agree that no one else sounds quite like I do (and thank God for it!)

Then as I came to think about it more and more, I figured that if anyone knows how each character should sound in each particular scene or scenario, it will be the person who created all that in the first place. But again, the vanity pulled me back.

But then I read that the legend himself that was Roald Dahl released an audiobook version of Fantastic Mr. Fox (coincidentally the first full book I remember reading on my own), as well as a number of his other works. If it’s good enough for Roald Dahl, then I certainly have no problem with it.

So yes, I’m hereby announcing I will be recording and producing an audiobook version of Lust & Liberty. At least we can rely on there being no typos involved.

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I was in Berlin last month (you may not have been aware if you don’t or haven’t been following my main blog, Expensive Tastes), visiting an old uni friend who has since made Germany his home.

He’s an aspiring novelist himself, though has a self-confessed habit of killing his own plots, and also my harshest critic (although my work always comes away better after he makes his points…)

He is quite active on Goodreads, a social network for readers and writers alike (you can visit and follow my Author Page here), where he regularly reviews works he has read. One of his most interesting points of feedback on one book (he neglected to say which), was that there were “too many adverbs”.

At first, I thought it was a ridiculous thing to say. You are taught to use adverbs from your earlier years of English in school (or at least, I was). They add further description to how something is done and/or said, which is the crux of the argument I made to my friend. His response was simply, “Use better verbs”.

Touché!

By this point, still, I was adamant that this wasn’t correct and that adverbs are pretty common devices in many celebrated works of literature. I know for a fact that the Harry Potter books are full of them, which is probably why I used them so frequently in The Berylford Scandals: Lust & Liberty, since I model some of my style on J.K. Rowling’s. Even in writing this blog, I have used them without even noticing! It’s just how I write.

But it wasn’t until I continued reading Victor Hugo’s immortal Les Misérables, as I have been for the last 8 months on-and-off, that I then observed a pretty-much total absence of adverbs! Plenty of description and discussion as Hugo is notorious, but adverbs are replaced by lengthy poetic and/or historical comparisons. In my opinion, totally unsuitable to the reader of today. It’s certainly a challenge that I am attempting to undertake in writing my current piece.

Obviously (there’s another one), there are some instances where you simply cannot avoid using an adverb. There are only so many times you can find metaphors and similes to use in lieu of “quickly” or “simply”, without pissing off your readers.

Have a look when you’re next reading — which writers adhere to this adverb avoidance and which can’t help it?

I have been unable to resist the urge to start a vlog/vodcast, which will be starting soon. These will hopefully be discussing creative and cultural lifestyle topics. Watch this space.