You have to scroll waaay down through all of the Society of Voice Arts and Sciences 2019 winners (where only a small fraction of the narrators are credited) to Audiobook Narration – Biography, Best Voiceover category winner. There you’ll find a book I co-edited and for which I wrote and narrated an essay. Nevertheless We Persisted #MeToo was a courageous labor of love for all of us and I was proud to be a part of yet another important production from Blunderwoman Productions even before this award. If you choose to purchase the book, know that “half of the proceeds are being donated to https://www.rainn.org , a national sexual violence prevention and support resource. The other half of proceeds will be used to produce future BWP anthologies, allowing more writers to share their stories.” (from original Go Fund Me campaign)
AudioFile Earphones Award Winner. Available now from Harper Audio. From the Publisher: “The New York Times bestselling author of the celebrated A Land More Kind Than Home and This Dark Road to Mercy returns with this eagerly awaited new novel, set in the Appalachian foothills of North Carolina in 1929 and inspired by actual events. The chronicle of an ordinary woman’s struggle for dignity and her rights in a textile mill, The Last Ballad is a moving tale of courage in the face of oppression and injustice, with the emotional power of Ron Rash’s Serena, Dennis Lehane’s The Given Day, and the unforgettable films Norma Rae and Silkwood. Twelve times a week, twenty-eight-year-old Ella May Wiggins makes the two-mile trek to and from her job on the night shift at American Mill No. 2 in Bessemer City, North Carolina. The insular community considers the mill’s owners—the newly arrived Goldberg brothers—white but not American and expects them to pay Ella May and other workers less because they toil alongside African Americans like Violet, Ella May’s best friend. While the dirty, hazardous job at the mill earns Ella May a paltry nine dollars for seventy-two hours of work each week, it’s the only opportunity she has. Her no-good husband, John, has run off again, and she must keep her four young children alive with whatever work she can find. When the union leaflets begin circulating, Ella May has a taste of hope, a yearning for the better life the organizers promise. But the mill owners, backed by other nefarious forces, claim the union is nothing but a front for the Bolshevik menace sweeping across Europe. To maintain their control, the owners will use every means in their power, including bloodshed, to prevent workers from banding together. On the night of the county’s biggest rally, Ella May, weighing the costs of her choice, makes up her mind to join the movement—a decision that will have lasting consequences for her children, her friends, her town—indeed all that she loves.” From the review in AudioFile Magazine: “Narrators Karen White and Elizabeth Wylie use pacing and tone to bring characters to life in this novel about Ella Mae Wiggins, a forgotten heroine of history. For the bulk of the story White’s capable voice projects desperation and hope as Ella Mae struggles to support her family amid deplorable working conditions that lead, finally, to her commitment to strive for fair treatment. White gives unique voices to mill owners, union organizers, and Ella’s fellow workers. Wylie is the believable elderly voice of her daughter Lilly, who writes a letter to Ella’s grandson 79 years later to share the heroism and tragic consequences of those efforts. A powerful look at a dark chapter in our history when desperate people fought for equity and respect.” . . .
Woke up this morning waaay earlier than usual to fly home from a family wedding – which, by the way, was much more affirming than the one that my main character attends in this book – to learn that I was the winner of the Put Your Heart in a Book Contest in the Contemporary Romance Series category! Thanks for all the good luck y’all sent my way! I will eventually be starting a new site for my writing adventures, but for now, your support here is so appreciated. Right now, I’m seeking representation and/or a publisher, and am happy to say that a few agents and editors have already asked to read the manuscript. The Way You Make Me Feel is set in 1988 in Boston and is the first of a trio (that’s the plan right now, anyway). Each book will feature a different couple; the connection is a fictional theater company called Shakespeare Boston. I’d love to hear what you think of the setting and time period!
I’ve been dropping hints about my new writing path, which has slowly but surely been gaining momentum. Right now I’m nervously awaiting the results of the New Jersey Romance Writers’ Put Your Heart in a Book Contest, where my first (not yet published) romance is a Finalist in the Contemporary Series category. Since we’ll be at a family wedding Saturday, October 14 – the day of the conference where the results will be announced, I’m not sure exactly how I’ll find out the news, but I’ll be sure to share it as soon as I know. Meanwhile, please keep your fingers crossed for me on this, and as I travel the road toward getting this baby published!
I am so honored to be included on Audiofile’s Best Voices 2011 Non Fiction & Culture for YOU HAD ME AT WOOF by Julie Klam, Tantor Media and Best Audiobooks 2011, Fiction & Classics for EVERYTHING THAT RISES MUST CONVERGE by Flannery O’Connor narrated by Bronson Pinchot, Karen White, Mark Bramhall, Lorna Raver (Blackstone Audiobooks)
“Karen White delivers a stunning reading; her character interpretations are confident and well-rounded, and she forges a strong bond with the audience. Powerful without becoming overwrought, White handles the harrowing material with sensitivity and intelligence. An unforgettable listening experience that will resonate long after the final sentence.”