REVIEW 

I wanted to acknowledge and thank Stefan Rudnicki for his wonderful narration of my collection of 25 short stories.  This seemed to be the simplest and best way to do it.

All writers believe their work is good, or if not they probably should still be doing some editing.  Certainly all of us are pleased to see our work published, whether it is an Ebook, print edition, or, as in this case, an audiobook.

My tastes are eclectic, ranging across adventure, mystery, crime, political thriller, general, romance and sci-fi / fantasy to black comedy.  The 25 stories that make up this volume, about half of which have been published or broadcast over the last 50 years, cover the spectrum and I hope you enjoy the numerous journeys.

However, my main purpose in writing this review is to acknowledge the wonderful narration by Stefan Rudnicki.  A bit over five years ago I wrote a review of Mikhail Sholokhov’s AND QUIET FLOWS THE DON, which Stefan narrated.  I write an excellent review, many on Audible, which are honest and at least how I feel.  I don’t think I have ever written a review with less than four stars – if I can’t say something good I don’t say it.  In this case I extolled the virtues of not only the writer, but the narrator, and, amazingly, for me here in Sydney, Australia, the next morning I received a “Friend Request” from Stefan in LA - definitely a “Fork in the Road”.  We are very much on the same page and over the years have forged a friendship.  During the past nine months or so, as I was publishing my Fork in the Road series of collected short stories as Ebooks, Stefan and I started discussing him narrating the 25 stories in Volumes 1 to 5.  THE FORK IN THE ROAD – Five Decades has now been completed.

Over the months I have been greatly impressed with Stefan’s preparation, meticulous attention to detail, his absolute desire to get everything right, his ethics and professionalism.  We exchanged numerous emails where he simply wanted to clarify the pronunciation of Aussie terms, expressions or locations.  But that is just the nuts and bolts, his ability to immerse himself within a vast array of characters is remarkable, with subtle changes in nuance and expression he shifts from male to female and young to old characters, and then moves the story forward in the prose paragraphs in his rich, mellifluous voice.

Consider the following examples:  the Aboriginal wife, her “bushie” husband and their son Jake in THE DRY LAND, subtle changes in the voices of several generations in THE DRY LAND – 2018 and THE MUSHROOM CLUB, the slight “British” tone of Charlotte, in CHRYSALIS, the old priest and young boat builder in the fable WINDS OF DESTINY, Chezan and the wise woman in OR LIGHT A PENNY CANDLE FROM A STAR, the two husbands of Alison in MEMORIES IN DUPLICATE and the various characters in NOR ALL THY PIETY NOR WIT.

In addition I am humbled and deeply honoured by his kind words in the Introduction he wrote to these 25 stories.  I have listened to over 2000 audio books, mostly on Audible, over the last 20 years and I consider Stefan is the best narrator I have ever heard.  It is wonderful that he has now narrated my work and in due course will narrate my novel THE PRICE TO PAY, which, I expect to publish by early next year. 

Thank you, Stefan, you have done me proud.   

Footnote:  Stefan has won two Grammy Awards and multiple Audie Awards, an AudioFile Earphones Awards, a Bram Stoker Award, and a Ray Bradbury Award.   Any author would be honoured to have him narrate their work and even more so when they hear the result.