Church Road publishes its first audiobook

I recently set up Church Road Audiobooks and my first book is Martine McDonagh’s dystopian climate novel ‘I Have Waited And You Have Come’. It’s available on Audible now. Set in a collapsed Britain where flooding is our everyday reality, its a study in loneliness and grim determination to defend yourself amidst the rain.

We have recorded voiceovers for books, media and online learning since the early noughts, so it was a natural extension to get into audiobooks. One audiobook that caused me to fall in love with the medium was Will Self's The Book Of Dave. Podcasts like those produced by the BBC and of course Adam Buxton cemented that love.

I first met Martine when she was managing Fujiya & Miyagi and she immediately struck me as smart and perceptive. When she brought out 'I Have Waited..' as her first book, I loved it right away. As I was reading it I was immediately struck by the atmosphere of the flooded world Rachel the protagonist lives in. I could see exactly how an audio version of it could work.

We recorded it over several sessions with Martine narrating and then I spent hours gathering sound effects to surround the narration. Admittedly, most of those are varieties of rain and wind and herons! The edit on an audiobook is the biggest challenge because everything is exposed in the recording and I worked my way though it slowly for the next six months.

I'm super proud of this, and i've plans for the next one. If you are looking to have your book recorded and produced get in touch. I also recorded and produced Graham Duff's memoir Foreground Music (Strange Attractor)

'I have Waited' has received some great reviews since it was published in 2012

"The most disturbing utopias are those which feel closest to hand.... McDonagh indicates how swiftly society reverts to tooth and claw primitivism." (The Guardian)

"Chillingly believable.... Sinister, scary and utterly compelling, it is hard to believe that this strong, confident writing comes from a debut novelist. Read it if you dare." (Red)