William L. Hahn's Blog

The third book of the Bardic Isles series is now available in all the usual places. Rider of the Wind  by Marla Himeda is yet another step in the challenge of audiobook storytelling, not just the voices, the music clips and FX, but now for the first time I have collaborated on a book in stereo sound!

Don’t have to take my word for it. Check out the rich immersive experience with this enchanting video clip. OK, yes, my voice, but HER words! And just listen to that music.

A pair of recent events nudged me to look back on my gig as a storyteller. Spoiler alert: if you’re seeking conflict or unhappiness, look somewhere else. I couldn’t be more pleased at how things have turned out so far.

My work for Marla Himeda on the Bardic Isles series is probably the most significant achievement I have in narration. Both the first two books, Master of Music and Cry of the Kestrel, are multiple award winners. The most recent one, from the Boo...

Greetings from the gig economy, I know it’s been awhile. I’m holding down three distinctly fun and remunerative part-time jobs now. I don’t know how long it’s been since I was this happy but probably at least since I could go to summer camp. I teach several subjects two days a week, narrate audiobooks of course, and I also picked up the strangest piece of work, writing for a local magazine. For which, I’m stunned to say, I won a writing award.

Yeah, about local things. As in, here in the Alleged...

I’ve been able to work with dozens of authors, guest-posting, beta-reading and chiefly now in narrating their tales for audiobook release. I’ve authored nearly a million words on my own, read at least ten times that for others (pleasure reading, what’s that?), and I flatter myself to think I’ve seen every one of them, all the words, at least once.

But sometimes it doesn’t take too many.

“We WON!” That was the subject line of an email from Marla Himeda, the author of Master of Mus...

The most involved and ambitious audiobook project of 2023 for me is finally hitting the digital shelves. I can’t wait for you to sample the Bardic Isles Book 1, Master of Music.

Marla Himeda has composed (and I mean that quite literally) such an original story–fantasy without swords or dragons or races–yet there is strong conflict within the major characters. There are elements of mystery, suspense, and humor (as with any good fantasy) in a tale for anyone from 6 to 96. The ...

You’ve got to keep trying.

I was almost today year’s old when I first heard that a corner of the TikTok video platform was blowing up. Turns out it’s been the better part of a year, but hey, sue me. BookTok, far as I can tell, is a mega-hashtag that authors use to talk about books and writing, and influencers go there for reviews and commentary about it.

So, videos about books. My first thought- watching people read? Or maybe that old life-blogging trend where a writer would show you her entire ...

I’m thrilled to announce that my recent project, Emily Sullivan’s gritty dystopian adventure Crow Country, has been recognized with a 2023 Gold Award for Best Fiction Audiobook by Independent Publisher.

It’s been some time since I learned the good news from Ms. Sullivan’s publisher, and I still feel a sense of unreality about this. I think everyone enjoys recognition; several years back after being laid off, I made a decision to aim for work that I loved doing, and then see ...

I distribute my audiobooks via Findaway Voices— the “wide” option. They are always adding new retail outlets to their stable. I never see a reason to say “no”, I just click OK and watch for the returns. Somewhere along the way, the company I always associated with music– OK, with Taylor Swift– signed on. I was yesterday-years-old before I realized this.

But even better, Findaway makes it EASY to promote my tales now.

If you haven’t picked up the first...

My big summer ’22 project is now available as of October 9th (a meaningful date in the tale itself). The early reviews have been very good, and the publisher is “going wide” so it’s available in many retail outlets.

It’s been awhile since I’ve had something to talk about on this blog–the gig economy has brought me the odd adventure here and there like Mystery Shopping or prep for a new class at school this fall. But on the tale-telling front, I’ve been deep in the throes of two very different projects this summer.

I mean, not sure how they could be any more different. A less foolish man would probably break this up into two posts, but I’m already begun so heck.

I was very excited...