Tag: listening

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Happy New Year, 2021 is Here!

Okay, at the time of writing this 2021 is technically still hours away, but I can’t wait for 2020 to be over so I’m gonna pretend I’m already there. Perks of being a writer.

So, during the last year we’ve had a lot of updates. We’ve revamped the entire design of my creations, websites, logos, graphics, covers, pretty much everything. You find the little asterism of sites and social media accounts here https://mythographystudios.com/check-out-the-new-look-and-the-mythography-pages/

As for gifts, you can download our 2021 Mythography Calendar for free. And you can grab a print version for your wall, Zazzle allows you to customise the calendar dynamically with your local holidays and such. https://mythographystudios.com/download-your-mythography-2021-calendar/

What we have done is we’ve expanded into a lot of translations. They’re not even all listed there, you can find them on Amazon mostly. Expect a steady flow of translations in Spanish and German since those seem to get a bit of traction. https://mythographystudios.com/translations/

For audiobooks, it has been a wonky year. We’re ditching Audible exclusivity for any and all newer titles, so they’re not confined there. This doesn’t change anything for Audible listeners, it just becomes more accessible to people listening from other sources. We’ve added Bandcamp, which we love, and Bookfunnel delivery for our store sales. You can find all the audiobooks on this constantly-updated page https://mythographystudios.com/audiobooks/

Since we mentioned the Mythography Shop, there’s been more content in there than ever. You can shop directly from us and we’ll give you tribute points you can exchange for a discount at your next order, just because you’re awesome. https://mythographystudios.com/introducing-tribute-points/

The Mythographers have grown to… *checks notes* 71 thousand! Holy Zeus’ balls. That’s a lot. We always love to chat with you, but since that’s not always possible, you can chat amongst yourselves. You can hang out with the Certified Mythographers on our Facebook group and/or Discord https://mythographystudios.com/hang-out-with-the-mythographers/

As for the future? You can expect more stories, especially in our more popular series, Cyberpink, Mean Gods, Futagen, Antigravel. More audiobooks, more translations for all you Mythographers out there, and pretty much more of what we’re already doing. We have streamlined the process quite a bit so everything is running smoothly. If you’re not already in the Certified Mythographers, join here and get the free starting library https://mythographystudios.com/join-the-mythographers/

We’re continuing on with our gamble of bringing you Greek mythology and speculative fiction together in various stories and various genres. The overwhelming response shows us that we were right, and we’re finding new ways to tell a story that you’d enjoy. There will be a few visual novels in the future, maybe? We’re not sure yet, but it’s on the table.

During the past year we’ve become possibly the most technologically advanced entertainment studio in Greece. Instead of fearing new technology, we’ve embraced it whenever and wherever it was possible. We’re utilising AI and machine learning tools inside all steps of the creation process to bring you stories at a rate never seen before. With OpenAI’s GPT-2 and now GPT-3, with visual enhancements for graphics, with audio voice synthesis, a virtual Medusa mascot (Say hi to Gorgocutie! https://gorgocutie.com/) and so much more under the hood.

What this means for you is that you’re getting more entertainment at a faster pace and at a cheaper rate. So, it’s a win for everyone. It’s also quite interesting to see where it all leads.

Have a happy and healthy new year!

That’s all,

George Saoulidis, Athens 2021.

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New Audiobook Stories! ?

We have three (3!) new stories on audio format right now.

Here they are:

Speaking in Bubbles, a short but very punchy story beneath the Aegean Sea

Gorgonise Me, where a piano melody can stop your heart

and,

Where a Spaceship Goes to Die, where a French girl learns what lurks below the furthest point in the ocean.

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Lifehack: Use an Older Phone to Listen to Audiobooks

Here’s something I thought of, and wanted to share with you in case it helps: Put your older smartphone to use by making it an audiobook device. 

Here’s why that’s helpful:

  • Phone storage. Audiobooks actually take up hundreds of megabytes of space. It’s very easy to fill up your phone’s memory, and a hassle to start shifting things around. If you’re like me, who listens to 2-3 audiobooks alternatively depending on the mood, you’ll need about 1 gigabyte of space reserved for them.
  • Phone battery. The playback draws quite a bit of battery. Instead of draining your phone overnight and wearing the battery life, just push your old phone to its very limits.
  • Audible syncs your listens and library across all devices. You can still use your own phone or tablet as normal, and the listening points will sync if you have WiFi on. Simple as that.
  • Separate car device for playback. If your car lacks smartdevice capabilities, you can just use an old phone and plug it in. Here’s Audible’s own advice for car listening.

In this time and age, there’s no way you can’t get your hands on an older smartphone that’s sitting unused in a shelf somewhere. You can use it without a SIM card, load Audible on it and connect to your account. There’s no limit to how many devices you can connect to one Amazon account, though you might get a security warning.

For example, I’m using my perfectly capable Nokia Lumia, which I discarded because I got fed up with the Windows Phone app ecosystem. Audible’s app is available on Windows Phones, so there’s no problem with playback and syncing. You can put the sleep timer to use and have the audiobook playback stop at a reasonable point:

If you’re listening to James Masters’ deep, lulling voice, the sleep timer button is your friend.

Also, here are two more accessories you might need for audiobook listening:

Noise cancelling earbuds, for outside listening.

A bus or a train ride can become noisy enough to prevent you from listening in to your book. Especially train rides, their decibel levels are shocking when you pay attention to them. You could use active noise cancelling, but those are more expensive and I honestly don’t like the separation from the environment while being outside. It’s one thing making an hour-long commute bearable by listening to a few pages, and quite another to completely shut yourself out of the world. The passive earbuds are good enough to let you listen in noisy environments.

Tip: The button can start or stop playback.

A flexible, spider grip holder for your phone.

This is one of the more useful things you can shop for. you can adjust the grip so it holds up your phone on the desk, ties around a night-stand lamp or sits nicely on your car dashboard.

Tip: As an added bonus, it can scare the crap out of someone at proper illumination levels!

What’s that? You have nothing to listen to?

You’re in luck! Get on our Audiobooks page and request a free copy now. (Available while supplies last)