From ForeWord Magazine - CRUM
While a narrator is the quintessential key to a great audiobook, other elements can certainly improve its quality. MountainWhispers.com Audiobooks turns soundtracks and sound effects into an art form. Their latest production, Crum: A Novel by Lee Maynard (978-0-9717801-9-4), follows the story of a nameless teenage narrator who finds amusement, love (or at least lust), and trouble in the small backwater town of Crum, West Virginia. Narrator Ross Ballard drives the story with his light southern drawl and distinctive vocal characters, and the addition of sound effects and a full twelve-song soundtrack give this audiobook a par excellence rating. The mix of blues and country songs on the CD soundtrack and played in the background throughout help portray the tension of the town’s love-hate relationship with its youth.
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MountainWhispers.com Audiobooks - 87 East Ryneal St., Martinsburg, WV - 304-267-4358 - rossb@rocketmail.com
From AudioFile Magazine -
DAUGHTER OF THE ELM
Written in 1899, DAUGHTER OF THE ELM tells the true story of Loraine Esmond, a young woman raised on the wrong side of the tracks in Clarksburg, West Virginia. Told with clear and gentle affection by educator and storyteller Ross Ballard II, this production features background music by Appalachian fiddler Leonard Carpenter. This long-forgotten novel is profound and moving as it follows Loraine's moral struggle as she bears the knowledge that her brothers have been involved in robbery and murder. The story and music work well together. But it is Ross Ballard's soothing West Virginia intonations that make DAUGHTER OF THE ELM a remarkable and memorable audiobook.
From AudioFile Magazine -
When Miners March
Coal may have been king, but miners were hardly treated like royalty. From its opening montage of headlines on the struggle to unionize the coal fields of West Virginia through its final song, this audio production always grabs listeners' attention. Ross Ballard II delivers his deep passion for the miners' battles with a slight twang as he reads the narrative. The author's father led the "miners' army," and the book is drawn from their stories. Listeners who enjoy the protest songs that punctuate each disc will be pleased to find a bonus music disc at the end, featuring 16 songs.
