Now releasing: Paraffin Winter by Peter Chowney
Please welcome Peter Chowney to the site, as we begin releasing the serialized audiobook version of his novel, Paraffin Wintercom:
The winter of 1963 was the coldest winter of the century in the UK, at a time when post-war austerity and social class divisions made for a miserable life for many people. These were the days of back boilers, bubble and squeak, paraffin oil stoves, gas works, steam trains, and starting handles. The 1960s technological and social revolution hadn’t happened yet.
Ronnie and Jenny Delaney live in the south coast town of Poole, close by the gas works. They get by – Jenny works in the local pottery and Ronnie runs a paraffin delivery round, helping to keep his grateful customers warm. But then something unexpected turns up on the paraffin round: an eyeball. It doesn’t take Ronnie long to work out that it’s got something to do with his past as a small-time crook, back in the East End of London. Someone’s messing him about. He can handle it. Or so he thinks.
But things start to get complicated, and he quickly finds himself way out of his depth. It’s going to take someone cleverer than Ronnie to get to the bottom of this one. And that someone is closer than he could ever have imagined …
The first five episodes are out. You get to choose between a custom feed — you control how often episodes are released — and the default feed, where you get everything we have as we have it. Either way, you’ll get the complete audiobook as soon as Peter has uploaded all the episodes!
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
February 5th, 2010 at 2:57 am
This really captures the feeling of England in 1962-1963. The attention to detail really brings it to life just as I remember it, and yet it doesn’t feel over-researched. The characters and story seem very alive. I have no idea what the twist or resolution will be so I’m looking forward to find out who’s up to no good in this novel.
February 5th, 2010 at 9:37 pm
first rate!
February 28th, 2010 at 6:36 am
It’s good to listen to all of this again faster than I read it first time. In the first chapter it all sounded so natural, but there was one part I wasn’t sure about. It’s when Ronnie says he doesn’t read much of his paper and ‘the only thing I ever read is the car mags’. I don’t think non-readers tend to say this about themselves. It’s a bit self-aware and self-denigrating and could be fitted in without him being so aware of it. Apart from that it’s a fantastic chapter absolutely crammed full of detail that really comes to life, as do the characters and the accents.
March 18th, 2010 at 4:22 pm
Really enjoying this audio podcast; authors voice really fits in with the story.
It’s good to have a non SF/fantasy podcast arrive and it being British is all the better.
Looking forward to the rest of the episodes.
June 1st, 2010 at 8:20 am
Vivid characters, interesting story, and superb reading. Time well-spent!
June 16th, 2010 at 4:52 am
I’m into the story, well done. Love the British accents and even learning about what paraffin is! When will there be another episode released? Last one was mid-May…
June 23rd, 2010 at 3:57 pm
Although I was born in 63, this book really evokes the times I remember from my early childhood. I’m up to episode 6 now and its building up into a really good story. Well worth listening to, another gem in the Podiobooks library.
July 3rd, 2010 at 12:56 am
Apologies to all those who are waiting for the next episode (I’m told there are some!). I’ve been landed with a load of other time-consuming commitments, which mean I haven’t been able to do any more recordings. I’ve also been workshopping the book with a group of helpful critics who have pointed out loads of mistakes and errors, which I need to put right. But I’ll get back to recording more episodes soon. Promise!
September 1st, 2010 at 3:32 pm
Apologies again, I’m on holiday for a while – next recording will appear around the end of September. Getting near the end now!
September 28th, 2010 at 11:45 am
Good luck on the book deal. Mistakes there may be but not obvious to us Yanks. Hope to hear the next chapters soon.
October 9th, 2010 at 8:44 am
A tremendous book on all levels.
In a nutshell, Paraffin Winter is on par with the best of audiobooks produced by the big publishing houses.
The audio production quality and narration is excellent – being both technically supurb and artistically well rendered. I often notice that new comers struggle with finding the appropriate balance between using audio to provide support for the story and having it become an intriusive element. Peter Chowney through his narration quality, voice acting, and production choices has walked this line with great result.
I am enjoying the story greatly. Even though 1960s England is well outside my personal experience, Mr. Chowney brings me there in a believeable manner. However, I find that the story is enjoyable as more than a period piece: the plot is interesting, changing and compelling in its own right – it would stand on its merits whether in 1963 England or 1980 Chicago.
Well done and thank you, Peter. I look forward to the rest of the story and wish you well on the publishing efforts that you have referenced.
Best regards.
October 26th, 2010 at 4:35 pm
Thank you for the encouraging comments – especially Jeff’s, there, considering it’s my first attempt at an audio book. I’ve just uploaded another episode, it should appear soon.
November 29th, 2010 at 8:49 am
I loved this book! I felt like I was actually there, in the ’60′s , in England, even though I’ve never had the pleasure of experiencing.
Ronnie and Jenny were great fully fleshed out characters. I also really appreciated the background on English politics and Communisim. I found it fascinating! I hope Mr. Chowney will write more for us soon.
January 11th, 2011 at 8:44 pm
Superb narration and audio quality. Great writing, I really felt transported into 1960′s England. I did think the pacing was a bit slow at times though. It was a long book and I’m guessing there were some things that could have been cut in order to pick up the pace a bit, but otherwise a really great book.
February 23rd, 2011 at 4:03 am
without doubt the best book on podiobooks and audible.
the story has believable characters and the plot unfolds patiently, by this i mean it holds you spellbound but without the frenetic space filling of other novels.
the reading is extremely good too. peter chowney should be taken up by the audiobook community to read other novels too. but lets hope that he is writing another spellbinding novel to follow this one.
March 3rd, 2011 at 3:30 pm
This is simply one of the finest audio/books I have read. The characters are so well done and finished…complex and interesting.
The romance of Ronnie and Jenny is so touching because it is REAL….we see the highs and the lows, the realistic tug of war between lovers. I cried my eyes out at the end.
Pleeeeeease Peter, write more! And if you find the time please also narrate. Peter’s narration is flawless. Well done!
April 5th, 2011 at 7:40 am
Love the story and how it unfolds. The song wore on me over time but I just hurried past it. Thank you!!
June 8th, 2011 at 6:50 am
Thank you Peter Chowney for Paraffin Winter. I just finished the last episode and I feel as if I experienced the time and flavor of 1963 Poole and knew Ronnie and Jenny. Excellent story and recording. ‘In the Bleak Mid-Winter” is an very good choice to set the tone. Thank you for the clear recording, perfect accent and lack of distracting bed music, sound effects, etc. This story educated me about a time when I was too young to observe outside my east coast mid-sized American industrial town. I hope for your next novel.
January 7th, 2012 at 4:22 pm
Paraffin Winter is one of my favourite e-books on Podiobooks (and elsewhere).
The story is well built with interesting characters and full of details of the early 1960s.
I like the straight reading with the lovely british accent that commanded my full attention as a non-native speaker.
Allison Crowes Song provides the perfect brackets for a story packed in ice and snow.