For your listening pleasure: An audio sample of “Retired & Moved to Florida”
Car dealers know that if they let you test drive a car, you might fall in love with it and buy it. Food marketers hand out free samples in supermarkets, hoping that once you taste their product, you’ll decide your life isn’t complete without a 48-pack of mini-quiches.
I’m using the same strategy to promote my book, Retired & Moved to Florida: Old Age & Other Absurdities. Instead of car keys or food samples, I’m handing out chapters—by reading them aloud at special events. The idea is to let people “taste” the book before they buy. I’m happy to report: So far, my strategy is working great. .
My first reading was at my development’s community center. More than 100 people turned out. Many ordered the book on Amazon afterward. I was so encouraged (and had so much fun) that I lined up five more readings at large communities around southwest Florida. Retired people not only love to laugh—they also can’t resist freebies.
Each Reading event includes five of my favorite chapters. But one particular chapter, Lunch with Tom & Will, didn’t work when read aloud —it’s written entirely as a back-and-forth conversation between two retired pals. If I tried to read both parts myself, my audience would be confused unless I announced before each character spoke, “This is Tom” or “This is Will” and that would become so onerous they would quickly tune me out.
So I asked my friend Victor to help. Vic, a professional voice-over actor you’ve heard on TV, radio, and in commercials, agreed to play Will. I played Tom — the one whose voice isn’t as smooth as velvet dipped in melted butter.. Vic’s wife Patti, an actress, rounded out our cast as the restaurant hostess and waitress. We recorded the chapter, I played it for the audience, and they loved it.
Now it’s your turn. You can listen to that recording right now by clicking the arrow in the link below.
If you enjoy it—and I hope you do—you can find Retired & Moved to Florida: Old Age & Other Absurdities on Amazon. To make it easy, there’s even a handy order link on this blog’s home page.
A request: Please share this post. Heck, send it to everyone you know. The more people who get to sample “Retired & Moved to Florida,” the better!
