 This month we are celebrating our partnership with Scott Larson of Tri-Tone Productions, whom we share the Hummingbird Hut Recording Studio with. Scott is a recording engineer, trombonist, and composer, and manages his own music ensembles. He is also Allegra Bandy’s husband. Last Saturday evening, Allegra came back from a gig, and Scott was working with Jay Sanders on tracking the piano part for one of Jay’s tunes with his modern jazz band, the Faultline Trio. You can find their music on Spotify and YouTube Music, all recorded at the Hummingbird Hut! Below are pictures of Jay and Scott, and the heavily mic’d piano. Scott had set up 8 microphones to track the piano part. Why so many microphones? Well, not only did he want to pick up the full spectrum of sound from the high, middle, and low ends of the piano, but he was also trying out new prototype microphones, which were leant to him by a microphone designer friend (more info on those microphones to come in a future newsletter). Very exciting to hear the whole instrument!  In the above photo: Scott and Jay  In the above photo: Scott Larson  Also, Happy 7th Wedding Anniversary Allegra & Scott!    In the above photo: Itzel and Allegra Today, through Attuned Living, Itzel supports organizations and individuals on their journeys toward personal and collective transformation. Her services are centered around facilitation, compassionate communication, healing, and equity. She also serves as an Adjunct Professor at UC Law San Francisco, where she teaches Facilitation for Attorneys, a course designed to help future legal professionals lead more inclusive, collaborative, and effective processes in the spaces they serve. She currently lives with her partner and kiddo in Oakland, California We welcomed Itzel Hayward in the Hummingbird Hut to record her guided mediation courses. She is a very kind, patient, and wise human, and we feel so blessed to have had her in the studio.   Are you or someone you know looking for a quiet, comfortable, sound proofed and spacious place to record your audiobooks, audio for your podcast, YouTube Channel Videos, TikTok Video or Voiceovers? Do you want to record with quality gear, and not worry about all the engineering issues? We can help! Come record at the Hummingbird Hut Studio! Our services to include:
LET US KNOW: If you, or someone you know is interested in narrating their own audiobook, please get in touch. We love being a resource for our literary and artistic communities. Fill out the contact form on the HUMMINGBIRD HUT Recording Studio page, and we’ll set up a time to help you plan the recording of your project.  AUDIOBOOKS | MUSIC | VOICEOVER
ODDUA’s Mission: We create and publish content that helps people make their world a more peaceful, equitable, and joyous place. We provide high quality productions of voice over, podcast production, and audiobooks in primarily non-fiction and personal development genres. We provide authentic "true voice" listening experiences by specializing in author-narrated audiobooks. Based in the San Francisco Bay Area, ODDUA AUDIO works with authors and publishers, musicians, companies and individuals, both nationally and internationally.
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  Audiobooks have rapidly transformed from a niche format into a major force in publishing. With people listening during commutes, workouts, or chores, the demand for spoken books is stronger than ever. 📘 What Is the Audiobook Industry?The audiobook industry involves producing and distributing audio versions of books. Listeners access them through platforms like Audible, Spotify, Apple Books, and Scribd. The format covers everything from novels to memoirs, and it is especially popular among busy professionals and younger audiences. 🚀 Growth That MattersThe global audiobook market is growing fast. It was worth around 5 billion dollars in 2020 and is expected to pass 20 billion by 2030. Annual growth continues to outpace print and ebooks, with rising demand in regions like Europe, India, and Latin America. 📚 Competing with PrintAudiobooks are no longer just an add-on to print releases. For some bestsellers, audio versions now outsell both print and ebook editions. Younger generations prefer the flexibility of listening, and publishers are responding by releasing books in all formats at once or even creating audio-only originals. 🎤 Why Listeners Keep Coming BackHigh-quality narration and celebrity readers make audiobooks feel personal and engaging. Performances by authors like Michelle Obama or actors like Tom Hanks add emotional depth that keeps audiences coming back. Final ThoughtAudiobooks are not replacing print, but they are standing beside it as a powerful, growing format. In a world that moves fast, audiobooks are becoming the preferred way to read.  - A Note by Ryl  Hello everyone! I am Ryl, and I am excited to share that this October marks my first year working as a Virtual Assistant for Oddua Audio. It all began last year while I was on a solo trip in Nagoya, Japan. I had my interview with Allegra during that trip, not knowing that it would be the start of such an incredible journey. Fast forward to today, I am still in Japan, but this time for a longer stay. I am currently living in Tokyo, studying Japanese at a language school in Shinjuku, while continuing to work with Oddua Audio. My work as a Virtual Assistant includes a variety of tasks such as:
Happy one year to me, and thank you to Oddua Audio for being part of my journey! Written by Ryl    Are you or someone you know looking for a quiet, comfortable, sound proofed and spacious place to record your audiobooks, audio for your podcast, YouTube Channel Videos, TikTok Video and Voiceovers? Do you want to record with quality gear, and not worry about all the engineering issues? We can help! Come record at the Hummingbird Hut Studio! Our services to include:
LET US KNOW: If you, or someone you know is interested in narrating their own audiobook, please get in touch. We love being a resource for our literary and artistic communities. Fill out the contact form on the HUMMINGBIRD HUT Recording Studio page, and we’ll set up a time to help you plan the recording of your project.  AUDIOBOOKS | MUSIC | VOICEOVER
ODDUA’s Mission: We create and publish content that helps people make their world a more peaceful, equitable, and joyous place. We provide high quality productions of voice over, podcast production, and audiobooks in primarily non-fiction and personal development genres. We provide authentic "true voice" listening experiences by specializing in author-narrated audiobooks. Based in the San Francisco Bay Area, ODDUA AUDIO works with authors and publishers, musicians, companies and individuals, both nationally and internationally.   I recently went over to my friend’s house, and her daughter said that they had “Chunky Monkey” Ben & Jerry’s ice cream in the freezer. She was super excited about having it for dessert, and had that gleam in her eye that only comes from knowing you’re gonna get your favorite thing. I knew she wanted me to be excited about it too. But, I told her that my favorite ice cream is vanilla. “Vanilla!?!?! That’s so boring,” rolling her eyes. “It goes with everything,” I told her. She just rolled her eyes some more. Teenagers. I did not want to “yuck her yum”, so I changed the subject. Everyone has the right to like what they like. Anyways, with the Folsom Street Fair in San Francisco coming up this September, I am reminded that everyone has their own kink. Everyone has their own favorite flavor of ice cream, favorite pair of underwear, favorite movie, favorite sex toy, etc, that special thing that makes them just so happy. So, in celebration of our unique favorite things, our audiobooks of the month are of three fabulous books by Janet W. Hardy and Dossie Easton. They are the New Topping Book, The Ethical Slut - Third Edition, and Radical Ecstasy.
 In August, we were very excited to welcome back our friends from the San Francisco Film Preserve, Kathy O’Reagan, and Rob Byrne. They also brought an author and historian of silent films with them, Thomas Gladysz. They came to the studio to record voiceover commentary bonus tracks for four silent films starring Louise Brooks, which they restored, and are putting on to a DVD. I really enjoyed listening to their conversations and commentary, (like a historical peanut gallery without the sarcasm). Overall, it was a fun and educational experience. Learn more about their publications on the San Francisco Film Preserve Website.    Are you or someone you know looking for a quiet, comfortable, sound proofed and spacious place to record your audiobooks, audio for your podcast, YouTube Channel Videos, TikTok Video or Voiceovers? Do you want to record with quality gear, and not worry about all the engineering issues? We can help! Come record at the Hummingbird Hut Studio! Our services to include:
LET US KNOW: If you, or someone you know is interested in narrating their own audiobook, please get in touch. We love being a resource for our literary and artistic communities. Fill out the contact form on the HUMMINGBIRD HUT Recording Studio page, and we’ll set up a time to help you plan the recording of your project.  AUDIOBOOKS | MUSIC | VOICEOVER
ODDUA’s Mission: We create and publish content that helps people make their world a more peaceful, equitable, and joyous place. We provide high quality productions of voice over, podcast production, and audiobooks in primarily non-fiction and personal development genres. We provide authentic "true voice" listening experiences by specializing in author-narrated audiobooks. Based in the San Francisco Bay Area, ODDUA AUDIO works with authors and publishers, musicians, companies and individuals, both nationally and internationally.   This August, CEO Allegra Bandy is doing a bit of traveling to the Western Sierras and Southern California, and taking a break from audiobook production before the storm of work starts up again in the Fall. Besides producing author narrated audiobooks, Allegra is now available to narrate audiobooks as well. She is excited and open to lend her voice for new voice over projects such as animation, commercial, and radio advertisement projects, as well as non-fiction audiobooks. You can check out her Voice Over web page at https://www.allegrabandy.com/voiceover.html, and get in touch with her if you’d like more information about Allegra’s work in this area. You can email her at ([email protected]).   We just finished editing “A Promise Kept, Honoring His Wishes, Embracing Our Love” for Soul Sparks Press (October 2025 release). A personal memoire of Erica Baccus’ telling the story of the love of her life and his battle with advanced dementia and alzheimers disease, and the brave promise she kept to him to help him with his assisted suicide. Emotional and revelatory, Erica did an amazing job narrating this intense and heart wrenching journey. Look out for the audiobook at your favorite audiobook retailer, library, or at Erica Baccus (the author’s) Website. https://ericabaccus.com/  Are you or someone you know looking for a quiet, comfortable, sound proofed and spacious place to record your audiobooks, audio for your podcast, YouTube Channel Videos, TikTok Video or Voiceovers? Do you want to record with quality gear, and not worry about all the engineering issues? We can help! Come record at the Hummingbird Hut Studio! Our services to include:
LET US KNOW: If you, or someone you know is interested in narrating their own audiobook, please get in touch. We love being a resource for our literary and artistic communities. Fill out the contact form on the HUMMINGBIRD HUT Recording Studio page, and we’ll set up a time to help you plan the recording of your project.  AUDIOBOOKS | MUSIC | VOICEOVER
ODDUA’s Mission: We create and publish content that helps people make their world a more peaceful, equitable, and joyous place. We provide high quality productions of voice over, podcast production, and audiobooks in primarily non-fiction and personal development genres. We provide authentic "true voice" listening experiences by specializing in author-narrated audiobooks. Based in the San Francisco Bay Area, ODDUA AUDIO works with authors and publishers, musicians, companies and individuals, both nationally and internationally. 
It is with much anticipation, excitement, nerves, computer crashes, software and hardware upgrades and a total remastering of the new audiobook, “The Ethical Slut: A Practical Guide to Polyamory, Open Relationships, and Other Freedoms in Sex and Love, Third Edition, Updated and Expanded,” that we have just released this week! The 3rd edition is now available for MP3 download on the ODDUA Audio website, and will be available on most of the streaming services, including your local library, in a few weeks.
The Ethical Slut is the classic guide to love, sex, and intimacy beyond the limits of conventional monogamy has been fully updated to reflect today’s modern attitudes and the latest information on nontraditional relationships. Widely known as the “Poly Bible”—has dispelled myths and showed curious readers how to maintain a successful polyamorous lifestyle through open communication, emotional honesty, and safer sex practices. The third edition of this timeless guide to the ethics of relationships, communication, and sex has been revised to include:
• Interviews with poly millennials (young people who have grown up without the prejudices their elders encountered regarding gender, orientation, sexuality, and relationships) • Tributes to polyamory pioneers • Tools for conflict resolution and instructions on how to improve interpersonal dynamics • New chapter on creating a culture of Consent The authors also include new content addressing nontraditional relationships beyond the polyamorous paradigm of “more than two”: couples who don't live together, couples who don't have sex with each other, nonparallel arrangements, couples with widely divergent sex styles, power disparities, and cross-orientation relationships, while utilizing nonbinary gender language and new terms that have come into common usage since the last edition. 
Are you or someone you know looking for a quiet, comfortable, sound proofed and spacious place to record your audiobooks, audio for your podcast, YouTube Channel Videos, TikTok Video and Voiceovers? Do you want to record with quality gear, and not worry about all the engineering issues? We can help! Come record at the Hummingbird Hut Studio!
Our services to include:
LET US KNOW: If you, or someone you know is interested in narrating their own audiobook, please get in touch. We love being a resource for our literary and artistic communities. Fill out the contact form on the HUMMINGBIRD HUT Recording Studio page, and we’ll set up a time to help you plan the recording of your project. 
AUDIOBOOKS | MUSIC | VOICEOVER
ODDUA’s Mission: We create and publish content that helps people make their world a more peaceful, equitable, and joyous place. We provide high quality productions of voice over, podcast production, and audiobooks in primarily non-fiction and personal development genres. We provide authentic "true voice" listening experiences by specializing in author-narrated audiobooks. Based in the San Francisco Bay Area, ODDUA AUDIO works with authors and publishers, musicians, companies and individuals, both nationally and internationally.  “Life is a mystery to be lived, not a problem to be solved.” - Angeles Arrien It’s not supposed to be simple, easy, or boring. It’s a mystery, an ever evolving flow of energy, in every direction that is a different and unique experience for each of us. It’s not a one dimensional problem. And if you are reading this, you are not dead, yet. Living a life to the fullest, everyday, is not simple, easy, and is never boring. Linda González, author of “The Cost of Our Lives,” and “Breaking Through Your Own Glass Ceiling,” is not only a fabulous writer, but also one of my favorite inspirational people still walking this earth. ODDUA AUDIO was really lucky to connect with her to record her narration of her audiobooks during the beginning of the COVID 19 pandemic. Listening to them now, still inspires us all to endure the ever fluctuating realities of life, and strive for a better future that we all are deserving of. I got to have lunch with Línda last week, and again was blown away by the mover and shaker that she is: Author, narrator, life and business coach, writing coach, tennis player, cyclist, kayaker, paddle boarder, and mother. Linda González continues to help her clients and community from Marin, but will soon be moving to the East Bay. You can keep up with her and learn more about her at her website: https://www.lindagonzalez.net/
 Allegra Bandy is Performing at QWOCMAPFF!  Just in case you didn’t already know, Allegra Bandy is not only an audiobook producer, and voice over actor, but also a professional singer. She will be performing jazz and soul tunes during the reception of the 25th Anniversary of the Queer Women of Color Media Arts Project (QWOCMAP) International Film Festival on Sunday, June 15th. She will be accompanied by Dee Spencer on piano keyboard. For more information about Allegra Bandy, visit https://www.allegrabandy.com/ Queer Women of Color Media Arts Project (QWOCMAP) uses film to shatter stereotypes and bias, reveal the lived truth of inequality, and build community around art and activism. QWOCMAP creates, exhibits, and distributes high-impact new films that authentically reflect the lives of queer women of color both cisgender & transgender, and nonbinary, gender nonconforming, and transgender people of color of any orientation, and address the vital, intersecting social justice issues that concern our multiple communities. Check out the Film Festival, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, June 13-15, 2025 https://qwocff.org/ RSVP for Reception tickets here: https://qwocff.org/25th-anniversary-reception Happy LGBTQIA+ Pride Month!   Are you or someone you know looking for a quiet, comfortable, sound proofed and spacious place to record your audiobooks, audio for your podcast, YouTube Channel Videos, TikTok Video and Voiceovers? Do you want to record with quality gear, and not worry about all the engineering issues? We can help! Come record at the Hummingbird Hut Studio! Our services to include:
LET US KNOW: If you, or someone you know is interested in narrating their own audiobook, please get in touch. We love being a resource for our literary and artistic communities. Fill out the contact form on the HUMMINGBIRD HUT Recording Studio page, and we’ll set up a time to help you plan the recording of your project.  AUDIOBOOKS | MUSIC | VOICEOVER
ODDUA’s Mission: We create and publish content that helps people make their world a more peaceful, equitable, and joyous place. We provide high quality productions of voice over, podcast production, and audiobooks in primarily non-fiction and personal development genres. We provide authentic "true voice" listening experiences by specializing in author-narrated audiobooks. Based in the San Francisco Bay Area, ODDUA AUDIO works with authors and publishers, musicians, companies and individuals, both nationally and internationally.  This May we are excited to celebrate three amazing authors (who are also moms), Janet W. Hardy, author of “The New Topping Book,” Carolyn Pistone, author of “Open For Joy,” and Hope Timberlake author of “Speak Up Dammit!” These phenomenal women share their knowledge and wisdom about being a successful boss, sharing your voice for clear communication, and how sexy it is to be the one in charge. These titles are on sale at a 25% discount on the ODDUA AUDIO Website through the month of May. Happy Mother’s Day!
  Erica Baccus recording her audiobook, “A Promise Kept, Honoring His Wishes, Embracing Our Love” for Soul Sparks Press (August 2025 release) A personal memoire of Erica Baccus’ telling the story of the love of her life and his battle with advanced dementia and alzheimers disease, and the brave promise she kept to him to help him with his assisted suicide. Emotional and revelatory, Erica did an amazing job narrating this intense and heart wrenching journey.  In April, Allegra Bandy, CEO of ODDUA AUDIO, spoke on a panel at the Publishing Professionals Network Conference at the David Brower center in Berkeley, CA. She was on a panel with Becky Parker Geist of Pro Audio Voices and Joe Finlaw with North Atlantic Books, talking about audiobook publishing. Allegra focused her comments on author narrated non-fiction audiobooks, and about some of the benefits and challenges working with author narrators.   Are you or someone you know looking for a quiet, comfortable, sound proofed and spacious place to record your audiobooks, audio for your podcast, YouTube Channel Videos, TikTok Video and Voiceovers? Do you want to record with quality gear, and not worry about all the engineering issues? We can help! Come record at the Hummingbird Hut Studio! Our services to include:
LET US KNOW: If you, or someone you know is interested in narrating their own audiobook, please get in touch. We love being a resource for our literary and artistic communities. Fill out the contact form on the HUMMINGBIRD HUT Recording Studio page, and we’ll set up a time to help you plan the recording of your project.  AUDIOBOOKS | MUSIC | VOICEOVER
ODDUA’s Mission: We create and publish content that helps people make their world a more peaceful, equitable, and joyous place. We provide high quality productions of voice over, podcast production, and audiobooks in primarily non-fiction and personal development genres. We provide authentic "true voice" listening experiences by specializing in author-narrated audiobooks. Based in the San Francisco Bay Area, ODDUA AUDIO works with authors and publishers, musicians, companies and individuals, both nationally and internationally.  There is a book you have written that you have published. You’ve also made an ebook, and know you need to also make an audiobook to sell too. What does that look like? What does it take to narrate your own book? What if you don’t want to narrate your own book? What if your publisher, who isn’t you, wants an actor to narrate your audiobook? The first thing to really ask yourself is...  We get so many authors coming to us, telling us they want to have an audiobook made of their book, but they don’t know if they retained their audio rights of their book. Maybe they wrote their book a while back, and don’t remember what the contract with their publisher said. They might have to contact the publisher to find out. Did you, the author, even negotiate keeping your audio rights? Does your publisher already have their own audio department, and their default is to hire actors for all of their audiobooks? Or worse, use AI voices? Did you think about any of that when you signed the contract? Know your rights!!! Just like being a citizen in this country, it is important to know your rights. It is important to know what you have a say in, and to claim it. Authors, future authors, future creators…know your rights! And keep them! It is our mission to create authentic listening experiences of non-fiction audiobooks, which means we work with the authors to help THEM narrate THEIR OWN BOOKS. There are no, and never will be, any AI voices. ODDUA AUDIO only produces the real deal. 
 In March, we had the opportunity to record Carrina Lau narrating beautiful guided meditations with music. She did an amazing job, and the mediations have elements of nature sounds, singing bowls, and her soothing voice. You can learn more about Carrina and her inspiring work as a healer and mindset coach at https://stan.store/Carrinalau.    Are you or someone you know looking for a quiet, comfortable, sound proofed, and spacious place to record your audiobooks, audio for your podcast, YouTube Channel Videos, TikTok Video and Voiceovers? Do you want to record with quality gear, and not worry about all the engineering issues? We can help! Come record at the Hummingbird Hut Studio! Our services to include:
LET US KNOW: If you, or someone you know is interested in narrating their own audiobook, please get in touch. We love being a resource for our literary and artistic communities. Fill out our CUSTOMER INTAKE FORM, and we’ll set up a time to help you plan the recording of your project.  AUDIOBOOKS | VOICEOVER | NARRATION
ODDUA’s Mission: We create and publish content that helps people make their world a more peaceful, equitable, and joyous place. We provide high quality productions of voice over, podcast production, and audiobooks in primarily non-fiction and personal development genres. We provide authentic "true voice" listening experiences by specializing in author-narrated audiobooks. Based in the San Francisco Bay Area, ODDUA AUDIO works with authors and publishers, musicians, companies and individuals, both nationally and internationally.  I am truly blessed to have been raised by a phenomenal woman, and am descended from some phenomenal women. The women I come from were bosses, leaders, community wranglers, game changers, and looking at this next generation, it’s looking like it runs in the family. I have also had the good fortune to work with primarily women authors over the years, and this month we are celebrating the following ODDUA Audiobooks written by some phenomenal women:
  Rebecca Kraus Interviewed for KQED Radio’s Snap Judgement  Nick Sowers stopping in from Seattle, WA, to survey his designs of ODDUA’s Hummingbird Hut Studio. He’s seen sitting in the window well of the studio. He’s a very tall guy, but found it quite cozy to hang out, chat, and do some acoustic measurements of the space. Looks like there are some tweaks to the space that we’re going to do to make it sound even more amazing.   Are you or someone you know looking for a quiet, comfortable, sound proofed and spacious place to record your audiobooks, audio for your podcast, YouTube Channel Videos, TikTok Video and Voiceovers? Do you want to record with quality gear, and not worry about all the engineering issues? We can help! Come record at the Hummingbird Hut Studio! Our services to include:
LET US KNOW: If you, or someone you know is interested in narrating their own audiobook, please get in touch. We love being a resource for our literary and artistic communities. Fill out the contact form on the HUMMINGBIRD HUT Recording Studio page, and we’ll set up a time to help you plan the recording of your project.  AUDIOBOOKS | MUSIC | VOICEOVER
ODDUA’s Mission: We create and publish content that helps people make their world a more peaceful, equitable, and joyous place. We provide high quality productions of voice over, podcast production, and audiobooks in primarily non-fiction and personal development genres. We provide authentic "true voice" listening experiences by specializing in author-narrated audiobooks. Based in the San Francisco Bay Area, ODDUA AUDIO works with authors and publishers, musicians, companies and individuals, both nationally and internationally.  Happy Lunar New Year! Happy Valentine’s Day! Happy February! All of the happy things I want to celebrate right now. Having recently lost another friend to cancer, I am reminded how ridiculously short our lives are, and how each day gives us opportunities to connect with people in our lives, to strengthen our relationships, and to be grateful for all of those precious moments that we are able to share together. We are all guaranteed death. “Nothing is more certain than death and taxes…” so spend your life and your money wisely. And don’t wait to tell people you love them. Tell them! Make it weird 🙂    This month we honor and celebrate one of ODDUA AUDIO’s most famous author’s, Dossie Easton. She is the co-author with Janet W. Hardy, of “The Ethical Slut,” “Radical Ecstasy,” “The New Topping Book,” and “The New Bottoming Book.” “I am proud to serve my communities as psychotherapist, relationship counselor, educator, and author. Since 1969, I have lived and worked in sexual minority cultures. I am dedicated to feminist, polyamorous, BDSM, spiritual, gender-diverse, and LGBTQ individuals and communities. I explore, with my clients and in my own life, new paradigms of gender, sexuality, and relationships. I am committed to offering authentic, respectful, competent, and compassionate psychotherapy and relationship counseling to people exploring non-traditional lifestyles” - Dossie Easton Happy Birthday Dossie!  Are you or someone you know looking for a quiet, comfortable, sound proofed and spacious place to record your audiobooks, audio for your podcast, YouTube Channel Videos, TikTok Video and Voiceovers? Do you want to record with quality gear, and not worry about all the engineering issues? We can help! Come record at the Hummingbird Hut Studio! Our services to include:
LET US KNOW: If you, or someone you know is interested in narrating their own audiobook, please get in touch. We love being a resource for our literary and artistic communities. Fill out the contact form on the HUMMINGBIRD HUT Recording Studio page, and we’ll set up a time to help you plan the recording of your project.  AUDIOBOOKS | MUSIC | VOICEOVER
ODDUA’s Mission: We create and publish content that helps people make their world a more peaceful, equitable, and joyous place. We provide high quality productions of voice over, podcast production, and audiobooks in primarily non-fiction and personal development genres. We provide authentic "true voice" listening experiences by specializing in author-narrated audiobooks. Based in the San Francisco Bay Area, ODDUA AUDIO works with authors and publishers, musicians, companies and individuals, both nationally and internationally. |
