South Yorkshire author seeks local voice to read his latest audiobook - could it be you?

“In our family, there’s a flask that has been passed down through the years; it belonged to my grandfather in the second world war.

“On top of the lid is a sticker that reads 337, though nobody in the family has ever had any idea what it means.

“It’s in my house these days, and during lockdown I knocked it over and it landed on the floor upside down.

“For the first time, I realised we had all been looking at it the wrong way for decades, and that 337 was actually LEE - my grandfather’s surname.

“It got me thinking about how we can think things are one way - for years, even - and then one day, it can all suddenly become clear.”

It’s this idea that forms the basis for the South Yorkshire writer’s sixth novel - due out in November - aptly named 337.

The book follows the story of a man visiting his grandmother at the end of her life, and uncovering a family mystery.

Jonathan says: “This came from a real life experience too, in a way. My grandmother passed away in a Sheffield care home two years ago, and I spent the last week with her, by her bedside.

“During that time, I learned all kinds of things about my family that I had never known, and I’m so grateful I got to hear them before my grandmother died, and all of that family history and knowledge went with her.

“In the book, my character realises he has a limited amount of time to get to the bottom of his family mystery before his grandmother is gone, and everything she knows is gone too.”

Jonathan also reveals the book has a couple of big mysteries and surprises in store for its readers, all designed to add to their feeling of disorientation, contributing to the idea that nothing is truly as it seems.

“I must say, I’m ever so pleased with how it turned out,” he smiles.

“I started writing the book in lockdown and it took just six weeks to finish, it just poured out.”

And now Jonathan is looking for just the right voice to capture his character in his first audiobook, which is planned to be recorded next month.

“These days, so many people say they don’t have time to read a book, but they’d have time to listen to one,” says the dad-of-two, who lives in Barnsley.

“I decided the time was right to turn one of my books into an audiobook.”

When it comes to the voice itself, Jonathan has no set ideas, but believes he’ll know it when he hears it.

“I’d like it to be somebody local,” he says.

“The accent isn’t important, but I’d like to give somebody in Yorkshire the opportunity.

“Other than that, I’m open to anything, even the idea of a woman reading it, as I feel that could only add to this disorienting feeling of nothing being as it seems.

“I’m asking anybody interested in reading the part to get in touch, we’ll send them the first three chapters, and ask them to send us an excerpt, and then we’ll narrow it down.

“The recording process itself should take 2-3 days, sometime in late August.”

Anybody interested in finding out more, should contact Jonathan on Twitter: @MJonathanLee

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