Hello from Minnesota!

[OjoTheLucky]

Hi,

My name is James Armstrong, but I prefer to go by my otter "fursona" name, Ojo Oztter (pronounced Oh-Joe Oz-turr). I'm new here and glad to be part of this community. I hope I'll get to read books for this community soon!
I am a cisgender American male who has ASD, inattentive type ADHD, OCD, and fatty liver disease and lives in Minnesota. I am generally a very nice, kind person. However, because of my OCD, I have several triggers. When I am upset over any of them, I tend to say and do things I don't intend to say or do. I hope you'll understand that me being upset over my triggers is one of my flaws. My triggers are:

1. Atheism, Agnosticism, and any other views against my Catholicism (despite me not being overtly religious)
2. Creationism (since I believe in Evolution and the Big Bang)
3. The death penalty
4. Crying/fussy children/babies (since when I'm mad, I tend to think that it's the parents' fault, when it isn't)
5. Abuse
6. Sadism/sadomasochism/schadenfreude
7. The TSA and any government agency/security who does searches and seizures without probable cause

I am a proud furry (obviously, but don't worry, not all of us furries are on the NSFW side; only around 5-10% of us are, and just because we're an open fandom doesn't mean we're also open to horrible people, since any furry caught being or promoting those types of people get called out and rejected by the fandom, and every fandom has limits) who was a closeted "young fur" at childhood since I watched Disney's 1973 film, Robin Hood (I still have the Masterpiece Edition VHS of it since I was little). I have 6 fursonas (including Ojo Oztter). My fursonas are:

1. Jojo Otter - a brown and peach otter who is an Internet critic, a movie buff, and a content creator
2. Ojo Oztter (named after the character Ojo from the Oz books) - a brown and peach otter who is a Munchkin living in an adult furry alternate universe Oz called Anthro-Oz (with mature, dark, and tearjerking moments and violence like The Wicked Years book series by Gregory Maguire and the short-lived Emerald City TV series by NBC, and wisecracking humor and lighthearted moments like the Oz books, despite still being my own alternate continuity), which is based on The Wizard of Oz (1939) and the Oz books
3. Jim Cocoa - a brown and light brown grizzly bear with a milk chocolate and caramel theme
4. Isaac Bearry - a reddish pink grizzly bear with a raspberry sherbet theme
5. Will Lemon - a yellow and white wolf with a lemon theme
6. Cody Cheddar - a brown, tan, and bright yellow wolf with a grilled cheese theme

My favorite movie of all time is the 1939 MGM classic, The Wizard of Oz (even though I am well aware it won't be public domain in the US until Monday, January 1st, 2035). I have read some of the Oz books by L. Frank Baum, even though I don't have any original printed copies or faithful reproductions of them. I am planning on getting Books of Wonder's reproductions of the original 15 L. Frank Baum Oz books from their online store for Christmas this year, which are $250 for the whole set ($17 per book).
I like spicy food, especially any that have buffalo sauce or any kind of hot sauce. I spend most of my time on my 4K UHD Windows 11 laptop and some of my time on my iPad Mini every day, even though I would like to lose weight and be on electronics less.
My big dream is to have my own LGBTQIA+ furry entertainment company, run by furries, furry supporters, and Oz book and adaptation fans, called Oz Entertainment. After the 1939 Wizard of Oz movie enters the public domain in 2035, I will have someone arrange the opening logo theme for the company. The company will launch in May of 2036, on the 180th birthday of L. Frank Baum. The theme will include a short medley of one surviving song each from the early surviving Oz stage and screen adaptations (1902-1933, not including later interpolated songs from other stage productions used in the stage adaptations), the first 12 notes of Glinda's Theme, the first 7 notes of Over the Rainbow, low pitched strings, and a bell. The logo screen would include a montage of illustrations from the first 33 Oz books (1900-1939) and footage (1910-1939) and photos (1902-1939) from the surviving Oz stage and screen adaptations transitioning into the company's version of the Oz emblem (an O with a Z overlapping the bottom right corner of it) with the emblem zooming out, magic gold dust making the word "Entertainment" appear from left to right underneath the emblem, a yellow brick road and rainbow appearing inside the O, and a copyright trademark notice appearing at the bottom of the screen (which would appear above the bottom of the screen depending on the open matte version of the logo in aspect ratios varying from 1.33:1 to 2.35:1).

[TriciaG]

Welcome, Ojo! I used to live in MN, but I left for love. LOL!

Fortunately, we're a generally friendly bunch around here and usually stick to recording and making audiobooks. We don't get into debates about religion, politics, etc., so you shouldn't be too triggered. (There are books in progress that may go against your sensibilities, but as long as you ignore them, you'll be fine.) Our foremost rule around here is "be nice", so you shouldn't run into very much negativity.

[Cbteddy]

Hi,

My name is James Armstrong, but I prefer to go by my otter "fursona" name, Ojo Oztter (pronounced Oh-Joe Oz-turr). I'm new here and glad to be part of this community. I hope I'll get to read books for this community soon!
I am a cisgender American male who has ASD, inattentive type ADHD, OCD, and fatty liver disease and lives in Minnesota. I am generally a very nice, kind person. However, because of my OCD, I have several triggers. When I am upset over any of them, I tend to say and do things I don't intend to say or do. I hope you'll understand that me being upset over my triggers is one of my flaws. My triggers are:

1. Atheism, Agnosticism, and any other views against my Catholicism (despite me not being overtly religious)
2. Creationism (since I believe in Evolution and the Big Bang)
3. The death penalty
4. Crying/fussy children/babies (since when I'm mad, I tend to think that it's the parents' fault, when it isn't)
5. Abuse
6. Sadism/sadomasochism/schadenfreude
7. The TSA and any government agency/security who does searches and seizures without probable cause

I am a proud furry (obviously, but don't worry, not all of us furries are on the NSFW side; only around 5-10% of us are, and just because we're an open fandom doesn't mean we're also open to horrible people, since any furry caught being or promoting those types of people get called out and rejected by the fandom, and every fandom has limits) who was a closeted "young fur" at childhood since I watched Disney's 1973 film, Robin Hood (I still have the Masterpiece Edition VHS of it since I was little). I have 6 fursonas (including Ojo Oztter). My fursonas are:

1. Jojo Otter - a brown and peach otter who is an Internet critic, a movie buff, and a content creator
2. Ojo Oztter (named after the character Ojo from the Oz books) - a brown and peach otter who is a Munchkin living in an adult furry alternate universe Oz called Anthro-Oz (with mature, dark, and tearjerking moments and violence like The Wicked Years book series by Gregory Maguire and the short-lived Emerald City TV series by NBC, and wisecracking humor and lighthearted moments like the Oz books, despite still being my own alternate continuity), which is based on The Wizard of Oz (1939) and the Oz books
3. Jim Cocoa - a brown and light brown grizzly bear with a milk chocolate and caramel theme
4. Isaac Bearry - a reddish pink grizzly bear with a raspberry sherbet theme
5. Will Lemon - a yellow and white wolf with a lemon theme
6. Cody Cheddar - a brown, tan, and bright yellow wolf with a grilled cheese theme

My favorite movie of all time is the 1939 MGM classic, The Wizard of Oz (even though I am well aware it won't be public domain in the US until Monday, January 1st, 2035). I have read some of the Oz books by L. Frank Baum, even though I don't have any original printed copies or faithful reproductions of them. I am planning on getting Books of Wonder's reproductions of the original 15 L. Frank Baum Oz books from their online store for Christmas this year, which are $250 for the whole set ($17 per book).
I like spicy food, especially any that have buffalo sauce or any kind of hot sauce. I spend most of my time on my 4K UHD Windows 11 laptop and some of my time on my iPad Mini every day, even though I would like to lose weight and be on electronics less.
My big dream is to have my own LGBTQIA+ furry entertainment company, run by furries, furry supporters, and Oz book and adaptation fans, called Oz Entertainment. After the 1939 Wizard of Oz movie enters the public domain in 2035, I will have someone arrange the opening logo theme for the company. The company will launch in May of 2036, on the 180th birthday of L. Frank Baum. The theme will include a short medley of one surviving song each from the early surviving Oz stage and screen adaptations (1902-1933, not including later interpolated songs from other stage productions used in the stage adaptations), the first 12 notes of Glinda's Theme, the first 7 notes of Over the Rainbow, low pitched strings, and a bell. The logo screen would include a montage of illustrations from the first 33 Oz books (1900-1939) and footage (1910-1939) and photos (1902-1939) from the surviving Oz stage and screen adaptations transitioning into the company's version of the Oz emblem (an O with a Z overlapping the bottom right corner of it) with the emblem zooming out, magic gold dust making the word "Entertainment" appear from left to right underneath the emblem, a yellow brick road and rainbow appearing inside the O, and a copyright trademark notice appearing at the bottom of the screen (which would appear above the bottom of the screen depending on the open matte version of the logo in aspect ratios varying from 1.33:1 to 2.35:1).

Hi there!

In addition to all the links within each forum that provide tips and tricks, below you'll find a few that will help you get up and going as you are starting out.

For Proof Listening (PL) - Check out the Proof Listeners or Editors Wanted forum for links to more information about PL. The most common method is Standard, but some projects do have stricter guidelines.

Then check out the New Projects Launch Pad. This is where any readers post ideas for books they'd like to start as projects, either as a solo or group project. Any projects that have a tilde ~ in front of it means the project is in need of some one to PL. Being brand new, you may want to consider asking if you can start with a chapter or two, just to make sure you understand the process and that it's something you like. It may also be easier to start with PL for a solo project since it'll just be one reader you'll be listening to.

For recording

If not already submitted, be sure to complete your one minute recording test so we can make sure your audio specs are good to go. Once you get that approved, check out the Readers Wanted forums, There's one for readers of other languages, and the rest for mostly English.

There is one forum for poems and shorter works, as well as a forum for longer books. If plays and dramatic readings are more your speed, check out the dramatic works forum too! Click into a post to see a summary of the book/poem/play. If it's something that sounds interesting, scroll down a bit more and look at the Magic Window (MW). You'll see a list with chapters or characters broken down into sections. If there is no name by a chapter, that means it's open and you can put a post in the thread to request that chapter. Once you've gotten the OK from the Book Coordinator (BC), you can then record the chapter.

A best practice that is recommended is to just sign up for a chapter or two to begin with so you can get a feel of the whole process and not be overwhelmed. Be sure to also read the information near the MW about how to access the text, the format the file needs to be saved as, and how to upload once it's ready for review.

When in doubt, don't hesitate to ask any questions. Someone will chime in and provide some assistance

Hope this helps, have fun, and welcome!

[OjoTheLucky]

We don't get into debates about religion, politics, etc., so you shouldn't be too triggered. (There are books in progress that may go against your sensibilities, but as long as you ignore them, you'll be fine.) Our foremost rule around here is "be nice", so you shouldn't run into very much negativity.

That's nice to hear. BTW, I am only triggered by triggers 3-7 when they happen IRL, but I can handle them in written/visual works if they aren't described in detail or shown in the work's illustrations or pictures/on screen, except for certain works of fiction like the Alice books by Lewis Carroll and their adaptations, which I can actually handle the instances of abuse and crying children/babies in those (since the triggers are part of dreams and the books are a parody of the Victorian high class anyways). The other triggers are ones I can't handle IRL or in written/visual works. Also, I get more mad about my triggers IRL than when reading/watching a work.