Marilyn Ross Books on CD. Here Today, Gone Tomorrow

[Uncle Roger]

An announcement popped up on my Facebook newsfeed saying that audio versions of the entire Marilyn Ross paperback series would be released through Amazon. 15 to start with, followed by the rest. The price was decent but information was sparse. No mention of who would be reading them, let alone who was releasing them.
Several fans apparently reported the announcement to you know who. No such release is planned through legitimate channels and the announcement has been deemed a fake. The Amazon listing will probably be deleted shortly.
Which raises an interesting question. Who made the original announcement in the first place? After the leak of the 2004 pilot, one would think that you know who would keep a closer watch on licensed properties.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

I wonder - has the copyright for those novels lapsed or is it still in force? The current copyright law is for novels published after January 1, 1978 (life of the author plus 70 years). But being that all those novels were published before 1978, their copyright may be different. And if it has lapsed for them, there probably wouldn't be anything you know who could do about someone releasing them on CD.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

I see that copyright for books published starting with 1923 but before 1978 is 95 years from the date of publication, so the copyright would still be in force.

Maybe the first CD's release isn't planned until 2066 for 1) DS' 100th anniversary, and 2) after the copyrights for the first 15 have all expired. 

[The Doctor and K9]

No such release is planned through legitimate channels and the announcement has been deemed a fake. The Amazon listing will probably be deleted shortly.
Which raises an interesting question. Who made the original announcement in the first place?

In early 2011 I bought a book for my kindle from Amazon, To Live Again-A Dark Shadows Novel. It was supposedly the first of a series. It was unauthorized and soon made unavailable, but Amazon did not delete the file from my account or devices. I'd had a PDF made immediately in case that happened, but it didn't. I suspect these books might be a fan project someone hoped to sell on Amazon. If the offer is genuine, I hope he didn't put too much work into the project. I doubt the listing will be there in time for the first CD to be released.

[dom]

Maybe the first CD's release isn't planned until 2066 for 1) DS' 100th anniversary, and 2) after the copyrights for the first 15 have all expired. 

Or until U know who expires.

[Gerard]

Dom, what a terrible thing to say about u know who.  The correct term is "passes."

Gerard

[michael c]

that "announcement" is still going around FB today. i thought it was legit.

[Joeytrom]

Just saw on Amazon, that the Ross DS novels are going to be available on audio CD for $5.71 on June 17, 2019:

https://www.amazon.com/Dark-Shadows-Marilyn-Ross/dp/1640912134/ref=tmm_abk_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1553441813&sr=

[Mysterious Benefactor]

It's going to be very interesting to see if this release really does come to pass and remains available without any interference from you know who, who in the past has never let anything like it to exist.

It's also worth pointing out that the $5.71 price seems to only be available to Amazon Prime members. Though the regular price is apparently only $6.99.

One thing that I do find fascinating apart from the actual CD release is that one of the commentors says "I started reading this Dark Shadows book series by Marilyn Ross after watching the new Dark Shadows movie with Johnny Depp."

[Brian]

For all the reasons cited in this thread, I am not optimistic about this release audiobooks of the Ross DS. About three years ago, I began learning the the novels in paperback with the intent of rereading them. Unfortunately, my macular degeneration rapidly decreased my site, and I have been listening to audiobooks ever since because I cannot read anymore. I would love to have these books available by a great narrator (not necessarily an original cast member).
In the intent of this thread is about the books not about my eyes, so please… There is no need to comment with concern about my vision. I’m well-adjusted to it in doing just fine in my early retirement.  Is money good news—that I am able to retire before age 65.  (And I’m glad there are text to speech programs that I can use to listen to the posts, and dictation software I can use to make posts.) 
 

[The Doctor and K9]

According to Amazon, the reader is Ronny Nordlinger. Apparently he's a professional reader because he's got a long list of reader credits. This makes me wonder if the offers are legitimate, especially since the listings have remained up on Amazon's system for so long.

[The Doctor and K9]

If these listings are genuine, it makes me wonder why DS actors are not doing the reading.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

The whole situation seems very strange, especially the professional reader development because that would seem to remove the notion that it's simply a fan project. Well, unless Ronny Nordlinger is a fan. But we shall see...

[Uncle Roger]

It's also curious that there has been no announcement of the project, vague or otherwise in Shadowgram. 

[Mysterious Benefactor]

   Yes, that is interesting - especially IF it IS legit...