Recently, Amazon offered me the opportunity to beta test their "Virtual Voices" program. Virtual Voices uses a computer-generated voice for the narration. With this program, I could choose among eight different voices and they wouldn't charge me for production.
I struggled over whether to use this option. I believe in paying artists for their work, but I had no plans to make an audiobook version of Portrait of Deception because of the cost. I was also curious about the quality of the virtual narration, which artificial intelligence has greatly improved. I decided to experiment with Virtual Voices, and Portrait of Deception is now available as an audiobook for $4.99.
While I don't believe the quality is as good as a human narrator, it is better than I expected. If you listen to it, I'd love your opinion.