It's time for this site to have a little re-brand. Soon, I'll be changing the address of this site to reflect my real name - Adrian Hobart, rather than the one I launched myself into narration under, Adrian James.
Why?
In six months time I will be leaving my job I've held for 23 years, and devoting myself full time to my new passions: writing novels and narrating audiobooks. It's time to stand on my own feet under my real name, and back myself in the exciting world of digital content creation.
Despite working in one of the world#s biggest creative organisations, I'd increasingly felt distant from what I joined that organisation to do - create, make compelling programmes, and above all, perform as a broadcaster. True, I still had some influence over creative work as a manager, but those opportunities were drying up too. Combined with some personal and health issues in the past two years, I felt that now was the time to move on, and take the plunge.
Nothing is guaranteed in all this, and as I hunker down in the studio and at the keyboard working on projects that will help launch me as a freelancer full-time, I do worry if I've made an awful mistake. Ultimately though, with the support of my incredible partner Rebecca, I feel this is the ideal time to make this huge step.
I have a heap of audiobook work in my diary, and with each project I complete I improve my range, my skills and refine my process. I love bringing characters to life. The same applies to my fiction. Come March 2020 I plan to launch the first three novels set in World War Two about the exploits of my feckless hero Commander Rafe Edwards and his adventures in espionage, and his on/off love Miss Violette Dubois who is the brains in the partnership. Whilst I love bringing other author's characters alive, I can't wait to give voice to my own.
Everything I do from now on will be as Adrian Hobart; no more semi-hiding behind alter-egos. I will succeed or fail as myself - I can't wait to see which way things go.