I’m a horror author best known for writing and releasing the first
free vampire audio novel on the internet, 2004′s Forever
Fifteen.

How I record

I produced all my music on my own using Reason (my favorite software
synth) and ProTools as a DAW until I recently switched to Apple’s Logic.

The extra “real” instruments go in, for instance guitar or cello. I cannot play cello, so the cello
you hear on Track 10 (Life is Strange) and Track 13 (The Courtesan
Said Farewell) are not by me! They are by Ethan Meyer from the cellofun
forums. I do have a cello but playing it in public isn’t an option–because
I’m terrible at cello! The last layer to be added to my recording
is always vocals. I usually add a lot of vocal layers to a track,
sometimes dozens. I used to sing in my local & school choirs which
helped me to learn about how to harmonize. My vocal range is from
E3 (the E above Middle C) to about 4 octaves above (E7). You can hear
the lowest part of my vocal range in Dream of Flight’s Impossible
(Track 11) and the highest in Dream of Flight’s Epilogue: the Forest
of Dreams (Track 14).

Beginning of QUEENIE

When I started out as Queenie in 2002, I came out with a (badly)
home-recorded CD that achieved modest popularity on MP3.com. It was
an exciting time because the traditional music industry was starting
to falter and give way to the rise of the independent artist. Nobody
had any idea that the whole major label system would crash down like
it did! It used to be impossible for indies with obscure styles like
mine to be heard: nowadays indies are everywhere. Even with my small
contribution to indie music, I was and am thrilled to be one of those
who had not “signed away” my artistic integrity to a label deal!!
Every day I am exceedingly thankful for the technology that enables
me to create high-quality recordings without having to embed myself
within the old music industry system!!

CD Baby

I joined CD Baby sometime in 2001 because it was a very different
type of service. I released my QUEENIE album with them. Ever since
then, CD Baby.com always seemed to be at the forefront of the revolution:
honestly, they still are the only game in town as far as getting an
album digitally and physically distributed. As far as record industry
people, they always seemed to be scary/creepy or to only want money
when I was dealing with them. My experience with the CD Babies has
always been the complete opposite: they are cool, normal people and
no, they are not paying me to say that! I’ve encouraged other artists
to spend the measly $60 or so they ask for full album distribution
like my friend Ken Karlson–seriously, if you’re an indie artist, just go for it.
$60 used to be a lot of money (like back in 1982!), but these days
it’s not worth quite as much, is it!?

The QUEENIE CD did extremely well for an indie release, topping charts
at Soundclick.com, BeSonic.com, and was even featured multiple times
on the index page of FranceMP3.com. I was flirted with rather heavily
by some unpleasant record-industry people, but (thankfully) nothing
came of it.

2004 Forever Fifteen

In later years, I found myself stranded in an old house in a small
town. There was no computer, so I alleviated my terrible angst (no
computers?? NOOOOOO!!) by writing a story in longhand that occured
to me in a recurring dream. One year later, I would release that story
as a 34 chapter audio novel called Forever Fifteen. The success of Forever Fifteen overtook QUEENIE’s debut, so I focused upon it for awhile releasing multiple formats of the
book. Writing Forever Fifteen made me burn to write more fiction,
but time constraints have remained the number one reason for my “writer’s
block”. Along the way, I realized that the constant creation of new
“stuff” or what I like to call my projects is the key to profound
personal happiness. This is a big step up from a former major depressive.
I am a geeky person who prefers to spend Friday and Saturday nights
at home with my computer, my hubby, and my cat. I LOVE meeting new
people, especially those who enjoy my creations! Please get in touch!!
If you’re interested in knowing what I’m up to daily please add me
at Twitter
as Queeniemusic or join me on
Facebook/KimberlySteele. I also have a silly blog about my hair
and my cat that I’m astonished that anyone reads called 2
Black haired Girls.