On January 21, 2013, PageOneLit.com named “Cherries – A Vietnam War Novel” by John Podlaski – BEST AUDIOBOOK OF 2012

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This is a proud moment for John Podlaski – recipient of the “Books and Authors Award for Literary Excellence”. 

John commented on the audiobook, “This was way more difficult than writing the book.  I bought the equipment and tried to record the story myself, but fell flat and learned early on that I was not an actor.  Thereafter, I solicited experts and chose Michael Sutherland to tell my story.  He brought the story to life – developing distinct voices for 23 different characters…it was like listening to a great movie.  Barbara Battestilli, Copy Editor of the novel, monitored tone, pace and voice deflections for consistency throughout and also compared Michael’s readings with the actual book text – ensuring unabridged authenticity.  The success of this audiobook would not have come without them.”

When notified by contest officials of his good fortune in winning the audiobook category, the e-mail included the following quote from one of the contest judges, “One HELL of a book!!!

“Cherries” is a story about a young, naïve, teenage soldier who is sent to Vietnam, with others his age, to fight in an unpopular war.  Dubbed “Cherries” by their more seasoned peers, these newbies suddenly found themselves thrust in the middle of a nightmarish scenario for which not even their worst dreams could prepare them; as such, they were hardly ready to absorb the harsh mental, emotional, and physical toll that the conflict would eventually take on them. Literally forced to become men overnight, the Cherries had to learn quickly to make life-or-death decisions, the consequences of which not only impacted their own lives – but also those of their fellow soldiers.  This is a story about their rite of passage.

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