Wednesday, May 30, 2018

Wanted: Anyone capable of removing curses (and possibly ghosts)

Posted by: Angela Campbell
When I said 2017 was a bad year for me, I think 2018 took it as a challenge to be worse. So far I’ve lost my father, had a very painful and inconvenient surgery, had my car vandalized (which cost a small fortune to fix), my furbaby has been diagnosed with either GI lymphoma or IBS (neither is fun), and the Lord tests me with my dayjob on a daily basis.

Please don't think I'm looking for sympathy or anything. Ordinarily I always try to look on the bright side and never complain because I know there are a zillion folks who have it far worse than me, but I really hate 2018 so far, so yes, I'm venting a little here.

Which brings me to the next chapter in my sad life. I’m moving, and I’ve learned one thing: I am too exhausted mentally and physically and too darn old to move ever again.

Buying a townhouse has been the one bright spot in an otherwise gloomy year for me. I’ve been looking at it as a fresh start, excited, slightly nervous, but mostly excited. I knew I needed to be out of my dad’s house so my brothers and I could sell it by January, so I was expecting to just get a feel for the market and probably move at the beginning of next year. My awesome realtor took my list of wants and managed to find almost all of them in one property that was available now, but it was on the high end of my budget. I loved it so much, I took a leap of faith and somehow managed to get the place.

You know how it works in the books many of us write. If I were the heroine in a fictional story, I’d be headed toward my HEA at this point. I’d move in next to a hunky guy who would inconceivably fall into lust with me. You know how it goes.

But no, not me.

Oh, no.

I wanted to paint all of the yucky beige walls in my new house before moving in. Clean the carpet. You know, some simple things to make it mine. I am on a tight budget, so the painting has fallen to me and my best friend who has become a painting warrior on my behalf. She went over one night and stayed all night by herself to get the master bedroom painted as a surprise for me before my new bed set was delivered. Now, she swears my place is haunted and that she saw a lady in white walk into my closet. Heard strange noises. Some of the paint in that room keeps peeling off even though it had primer. There’s a strange “C” that keeps coming up on the wall, too, she says. Whatever. I figure she was hallucinating from lack of sleep and paint fumes.

Anyway, I had hoped to be moved in by Memorial Day, but what happened?

This past Friday before Memorial Day my best friend calls me to let me know the carbon monoxide alarms are going crazy at my place. What should she do? I Googled and called my other friend, both of which directed me to call the fire department. So, my best friend called them (after getting out) and I left work early. At this point I should note that my best friend lost her sense of smell a couple of years ago. She told me she thought she smelled something, but she wasn’t sure. When I arrived, you could smell gas on the street. It was so strong it took my breath.

“Do you smell gas?” my friend greeted me. “I think I smell gas.”

Bless her heart.

A crowd of my new neighbors — who I hadn’t yet met, by the way — were gathered around the fire truck as firemen geared up and went into my place. They registered gas in the kitchen and garage where my water heater is.

Long story short, I met many of my new neighbors — AWKWARD — and got to know some of the firemen pretty well. None of them were calendar worthy, sadly, but they were super nice. One was even a woman! The fire guys decided I had a bad water heater, but the gas guy arrived and declared my water heater was fine.

"This is strange," said my new bestie, the fire captain. "Really strange."

At some point, my smoke detectors all went off, even after the gas had been turned off. The fire captain scratched his head after the firemen and woman suited up again, went inside, and gave the all clear.

“I’m telling you, it’s the lady in white!” my best friend declared. “I bet the guy you bought the house from was a serial killer and she was one of his victims!”

Maybe. Or maybe I have a curse that needs lifting. Who knows?

It turns out, all of my smoke detectors are outdated and need to be replaced. They found something wonky with the electrical wiring — “you might want to get an electrician out here” said the fire captain — and my HVAC system is totally kaput. 

Ca-ching!

I’m no closer to moving in because the HVAC guys can’t come until next week, and I’m too hot-natured to say ah, screw it, and move in anyway. Plus, I seriously think I might need a house cleansing. You know, just to be on the safe side. Or a shaman to remove this bad luck following me around.

I’m sure there’s a story in this I can use for my writing. Except in my story, there will be a hunky neighbor and an HEA. A girl can dream, right?

***
Angela Campbell is the author of the psychic detectives series from Harper Impulse. Learn more about her and her books at www.AngelaCampbellOnline.com

Tuesday, May 29, 2018

How do you organize your books?

Posted by: Angela Korra'ti
I have a history of posting about tech around here! Today, though, I wanted to talk less about tech per se and more about a topic I'm willing to bet is near and dear to the hearts of folks likely to read this blog. Namely, how we all organize our books. Since I read both print and digital, I can talk about both!

Print-wise, my main shelves are easy. I've got the things I've read organized alphabetically on most of the two shelves, with about four shelves' worth of things that I haven't read yet. In theory, the "Not Read Yet" section is also alphabetical. But in actual practice, the bottom couple of shelves can get kind of random, as I have a bunch of books there that are too tall to fit the shelves, so I have to slant them in sideways.

Likewise for several supplementary shelves that hold books too tall to fit the main ones. In general I try to organize those by "Read" or "Not Read" first, and then alphabetically second.

For my ebooks, the question gets trickier. My primary reading device these days is a Kindle Oasis, and I have acres of space on it, enough to contain my entire digital library. Therein lies the problem. I've got a lot of ebooks, and as anybody who has an e-ink device knows, it can get tedious to page through dozens of pages to try to find the book you want to read right now.

So I've been experimenting with the Kindle's Collections feature, trying to figure out the best way to organize my library. Here are some criteria by which I've created Collections!

Digital Magazines: I've got several Collections that contain issues of different digital magazines.

Favorite Authors: Certain favorite authors, specifically ones for whom I have a whole lot of titles, get their own Collections.

Series: Books that all belong to the same long-running series get a Collection, such as "Dresden Files", "Harry Potter", and "In Death".

Same Publisher: Certain publishers will get their own Collections too. I have a "Carina" one, as well as a "Drollerie" one (which has a bunch of titles released by my first publisher, Drollerie Press). In this category, I've also got a "Gutenberg" Collection for titles I've pulled down from Project Gutenberg.

Same General Category: Certain general categories get a collection, like "Classics", "Star Trek", "Star Wars", and "Doctor Who". In this category, I can also add "French" for titles I've got that were either originally published in French, or are translations of things I wanted to read in French as well as in English.

(Important side note re: French, though: I have French and German translations of certain things that also fall into other Collections. I've got French and German translations of Harry Potter titles, for example. Those go into the Harry Potter Collection!)

Read: Self-explanatory. This is the Collection where I stick things I've already read, just to get them out of the general list.

Anna's Current Reads: Also self-explanatory! These are the things I'm working on reading right now, because otherwise I have a hard time finding them. And it's tedious to have to search for a thing that fell off the catousel on the device's homepage.

This has whittled down the length of my book list pretty well. But it's still quite long, so I'm thinking about what refinements I may want to do to this system!

So let me turn it over to you all. How do you organize your books? If you're a Kindle reader in particular, how have you set up your Collections? If you're a Nook or Kobo reader, do you use equivalent features? Tell me about them in the comments!

-----
Angela writes the Free Court of Seattle urban fantasy series as Angela Korra'ti, and the Rebels of Adalonia high fantasy series as Angela Highland! Also, she has a staggeringly ridiculously large library, and is exactly the kind of person for whom the Japanese word tsundoku was coined. Come tell her about the size of your To Read List on Facebook or Twitter or angelahighland.com!

    Monday, May 28, 2018

    Here Be News

    Posted by: Veronica Scott
    New Releases:
    Veronica Scott released JADRIAN: A Badari Warriors Scifi Romance (Sectors New Allies Series Book 3). 

    The plot: Taura Dancer has been pushed to her limits by alien torturers known as the Khagrish and is ready to die when suddenly the lab where she’s held as a prisoner is taken down by an armed force of soldiers.

    The man who rescues her from a burning cell block is Jadrian of the Badari, a genetically engineered alien warrior with as many reasons to hate the Khagrish as Taura has. This set of shared past experiences and the circumstances of her rescue create an unusual bond between them.
    Safe in the hidden base where Jadrian and his pack take her, Taura struggles to regain her lost memories and overcome constant flashbacks during which she lashes out at all who come near. Only Jadrian can recall her from the abyss of her visions and hallucinations.
    As the war against the Khagrish continues, it becomes increasingly critical to find out who she really is and how she can help in the fight. Until she can control her terrors and trust her own impulses, Taura’s too afraid to pursue the promise of happiness a life with Jadrian as her mate might offer.
    When he’s captured by the dreaded enemy, will she step forward to help save him, or will she remain a prisoner of her past?
    This is the third book in a new scifi romance series and each novel has a satisfying Happy for Now ending for the hero and heroine, not a cliffhanger. Some overarching issues do remain unresolved in each book since this is an ongoing series but romance always wins the day in my novels!
    Amazon     B&N    Kobo     Google     iBooks 
    ...........................

    Other News:


    May 25th was Nerd Pride Day, and the Here Be Magic authors had fun sharing some of their nerdiest secrets in a joint post titled "TALK NERDY TO ME". 

    If you missed it, there's still time to enter our cute and nerdy GIVEAWAY!
    https://herebemagic.blogspot.com/2018/05/talk-nerdy-to-me-celebrate-nerd-pride.html
    Image: Bigstock.com
    ............................................................

    Bring It Back(list):


    Linda Mooney shared an excerpt from VALL'S WILL.

    A Nion warrior never kills. Never. But this time, she may have to destroy the man she loves...







    ......................................................

    Sales & Promos:


    Interview and giveaway with Dani Harper



    I had a lot of fun talking about my Grim Series with Kim at the READ YOUR WRITES review site this week. Topics included faeries, the Wild Hunt, the meaning of the Black, and, uh, scones...

    So many scones...

    And of course, since I never go anywhere without a giveaway, you can enter to win a book bag featuring the cover of Storm Crossed! Runs until May 31, 2018.

    https://readyourwrites.blogspot.com/2018/05/interview-giveaway-with-dani-harper.html

    Saturday, May 26, 2018

    Bring It Back(list) - VALL'S WILL by Linda Mooney

    Posted by: Linda Mooney
    VALL'S WILL
    Sci-Fi Romance
    by Linda Mooney
    Word Count: 56K
    $0.99 e / $9.99 p / $17.95 a
    From May 1st - 31st, you can get the ebook for only 99 cents! (Available at this price only on Amazon and this website. Note: Click BUY EBOOK to get the Nook or PDF version.)


    A Nion warrior never kills. Never. But this time, she may have to destroy the man she loves.

    They found him chained in the depths of an enemy ship. Half-starved, beaten, and abused in more ways than anyone could ever imagine, the man still exhibited a strength of character that impressed his deliverers, including Captain Willis Tayte.

    Something about this one, whom his captors called Vall, tugged at her heart. It was too bad she wouldn't have the chance to explore the exciting new feelings he brought to her when she was around him. Her orders were to deliver him to the nearest Regency base, where it would be determined what species he belonged to, and then be indoctrinated into his new life of freedom. He would be returned home, and Will would go back to her ship.

    At least, that was the plan, until a ship of unknown origin suddenly appears from out of nowhere and demands Vall in exchange for her life and the lives of millions more. It isn't until she finally discovers Vall's true identity that Will realizes how important he is to keeping balance in the Universe. And how special she has become to him.

    Warning! Contains baldness for women, explosions, abandonment, a miracle survival, and the decision to kill the only person she will ever love.

    Excerpt and Buy Links

    Friday, May 25, 2018

    "TALK NERDY TO ME!" - Celebrate Nerd Pride Day with Here Be Magic

    Posted by: Dani Harper, Author
    Since 2006, May 25 has been designated as Nerd Pride Day. In honor of this auspicious occasion, we asked everyone at Here Be Magic"Tell us something nerdy about you..." 

    Read on as our authors reveal their innermost geek!



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    "Being a nerd is about feeling an intense adoration of a topic that inspires you to gather knowledge or paraphernalia far beyond the extent of the average fan. To wit, I have a billion pieces of vintage clothing that don’t even fit, all because I love vintage clothing. If that’s not nerdy in its own way…what is? 

    Note: I am not a hoarder otherwise, only with regards to my nerdly hobbies. 

    Also note: cats don’t count in the “not a hoarder” category. I have six." 
    ~ Jody Wallace, www.jodywallace.com 

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    "Do I have to do "just one", asked the giant nerd? I mean, c’mon, I’m a software tester in my day job, a general technophile, and a lifelong fan of multiple SF/F authors and media properties. I can yammer on for hours about Star Trek, Star Wars, Doctor Who, Battlestar Galactica, the MCU, Mac vs. PC, iOS vs. Android, and the minutae of worldbuilding in the Tolkien legendarium. 

    Especially Tolkien.

    Come to think of it, that may be my answer right there. ;D" 
    ~ Angela Korra'ti, www.angelahighland.com

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    Nicole Luiken is an avid reader AKA a bookworm. Instead of bringing a towel with her wherever she goes Ã  la Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, she brings a book to read, usually of the SF/Fantasy variety. The best way to lure her away from her books is with a Board Game Night.


    ~ Nicole Luiken, www.nicoleluiken.com

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    "I took a minor voice-acting role in a not-for-profit fan-made Doctor Who audio play. (I won an audition against pros and everything!)"

    ~ Shawna Reppert
    www.shawna-reppert.com






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    "My personal nerdiness is on full display in my writing office. There's a figurine of Cerberus, the 3-headed dog that guards the gates of the Underworld, with various faeries and dragons to keep him company. My collection of Ray Bradbury sci-fi novels has a place of honor among rows of books on myths and legends and the paranormal. You'll see a signed photo from a Klingon cosplayer, a poster of demon-hunter detective Constantine, plus my vendor's booth banner and a couple of ID cards from the last comicon I attended. Not to mention the fully articulated wolf head that my hubs wore at said comicon...

    Why yes, those ARE Marvel action figures standing around my keyboard. I use them to act out scenes in my stories – honest!
    ~ Dani Harper, www.daniharper.com


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    "I love to dress up in Victorian/steampunk clothes and go to museums, festivals, and anywhere I can, with as many like-minded friends as possible."

    ~ Cindy Spencer Pape







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    "I'm sure there I have multiple nerdy habits in addition to my lifelong bookworm obsession. I'm sharing my latest obsession—the Supernatural television show. Last year I binged the seasons with my daughters (their second time through) and we've been to the convention twice. 

    I impatiently wait for my Thursday night fix with, "The Boys", plus I have several Supernatural t-shirts that I wear with pride as if I am a Hunter waiting for Sam and Dean." 
    ~ Maureen L Bonatch, www.maureenbonatch.com

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    "I’m in my 60s, and a grandmother. But that doesn’t stop me from flaunting my SUPERNATURAL t-shirt, my DR. WHO wallet, or whatever else I want to show off. My office is my nerdy paradise, with everything from a Superman doll, Phantom of the Opera artwork, X-Files paraphernalia, and my beloved bobblehead Groot. 


    "When people comment on my stuff, I proudly tell them, “You’re never too old to be a nerd!”
    ~ Linda Mooney, www.lindamooney.com


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    Our very own Veronica Scott in the soundbooth
    during the creation of a Star Trek audiobook. 
    https://www.amazon.com/City-Edge-Forever/dp/B01H47NKNU/
    "I grew up watching the original Star Trek every week with my younger brother. There are no words for how cool we thought the show was. So I think my proudest nerd/geek moment might be the fact that I am now an actual  “Star Trek” Red Shirt Security Officer – I got to play one in the 2016 official audiobook of the Harlan Ellison original script for ‘The City on the Edge of Forever.’ That was one of my very favorite episodes back in the day, although there are quite a few major differences between the show that was broadcast at the time and the original Ellison script. My character for one thing LOL.  

    "I only had seven words of dialogue in the audiobook BUT I said them to Kirk, with Spock standing next to us (in the teleplay script – sadly audiobooks are not usually recorded with a full cast all at one time, so I did my seven words alone in a booth but still….). I got to sign the title page of the script next to all the famous real actors, which was a thrill and I will forever be an official member of the Enterprise crew. And the best part is that my Red Shirt character doesn’t die!"

    ~ Veronica Scott, www.veronicascott.wordpress.com

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    Now it's YOUR turn! Tell us one of your nerdy secrets! And on June 2, three lucky commenters will be drawn at random by the Rafflecopter. Two will win an adorable mini Millennium Falcon BOOK LIGHT! And one will win this Doctor Who travel bag!



    (Must be a legal resident of the US and over 18 to enter. Winners will be announced in the comments on this post, in the Rafflecopter box, and in the Here Be Magic  Here Be News feature of the blog. Email addresses will NOT be disclosed.)

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    Wednesday, May 23, 2018

    Music Can Be a Magical Time Machine

    Posted by: Maureen
    By Maureen L. Bonatch

    When I’m in the car I usually listen to my favorite, hand-selected songs I’ve accumulated on my phone or iPod, but occasionally I get a free trial of satellite radio. Even though I might only have the extra stations for a short time, I immediately lock in a few favorite stations to listen to when I’m in the car. 

    One of the stations is usually for songs that I recognize but don’t know the name performed by artists I never really knew, singing songs about experiences I’d never lived through from a time before I was born—the 1960’s. 

    Music is in my Blood

    I love music. I’ve never played an instrument, but I was raised with the radio on and my mother singing along. Or tossing an album, or a 45 record, on the player to dance in the living room with my Mom and sisters was something that could happen on any day. 

    When I hear those old songs from
    the 1960’s, and into the 1970’s, I’m transported back to that time in my life when things were simpler for me. 

    Memories of lazy summer days and long afternoons reading on the sofa were plentiful. 

    I can almost hear the scratch of the needle as we changed the album, and I can fondly recall bragging to my friends that we had all the Elvis Presley records. Today when I listen to these old songs on the radio, and sing along to some, I temporarily forget my troubles as the years slip away with the magical time machine music provides.

    Let Me Hear the Magic

    Imagine watching a movie without the soundtrack. Think of how many movies have a distinctive theme song. One that when you hear it, you return to those characters to visit their world. Surely, I’m not the only one who imagines the wind blowing through my hair and the sound of the waves when I hear My Heart Will Go On? The Titanic theme song is only one of many songs whose sound transports me away from my every day.

    Many songs on my iPod evoke a memory. Perhaps they were playing during a significant event, or their verse takes me there. Some of these memories are ones I’d rather forget, because they evoke painful emotions, although these emotions prove helpful to pour into a character and enrich the story while absolving me of the discomfort.

    The Playlist Chooses 

    Many authors create a playlist when they’re writing a story to help them feel the character and their world better. Writing is the only time that I don’t have music on and I prefer silence, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t have a playlist. I don’t intentionally choose songs for the story, but rather the song chooses. 

    I’ll hear a particular song and realize it fits the story perfectly, or that I’m longing to run back to write more as it inspires me and delivers character secrets that they’d kept hidden until now. Because to me, music is magical. 

    What kind of impression does music make on you?

     

    Author Bio: Maureen Bonatch grew up in small town Pennsylvania and her love of the four seasons—hockey, biking, sweat pants and hibernation—keeps her there. While immersed in writing or reading paranormal romance and fantasy, she survives on caffeine, wine, music, and laughter. A feisty Shih Tzu keeps her in line. Find Maureen on her websiteFacebookTwitter


    Tuesday, May 22, 2018

    Ephemera

    Posted by: Jenny Schwartz
    Trove is an Australian site that provides access to a truly impressive number of historical records in digital format. Their Twitter account recently pointed out that the pre-Twitter form of information dissemination was the cutting and passing on of newspaper articles. That struck a chord with me.

    Do any of you have your older relatives' scrapbooks? Sadly, none of my family were careful curators, so I don't. Although Mum still cuts recipes out of the newspaper to tuck away and never refer to again, LOL. The old scrapbooks that saved ephemera are fascinating.

    Ephemera are the small things that were designed to serve a purpose for just a short time: tickets, postcards, catalogues, etc. The Ephemera Society is a good place to explore the notion of ephemera. (Also, check out the Prize Papers Project, it's digitalizing undelivered mail from British ships from the 17th to 19th Centuries).

    As a kid, I loved the things my family had kept despite themselves: wildflowers pressed in books, sheet music, and pamphlets. My grandmother always enjoyed a good conspiracy and she had some strange little pamphlets printed by obscure societies.

    The internet worries me for how it changes ephemera. So much of it is now online. Will it vanish? Does that matter? How will people thirty years from now find ways to look back at the small, important things of our daily lives?

    I was thinking about what to write for this blog post, and how ephemeral such posts tend to be, and the next thing I knew, here was this reflection on the topic.

    I'd hate to lose the magic of discovering forgotten ways of living and loving that ephemera provide. Reading their grandparents' emails (if they're allowed access to them) just won't be the same for future generations as reading paper love letters. For a start, they won't be SWAK (Sealed With A Kiss).


    Monday, May 21, 2018

    Here Be News

    Posted by: Veronica Scott
    New Releases:

    Other News:

    It's Week Six of the 2018 InD'tale RONE Awards and Maureen L Bonatch's EVIL SPEAKS SOFTLY is up for votes in the Fantasy category after receiving a crowned heart review.

    "If any reader wants to know how the creative process happens for authors who say they have muses who speak directly to their minds, this is a fabulous learner’s manual—albeit a very creepy one. If any authors wonder where their muses come from, maybe this tale shouldn’t be read, unless ghosts and demons aren’t a problem. 

    Though rife with the undead and demonic pacts, this tale is also a wonderful blend of uncovering a hidden past and falling in love along the way, in spite of rules. Both Gage and Olivia occasionally blunder their way around, but their shared desire to face reality and find the truth makes for a compelling ride full of quirky characters. Authors and readers beware, your feelings about muses and writing may never be the same, and one will love every minute of it."

    You can vote for EVIL SPEAKS SOFTLY right here.

    Sales & Promos:
    From May 1st - 31st, you can get the ebook for just 99 cents! (Available at this price only on Amazon and this website. Note: Click BUY EBOOK to get the Nook or PDF version.)

    VALL'S WILL
    Sci-Fi Romance

    by Linda Mooney
    Word Count: 56K


    A Nion warrior never kills. Never. But this time, she may have to destroy the man she loves.

    They found him chained in the depths of an enemy ship. Half-starved, beaten, and abused in more ways than anyone could ever imagine, the man still exhibited a strength of character that impressed his deliverers, including Captain Willis Tayte.

    Something about this one, whom his captors called Vall, tugged at her heart. It was too bad she wouldn't have the chance to explore the exciting new feelings he brought to her when she was around him. Her orders were to deliver him to the nearest Regency base, where it would be determined what species he belonged to, and then be indoctrinated into his new life of freedom. He would be returned home, and Will would go back to her ship.

    At least, that was the plan, until a ship of unknown origin suddenly appears from out of nowhere and demands Vall in exchange for her life and the lives of millions more. It isn't until she finally discovers Vall's true identity that Will realizes how important he is to keeping balance in the Universe. And how special she has become to him.

    Warning! Contains baldness for women, explosions, abandonment, a miracle survival, and the decision to kill the only person she will ever love.

    Excerpt and buy links.

    Thursday, May 17, 2018

    The Journey From Book to Audiobook

    Posted by: Linda Mooney

    The journey of a book becoming an audiobook is often as rocky, if not rockier, than getting the book written in the first place. Sometimes you strike it rich, and end up with a narrator you’ll want to hire over and over again. And sometimes you end up with a narrator you wish you’d never hired in the first place. That’s life. That’s the luck of the draw.

    But sometimes, when you find a narrator you would love to have do more of your books, you may not be so lucky to re-hire them. There could be any number of factors which prevents that narrator from working with you again.

    ·       They may be booked up for an extended length of time, perhaps a year or more in advance.
    ·       They may no longer be doing narrations.
    ·       Their cost may have become prohibitive.
    ·       They’re ill/incapacitated, real life has intruded, or you simply can’t reach them.

    These are just a few reasons why you as a listener may discover that a series you’ve come to love has a different voice reading it. But know that the person who’s been hired is the closest match to the original narrator that the author could find. Also, keep in mind that the narrator is doing the best s/he can to fill the shoes of their predecessor.

    Television shows, and sometimes movies, have been known to change the face of a major character, in lieu of killing off that character. Changing narrators in mid-audio series isn’t that different.

    So the next time you’ve discovered there’s been a switch in who’s reading the book aloud, give the narrator a chance, and see if s/he grows on you. You may soon find yourself getting lost in the story to where the main voice no longer matters.

    And that’s the mark of a superb narrator.


    ***

    Now Available!

    HER BATTLE LORD'S DESIRE
    Book 2 of The Battle Lord Saga
    Sci-Fi/Futuristic/Post-Apocalyptic Romance
    Word Count:  90K
    $4.99
    e / $15.99 p / $24.95 a



    Narrated by Daniela Acitelli
    Length: 10 hrs.
    Hear a Sample

    Besieged by Bloods and placed on a hunger watch, the citizens of the mutant compound of Wallis turn to the one person they pray will help, the Battle Lord of Alta Novis.  Despite the fact that they took away the woman the man risked his life to love, they hope he will show mercy and lend aid.  They never expected to find Atrilan Ferran alive and thriving as the wife of Yulen D'Jacques.   

    Yulen sees this as the perfect opportunity to show the citizens of Atty's home compound the power and status his wife wields.  But first he, Atty, and his soldiers have to risk the journey against the oncoming horde of blood-thirsty crazies to get there. 

    Atty is eager to return to Wallis, but one small detail stands in the way of her and Yulen's happiness.  He desires an heir, and she is terrified at the thought of becoming pregnant.  Worse, the dangerous trek has increased his ardor, and she is running out of excuses why they can't make love.


    Warning:  Contains a near massacre, renewed friendships, shocking revelations, birth control 300 years in the future, a trip down memory lane, and a deepest desire finally fulfilled.
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