Audio Book Spotlight & Giveaway~ Better Than Safe

Don't forget to enter the giveaway at the end of the post for a chance to win an audio book copy of Better Than Safe and an amazon GC. The contest closes on April 12th. The tour is sponsored by Pride Promotions.

Now let's check out Lane Hayes' Better Than Safe....

Series: Better Than Stories

Book: Four

Each book in the series can be read as a standalone.

Release Date: eBook: September 26, 2015, Audiobook: March 7, 2016

Publisher: Dreamspinner Press

Cover Artist: Aaron Anderson

Blurb:

Paul Fallon is a fashion advertising guru. He's a genius at dealing with difficult editors, art directors, and designers alike. He thrives on the chaotic atmosphere and constant challenges. But in his personal life, he's hoping for peace and stability. Settling down with a nice doctor or lawyer sounds perfect. Anyone but an artist. He's been there, done that, and he doesn't want to relive the heartache.

Seth Landau is a model, occasional guitarist, and aspiring painter. He's quirky, flighty, and wise beyond his years. Life has taught him some tough lessons, then given him opportunities he never dreamed of. He's learned to appreciate the fragility of life and to express it in his work. Seth's flare for the absurd combined with a supple mind and a beautiful body are too alluring for Paul to ignore. Against his best intentions, Paul is drawn to the younger man whose particular brand of crazy challenges Paul to accept that things aren't always as they seem. Sometimes taking a chance is better than being safe.

Play Time: 8 hours, 12 minutes

Categories: Contemporary, Fiction, Humor, M/M Romance, Romance

Excerpt: http://www.audible.com/pd/Fiction/Better-than-Safe-Audiobook/B01CKGVNFC/ref=a_search_c4_1_1_srTtl

Buy the book: http://www.audible.com/pd/Fiction/Better-than-Safe-Audiobook/B01CKGVNFC/ref=a_search_c4_1_1_srTtl

Tour Dates & Stops:

Parker Williams, Divine Magazine, Molly Lolly, Boys on the Brink Reviews,

Mikky's World of Books, Three Books Over The Rainbow, Emotion In Motion,

TTC Books and More, BFD Book Blog, My Fiction Nook, Bayou Book Junkie,

Happily Ever Chapter, Dawn’s Reading Nook, MM Book Escape, Oh My Shelves,

MM Good Book Reviews, Charley Descoteaux, Wicked Faerie's Tales and Reviews,

Full Moon Dreaming, Love Bytes, 3 Chicks After Dark, Fangirl Moments and My Two Cents,

Outrageous Heroes, Velvet Panic, Open Skye Book Reviews

 Meet the author:

Lane Hayes is grateful to finally be doing what she loves best. Writing full-time! It’s no secret Lane loves a good romance novel. An avid reader from an early age, she has always been drawn to well-told love story with beautifully written characters. These days she prefers the leading roles to both be men. Lane discovered the M/M genre a few years ago and was instantly hooked. Her debut novel was a 2013 Rainbow Award finalist and subsequent books have received Honorable Mentions in the 2014 and 2015 Rainbow Awards. She loves red wine, chocolate and travel (in no particular order). Lane lives in Southern California with her amazing husband and the coolest yellow Lab ever in an almost empty nest.

Where to find the author:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100008562883399

Facebook Author Page: LaneHayesauthor

Twitter: @LaneHayes3

Goodreads Link: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7125719.Lane_Hayes

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Rafflecopter Prize: Audiobook copy of Better Than Safe & $10 Amazon GC

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Welcome author Charlie Cochrane

Do you have a favourite book? I have many, in all sorts of genres. “The Charioteer”, “Death at the President’s Lodging”,  “Three Men in a Boat”; the list goes on and on. Some of these books are a bit of a guilty pleasure, not least because I can see their flaws.

I’m a huge fan of classic age mystery writers; Dorothy, Agatha, Michael, Ngaio and the rest, but they have their feet of clay. Sayers could sometimes overcomplicate plots to the point of obscurity (which reader could really have worked out the sequence of events in Five Red Herrings?) and seems increasingly in love with her detective, Lord Peter Wimsey.  All of these authors shared a falling of their powers in later life – the last few Appleby mysteries are a pale shadow of the early ones – and, of course, all were products of their time, so modern readers might fund things which jar, such as anti-semitic references or the treatment of gay characters as simply humorous.

Some of these authors reused plot ideas and devices. The classic story of the murderer assuming someone else’s identity, sometimes to benefit from inheritance, occurs again and again with Christie (as do other tried and tested story arcs). Marsh also showed an economy of plot, using the same method of murder in a short story and again in a full novel. Her “Death and the Dancing Footman” falls into the category of “familiar plot” – the twist is the sort that  an avid reader of the genre would soon spot  -  but that doesn’t make it any less of a delightful comfort read. A sort of literary equivalent of mulled wine in front of a roaring fire.

The book has several of the staple elements of the archetypal classic age mystery: a country house, a house party cut off by snow, family rivalries, a sealed room death, an outsider who acts as ‘chorus’ and a witty, urbane and aristocratic sleuth, Roderick Alleyn. How I love “Handsome Alleyn” – I wonder if Ngaio loved him, too, like Sayers loved Wimsey. He seems just a bit too perfect at times. The characterisation is good, most of the characters are neither too goody-two-shoes or too unsavoury, and the eponymous footman is both sweet and key to the plot. When you read this book, take particular notice of him and his testimony (if you haven’t already worked out the killer).

Biog: Because Charlie Cochrane couldn't be trusted to do any of her jobs of choice—like managing a rugby team—she writes. Her mystery novels include the Edwardian era Cambridge Fellows series, series, and the contemporary Best Corpse for the Job. Multi-published, she has titles with Carina, Samhain, Riptide and Bold Strokes, among others.

A member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association, Mystery People and International Thriller Writers Inc, Charlie regularly appears at literary festivals and at reader and author conferences with The Deadly Dames.

Links:

Website: http://www.charliecochrane.co.uk

 Blog http://charliecochrane.livejournal.com/ and https://charliecochrane.wordpress.com/

FB: https://www.facebook.com/charlie.cochrane.18

Twitter: https://twitter.com/charliecochrane

GR: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2727135.Charlie_Cochrane

Latest release:

Lessons in Love audio version

Lessons in Love, the first in the Cambridge Fellows series of Edwardian m/m romantic mysteries (think Oscar Wilde meets Agatha Christie!)

http://www.amazon.com/Lessons-Love-Cambridge-Fellows-Mysteries/dp/B01AO7LT76/

http://www.audible.co.uk/pd/ Fiction/Lessons-in-Love-Audiobook/B01AO79SE2/

Audio Book Blast & Giveaway~ MA Church's Trouble Comes in Threes

Check out M.A. Church's new audio book for Trouble Comes in Threes. Don't forget to enter the giveaway at the end of the post for a chance to win a $10 gift Card. Contest closes on December 4th. Book blast is sponsored by Pride Promotions.

Now let's check out Trouble Comes in Threes...

Publisher: Dreamspinner Press

Cover Artist: Paul Richmond

Goodreads Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23631202-trouble-comes-in-threes

Blurb(s):

A snowstorm in the South—on New Year’s Eve—is a perfect recipe for a catastrophe. After two soul-crushing bad breaks, Kirk’s waiting for disaster number three to strike when naturally, two stray cats arrive on his doorstep during the storm and decide to make themselves at home. Tenderhearted Kirk lets them stay even though there’s something decidedly odd about his overly friendly felines.

Out of the punishing weather, and full of tuna, Dolf and Tal are happy to be snug in Kirk’s house. But then their human goes outside for firewood and suffers a nasty fall that leaves him unconscious. Now the two cats have no choice but to reveal themselves.

Kirk wakes up to find the two kitties are actually Dolf and Tal. They’re cat shifters—and his destined mates. Being part of a feline threesome is enough for Kirk to grapple with, but soon he learns they come from a clowder that doesn’t believe humans and shifters should mix. Kirk knew those two cats would be trouble. Little does he know the real trouble lies ahead.

Categories: Contemporary, Fiction, Gay Fiction, Menage/Poly, Paranormal, Romance

Excerpt:

Dolf picked out the saw he wanted, then followed Tal to another aisle. His mate pointed out the different kinds, but Tal’s words had rapidly faded into a meaningless buzz. There, on the air currents in the store, was the sweetest scent. It was light and flowery, reminding him of honeysuckle. He breathed deeply, taking the scent into himself. His cock hardened immediately and his head spun. A yowl threatened to escape.

That scent… that scent was seductive and alluring. It spoke to him, whispering things that made him need. His cat paced frantically in his mind, tail slashing madly. The need to pounce, to sink his canines in and drink that sweet, life-giving blood of his…. His gums tingled and saliva flooded his mouth.

He swallowed, then swallowed again as his head pounded, his heart rate spiking as one thought screamed through his mind: Mate! Another mate! Where was that scent coming from? Or who? And by the goddess, why? He already had a mate. What was their goddess thinking, giving him another? But he couldn’t ignore the reaction. It had been the same when he met Tal.

Pages: 234

Sales Links:

DsP e-Book: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=5884

DsP Paperback: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=5885

Amazon Audiobook: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0186EKA56

iTunes Audiobook: https://itunes.apple.com/us/audiobook/trouble-comes-in-threes-fur/id1060730194

Audible Audiobook: http://www.audible.com/pd/Fiction/Trouble-Comes-in-Threes-Audiobook/B0186EKBRS

Tour Dates/Stops:

Parker Williams, The Hat Party, Full Moon Dreaming, Havan Fellows, Bayou Book Junkie, Inked Rainbow Reads, Open Skye Book Reviews, BFD Book Blog, MM Good Book Reviews, Divine Magazine, Two Chicks Obsessed With Books and Eye Candy, Wicked Faerie's Tales and Reviews, Velvet Panic, Happily Ever Chapter, The Fuzzy, Fluffy World of Chris T. Kat, V's Reads, Dawn’s Reading Nook, Alpha Book Club

Author Bio:

M.A. Church is a true Southern belle who spent many years in the elementary education sector. Now she spends her days lost in fantasy worlds, arguing with hardheaded aliens on far-off planets, herding her numerous shifters, or trying to tempt her country boys away from their fishing poles. It’s a full time job, but hey, someone’s gotta do it!

When not writing, she’s exploring the latest M/M novel to hit the market, watching her beloved Steelers, or sitting glued to HGTV. That’s if she’s not on the back porch tending to the demanding wildlife around the pond in the backyard. The ducks are very outspoken. She’s married to her high school sweetheart, and they have two children.

She was a finalist in the Rainbow awards for 2013.

Author Contact:

Drop by her blog at http://machurch00.blogspot.com/

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Welcome author Johnny MIles today

Today I have the pleasure of chatting with author Johnny Miles as they celebrate the audio release for Casa Rodrigo. 

What started your interest in writing?

JM: I’ve always been interested in writing. Ever since I was a little boy. I’d lose myself mentally,usually reading but also making up stories. Other boys were outside riding bikes, playing tag, or playing skelly (not sure on that spelling) while I was having conversations in my head. LOL! I know how that must sound…

Seriously, though. The desire to be a writer stuck with me. I guess I’ve always been a writer. I was encouraged by a teacher in elementary school, then another in junior high. I wrote a novel while in high school, a la Harold Robbins, but it totally sucked apparently. I had no idea how to actually construct a story even though I could put sentences together. That was back when you submitted an entire manuscript that was so heavy it could be used as a blunt instrument. In my mid-20s I started writing porn and was encouraged by the editor of Blueboy/Numbers magazine to expand my horizons and try my hand at something other than erotica. I tried but nothing ever came to pass. Each time I sent something off I was rejected with comments like, “This is too dark” or “too controversial.” Most times it was something along the lines of, “…no unsolicited manuscripts without proper representation.” The irony is that no agent would touch me. I put it all on the back burner for a while and although I nearly abandoned the desire to be a published author, it never abandoned me. I decided to give it another go. You know, one final attempt before throwing in the towel completely. Then I met Treva Harte, through two mutual friends, one of them being Bobby Michaels. He’d read what I’d written, liked it, and I think he might have planted the bug in Treva’s ear because when Treva and I met on a cruise, she was like, “Oh, yeah. Too bad you don’t write romance. That’s what we publish.” Or something along those lines. And now here I am!  

If zombies attacked what kind of supplies would you want?

JM: Hmmm. Okay. Zombies, huh? Let’s see. Supplies. Well, assuming there actually were zombies, aside from politicians, and assuming zombies behave the way they’re portrayed on Walking Dead and Fear the Walking Dead, I’d say a rifle/gun with a silencer for starters. But I’d have to be a really good shot. So, perhaps a big-ass baseball bat with an awl at the end of it? A can opener, definitely. A big box of matches and a zip-loc to put them in to keep them dry. A thermos or some other container for drinking water. Definitely soap. There’s bound to be a lake or river somewhere and I’d have to at least wash the privates. Tiny bottles of shampoo? Toothbrush. Toothpaste. Toilet paper. Sorry. I’m just not gonna use dried leaves! Ummm. You can tell I wouldn’t survive the zombie apocalypse, right? LOL!  

If you could sit down with any author dead or alive who would it be?

JM: I think I’d like to sit down with Shirley Jackson of Stephen King. Maybe even Edgar Allan Poe. Can you imagine some absinthe with Poe? Definitely a coffee with Armistead Maupin! So, if anyone out there knows him and can arrange it…wink, wink!

Do you keep a notebook near your for when new ideas pop into your head?

JM: I never used to. I always thought I’d be able to remember everything. Ideas that pop into mind while doing something mundane, dreams where entire stories would come to me. But as I’ve gotten older, I can barely remember to get dressed when I get out of bed in the morning! So  now I actually have a notebook in my backpack, for when I hit the bus or go anywhere on my own, a notebook in my laptop, and another by my side of the bed. You just never know when you’re going to get a spark. Or a name might come to me. A title. Once, after months of not working on a story because I’d been stumped, something came to me in a dream and I was able to sit up and jot down notes that allowed me to remember in the morning. It was such a good feeling!

If you write a series do you reread your previous books before you begin the new one?

JM: I only recently started a series: Yuletide Knights. One was a Christmas story, the other a spring break story. The lead in “A Spring Frost,” Jackson, was in the very opening of “Yuletide Knights” but disappeared. He stuck in mind and I wanted to revisit him and got the opportunity when Loose Id put out a call for spring break stories. So that’s how those two stories are connected. I’m working on a third in that series, which will bridge the gap between the two and revisit Jackson and Griffin’s after their HFN ending in ASF. You can bet I’m going to re-read both of those stories! I don’t want to make any mistake in characteristics or personalities. 

Is there anything you wish to say to your readers?

JM: I never know what to say to readers except thank you. Without them, what would be the point of writing a story for publication? Otherwise I’d write, we all would, and we’d have hundreds of files or stacks of manuscripts that would never get to see the light of day if there were no readers. And without readers, none of us would have ever been able to fulfill the fantasy of becoming a published author. So, again, I humbly thank the readers and appreciate you taking me into the fold that is the m/m genre.

For readers who haven't tried your books yet, how do you think your editor or loyal readers would describe your books?

JM: Oh, wow. That’s one I don’t even know how to answer. Ummm. I’d like to think gritty, real, and raw. I know my editor’s said many times she likes my work very much. That’s good, right? Lol! 

 The readers? I think that would be a mixed bag of descriptions. I think I’m too realistic to offer the romantic escape and getaway some seek from the genre but others have said they’ve enjoyed my work very much. My favorite descriptions came from two different readers who reviewed “Learning To Samba.” One said the story was electrifying. The other said you can’t walk away without feeling something. I know they were describing the story but I’d like to think there’s some of that in my other work.

I’m always looking for book recommendations. What books have you been reading? Would you recommend them?

JM: I’ve been so busy doing P.R. and marketing for the audiobook that by the time I hit the bed at night, I’m completely knackered. However, if I may, and if you enjoy audiobooks, I’ve got a really good production for you! And I’m not saying that because I adapted my own story, performed one of the characters and directed the actors and narrator. I’m proud of what we produced with the audiobook version of “Casa Rodrigo” because it’s a blend of narrative, sound effects, and performance that pulls you in and doesn’t let go until the very end! Think old-time radio drama but with steamy, explicit sex!

How often does your muse distract you from day to day minutiae?

JM: Are you kidding? When doesn’t it? At least ten times per day, if not more. My muse is a lot like sex. I think of it often, therefore my muse is constantly beckoning. However, my muse is a tease and a cockblocker. He flaunts his beguiling ways, traces my earlobe with his tongue, whispers in my ear and finds ways to give me goosebumps. But when I stop what I’m doing and purposely go looking for him, he’s no where to be found.

What do readers have to look forward to in the future from you?

JM: On an ongoing basis? Hopefully more stories about love and sex and relationships. Over the next few years? Keep your fingers crossed that I finish the scripts I’m working on. If I’m very, very lucky, perhaps a mini-series? I would kill to get my first story — Casa Rodrigo — produced as a mini-series for HBO, Showtime, or Logo. For next year, I’m working on a straight romance, a horror story, and another Yuletide Knights that will hopefully be done in time for Christmas 2016. Meanwhile, in the very short-term, I continue to market, market, market……and write where I can grab 15 minutes.

On a lush, tropical island inhabited by rogues, thieves and villains, where men take the law into their own hands, a father and son are thrust into tumultuous events that will change their lives forever.

Bernardo de Rodrigo is proud of his son. Alonso is handsome and winning, and everyone he meets is instantly drawn to the tall, warm Spaniard. But how could either of them have known that a forbidden love is about to claim Alonso's heart?

Arbol, the charismatic male slave who was saved from the clutches of Raul Ignacio Martín, feels an instant connection with Alonso, the moment he looks into Arbol's eyes, the moment they touch.

Bernardo has other things to worry about, however. He's trying to exorcise himself of an intensely gratifying yet shame-filled sexual affair with Raul, who secretly adores Bernardo but doesn't know how to show it.

When Raul blackmails Bernardo, their dark and sordid relationship not only threatens the bond between father and son, it places Arbol's life in danger. Now Bernardo must make a difficult choice that could further alienate his son while Alonso must find a way to keep the man he loves.

You can listen to the first chapters at Johnny's website or at Audible

Buy at: http://casarodrigo.audio/

About the Author

Johnny Miles began his writing career in 1985, when his first erotic short story was published by Numbers magazine. His work has since then appeared in various adult magazines, including Blueboy, First Hand, and Honcho.After working in varied careers - from typesetting and graphic design to massage therapy, from customer service to copywriting - Johnny re-entered the world of erotica in 2008 with the release of his first full-length novel, Casa Rodrigo. The controversial story was followed by Lauderdale Hearts, Learning To Samba, The Rosas of Spanish Harlem, Yuletide Knights and Yuletide Knights 2: A Spring Frost, all available from Loose Id, as well as The Last Stop: USA, released by MLR Press. Non-erotic titles include Christmas Baby and My ABCs.

In 2015, Casa Rodrigo With four and a half hours of pure aural entertainment and 12outstanding actors, the story is richly layered and textured with sounds effects that will stimulate your senses. It's an immersive experience not to be missed!

Johnny is currently at work on Book Three of the Yuletide Knights series. He lives in Fort Lauderdale with his husband of 19 years and a grumble of pugs. 

  

  

New in Audio~ Guarding Morgan by RJ Scott

Guarding Morgan French and Italian translations and audiobook

The Book

Morgan Drake witnesses a murder in an alleyway. He is the only person who can give evidence in prosecuting the cop responsible for the crime. When the FBI safe house where he’s being held is compromised, he follows the instructions of his agent in charge and runs.

Nik Valentinov works for Sanctuary, a foundation that offers witness protection when FBI security is questionable.

When Morgan's handler sends him to Nik for safety, neither Morgan nor Nik could imagine that two weeks alone in a cabin in the woods could start something more. Something way more than just trying to keep Morgan alive. Something that makes their heart race more than danger...... Love.

French Translation details and Buylinks - http://rjscottauthor.blogspot.com/2015/01/proteger-morgan.html

Italian translation details and Buylinks - http://rjscottauthor.blogspot.com/2015/01/proteggere-morgan.html 

Audio details and Buylinks - http://rjscottauthor.blogspot.co.uk/2011/10/guarding-morgan.html

Buy Links - eBook

Love Lane Books  | Amazon (US) | Amazon (UK) | All Romance | Kobo | Barnes & Noble | Smashwords

Buy Links - Print Book

Amazon (US) | Amazon (UK) 

Sanctuary Series 

Book 1 - Guarding Morgan
Book 2 - The Only Easy Day
Book 3 - Face Value
Book 4 - Still Waters
Book 5 - Full Circle
Book 6 - The Journal Of Sanctuary One
Book 7 - Worlds Collide



About RJ

RJ Scott has been writing since age six, when she was made to stay in at lunchtime for an infraction involving cookies. She was told to write a story and two sides of paper about a trapped princess later, a lover of writing was born.

As an avid reader herself, she can be found reading anything from thrillers to sci-fi to horror. However, her first real true love will always be the world of romance where she takes cowboys, bodyguards, firemen and billionaires (to name a few) and writes dramatic and romantic stories of love and passion between these men.

With over seventy titles to her name and counting, she is the author of the award winning book, The Christmas Throwaway. She is also known for the Texas series charting the lives of Riley and Jack, and the Sanctuary series following the work of the Sanctuary Foundation and the people it protects.

Her goal is to write stories with a heart of romance, a troubled road to reach happiness, and most importantly, that hint of a happily ever after.

rj@rjscott.co.uk

www.rjscott.co.uk/

https://twitter.com/Rjscott_author

www.facebook.com/author.rjscott

www.librarything.com/author/scottrj

www.tumblr.com/blog/rjscott  (some NSFW (not safe for work) photos)

www.pinterest.com/rjscottauthor/

Discover Cate Ashford's Brokenhearted & a Giveaway

Remember to enter the rafflecopter at the end of the post in order to be entered to win An audiobook copy of ‘Brokenhearted’!


Brokenhearted by Cate Ashwood

Cover Artist: Aaron Anderson

Narrator: John Orr

Publisher: Dreamspinner Press

Oliver Parrish has been alone in the world since he was born. So when Sheriff Owen “Mack” Macklin shows up on his doorstep to deliver the news that Oliver’s sister has died, he’s beyond surprised. Still, Oliver returns with Mack to Hope Cove, Maine, hoping to get to know the sister he never knew he had. As he tries to snap these new elements into his solitary life, he’s not sure how they might fit.

His life is shaken up further as he falls in love with the irresistible town of Hope Cove, and with Mack, its equally irresistible sheriff. But when he receives devastating news about his sister's cause of death, Oliver doesn't know whether to stay and fight for love and a good life, or cut his losses and run.

Listen to an Excerpt: https://soundcloud.com/dreamspinnerpress/audiobook-sample-of-brokenhearted-by-cate-ashwood

 

Tour Dates: June 11, 2014

Tour Stops: My Fiction Nook, Smoocher’s Voice, Rainbow Gold Reviews, Velvet Panic, Parker Williams, Havan Fellows, MM Good Books, Fallen Angel Reviews, Up All Night, Read All Day, Tara Lain, Wake Up Your Wild Side, Prism Book Alliance, Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words, LeAnn’s Book Reviews, The Hat Party, Love Bytes, SA McAuley, Kimi-Chan, Lee Brazil, Iyana Jenna, Freddie Feeley Jr., Because Two Men Are Better Than One, Hearts on Fire, Elisa Rolle, It’s Raining Men, Dawn’s Reading Nook

About the Author

Cate Ashwood wrote her very first story in a hot-pink binder when she was in the second grade and found her passion for writing. Her first successful foray into romance writing came five years later when she wrote her best friend, who was experiencing a case of unrequited love, her own happily ever after.

Cate’s life has taken a number of different and adventurous roads. She now lives a stone’s throw from the ocean, just outside of Vancouver, British Columbia with her husband and two cats. Her life is filled with family and friends, travel, and, of course, books.

Author Links: Cate loves to hear from readers. You can find her at:

Website: http://www.cateashwood.com

Blog: http://cateashwood.blogspot.ca/

E-mail: cateashwood@gmail.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/cate.ashwood

Twitter: @Cateashwood

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John Brantingham talks about Audio Books

Five Rules for Audiobooks

There are some people in this world who don’t like audiobooks. These people suggest that listening to an audiobook is in someway cheating. It’s a perception that’s disappearing, but it exists.

I had a conversation with someone about this a couple of weeks ago. We were talking about a book, and he knew I’d been putting in a lot of hours driving up and down the state. He asked me when I had the time to read the whole thing, and I told him it was an audiobook. He’s the last one who told me I was cheating when I did that.

Cheating?

It doesn’t make sense. The only way a person could conceive of that as cheating is if he or she thought that reading wasn’t fun to begin with. I enjoy books, and I want to be around them as much as possible. They’re dangerous, however. They need to be taken seriously. I present five rules for reading audio safely.

1.         Read the Synopsis and Think about Your Life

You’re probably going to be reading while driving. If you’re driving someplace important, you’d better choose the right book. I listened to The House of Sand and Fog right as I was going into a job interview -- a job that I really wanted and desperately needed. As I sat there in the parking lot waiting for the interview time to come closer, I grew more and more engrossed in the plot until (spoiler alert) my favorite characters, characters I’d grown to love and understand, started killing themselves and each other.

Shock horror. The tragedy. The sturm and drang. The horror, the horror.

Suddenly, nothing seemed as important. Suddenly even the job interview didn’t seem to matter, only the fact that they were dying, people I loved.

Thankfully, the passion I was feeling for the characters I loved turned me into an intense and seemingly complex speaker. I seemed to ooze intense passion. Of course, I did. A couple of my best friends had just died.

2.         Do Not Listen to Horror at the Wrong Time.

I became engrossed with Stephen King’s The Stand just as I was going on a camping trip. I couldn’t turn it off, couldn’t stop listening. Neither could anyone else in the trip.

We couldn’t stop thinking about it either, especially out in the woods when the wind would pick up and twigs would snap and leaves would swirl and maybe that was the Walking Dude just outside the tent. One night, sometime around midnight, we gave up and sat in the car, listening to the drama play out until the sun came up.

3.         No Faulkner

Actually that rule can be extended to a lot of writers. James Joyce, Gertrude Stein, T.S. Eliot. Basically anyone who needs a desk reference companion or anyone whose language you need to read slowly to appreciate. After all, it takes a lot of quiet time to appreciate a line like, “A rose is a rose is a rose,” and you want to figure out what it going on and why you’ve forced yourself to endure that kind of poem before you move on.

Don’t get me wrong. I like The Sound and the Fury as much as the next guy, but it’s kind of a slow burning appreciation.

4.         Nothing Too Sexy

You do NOT want to be the guy with that look on your face at a stoplight. Keep your D.H. Lawrence at home.

5.         Consider the Actor

Some actors are good. Some are too good. I drive the Los Angeles freeway system all the time. Listening to Alex Cross can be a dangerous thing especially during a gun battle when I’m changing lanes. The bad guy is just ahead and the panic in the actor’s voice works its way from my ear to my foot, and now I’m weaving trying to save the woman, that poor, poor woman.

The CHP generally frowns on this kind of listening.

No, it’s not cheating to listening to audiobooks. In fact, it’s one of my great pleasures, but it needs to be done responsibly.

The wrong book can ruin your whole life.

About Mann of War by John Brantingham

Oak Tree Press

Buy at Amazon

Robert Mann is sick of hearing about criminals who get away with murder. He’s sick of rapists, drug dealers, and con men. He’s sick of the human trash – people who know how to use the system against itself. He’s sick of sitting idly by and doing nothing. So Robert Mann is going to fight back. The problem -- there’s a difference between wanting to kill someone and actually doing it. Review Blurbs: “…His characters are beautifully rendered, real and true, at once vulnerable and courageous. Wise and insightful, Brantingham's work brilliantly captures the light and darkness in us all.” --James Brown “John Brantingham is one of the brightest stars emerging from a generation of authors…His capacious human sympathies, which do not exclude a keen sense of humor, elevate and deepen his work to layers beyond the merely entertaining. Prepare to be both educated and enthralled.” –Gerald Locklin “…the book that the illegitimate son of Robert Parker and James Ellroy might have had in a parallel universe. Brantingham’s clipped, tough-guy prose is possessed of a hard-boiled rhythm that approaches a kind of poetry, and his first-class dialogue, which is at turns witty, cruel, and wise, immediately places Brantingham onto the short list of great contemporary crime writers.” —Paul Kareem Tayyar, Author of “In the Footsteps of the Silver King” and “Postmark Atlantis”

About the Author:

John Brantingham has published hundreds of stories and poems and books such as Mann of War, East of Los Angeles, and Let Us All Pray Now to Our Own Strange Gods. He works at Mt. San Antonio College in Walnut, California, where he lives with his wife Ann. His blog can be found at johnbrantingham.blogspot.com.