The Fun Of Listening To A Book

By the time I first found out that my Sophie books were going to be available as audiobooks the audio version of SEX, MURDER AND A DOUBLE LATTE was already selling on Amazon. My old publisher was kinda like that, they did lots of good things for me but sometimes they'd forget to tell me they were doing them. It was odd listening to my words being read by Gabra Zackman, a woman I had never met before and knew nothing about. At first I was resistant to it.  After all I already knew how my characters were supposed to sound and anyone else's interpretation of them seemed somehow wrong to me. But the more you listen to the book the easier it becomes to understand the appeal of this particular medium (especially if you have a narrator as fabulous as Gabra). She gently but firmly draws you into the whirlwind that is Sophie's life and immerses you in it. For many of my readers Gabra IS Sophie.

I didn't have any direct dealings with Gabra until I published LUST, LOATHING AND A LITTLE LIP GLOSS. She contacted me to let me know how happy she was that I had continued the Sophie series. For her, recording that book was like getting back together with old friends. I loved that because that is exactly what Gabra, through her voice and Sophie's words, has become to so many of my readers; a friend. A friend they can take with them on road trips, plane rides, to the gym or into their homes; a friend who will keep them company and tell them a story while their hands and eyes are occupied with other things

When it came time to self-produce my latest Sophie audiobook I knew that Gabra had to be the reader. If I didn't have her on board I didn't even want to do it. Sophie fans needed the continuity of her voice. And so together, we produced the VANITY, VENGEANCE & A WEEKEND IN VEGAS audiobook. It was the first time either one of us had ever done something like this from scratch. She found us a studio in New York (where she's located) Audible.com helped get things set up and we went to work. The result was outstanding, as have been the reviews.

Once again, Gabra knocked it out of the park. I honestly can't wait to work with her again.

And now I have JUST ONE NIGHT the audiobook coming out on June 4th. It's all three novellas together in one recording. Simon & Schuster recommended narrator Grace Grant to tell Kasie's story. I look forward to introducing my readers to this new voice through my latest book and am truly interested in your thoughts about the recording itself. Audible has been incredibly supportive of my work and I plan on producing with them again, certainly for Sophie and possibly for other books as well.  Therefore your feedback is critical.

In the days to come I'm going to have samples of my Sophie audiobooks up on my page and hopefully a sample of The JUST ONE NIGHT book as well. Next month (which is officially Audiobook Month) I'll have a contest that is connected to my audiobooks, so stay tuned for that.

In the interim I want to thank all of my book listeners. Your enthusiasm and support have lifted every single one of my audiobooks to bestseller status. You've continued to recommend them to any one who will listen and you've made a friend of my characters and the women who read them. Thank you for that and I hope to continue to produce and help create work that makes those times when you're stuck in traffic a little more bearable.

Because, at the risk of sounding cliché, that's what friends are for.