Tag Archives: #audiobooks #Audible

#Audiobooks part 2

Today is my turn on the Romance Gems blog and I’m continuing my discussing of audiobooks. Click here to read along: ROMANCE GEMS

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#1stKissFriday

One of my favorite first kisses came from my Candy Heart Romance 3 Wishes

Matt and Chloe are virtually strangers, but the attraction between them is so bright  they light up the night sky! They only kiss twoce in the entire book, but the first one is a doozy. Keep reading and see if you agree.

…he was looking at me as if I were the only girl in the world.

I can’t remember who moved first. All I do recall is when his arms came around my waist and he pulled me against his chest—solid as a rock wall—I felt his breath heat my cheeks while his lips trailed a string of kisses down my jaw, finally—finally—ending at my mouth. It felt so completely right to be standing there that way, with him.

I’d been correct when I thought his mouth was made for kissing. It was. Smooth as marble and warm as Mediterranean sunshine, his mouth took possession of mine in a kiss so all-consuming and powerful I wondered how I was able to stand.

And then I realized I wasn’t. He’d lifted me up and I’d wound my legs around his waist, his strong arms and hands supporting my butt. He turned us, and I bumped straight back against the shop door with him holding me, his mouth doing wicked and utterly sinful things to my own. My hands fisted in his hair, which, as promised, felt as plush and luxuriant as it looked.

I couldn’t believe I was standing—well, being held up, really—in my shop with what amounted to a total stranger, practically having sex against my door.

This wasn’t the Angelina Chloe Gabriella San Valentino anyone knew.

Even I didn’t recognize myself.

His hips ground against me while he tightened his hold. The next thing I knew, my butt was lowered. I’d gone from being plastered against the door to sitting on top of the profiteroles glass display cabinet. He pulled back and cupped my chin with the palms of his hands.

“Chloe.” His breath danced across my lips when he said my name, his mouth a mere whisper from mine. I breathed him in, my heart pounding against my chest, my lungs filling with him, with his essence. One blue eye, one green, gazed at me, their colors heated with desire and something much more. Something I never thought I’d see reflected back at me from any man: pure, raw desire mixed with such a well of emotion it blindsided me.

Is it possible to fall in love in an instant? I don’t really know. But if it is, then this was it for me. Don’t ask me why or how, but I knew straight down to my core Dr. M. D’Amore was the man I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. I didn’t even know his first name, but I actually envisioned what our children would look like. Tall and lithe like their father, not short with a tendency to chubbiness like me. They’d either have blue eyes or green, but not both like their parents, and they’d all be cherub-faced bambini, complete with Botticelli curls in their hair and smiling, winking dimples on their faces.

He kissed me again, slow and unhurried, taking his time and driving me insane. He cupped my cheeks, his thumbs drawing small, nerve-tingling circles down my jaw, as his tongue mated with mine. Call it crazy, but I felt as if I’d always known his kiss, known it as surely as I knew my own name. The familiarity of his deep, sensual taste bounded through my brain, and I realized no candy I’d made had ever tasted as good as he did.

My legs tightened around his waist, my ankles crossing at his back. He slipped his hands from my face, down my torso and settled my butt in his palms, sliding me closer, closer to him, until I knew he could feel how wet I was through our clothes.

Just as the thought occurred to me of what would happen if I slipped my hand down between our bodies to grab him through his jeans, my store phone blared, shattering the silence. It was attached to my apartment landline so I’d be able to hear it wherever I was in the building.

Coming from a long line of drama-afflicted Italians, I knew no phone call after midnight ever brought good news with it.

With what I can only describe as sheer torture, I yanked my lips from his, pushed against his hard chest, and shimmied off the table, out of his arms. His brows pulled in tight toward the center of his forehead, confusion shooting across his eyes.

Intrigued? Here’s where you can get your own ecopy: 

Amazon // Nook // Kobo // itunes // google play // Walmart

Valentine’s Day is chocolatier Chloe San Valentino’s favorite day of the year. Not only is it the busiest day in her candy shop, Caramelle de Chloe, but it’s also her birthday. Chloe’s got a birthday wish list for the perfect man she pulls out every year: he’d fall in love with her in a heartbeat, he’d be someone who cares about people, and he’d have one blue eye and one green eye, just like her. So far, Chloe’s fantasy man hasn’t materialized, despite the matchmaking efforts of her big, close-knit Italian family. But this year for her big 3-0 birthday, she just might get her three wishes.

Also available in audio book.

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Wild Rose Press KARILYN BENTLEY pays a visit…

I’ve got Wild Rose sistah Karilyn Bentley back with me today and she’s got a fabulous announcement for y’all. Karilyn, take it away…..

‘TIS THE SOUND OF DEMON LORE

Hi Peggy! Thank you for letting me blog with you today! I’m happy to announce the Audible version of Demon Lore, the first book in my Demon Huntress series. The narrator is Joan Dukore and she does a great job bringing my characters to life.

In case you were wondering, it took a while to bring the book to life. It felt like forever (says the impatient author) to get a narrator, but I’m glad for the wait because I love the audio version. It’s so much fun to hear your book read by a narrator.

Want to try a sample? Click HERE to listen.

Here’s a little bit about Demon Lore:

Gin Crawford has enough problems dealing with her empath abilities. Finding out she’s the world’s newest demon-slayer is the last thing she needs. Unfortunately, when she slips on a mysterious bracelet she is given no other choice. On the plus side, her new gig comes with Tall, Dark and Handsome, a mage who may or may not have her best interests at heart. Thrust into a power-play between good and evil, Gin must choose a side before she becomes the next victim in the ongoing battle.

And an excerpt:

The evil man-thing stands on my porch, his lips turning in a menacing smile of death. I don’t need to touch him to know he wants me dead. Muscles freeze, trapping my breath in my lungs. Like a rabbit in view of a wolf, I’m immobilized, waiting for death’s blow. Time slows, his gaze locks on mine, trapping me in place.

Move, move, move! My mind screams as the man’s fingers twitch.

But the spike of adrenaline explodes into my limbs too late to stop the backhand blow slamming across my jaw.

I superman it halfway across the living room. Land on the hardwood floor in a thud of pain-ridden limbs. My jaw morphs into a screaming ball of nerves. My head no sooner hits the floor than I hear the bracelet scream, a high-pitched wail quivering through my skin like vibrations from a tuning fork. The bracelet tightens around my wrist, cutting off the circulation, and then it loosens with a pop at the same time I hear the door click closed.

Ohgodohgodohgod, I’m going to die. I don’t want to die. No, no, no, no, no. Pain and terror hold me crumpled on the floor as my mind crawls backward in time.

But I’m no longer a child, fearful of fists and words, cowering on the ground.

I’m a fighter.

My head spins, but I refuse to lie on the floor waiting to be killed, so I attempt to stand. Evil Guy laughs as I ass-plant it. Laughs as a moan escapes my lips. He takes a step toward me, right arm drawn back for a hit. His fist hurls toward my face, but I manage to block it with my left arm. My right arm, the one with the bracelet, shoves forward, slamming into his chest.

His black eyes widen, mouth open in surprise, his hands fluttering to his chest before dropping. I stare at my hand, stare hard, for I’m as surprised as Evil Guy. The bracelet had become a sword, a long, thin spike of metal extending from the silver links, straight into Evil Guy’s heart.

A sword?

Definitely a sword. The flat of the blade rests against the back of my hand, cool metal heating from the warmth of my skin. Small silver links circle around my palm, lending stability to the two-foot long sword.

I’m not sure which scares me more, Evil Guy paying me a visit or the fact the bracelet performed a morphing trick.

Where to find Demon Lore:

Amazon // B&N // TWRP // iBooks // Audible

All about Karilyn:

Karilyn Bentley’s love of reading stories and preference of sitting in front of a computer at home instead of in a cube, drove her to pen her own works, blending fantasy and romance mixed with a touch of funny.

Her paranormal romance novella, Werewolves in London, placed in the Got Wolf contest and started her writing career as an author of sexy heroes and lush fantasy worlds.

Karilyn lives in Colorado with her own hunky hero, a crazy dog nicknamed The Kraken, a silly not-quite-a-puppy, and a handful of colorful saltwater fish.

Where to find Karilyn:

Website // Facebook  // Twitter // Goodreads // Pinterest // Newsletter // Bookbub

 

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#CyberMonday, #romanceBooks, and #shoppingfromHome

It’s amazing how nowadays we have labels, tags, and names for everything, including the days we shop for holiday presents! This is the world we live in, peeps. Accept it and move on.

So, CYBER MONDAY. The day where the people in the know state the majority of on-line sales for the holidays are completed. And, like any good little writing entrepreneur, I’m blogging about the day!! Or more specifically, how to order my books on-line.

I’ve become quite the little marketing/ad designer these days. Thank you, Jesus for Canva!! Hee hee.

Anyhoo. You probably already know you can order my books from most of the on-line book retailers out there. With the exception of the anthologies I am part of and the two books that were digital only, all my other books are available in print or e-reader copy, so you can buy them for yourself or gift them to the romance reader on your shopping list this year.

 

I’m still a big believer in the brick and mortar store way of shopping, but since my books are classified as Digital first/POD ( Print on Demand) the only place they are available is in my home town in my local independent bookstore, so if you live in, say,  Kalamazoo,  Kentucky, or Kensington Palace, it just makes sense to order them on-line.

So, do a sistah a solid and put a little romance under your own tree – or the romance reader in your life’s tree – this year!

And don’t forget – several of my titles are now available on AUDIO from AUDIBLE, so if your romance reader is really a romance listener, you’ve got options for gifts. Love that!!

And, as always, #blessyou!

on-line retailers that carry my books: the Wild Rose Press//Amazon //Barnes and Noble//Kobo//I-tunes(Apple)//GooglePlay//Books-a-Million// BookGorilla//AUDIBLE

Brick and Mortar store that carries my print copy books: THE TOADSTOOL BOOKSHOP in Keene, NH

 

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Filed under 3 Wishes, A kiss Under the Christmas LIghts, A Match Made in Heaven, audiobooks, Author, Candy Hearts, Contemporary Romance, Cooking, Dearly Beloved, Deerbourne Inn, Foodie, Hope's Dream, Romance, Romance Books, Strong Women, The Laine Women, The Voices of Angels, The Wild Rose Press, WIld Rose Press AUthor

#SundaySnippet & a #booksale 10.28.18

In honor of A KISS UNDER THE CHRISTMAS LIGHTS being on sale for just 99 cents until 11/8/18 ( ebook only), I’m giving you another glimpse into the San Valentino family today. To the San Valentino’s, family is everything. Even when they bicker, they love one another to no end.

During the drive home from church, Mama told me I’d missed Fr. Santini’s introduction of himself while I’d been in poop-ville with Arianna.

“He’s one of ten kids.” She checked her image in the car mirror again as she had when we’d driven to church. “Three brothers, six sisters. Three sets of twins. Ten pregnancies. Madre di Dio, that poor woman’s insides.”

“I had ten pregnancies,” Nonna said with pride in her craggy voice. “She only had seven, ’cause the twins count as one each.” Okay, pride and a little splash of maternity one-upmanship. “My doctor says I got insides that look like shredded wheat,” she added, with a smug- filled smirk.

This was way too much information for me.

“So, a big family?” I said to the back of Mama’s head, hoping she’d take the hint and keep talking so we’d all be spared Nonna’s pregnancy horror tales.

“Yeah. One brother’s in construction, and one manages a restaurant downtown. He’s got a sister who’s a nun, too. They’re a very holy family.”

“I wanted to be a nun,” Nonna declared.

“You did not.” Mama turned her head to face her mother.

Si, Francesca. E la verita. It’s true. I wanted to join the Little Order of the Flower. I loved the order, and the nuns were very popular in my province. So holy, so pure. All the boys back in the village were wild for me, though, and my papa needed money for the farm, so since I was the oldest girl, he married me off to your papa for two cows and a herd of goats.”

“Guess who got the better part of that deal,” Daddy said under his breath, forgetting the stealth-hearing Nonna possesses. From the backseat, and without any regard to the fact he was driving and could crash and kill us all, she clapped him on the back of his head so hard her palm turned beet red from the force.

“Hey!” Daddy rubbed his hand along his skull.

“It’s your own fault,” Mama said without a drop of sympathy and then reapplied her lipstick.

“She hits me again she’s going in the room next to Uncle Vito at the home.”

Nonna’s eyes narrowed to slitty little lines, and I know she was planning some kind of silent revenge on Daddy.

Nonna never wasted a malocchio.
How to be a Good Italian, Lesson Four:

                           Keep your mouth shut and your opinions to yourself.

Welcome to mia famiglia.

Buy Links:

Amazon // The Wild Rose Press // Barnes and Nobel //

also available on AUDIO 

And when I’m not promoting a book sale, I’m here:Tweet Me//Read Me// Visit Me//Picture Me//Pin Me//Friend Me//Google+Me// Triber// BookMe // Monkey me //Watch me

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New in Audio from Linda Nightingale, plus a little advice!

Today we’re talking about AUDIO Books. Since I’m relatively new to the process I wanted to get the advice and wisdom of some authors who have gone through the process of converting a book to audio, so I sought out one of my Wild Rose Press sistahs, Linda Nightingale, to help me out. Linda’s a  prolific writer, not to mention a lot of fun, as evidenced by this picture of her at a recent signing. ( she’s the one on your right!)

I wanted to know how daunting this process was, what she had to go through, and if it was worth the effort that it seems to be. Her advice has been invaluable in helping me make the move from print to audio! Here’s Linda in her own words:

(ME) How did you feel about your books going to audio?

I was thrilled! Bowled over even! When my publisher announced that it was possible for our books to go to audio, I immediately signed on.

My experience with audio books was very pleasant with two of my four. I was lucky enough to snag this young Englishwoman with a lovely voice and accent perfect for both Love For Sale and Morgan D’Arcy: A Vampyre Rhapsody. Her delivery was impeccable. I was thrilled, even though Morgan D’Arcy is told in first person male.

The second two were not as successful. With Gambler’s Choice, though the girl, again an Englishwoman, had the book well dramatized, she didn’t change with the characters, which could be forgiven, but she sounded as if she were in a well. I received many comments on this fact in reviews.

The second, Gylded Wings, was a dark fantasy. However, the narrator read it as if it were a fairytale—has tone and sing-song way of telling the story.

Writing for audio books is different from writing a book seen on a page. Maybe it shouldn’t be but when the reader is looking at the text on a page, they can follow ‘untagged’ dialogue for a time and understand who’s talking. With audio books, this isn’t the case. The listener can become confused if the dialogue isn’t clearly tagged as to the speaker, but when the book is already published, it’s too late to change it. Just something to keep in mind if you are writing for audio.

The process itself, ‘proofing’ your book for errors, can take hours of listening and then listening again to the corrections. I enjoyed every minute. I loved to listen to my characters coming to life.

As to sales—not record yet, but still hoping. If you aren’t a member of Audible, they are quite pricey, and promoting an audio book takes just as much effort and savvy as promoting your eBook or print version. The first thing I did was to sign up for a blog tour, and that worked out well. Unfortunately, many of the hosts couldn’t use the audio files, and I had to come up with an alternative: refer them to my website and hope they hang around while they’re visiting.

Will I do it again? Oh, yes. It’s exciting to hear your book read. Also a confirmation in a way. Look, what I did! Self, listen this isn’t half-bad!

Peggy here: Here’s another of Linda’s audiobooks, Her General in Gray

A little about Linda:

Linda has lived a interesting life—from breeding and showing horses to working for a Circuit Judge—and won some prestigious awards for her writing. Find out more about her on her website and various social media, and she’d love to hear from you via email.

Twitter // Facebook // Web site//  Goodreads // Pinterest // Amazon 

 

Peggy here – Linda thank you so much for all your advice!

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Something new in Audio!

Overjoyed to announce my first San Valentino Christmas Story A KISS UNDER THE CHRISTMAS LIGHTS is out on audio for all you book-LISTENING-lovers!!

With Christmas just a few weeks away, Gia San Valentino, the baby in her large, loud, and loving Italian family, yearns for a life and home of her own with a husband and bambini she can love and spoil. The single scene doesn’t interest her, and the men her well-meaning family introduce her to aren’t exactly the happily-ever-after kind.

Tim Santini believes he’s finally found the woman for him, but Gia will take some convincing she’s that girl. A misunderstanding has her thinking he’s something he’s not.

Can a kiss stolen under the Christmas lights persuade her to spend the rest of her life with him

Audio buy links:

Amazon //Audible // i-tunes- coming soon. For a complete list of all my print books, ebooks, and audiobooks, click here: Amazon Author Page

Here’s a little present from me to you to whet your romance reading appetite: The trailer to AKISS

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Listen up! New in AUDIOBOOKS…

So excited to announce another of my MacQuire women books, this one’s book 4, THE VOICES OF ANGELS is now available in audio form for those of you who like to listen to a good book while you travel, are in the car on long trips, or just like to relax, close your eyes, and have a story take you away from everything!

My narrator is the talented Lili Dubuque who’s done oodles of audiobooks in her career. She has a lovely, soft voice that’s just perfect for Carly’s love story.

Here are the links:

Audible // Amazon // i tunes/books – coming soon!

And to refresh your memories – cause it’s been a minute since the book was released! – here’s the blurb:

Love is the last thing Carly Lennox is looking for when she sets out on her new book tour. The independent, widowed author is content with a life spent writing and raising her daughter. When newscaster Mike Woodard suggests they work on a television magazine profile based on her book, Carly’s thrilled but guarded. His obvious desire to turn their relationship into something other than just a working one is more than she bargained for.

Mike Woodard is ambitious, and not only in his chosen profession. He wants Carly, maybe more than he’s ever wanted anything or anyone else. As he tells her, he’s a patient man. But the more they’re together, Mike realizes it isn’t simply desire beating within him.  

Carly Lennox is the missing piece in his life. Getting her to accept it – and him – may just be the toughest assignment he’s ever taken.

When I’m not listening to books, reading them, or writing them, you can find me here: Tweet Me//Read Me// Visit Me//Picture Me//Pin Me//Friend Me//Google+Me// Triber// BookMe

 

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