Brewing up literary escapes, one audiobook at a time

Are you an audiobook listener? If so, you are going to love this newsletter. If not… well I still hope you love this newsletter. Maybe you’ll even find an audiobook you are interested in listening to! But first…

I have already been thoroughly enjoying pumpkin spice season, despite temps in the 90s this week. I bought my own pumpkin flavor syrup because I am nothing if not frugal, and ya girl can’t be buying PSLs every day. My go-to coffee recipe is:

• 1/2 cup pre-made (half-caf) cold brew coffee concentrate

• 1/2 cup soy milk

• 1 cup water

• splash of flavor syrup

• ice

It’s so good. It’s like a little fall joy in my cup every day. Yum!

If you were hanging out on Instagram this week, you know that the audiobook for The Write Place is coming! (And if you missed it, check out that post for an audio teaser!) So I thought it’d be a good time to talk about listening to read.

I love audiobooks. There was a time when I would listen to probably one a week because I’d have it on in my car on my commute. Now, I vary my listening more by sprinkling in news, music, and sometimes just silence (IYKYK), so I don’t listen to as many, but I still love the experience of getting swept away by an amazing performance.

There’s something magical about audiobooks. I use them for teaching, too, because it’s much easier for kids (and adults!) to get invested in the performance when they listen to parts of it. And we aren’t even going to entertain the idea here that audiobooks don’t “count” as reading, because they do, and I will die on that hill.

I knew it was incredibly difficult for indie authors to get audiobooks out. It can be very expensive if you’re paying a narrator yourself, and you have to have a pretty popular book to be approached by an audiobook publishing company. So, when I first published The Write Place, I thought it was a pipe dream to ever have an audiobook of my own.

This summer, I started thinking about trying to record one myself. I’m an English teacher and a mom; half of my life is reading aloud and making it entertaining. I even work with a bunch of actors (I coach Speech!) and podcasters, so I had a ton of help. But, it turns out, while I probably could have done it, I didn’t really want to. And that’s where Megan Carver came in.

I’m going to fully sing Megan’s praises in another newsletter, but she has been absolutely wonderful to work with. She and I have talked at length about my characters and their voices and motivations. She checks in with me regularly and asks so many thoughtful questions. It has been really fun to be on this side of it. In talking about my characters in-depth with her, I’ve even discovered some things about them, and I think it has strengthened my writing. It certainly has given me a new perspective on these characters that I’ve been able to use for book 3. The whole process has been enlightening, and I’m so glad my first book baby is in such excellent hands.

I can’t wait to hear more of this audiobook, and I can’t wait for you to listen, too! This October release is going to be perfect timing for curling up with a cup of coffee and soaking up all the fall vibes The Write Place has to offer.

I think the audiobook is the big update! But it is worth mentioning that book 3 is with beta readers now, and they are LOVING it. I absolutely cannot wait to share more with you about this book. But… all in good time.

Since this newsletter is all about audiobooks this week, I thought I’d share my top 3 audiobooks for you!

1. The Bromance Book Club by Lyssa Kay Adams, narrated by Andrew Eiden and Maxwell Caulfield—Not only is this book hilarious, the narrators are absolutely perfect. Andrew Eiden has the perfect voice for a baseball player who is trying to reconnect with his wife (a sports romance AND a marriage in crisis… yes please!), and Maxwell Caulfield perfectly intones the regency romance the main character is reading for help. This is a great romance by itself, but the narration adds just that little something extra.

2. Daisy Jones & the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reed, narrated by… a full cast (top billed are: Jennifer Beals, Benjamin Bratt, Judy Greer, Pablo Schreiber)—Yep! A full cast! If you’ve read the book, you know that it follows the rise of a 70s rock band and is written in the form of interviews with the band members. Listening to the full cast on this one is so fun. It’s more like listening to a podcast or an actual interview than an audiobook. I’m not finished with it yet, but I am taking my time because I don’t want it to end. It’s an experience, and it’s well worth a listen.

3. Born a Crime by Trevor Noah, narrated by Trevor Noah—I had to include this one because I’m teaching it this year! And how cool is it to be able to listen to the author’s words telling his own story in his own voice, exactly as he meant us to hear it? I love that we have the technology to make this possible. And, besides, Trevor Noah is just hilarious.

I can’t wait to talk more about audiobooks in the coming weeks, and I am beyond excited for you to hear Mac and Daniel come to life.

Do you have a favorite audiobook? I’m looking for one to start after I finish Daisy Jones! Let me know in the comments.