Presenting the audiobook version of A KILLER RETREAT!

By Tracy Weber

July marks the official launch of my second audiobook, A Killer Retreat!  Although the official launch is in July, it's available for purchase on Audible now.   Join me at the Facebook launch party on July 13 at this link! 

If you're interested in receiving a free Audible copy of the work in exchange for an honest review, please e-mail me at Tracy@WholeLifeYoga.com.  In the meantime, Enjoy the excerpt below. In this installment, protagonist and yoga teacher Kate Davidson finds herself on the wrong side of the one-way mirror in the suspect interview room. 

#

 

Sergeant Bill took copious notes, nodding and smiling encouragingly. After fifteen rambling minutes, I completed my spiel.

“Well,” he said, closing his notebook and laying down his pen. “I think we’re about done here.”

“You mean I can go?” It couldn’t possibly be this easy. I never got away with anything.

He shrugged. “I don’t see why not.”

Relief washed over me like water in a warm shower. For once, luck and the universe were on my side. I stood up, eased to the door, and rested my hand on the doorknob. Only two more steps and I’d be free. My mind chattered, nervously narrating each action in a silent monologue.

OK, Kate, you’re almost there. Stay calm and don’t blow it. I took a deep breath. Turn the knob to the right. The latch clicked and released. Open the door. The hinges squeaked open; a cool breeze caressed my cheeks. As I glanced through the doorway, the empty hall beckoned me—coaxed me toward freedom.

Step one foot forward, and—

“You know, there’s only one thing I don’t get about your story.”

The melodic lilt in Sergeant Bill’s voice had completely evaporated.

Tension spread from my toes to my scalp. I tried to suppress—or at least camouflage—a mounting sense of panic. I took a deep breath and turned to face him. Sergeant Bill leaned forward, elbows on the desk, fingers laced together. He didn’t look at all friendly.

I forced my lips into a smile and tried to look innocent.

“What’s that?”

“Why is it that six different witnesses say you threatened to strangle the victim this morning?”

Sergeant Bill wasn’t smiling anymore. Then again, neither was I. We stared at each other in silence.

 “Why don’t you close that door and sit on back down.”

 

#

I hope you give the book (audio or written) a try, and love it!

 

Tracy Weber

All four books in the Downward Dog Mystery Series are available at booksellers everywhere!

Tracy Weber is a certified yoga teacher and the founder of Whole Life Yoga, an award-winning yoga studio in Seattle, where she current­ly lives with her husband, Marc, and precocious German shepherd puppy, Ana. She loves sharing her passion for yoga and animals in any form possible. When she’s not writing, she spends her time teaching yoga, trying to corral Ana Tasha, and sip­ping Blackthorn cider at her favorite ale house. Tracy loves connecting with fans.  Find her on her author web page or on Facebook.

Guest Post: Emily Kimmelman

Thanks to Inkspot for having me on her blog today to talk to you about a contest I’m running in order to find a narrator for my Sydney Rye series of audiobooks. When I was driving cross country last year I listened to a lot of audiobooks. What I learned quickly is that the story didn’t matter as much as the voice. As a writer I hate to admit it but the truth is that no matter how compelling a tale if the voice doesn’t work then neither does the audiobook.

This realization was at the forefront of my mind when I decided to turn my own series into audiobooks. So I’m asking for your help. After narrowing the finalist down to four voice artist I’m going around the web begging for you to tell me what you think.

If you Haven’t read Sydney Rye yet don’t worry. You can download the first book, UNLEASHED, for free on Amazon, iTunes, B&N, or Kobo and see how she sounds in your head then vote for the best narrator.

Since I’m asking for your help I figured I should give something back. Voting enters you to win all sorts of great prizes including Amazon gift cards, signed books, and the finished Audio book!
I hope you’ll take the time to help me out by letting me know what you think. Thanks!

Here are your choices for narrator:

https://soundcloud.com/emily-kimelman-gilvey/tracks

Emily Strong

Emily Strong is an actor, voiceover talent, and first time filmmaker.  As a native of Michigan, she is a nature-lover at heart but has the mind of a city girl and moved to Chicago nearly three years ago because she wasn't smart enough to go somewhere warmer.  She takes full advantage of what the city has to offer by training at legendary places like The Second City and eating lots and lots of ethnic food (will travel all the way across the city to Pilsen for the best tacos!).  Her love of reading was the catalyst for her adventurous spirit and the reason why she is always stoked to tell stories in their many different forms. You can visit her at www.emilystrong.net

Erin Jones

Erin has narrated over 500 audio books including "The Hunger Games" trilogy for The National Library Services/Library Of Congress,  "A State Of Wonder," The Garden Of The Beasts," "Anna Karenina," "Ferdinand The Bull, and "Madeline."

Sonja Field
 
Sonja has two loves: acting and reading. Narrating audiobooks is her absolute passion. She has logged over 600 hours recording textbooks with an organization called Recording for the Blind & Dyslexic, and is currently in the process of recording a kids' action-fantasy-adventure novel, a steamy and mysterious paranormal romance, and a non-fiction about writing. She loves nothing more than bringing vivid worlds and unique characters to life. When she's not recording, Sonja can be found onstage, traipsing around Brooklyn, or entertaining children with a variety of dubious accents.


Erica Newhouse

Erica Newhouse is a film, televesion and theater actor living in New York City. She is a graduate of The Juilliard School.

Voting enters you to win all sorts of great prizes including Amazon gift cards, signed books, and the finished Audio book! Add to your chances of winning by joining Emily's email list, liking her Facebook page, or telling your friends about the contest.

Prize Details
Every vote, like, share, or sign up is an entry for the "grand prizes"
                        One person will win Signed copies of all 5 books
                        One person will win a $30 Amazon or B&N gift card
                        Four other winners will win paperback copies of UNLEASHED
                     
Anyone who votes +  signs up for Emily’s email list + likes Emily’s FaceBook page gets a copy of the audio book when it's completed!

Enter HERE for the Raffle Copter giveaway FIND THE VOICE OF SYDNEY RYE AUDIO BOOK CONTEST LINKS

Code:

<a id="rc-dc5f661" class="rafl" href="http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/dc5f661/" rel="nofollow">a Rafflecopter giveaway</a>
<script src="//d12vno17mo87cx.cloudfront.net/embed/rafl/cptr.js"></script>

More about UNLEASHED:

UNLEASHED is the first book in Emily Kimelman's best selling Sydney Rye series of mysteries.
When the series begins Sydney Rye is named Joy Humbolt. She does not like people telling her what to do, so it comes as no surprise that she was just fired from her last job. When she buys Charlene Miller's dog-walking business on Manhattan's exclusive upper east side, it seems like the perfect fit: Quiet environment, minimal contact with people.

But then one of her clients turns up dead, and Charlene disappears. Rumors say Charlene was having an affair with the victim--and of course, everyone assumes Joy must know where she is. Joy begins to look into the crime, first out of curiosity then out of anger when there is another murder and threats start to come her way.

When police detective Mulberry is assigned to the case, Joy finds a kindred spirit--cynical and none-too-fond of the human race. As they dig deep into the secrets of Manhattan's elite, they not only get closer to the killer but also to a point of no return. One last murder sends Joy Humbolt hurtling over the edge. Her only chance of survival is to become Sydney Rye.

The Rest of The Sydney Rye Series:

DEATH IN THE DARK (A Sydney Rye Novella, #2)
INSATIABLE (A Sydney Rye Novel, #3)
STRINGS OF GLASS (A Sydney Rye Novel, #4)
THE DEVIL’S BREATH (A Sydney Rye Novel, #5) Coming April 2014

Emily Kimelman Biography 

Emily Kimelman is the author of the best selling “Sydney Rye” series of mystery novels including UNLEASHED, DEATH IN THE DARK, INSATIABLE, STRINGS OF GLASS and the forthcoming THE DEVIL’S BREATH. Emily lives with her husband, Sean Gilvey, and their dog, Kinsey Millhone “Pup Detective”, on a trawler docked in the Hudson Valley during the summer. She spends her winters traveling to where ever the next Sydney Rye Novel takes place. Right now she is in Costa Rica working on Sydney Rye #6.

If you’ve read Emily’s work and liked it please contact her. She loves hearing from readers. You can reach Emily via email ejkimelman@gmail.com or on  twitter @ejkimelman. Follow her on Instagram to see pictures from Emily’s latest adventures. Visit www.emilykimelman.com to learn more about Emily and the Sydney Rye series.

Thanks for visiting, Emily.

3 Books, 3 Formats, 6 Covers

Keith here.

The reading world is in the midst of a war over formats. We've all been following the back-and-forth between Kindle/Nook partisans and those who defiantly hold on to their paper-and-ink books. Here's which side I come down on: both.

Don't you think we authors should strive to ensure our novels can be read however our readers want to read them -- whether as words on a paper page or on an LCD screen? And what about those who might want to use their ears rather than their eyes to "read" a book? Fine with me. Let's add one more option to the mix then -- audio books.

My first two books have just hit the format trifecta. Dot Dead and Smasher are now available as audio downloads for iPods, MP3 players, and such on both Audible.com and Amazon.com. (You can listen to samples here and here.) Both are still available as ebooks and trade paperbacks. (Readers, pick your poison.) My third novel, Drop By Drop, is currently available only as an ebook, but if it continues to sell well (fingers crossed), I'm hoping it will be offered in print and as an audio book as well.

One side benefit to all these different formats is a flowering of covers. Dot Dead has one cover doing double duty for the ebook and trade paper and another for the audio version. Smasher -- lucky fellow -- has a different cover for all three formats. Drop By Drop is available in just the one format and hence has only one cover at present. If my arithmetic is correct, that makes a total of six covers. I'm pretty fond of all of them, but I do wonder which ones you prefer. Please let me know in your comments!

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

Someone Else's Voice

by Tom Schreck, author of the Duffy Series

I got sent a contract last week from Brilliance Audio. They're going to make an audio version of "Planter's Punch", the novella my buddy, Joe Konrath and I did.

I love audio books and always have one going. Right now I'm listening to a 24 hour version of the "Given Day" by Dennis Lehane that's been keeping me company for a few weeks during commutes.

Here's the thing though--I'm a little scared about whose voice is going to do Duffy.

When narrators suck it really ruins the listening experience. Robert B. Parker had his son do one of his books and he was dreadful. Darrin McGavin did Travis McGee and though he's a competent actor, he just never was McGee to me.

I don't get any say in it, of course.

I would prefer it not be Mel Gibson, RuPaul or any of the judges from "So You Think You Can Dance."

Brian Williams from NBC would be okay. If Jack Lord is still alive he can do it or Mike Connors from Mannix.

What if they give Duffy an Chinese accent or if he overannuciates the "Gs" at the end of words? That'll suck.

It might be cool if they had an Elvis impersonator be Duffy...maybe not.

I know who I'd want to do it. The same guy I'd have play him in a full length movie (Hollywood types--I can reached at tom@tomschreck.com).

Who, you ask?

Mickey Rourke.

Circa 1985. They guy in "The Pope of Greenwich Village" and "Angel Heart."

Is that too much to ask?

Mickey, you can reach me at the same email.

You can buy "Planter's Punch" here for the price of a cup of coffee. Alright, it would be expensive coffee.