Alfhild Daemonne has inherited an inn.
And a dead body.
Estranged from her witch mother, and having committed to little in her 30 years, Alf surprises herself when she decides to start a new life.
She heads deep into the English countryside, intent on making a success of the once popular inn. However, discovering the murder throws her a curve ball. Especially when she suspects dark magick.
Additionally, a less than warm welcome from several locals persuades her that a variety of folk - of both the mortal and magickal persuasions - have it in for her.
The dilapidated inn presents a huge challenge for Alf. Uncertain who to trust, she considers calling time on the venture.
Should she pack her bags and head back to London?
Don’t be daft.
Alf’s magickal powers may be as wonky as the inn, but she’s dead set on finding the murderer.
Once a witch, always a witch - and this one is fighting back.
A clean and cozy witch mystery.
Take the opportunity to immerse yourself in this fantastic new witch mystery series, from the author of the award-winning novel, Crone.
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​The Wonkiest Witch, Wonky Inn Book 1 was my intro to author Jeannie Wycherley and I adored it.  Filled with quirky, dare I say wonky, characters, the cozy little mystery was filled with suspense and mystery.  The ending was certainly a surprise to this reader!

The MC, Alfhild Daemonne, was brilliant and the narrator, Kim Bretton, lent a fantastic voice to her. I do love a smashing British accent!  I look forward to checking out other titles narrated by Kim. 

​About the Author: Jeannie Wycherley
​Genre-hopping introvert and word witch living somewhere between the forest and the sea in East Devon, UK.
Jeannie finds inspiration everywhere: in myths, stories and songs, while people watching, a word here, a look there. However, her main inspiration comes from the landscape. Devon has it all - a rocky coastline, pebble and sandy beaches, narrow winding lanes and picture perfect cottages, steep cliffs and an abundance of forest.
A good day for Jeannie means a blustery wind, racing waves and salty rain. She lives with her husband and two dogs, makes a lot of soup, plays too many computer games and loves watching movies.
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About the Narrator: Kim Bretton
​An accomplished and award winning actress with West End and Broadway theatre credits Kim has been doing voice over work for 15 years. She has voiced cartoon characters for the BBC and been a regular vocal impersonator on a popular London radio show. Kim has narrated and produced 15 audiobooks since she joined ACX this year! Her voice over clients include Carnival Cruises, Gucci, Sennheiser, American Express, HRH UK Prisons systems, Doubletree Hotels, Victorian Trading Company and so many more. Quick, reliable and always professional.Kim has a reassuring, kind and expressive style.
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Wow.  Doubleback weaves the drug cartel, illegal immigrants, money laundering, kidnapping, and plot twists into a captive page turner.  

Georgia Davis goes above and beyond to solve a child's kidnapping case but as she delves deeper into the case she just finds more secrets and more people involved. And we get to see the bad ass side of Miss Davis.  This installment is my favorite in the series thus far.  

The narrator was fantastic.  She had quite the cast to pull off too.  I hope she continues to narrate the future books. 

When pretty, smart Sara Long is found bludgeoned to death, it's easy to blame the man with the bat. But Georgia Davis - former cop and newly-minted PI - is hired to look into the incident at the behest of the accused's sister, and what she finds hints at a much different, much darker answer. It seems the privileged, preppy schoolgirls on Chicago's North Shore have learned just how much their innocence is worth to hot-under-the-collar businessmen. But while these girls can pay for Prada price tags, they don't realize that their new business venture may end up costing them more than they can afford.
Buy Links for Audiobook #1
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​Hellmann delves into the shady side of suburbia in Easy Innocence.  This murder mystery weaves multiple complex plots in one large explosive ending.  The characters are well defined and portrayed nicely by narrator, Beth Richmond. 

Narrator Beth Richmond has recorded more than 100 audiobooks in the last decade from her studio on the Mendocino coast. Among her favorites are those from Georgia Davis series. “It is a privilege and pleasure to return repeatedly to such a vividly drawn character and world. Ms. Hellman’s books live inside me now, as if they were memories from my own life. What fun!”She can be reached at brich@mcn.org

Libby Fischer Hellmann left a career in broadcast news in Washington, DC and moved to Chicago over 35 years ago, where she, naturally, began to write gritty crime fiction. Fifteen novels and twenty-five short stories later, she claims they’ll take her out of the Windy City feet first.
She has been nominated for many awards in the mystery and crime writing community and has even won a few. She has been a finalist twice for the Anthony and four times for Foreword Magazine’s Book of the Year. She has also been nominated for the Agatha, the Shamus, the Daphne, and has won the IPPY and the Readers Choice Award multiple times.
Her novels include the now five-volume Ellie Foreman series, which she describes as a cross between “Desperate Housewives” and “24;” the hard-boiled 5-volume Georgia Davis PI series, and four stand-alone historical thrillers set during Revolutionary Iran, Cuba, the Sixties, and WW2. Her short stories have been published in a dozen anthologies, the Saturday Evening Post, and Ed Gorman’s “25 Criminally Good Short Stories” collection. Her books have been translated into Spanish, German, Italian, and Chinese. All her books are available in print, ebook, and audiobook.
Libby also hosts Second Sunday Crime, a monthly podcast where she interviews bestselling and emerging crime authors. In 2006 she was the National President of Sisters in Crime, a 3500 member organization committed to the advancement of female crime fiction authors.
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Mrs, Hellmann, tell us about the process of turning your book into an audiobook.

I have a background in film and TV, so I am the “executive” producer and director of my audiobooks. Here is my process:

• Choose a narrator. At this point in my audiobook career, I have several narrators whose voices  I love and, more importantly, love to work with. They are professionals in the business and deliver an almost finished product. I use them consistently in my two series. I have another narrator whom I use for my historical thrillers. Most are women, but I have found two wonderful and versatile male narrators. (ie different accents and inflections). They include Eva Kaminsky, Nan McNamara, Beth Richmond, Diane Pirone Gelman, Derek Shetterly, and Karyn O’Bryant.

 

• However, if I was looking for a narrator, I’d use ACX. (That’s how I found all the above.) Most of all, a narrator has to be an actor. They need to throw themselves into several different roles or personas during the course of a novel, so I listen to  several of their samples, to make sure they are versatile. They also need to have a solid resume, so I know they have a track record performing different genres and types of books. Finally, their fee per finished hour needs to be within or close to my budget. (It’s not cheap). Finally, they have to be familiar with sound quality (most have their own studios) so they can deliver a quality product that meets the specs of audio distributors.

 

• If I’m using ACX, narrators  will record a 1-2 page audition for me, which helps a lot. If not, I ask them for one. I usually choose a passage that has dialogue, so I have a sense of how they’ll differentiate the characters.

 

• If I like the sample, we start talking. They need to be willing to check with me about words or expressions (I use Yiddish from time to time) they may not know how to pronounce. We also talk about tone, mood, and how I see the main characters. Most narrators appreciate this type of discussion, and I would never hire someone who does not.  

 

• If they seem amenable to everything, I make them an offer. Usually, I already know their price per finished hour, so I know what my cost will be. Occasionally, we might negotiate, based on the volume of work I’m giving them or the length of the audiobook.

 

• Once they record chapters, they send them to me either by dropbox, Audacity (free audio software which I use a lot) or sometimes ACX. It’s up to them whether they want to record the entire story or send chapters in batches – I prefer the latter. If there are problems, or there are mis-pronounciations, we can fix them more easily if they send me, say 5 chapters at a time. Sometimes their inflection is off, and they’ll need to re-record a paragraph or so. But I ALWAYS listen to EVERY CHAPTER carefully before I approve it.

 

• Once I’ve listened to everything and approved it, they send it to their sound engineer for “polishing” (Equalizing audio volume, clarity, and more). If they don’t work with an engineer, I can find one, but I’d prefer to have them use their own. That’s it. Then upload the audio to Findaway Voices or Audible, and wait for their approval. Because I work with professionals, there is rarely a problem. But when there is, I let the narrator know, and he/she fixes it.

What tips do you have for authors going through the process of turning their books into audiobooks?
​
The biggest tip I can offer is that unless you are an experienced actor or narrator, do NOT narrate your own book (In order to save money or out of ego.)  I do have a lot of film and TV experience, so I offered to narrate one of my short stories for an audiobook collection. I only got through the first paragraph before I knew I wasn’t going to be any good at it.

Author Carmen Fox's Moon Promise embodies mystery, suspense, and romance in this story of self discovery.  ~ Lynn

​Author: Carmen Fox
Narrator: Phoenix McKay
Length: 9 hours 4 minutes
Publisher: Smart Heart Publishing⎮2019
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Series: The Wild Pack, Book 1
Release date: Feb. 4, 2019

All her life, Kensi has dreamed of being an alpha werewolf. The trouble is, she can’t shift - and no one must know. Her plan B? Offering her talents as a private eye to the Wild Pack. If she can locate their missing werewolf, they're bound to support her claim to lead.

Stubborn and searing-hot Drake is assigned to be her guide. His constant push for dominance threatens the investigation from the start, yet far more dangerous are his mercury eyes. They watch her all the time, breaking down her defenses bit by bit. Unless she finds a way to control her growing feelings, he could uncover her secret before she even gets close to solving her case.

But when the missing girl turns up dead, Drake’s story unravels....
​
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See my complete review HERE.

About the Author: Carmen Fox
​USA Today Bestselling Author Carmen Fox lives in the south of England with her beloved tea maker and a stuffed sheep called Fergus. She writes about smart women with sassitude and guys with an edge, and will chase that plot twist, no matter how elusive.
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​About the Narrator: Phoenix McKay
​Phoenix McKay is a longtime actress in the US. When she isn’t on the stage (or narrating), she enjoys reading Sci/Fi and Fantasy novels, shopping for colorful sneakers, and debating the meaning of life with her 10 year old daughter.

​Author: Peter J. Thompson
Narrator: Gary Tiedemann
Length: 8 hours 51 minutes
Publisher: Peter J. Thompson⎮2019
Genre: Suspense
Release date: Jan. 30, 2019

​

A corrupt corporation. Ruthless assassins. Will the family that runs together... die together?
Fifteen-year-old Zach Monaghan has a target on his back. In the witness protection program for his father's whistleblowing, he's now run away, back to his old home in Chicago.Zach wants to get back to his friends and to Lindsey, the girl he'd met right before being whisked off in the middle of the night. But escaping his fake identity won't last long if two contract killers catch up to him...
Big Joe Gorski has climbed the ladder from street thug to tycoon. Now he's got it all--riches--status--police, and politicians in his pocket. But life at the top is suddenly unsteady and one slip can bring it all down. With a scheming partner, politicians who won't stay bought and Feds breathing down his neck,Gorski has to move carefully. But being careful goes against his nature. He's a raging bull and he'll do whatever it takes to keep what he has ... let the bodies fall where they will.
As the ruthless killer draws closer to Zach, surviving the greedy corporate plot may force the whole family to get their hands bloody...
The Runaway is a fast-paced thriller with dizzying twists and turns. If you like non-stop action, high-stakes tension, and large casts of compelling characters, then you'll love Peter Thompson's gripping novel.
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​Audiobook Review
Story 5 Stars
Performance 5 Stars
Overall 5 Stars 


Thompson delivers a heart-pounding thrill ride in The Runaway. All the characters are well thought out with complex stories if their own. It is an edge of your seat, thrilling, suspense, novel. I look forward to checking out other works by this author.

The narrator, Gary Tiedemann, really made this story come to life. He individualized each character and made them seem authentic. The heightened suspense kept me on edge. 

​About the Author: Peter J. Thompson
Peter Thompson grew up on the east side of Chicago, in the shadow of the steel mills where the air was sooty and smelled of sulfur. His life wasn’t always so gritty, but the grit and realism finds its way into his thrillers. He has always loved stories of every kind, and one of his joys is finding a way to get inside character’s heads, seeing the world as they see it and feeling their triumphs, pain, and fear. He visualizes his characters when he writes, and they are larger than life in the big screen of his imagination.

Before pursuing his passion and becoming a full-time author, he tried his hand at everything from factory work, breaking cement in a construction crew, running his own pizza shop, and he was a well-regarded presence in the mortgage industry for nearly thirty years. When he isn’t writing, Peter loves, spicy food, live music, and exciting and thought-provoking books and movies. He is a fitness buff who loves to spend time with his grown sons and is looking forward to traveling the world and seeking adventures with his lovely partner.

To get in touch, find out more about future projects, please stop by www.authorpeterthompson.com. Sign up for his reading list to find out about new releases and receive free perks.
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About the Narrator: Gary Tiedemann
Gary Tiedemann is a full-time voice-actor and narrator of audiobooks, with over 60 unabridged titles narrated and counting. He has voiced countless commercials and multimedia productions in addition to spending over 10 years on stage performing improv, sketch comedy and original works of theatre. Gary is a graduate of Tulane University in New Orleans. He currently splits his time between Florida and Chicago. See more at www.garytiedemann.com
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1. Tell us about the process of turning your book into an audiobook.
   

I’ve always loved audio books, going back to when they were on cassette tape. Listening to an audio book creates a movie in your head, and I wanted this experience for my novels. I worked with ACX to create the Audiobook and it was a great educational experience. My plan was to release three stand-alone thrillers, one after the other. The first novel was Living Proof, and I put that up for audition, asking for samples with parts of three different scenes. The idea was to see how the narrator handled different situations. One part was the beginning, because it has to sound great to hook the listener. The second was an action scene, and the third was a conversation with the lead and co-lead, so I could hear how the narrator handled the back and forth and the gender switch. It was more involved than a lot of auditions, so I was amazed at the response. I only had it up for a few days and I turned it off at about 70 auditions. I listened to the full  audition from each, and there were a lot of talented narrators. Some would nail one section, though, and sound weaker in another. I narrowed it down to three that I liked a lot, and asked for one more sample from each. Gary Tiedemann stood out from the others, and he was enthusiastic about the project. He has finished the narration on all three projects now, and I love the way he tells the story, and makes the characters come alive. He is in the top tier of narrators and I know I was lucky to find him.

1. Do you believe certain types of writing translate better into audiobook format?
   

I do. Any story that really stimulates the senses is a great candidate for audio. By that, I don’t mean flowery language, but stories that are visual make great audio. When you are listening to a story, you start playing it out in your head. It becomes a movie in your mind. With a good narrator and a good story the words fall back and the images take over. Good conversations crackle. A good narrator makes the characters real.

1. Was a possible audiobook recording something you were conscious of while writing?
   

Not specifically, but I loved listening to audio and I was aware of the potential. I have always been part of a writer’s group and part of that process is reading your work out loud. You get a different feel for your own writing when you speak it. There’s been times when I’ve read over a passage and thought it read fine, but it sounded clunky when read out loud. So I think it’s important to pay attention to how the story sounds as well as reads. It’s exciting to hear my story in finished audio, and I hear it with a greater appreciation, and it sounds fresh to me.   

1. How did you select your narrator?
   

Gary Tiedemann is my narrator, and he is a true professional. I found him through ACX. I’d put up an audition and received over 70 applications in the firs few days. I asked each narrator to give a sample to see how the narrator handled different situations. I had them read part of the beginning, part of an action scene, a fight, and then a conversation between the male and female leads. Some people sounded great in parts, but didn’t fit in as well with others. Gary was one of the ones that stood out in every type of narration, and someone I knew I would enjoy listening to through the full journey until the end of the book. I narrowed it down to 3 narrators and had them read a bit more. Again, Gary stood out. We’ve worked together on three projects now, and I think we’ll be working together for a long time to come. He has a big fan base now, and I know he is going to be a big name in the audio field as time goes on. I am thankful to have found him.   

​

Today's spotlight is on Alan Felyk.  Scroll down to check out the interview with Mr. Alan and enter the giveaway. ~ Lynn

​
Author: Alan Felyk
Narrator: Noah Michael Levine
Length: 8 hours 45 minutes
Publisher: Alan Felyk⎮2018
Genre: Science Fiction, Humor
Series: Infinity's Trinity, Book One
Release date: Oct. 12, 2018

​Extending the literary traditions of Kurt Vonnegut and Douglas Adams....

Paul Tomenko is no stranger to the improbable. He became a magazine sweepstakes winner and celebrated counterculture writer by age 19. Now, after reaching for a can of Chef Boy-ar-dee spaghetti and meatballs, he's traveling to and from God's library somewhere outside the Universe to prevent the end of eternity.

Because of a DNA flaw, humanity no longer can ascend through the Planes of Existence after they die. They can't access memories from countless past lives in previous versions of the Universe or acquire new recollections. That means no one will have the needed expertise to replace God when He dies. And, to complicate matters, Paul must enlist the help of his two lovers - Maggie Mae Monahan and Allie Briarsworth - because of their unique abilities. But the trio discovers the preservation of forevermore can turn someone's soul inside out. Literally.

The novel chronicles the life of an ordinary man under extraordinary circumstances. Paul is unwilling to accept a broken Afterlife that provides nothing more than eternal self-awareness. He is also reluctant to choose between Maggie Mae, a brilliant geneticist who has the uncanny ability to "connect the dots", and Allie, a novelist who inexplicably senses past and future events in the cosmos. The unexpected is to be expected from an unusual cast of supporting characters: Cher the Gatekeeper and Katharine Ross the Librarian, figments patterned after two celebrities for whom Paul has lusted; Gronk and Grita, two "resurrected" six-year-old neo-Neanderthals who are the most intelligent humans on Earth; Tsutomu Yamaguchi, an innovative bioengineer named after a Japanese man who survived nuclear bomb blasts in Hiroshima and Nagasaki; and Dr. Peter Lexington Townshend, the head of a genetics laboratory that already has prevented the Russians from stripping politicians in Washington, D.C., of all their memories.

Be prepared for a book that examines our metaphysical questions with a mixture of mind-bending possibilities, laughter, and tears.
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​About the Author: Alan Felyk

The son of Ukrainian immigrants, Alan Felyk is a science fiction and humor author who has been involved in writing all his life. A University of Colorado graduate in news-editorial journalism, he has worked as a newspaper reporter/editor and a technical publications manager in the space industry.

After retiring, he pursued his life-long dream of writing a book. In 2012, he published Damaged Right Out Of The Box, a sometimes hilarious, sometimes wistful memoir. Then, while trying to determine what he should write next, he started reading Kurt Vonnegut’s The Sirens of Titan. The comedic science fiction novel sparked inspiration, and Alan dusted off a short story about God that he had written in college. But the story started to expand in scope, and it became Damaged Beyond All Recognition, the first book in the Infinity’s Trinity series. Now, he’s working on the second book in the series—Damaged And No Longer Under Warranty.

In addition to Vonnegut, Alan is a disciple of Rod Serling, Gene Roddenberry, and Philip K. Dick. He calls himself a “what-if” writer who loves to keep expanding the storyline until the last page. And, just as importantly, he wants to blend a fair share of laughter through his words.

Alan is a sports fan, and he enjoys the mountains near his home in Lakewood, Colorado. He also loves music and has more than 27,000 songs on his iPod.
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​About the Narrator: Noah Michael Levine
Noah Michael Levine is an Audie Award-Winning audiobook narrator and producer living in beautiful Nyack, NY. His over 180 titles include almost every genre. While he loves his work completely – and collaborating with all kinds of different authors, he does not love writing about himself in the third person.
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AUTHOR INTERVIEW—ALAN FELYK
1.    Were there any real-life inspirations behind your writing?

My two main influences were television shows--The Twilight Zone and Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In. It was almost a decade between their premieres. So, between the ages of nine and seventeen, I wanted to write science fiction stories with twist endings. And, after that, I was drawn to writing humor. In 2016, I started reading Kurt Vonnegut’s The Sirens of Titan, and then it dawned on me—why not combine both genres as he did? And that was the spark for Damaged Beyond All Recognition.

2.    Have any of your characters ever appeared in your dreams?

Yes, and the dream changed my novel in ways I couldn’t imagine. The book started as a love story between two main characters, Paul Tomenko and Maggie Mae Monahan. At the point where the two are forced to separate, I developed a bridge character who would test Paul’s loyalty to and love for Maggie Mae. I named her Allie Briarsworth, and I figured she would be would only appear in about three chapters.
But I had a dream soon after I started writing about Allie. In it, she stomped up to me while I was typing, and she peppered me with a bunch of profanities. She insisted on a more significant role in the book. I thought about what Allie said to me in the dream, and soon the novel became the story of a very unusual love triangle.

3.    How do you manage to avoid burn-out? What do you do to maintain your enthusiasm for writing?

I wrote a comprehensive outline of my novel before I started it. After I finished it, the book seemed as interesting as a college term paper. I then ran across a quote by famed author E.L. Doctorow that said, “Writing is like driving at night in the fog. You can only see as far as your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way.” So, I rewrote the novel’s ending, changed its beginning, and wondered what the journey between those two points would be. For me, writing each new chapter was like watching the next episode of Breaking Bad—I couldn’t wait to sit down to find out what was going to happen next. I was excited about writing each new scene. I never had a problem keeping my focus and motivation.

4.    In your opinion, what are the pros and cons of writing a standalone novel vs. writing a series?

Writing a standalone novel challenges the writer to start fresh with a blank computer screen. In the end, the author doesn’t need to compile a detailed list of material that needs to be transferred to the next book, e.g., character backstories, unique settings, plot continuations. However, the author will be back at square one with the next novel.
Writing a series represents a jumpstart to novels that follow the first one. Much of what has been established can be carried forward. For example, the author has written enough dialogue for the existing characters that it will seem easier to continue writing it. I think it helps establish a groove that speeds the development of subsequent books.

5.    Was a possible audiobook recording something you were conscious of while writing?

Not really. I thought publishing the book in Kindle and paperback formats would be sufficient, and I didn’t think an audiobook would be something that I would do. But then I kept reading that audiobooks represented the fastest growing book format. So, I was more receptive to the idea about six months after Damaged Beyond All Recognition was published.

6.    How did you select your narrator?

Actually, my narrator picked me. Noah Michael Levine sent me a direct message on Twitter explaining he was interested in developing my novel into an audiobook. Of course, I looked up his resume on the web, and then I responded that I probably couldn’t afford someone with his credentials. We wound up discussing the project, and I realized this was something that needed to be done.
Noah narrated a sample chapter, and I, in turn, sent it out to ten friends for their opinions. Nine of them said “hire him,” and the tenth said I needed to get someone who sounded like William Shatner. Hahaha.

7.    What do you say to those who view listening to audiobooks as “cheating” or as inferior to “real reading”?

Before my novel became an audiobook, I would have sided with those who viewed it as cheating. But then I listened to Damaged Beyond All Recognition and realized that Noah had provided extra depth to what I had written. Audible sent me Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid's Tale, and I listened to that as well. Suddenly, I was hooked because I realized that the reason I read fiction is for the story. And, with an audiobook, I would have added opportunities to listen to stories while I was doing mindless tasks. I may never “read” another book again.

8.    How did you celebrate after finishing this novel?

I remember finishing it at midnight one summer night and pouring myself a glass of wine to contemplate how I was going to introduce the world to it. I tell people that writing a bestseller is far easier than trying to convince the public that it deserves to be one.

9.    What are some of your favorite things?

As for food, mark me down for Mexican and Italian. In terms of music, I have 27,000 songs on my iPod, but the Moody Blues and their song “Tuesday Afternoon” are tops for me. I love science fiction books, especially those with a pinch of humor. So, anything written by Kurt Vonnegut rates at the top of my list. My favorite movie is Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, and, as mentioned earlier, I loved The Twilight Zone television series. I’m a big football fan—I love the Colorado Buffaloes and the Denver Broncos. In the summer, I’m a Colorado Rockies baseball fan.

10.    What’s next for you?

I’m working on a sequel to Damaged Beyond All Recognition. It’s entitled Damaged And No Longer Under Warranty, and it continues the story of Paul Tomenko, Maggie Mae Monahan, and Allie Briarsworth.

​About the Author: Rachel Amphlett

​Before turning to writing, Rachel Amphlett played guitar in bands, worked as a TV and film extra, dabbled in radio as a presenter and freelance producer for the BBC, and worked in publishing as a sub-editor and editorial assistant.

She now wields a pen instead of a plectrum and writes crime fiction and spy novels, including the Dan Taylor espionage novels and the Detective Kay Hunter series.

Originally from the UK and currently based in Brisbane, Australia, Rachel cites her writing influences as Michael Connelly, Lee Child, and Robert Ludlum. She’s also a huge fan of Peter James, Val McDermid, Robert Crais, Stuart MacBride, and many more.

She’s a member of International Thriller Writers and the Crime Writers Association, with the Italian foreign rights for her debut novel, White Gold sold to Fanucci Editore's TIMECrime imprint, and the first four books in the Dan Taylor espionage series contracted to Germany’s Luzifer Verlag.
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​About the Narrator: Machelle Williams
​As an audiobook narrator with 23 years of experience moving audiences with her voice through corporate facilitation and public speaking, Machelle knows how to connect with the intent of the author to bring their vision to life. Her compelling yet casual voice draws the listener close, transporting them deep into the story and keeping them hanging on every word with full attention and anticipation.

Machelle’s voice is nuanced and delivers reads that range from soft and soothing to dramatic and smoky. She specializes in Mysteries & Thrillers, but her Bespoke repertoire also includes Non-Fiction, Religious, Urban and Noire.

Machelle is based in Northern Virginia with her two Boston Terriers, Daphne and Lilah, and her fully equipped studio from which she provides quick turn-around of professional quality recordings.

When you need a narrator to take your listener to the edge of their seat and their breath away – trust the telling to Machelle.

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I L-O-V-E this series so when I found out there was an audiobook too I had to have it.  I loved visiting with Jen, Danio, and the gang once again.  ~ Lynn 

Jen Maddox is a few days into her summer study-abroad program and has loved every moment on her cruise ship turned college campus. Everyone tells her the experience will change her life, but none of them realize just how right they really are.

One night, Jen goes out on deck and encounters five other students. She knows Charlie from one of her classes, and he’s a funny, friendly, regular guy. Picture-perfect Dani and his gorgeous wife, Mariana, live right down the hall from Jen, and she has seen TS, who’s built like a truck, around the ship, and recognizes the cute but quiet Thomas as well.



Then Jen sees something that isn’t humanly possible. Jen would have thought that it was all a dream if not for the fact that Charlie, Dani, Mariana, TS, and Thomas are making every effort to cover it up. Suddenly, the five of them are everything but normal, and Jen is determined to figure out what they’re hiding.

When she does, her life really does change. Jen expected to spend her summer studying the cultures of Latin America; she never dreamed she’d learn about a magical culture instead.

But Jen’s childhood fantasy come true is about to turn into a nightmare; there’s something on the ship. Something dangerous. Suddenly, everyone on board is threatened by a creature that Jen never even believed existed. Jen and her new friends might be the only people who can stop it!

Now Jen has to learn everything she can about her new world before it kills her. And her friends. And maybe everyone on the entire ship.
​

I first read Semester Aboard in 2014, and I fell in love with the characters. Elizabeth Kirke creates a magical, modern world that I lost myself in. Her characters are well defined and very complex.  Kirke paints a spectacular picture in each port stop.  It was so easy to lose myself within the pages.

I’ve read Semester Aboard a few times since then and I immerse myself in it each time. Listening to Starla Huchton bring it to life for me again was well, magical.  Huchton infuses her passion and intensity into this story.  When Jen and her new friends are confronted by a creature on the boat and a fight ensues, I was right there on the ship deck with them feeling every punch, snarl, and bite. It was fantastic!

As debut novels go, Semester Aboard is a flawless adventure into a mysterious, magical world.  I highly recommend the series and the audiobook.