The Narrator and Audiobooks – Our Interview with Narrator Joel Leslie (Audiobooks Part II/Giveaway) & This Week at Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words

The Narrator and Audiobooks – Our Interview with Narrator Joel Leslie (Audiobooks Part II)

Last Sunday, I started our conversation about the fast-rising audiobook industry with my blog Are You Listening Now? The Popularity of Audiobooks. This Sunday, that conversation continues with The Narrator and Audiobooks – Our Interview with Narrator Joel Leslie (Audiobooks Part II).

As I have said before, and as reviewers/listeners we have noted many times in our reviews, a good or great narrator makes or breaks an audiobook. It doesn’t matter that you have read it before. Listening to a book makes it fresh once more. It gives a reader a new and different perspective. Often times I hear things I missed in the story, or catch things from a narrator’s inflection that highlights a previously hidden element. I love that about this format.

Also the opposite is true. A narrator you don’t connect with, or one with a flat delivery, or monotone voice…well, that can sink a terrific story faster than a lead anchor. So what’s the key? How to get some insight into those people behind the voices we love to listen to?

Well I was so lucky to hook up with the very talented Joel Leslie who agreed to answer some questions for me. A favorite narrator for both Barb, our Zany Old Lady and Ali, I was delighted to have this chance to talk audiobooks, voices and favorite genres. Here is my interview with Theatrical Director, Designer, and Audiobook Narrator Joel Froomkin , known to most of the LGBTQIA listeners of audiobooks as Narrator Joel Leslie. For you authors out there thinking of putting your story out on audio? Hmmm, I think you might find this as enlightening as our readers.

book-covers

Welcome, Joel, to Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words. We love our audiobooks here, including several you have narrated including Dinner at Fiorello’s by Rick R. Reed and Ali’s Audiobook Review of Desert Heat and Native Tongue by Lucy Felthouse. I have so many questions for you but these were the first ones that came to mind.

My Interview with Joel Leslie

How did you get started with narrating audiobooks?

Long answer… lol…

It was a long and winding road actually – but I’m so grateful to have landed here. My undergrad was in performance at USC and then I did my MFA there in design and directing. My entire professional career up until the past few years has been concentrated on directing… I did a lot of assisting as well, working on shows with Dame Maggie Smith and lots of other amazing folks. About ten years ago my partner and I started a theatre company in Indiana. It was a labor of love, but despite our efforts the community wasn’t able to financially support the scale of professional productions we aimed to do. I have also been a college professor, teaching dialects at NYU and I was the Director of Drama at a university here in Indiana for a while.

While we were doing shows, in between productions I would sometimes present one-man radio dramas… I would abridge classics like Christmas Carol, Treasure Island, Jekyll and Hyde and do them for a few nights. The audiences loved them. As we were looking to be able to move the theatre company to another area, one of my long time friends who is a fantastic female narrator suggested I give it a try. So I began auditioning and the first contract I landed has actually been most successful series (the SkylerGo Foxe Mysteries by Haley Walsh).

It is a perfect blend of skills really – because 99% of the time with audiobooks you are directing yourself… so my performer background is obviously helpful, but also being able to listen to yourself with a critical ear and shape the performance I think is a terribly useful tool. And now it’s a full time job. I’m booked through February at the moment! Eep.

Do you listen to audiobooks yourself and was that an element in your career or just a plus?

I came to audiobooks largely because I was a huge fan of them. I have always loved the theatricality of an actor playing multiple roles in front of an audience… the ability to be a chameleon. And I fell in love with audiobooks because of that. My favorites were Jim Dale, Davina Porter and Roy Dotrice… they don’t just read a story – they perform it for you. I listen to an audiobook every night… I think that one of the trickiest things is actually working of authors who AREN’T listeners to audiobooks, because they don’t really have a familiarity with the art form and what the audience wants.

What is the hardest part of narrating a story?

Gosh – great question. I narrate under two names… Joel Froomkin for most of my material and Joel Leslie for my m/m material (simply so that I have a consistent brand for my m/m listeners). But Joel Froomkin does a lot of historical and fantasy stuff – and I hate doing battle scenes. It’s difficulty to not try to over act them, or speed up to make it seem exciting… and those are traps. I just think they are hard. Maybe cuz I’m not into sports lol! Other than that, I have a tough time when there are a lot of alpha american men in conversation with each other in a scene. Flamboyant characters can have quirks and personality that make them easily identifiable… and when you are doing a British book it’s so much easier because class and level of education is so distinctive with their speech and also dialects change in England every 21 miles… so you have great variety for how you make characters sound to pull them out for the listener. But if I have a bunch of super-butch American alpha males in a room having a conversation in a book I usually have a panic attack.

It’s also very challenging to do a series where the author gives you multiple POV chapters. Usually you would make your main character your own voice… because it’s going to be the most authentic and resonate as the most truthful with the reader… but when you have a bunch of characters speaking in first person… you can’t do that. And it can be a real challenge. I’ve had two like that recently (“Absolution (The Protectors #1)” by Sloane Kennedy (which is the first in an amazing series) and “Guns Blazing” by Eva Lenoir and Andrea Smith) that I sweated bullets over.

And the easiest?

People are so shocked to hear this…but the sex scenes. Because usually there isn’t that much dialogue and it’s all descriptive. So you can just settle back and read… it’s kind of like putting your car on cruise control. And after doing this for almost two years now, there really isn’t much I can read that will make me blush!

I can remember listening to books being read to me as a child. How they were read had a huge impact on me. Using different voices, no matter how silly it might have seen to the adult (bears, rabbits…you know…childrens books). The same carries over here. In some stories, you play many characters where there are different pov. Or do you only narrate stories with a singular pov?

It depends on the narrator… but I am very much a narrator who creates characters. It’s funny that you mention animals, because when I first get a book I send the author a bunch of questions and one of them is “if your character was an animal what would they be”… Finding the voice for someone is much easier if you know the author thinks they are a ferret vs. a hamster or a Persian cat. But I think the m/m listeners that really respond to my work usually do so because they enjoy how much individuality I try to give my characters. Also, because I grew up in the UK with American parents, I’m kind of a dialect ambidextrous lol. I jump between authentic British and American accents and I do as much British work for British authors as I do for American authors. Listeners who have tried multiple books of mine are often confused about what my real voice sounds like.

I would imagine, being a narrator lets you go into any genre you want…am I correct in that? Or do you have a particular favorite

Well I love that I get to do so much m/m work. I find it really important and empowering to be able to put those kind of stories out into the world. I know the main audience is female for m/m romance, but I also think about the young adults who are struggling to feel ok with themselves and they might discover one of these stories by the brilliant authors I get to work for and find some hope. And the thing about audio is it’s so private… you really are one-on-one with the listener. So it means a lot to be able to give voice to m/m romance. I also love doing fantasy stuff because it means you can use every dialect in the universe and play with crazy voices. You don’t get to do everything you want – I think you can get pigeonholed as a narrator. But I’m luckily not in that place yet, and my audiobook career has a lot of room to grow.

What’s your favorite types of stories to read or listen to?

I am such a sucker for cozy mysteries. I don’t know why. I LOVE MC Beaton and the Hamish Macbeth and Agatha Raisin books. I think that’s why I love doing Haley Walsh’s Skyler Foxe so much…because it really is a gay spin on that type of mystery. I think TJ Klune is one of the most amazing authors out there in any genre. I don’t think I could ever get tired of listening to Jim Dale doing Harry Potter or Roy Dotrice doing Game of Thrones… they are just extraordinary examples of old-school storytelling. I’m also so lucky to have an ongoing relationship with authors like N.R Walker, Kim Fielding, Andrea Smith, Kiernan Kelly, TM Smith and Grace R Duncan – they always seem to have something wonderful for me to play with.

What current projects are you working on that you want to share with our readers?

Absolution, the first in the protectors series by Sloane Kennedy just came out, as did Fame and Fortune by TM Smith. Upcoming things I’m really excited about are the sequel to Black Balled called Hard Edit by Andrea Smith and Eva Lenoir, the second book in the Red Dirt Heart series by NR Walker and The Naked Prince and Other Fairy Tales by Joe Cosentino.

If you were an bard of old….how would you start your story of your life and what would it be called?

“Once upon a time there was a kid who could never keep his big mouth shut… It took two decades for him to realize there was a career for that.”

Thank you, Joel, that was a wonderful interview. I’m sure there are many more questions rumbling about inside my head. I hope you will stop back by Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words for another conversation about narration and audiobooks and any future projects you want to share with us.

To listen to Joel, here are three different excerpts:

Desert Foxe by Haley Walsh: https://soundcloud.com/jojofro-1/desert-foxe-by-haley-walsh
Treasure by Kim Fielding: https://soundcloud.com/jojofro-1/treasure-by-kim-fielding
Absolution by Sloane Kennedy: https://soundcloud.com/jojofro-1/absolution-by-sloane-kennedy

~

If you want to reach out to Joel, we have listed his contacts below. We also have a giveaway today for our readers brought to you by Joel who is giving away 10 copies, yes 10 winners… the winners could choose the first book in any of my series they wanted to try (Skyler Foxe, The Protectors, Jimmy McSwain Mysteries, All Cocks, or Black Balled)!

About Joel Froomkin

Joel is a UK transplant, growing up with an American parents in a British commonwealth. He is often cast for his unique ability to deliver native, authentic combinations of both American and British sounds. His wit and comedic timing also appeal to producers. He has developed a strong body of work for young audience, historical, fantasy, new-adult, romance and m/m fiction.

His author’s have praised him as “a narrator among narrators, a man whose ability to create different characters rests on the power of his voice and his impeccable delivery”, and a “true delight…” “legendary, and his professionalism, good humor, and charm make him a dream to work with”, “Anyone else would only be second best”.

Joel records under two names, for mainstream and children’s fiction as Joel Froomkin, and for m/m and adult material under Joel Leslie and has consistent access to home studio for all production needs.

You can contact Joel Froomkin at:

www.joelfroomkin.com/audiobook-narration is my website…
Even better is my Facebook page “Joel Leslie Narration”
Or they can follow me on twitter at joellesliefro @joelfroomkin

Giveaway

We are giving away 10 copies (1 copy a winner so 10 winners overall) , all thanks to Joel Froomkin! The 10 people chosen will get to chose from the first book in any of Joel’s series they wanted to try (Skyler Foxe, The Protectors, Jimmy McSwain Mysteries, All Cocks, or Black Balled).

To be entered, tell us who’s your favorite narrator or narrators are. Tell us what you like best about a narrator and maybe name some of your favorite audiobooks. New to audiobooks? OK, name the ones you’d love to be able to listen to if you had a way to listen to audiobooks. And after you do that, make sure you leave a contact name and email address where you can be reached if chosen. Contest is open until midnight, September 30th. Must be 18 years of age or older to enter.

(Special Note: If you are a Amazon Prime user, Audible is now free with your account.)

audiobook-concept-headphones-books-white-background-39281337

This Week At Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words

Sunday, September 18:

The Narrator and Audiobooks – Our Interview with Narrator Joel Froomkin (also known as Joel Leslie)(Audiobooks Part II)
This Week at Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words
A Paul B Audiobook Review: The Autumn Lands by J Scott Coatsworth

Monday, September 19:

Riptide Tour and Giveaway ~ Bitterwood by Rowan Speedwell
A Barb the Zany Old Lady Review: Dad’s Nerdy New Boyfriend by JM Snyder
An Alisa Release Day Review: Power Bottom by Rowan McAllister
A Lila Release Day Review: Safe House (Buchanan House #4) by Charley Descoteaux
A Paul Review: Orion’s Circle (Sirius Wolves # 1) byVictoria Sue

Tuesday, September 20:

Release Blitz & Tour – Sweet Summer Sweat by Clare London
An Alisa Review: Broke by Amanda Young
A MelanieM Release Day Review: The Pill Bugs of Time (Offbeat Crimes #2) by Angel Martinez
An Ali Review: Looking for Group by Alexis Hall
A Stella Review: Three More Wishes by Sean Michael

Wednesday, September 21:

Its Release Day for Flight: Queer Sci Fi’s Third Annual Flash Fiction Contest Anthology (QSF Flash Fiction #2) by J. Scott Coatsworth , Angel Martinez , et al.
Series Recap Tour – Guns n’ Boys by KA Merikan
A Stella Review: Resistance (Village Love #1) by Lillian Francis
A MelanieM Release Day Review: Taming the Wyld by Lucie Archer
A Ali Review: David, Renewed by Diana Copland

Thursday, September 22:

Riptide Tour and Giveaway: Gambling on Love by Jane Davitt
A Stella Review: Gambling on Love by by Jane Davitt
A Barb the Zany Old Lady Release Day Review: Run for it All by Carolyn Levine Topol
An Alisa Audiobook Review: The Queen & the Homo Jock King (At First Sight #2) by T.J. Klune and Michael Lesley (Narrator)

Friday, September 23:

Keep Me In Mind tour: Deanna Wadsworth ‘Too Good To Be True‘ (Excerpt and Giveaway)
In the Spotlight: Immortal Watch by Olivia Helling (blitz, excerpt and giveaway)
An Alisa Audiobook Review: Breakaway (Scoring Chances #1) by Avon Gale and Scott R. Smith (Narrator)
An Ali Releases Day Review: Raven’s Rest by Stephen Osborne
An Alisa Audiobook Review: Model Citizen (Haven Investigations #1) by Lissa Kasey and Mike Pohlable (Narrator)

Saturday, September 24:

A MelanieM Review: Wriggle & Sparkle by Megan Derr

A Caryn Release Day Review: Waiting for Patrick by Brynn Stein

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Elliot is a rolling stone. He’s spent his entire life moving from place to place, never stays anywhere more than a few months, doesn’t believe in relationships, has no family, and very few friends. He’s a loner, and as the story progresses, you see why — Elliot can be a self-centered asshole. He lives for his work, enjoys casual hookups, and overall is perfectly satisfied with his life. He’s built a business of flipping houses into a thriving architectural design corporation and is now able to spend time doing the type of renovations he enjoys as well as those that are profitable.

All of this changed when he acquired a civil war era plantation home in South Carolina. From the beginning, Elliot was drawn to this property in a way he’d never experienced before, and felt a sense of peace there that was also alien to him. He decided to live in the house and do some of the work himself as the renovation proceeded, rather than contracting everything out like he usually did. And he surprised himself by sticking around long enough to become attached to the house as well as a few local people that became friends. Over the following weeks, he found out that not only was the house haunted, but the ghost, Ben, was able to communicate with Elliot in increasingly more specific ways, until Elliot knew not only Ben’s history of enlisting in the Union army with his lover Patrick, but also of Ben’s death in the house, and of his promise to wait for Patrick to return for him. Ben and Patrick were true soul mates, so that was more of an eternal vow than a simple promise, and Ben is faithful to it. Elliot’s friends were amused that he was becoming close to a ghost — certainly closer than he’d ever gotten to a living person — but they were surprisingly supportive of him. After all, how do you carry on a romance with a ghost? Especially a romance doomed to end because Ben insists that Patrick will come back?

The rest of the book was not exactly predictable (at least not from the beginning), but before each new event or revelation occurred, there was so much foreshadowing that I knew exactly what was coming and wanted the author to hurry it up. Elliot’s not dumb, so his inability to get a clue about so many things was not only irritating, but didn’t really match his personality. That disconnect kept taking me out of the story. The pace of the book is slow, because of all the build up. There were occasional meanderings into side plots that went nowhere and seemed pointless. The secondary characters were not as well fleshed out as I feel they should have been given the length of the book, as a lot of the conversations and interactions were repetitive. Elliot was the only character who grew and changed. The others were pretty static, which made them increasingly irrelevant. I think that may have been intentional, a way for the author to emphasize the growing connection between Elliot and Ben and Elliot’s gradual withdrawal from the real world, but if so, it was not entirely successful. And finally, the paranormal aspects — communicating with a ghost, retrieving memories, finding a lost soul mate, and even the entire concept of a soul mate — were over-explained. I think an author should let magical realism happen, or not, but trying to explain the magic by mundane physical rules just ruins it.

Cover art by Bree Archer is wonderful and speaks to the story.

Sales Links

Book Details:

ebook, 280 pages
Expected publication: September 16th 2016 by Dreamspinner Press
ISBN 1634773985 (ISBN13: 9781634773980)
Edition LanguageEnglish

An Alisa Audiobook Review: Sweetwater by Lisa Henry and Dorian Bane (Narrator)

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

sweetwater_audiobook Wyoming Territory, 1870.

Elijah Carter is afflicted. Most of the townsfolk of South Pass City treat him as a simpleton because he’s deaf, but that’s not his only problem. Something in Elijah runs contrary to nature and to God. Something that Elijah desperately tries to keep hidden.

Harlan Crane, owner of the Empire saloon, knows Elijah for what he is—and for all the ungodly things he wants. But Crane isn’t the only one. Grady Mullins desires Elijah too, but unlike Crane, he refuses to push the kid.

When violence shatters Elijah’s world, he is caught between two very different men and two devastating urges: revenge, and despair. In a boomtown teetering on the edge of a bust, Elijah must face what it means to be a man in control of his own destiny, and choose a course that might end his life . . . or truly begin it for the very first time.

I haven’t read many books set in this time period so I was eager to give this a try. I felt the setting was done really well and I could totally picture this western town as if I was there. There were a host of characters all of which were felt realistic and added to the overall world building. The majority of the story was told by Elijah who was a really different type of character but I struggled with him a bit. He had a hard life and was very much a victim. It was totally realistic and believable but as a result I don’t think I ever really warmed to him. He annoyed me each time he did not stand up for himself. I felt sorry for him but it was hard for me to find him a believable romance partner. I didn’t see what Grady saw in him. Even though parts of the story were told through Grady’s point of view I still didn’t feel the connection. Elijah felt more like a child who needed a caregiver not a man who needed a romance partner. So, I liked it as a fiction story but not so much as a romance. The writing was really well done and this author is generally one of my favorites. This was just not the book for me.

The book was narrated by Dorian Bane who I had never listened to before. I thought he did an excellent job on all of the characters. This was a big cast and I thought he did each of them equally well. This is an audio that I would definitely recommend.

Cover by L.C. Chase: I love the cover. I think it fits the story perfectly.

Sales Links

Riptide Publishing

Audiobook Details:

Audible Audio, 8 pages, Listening Length: 7 hours and 39 minutes

Published August 5th 2016 by Riptide Publishing (first published September 29th 2014)

ASIN B01JO64IAS

Edition Language English

A Barb the Zany Old Lady Release Day Review: Tied Up in Knots (Marshals #3) by Mary Calmes

Rating: 5 stars out of 5

Miro Jones is living the life: he’s got his exciting, fulfilling job as a US deputy marshal, his gorgeous Greystone in suburban Chicago, his beloved adopted family, and most importantly, the man who captured his heart, Ian Doyle. Problem is, Ian isn’t just his partner at work—Ian’s a soldier through and through. That commitment takes him away from Miro, unexpectedly and often, and it’s casting a shadow over what could be everything Miro could ever dream of.

Work isn’t the same without Ian. Home isn’t the same, either, and Miro’s having to face his fears alone… how to keep it together at the office, how to survive looming threats from the past, and worst of all, how to keep living without Ian’s rock-solid presence at his side. His life is tied up in knots, but what if unknotting them requires something more permanent? What would that mean for him and Ian? Miro’s stuck between two bad choices, and sometimes the only way to get out of the knot is to hold tight to your lifeline and pull.

Days after finishing, my head is still spinning. There was just so much detail to this story!

First of all, thank you, Rhys Ford, for allowing Kane and Connor Morgan to interact with Miro on a takedown in San Francisco. Wonderful vignette! And thank you, Mary Calmes, not only for arranging that interaction, but also for mingling in mentions of some of my other favorite characters, including Andreo Fiore and Duncan Stiel.

So, on to the story. Oh boy, this one is packed full of adventure, almost as much as it’s packed full of heartbreak—for both Miro and Ian—his frequent deployments are causing havoc with the stability of their relationship.

There are numerous trips away from his Chicago home base for Miro, as he first has to assist the DEA in San Francisco for a takedown, and then finds himself picking up a young man in Vegas who’s going into Witsec, a young man who wants to get in Miro’s pants in the worst way. Thankfully, Drake and Cabot, the young former witnesses who treat him and Ian like parents, are getting out of the program as their safety is no longer in question, and they befriend Josue, the new witness, and help him acclimate. Add to that, Miro’s former partner, Cochran, has a blowout with him and ends up slugging him in the eye, resulting in even more chaos and animosity between the cops and the marshal’s office.

And then there’s the prison escape by Dr. Craig Hartley, Miro’s archenemy. Thank God, Ian arrives home from deployment when he does. First of all, because their new neighbor is hitting on Miro, thinking Ian is never coming back, and secondly, because the Army brass show up to investigate a hitman who is knocking off members of Ian’s former unit. Unfortunately, they haul Ian back out of the picture to an undisclosed location. And if that’s not enough turmoil in Miro’s life, let’s add in even more chaos at the end of the story, just when I thought it was safe to close the book for a few minutes.

This part contains dead FBI agents assigned to cover Miro from Hartley’s reach and the truth about who is really trying to kill Ian and his fellow soldiers. Miro, of course, is caught in the crossfire again, facing down not just one, but two villains. Did I mention this all happens around Thanksgiving, and Miro’s “family” of female friends and their partners are having issues of their own, and everyone seems to come to Miro for their solution, bringing their cray-cray with them?

Oh yes, this story is not boring. Not boring at all. In fact, I’m amazed that I can remember even this much detail, but that’s just a hallmark of Mary Calmes’s stories for me—unforgettable, for sure. This one is packed so full of action, it’s like buying a ticket to an emotional roller coaster ride. Don’t miss out. You won’t want to put it down for a minute once you starting reading.

Cover art by Reese Dante is done in the same gray tones as others in this series and depicts a US Marshal’s badge, service revolvers, and army boots. All are key pieces in this story as the guns and badge are used frequently by Miro while, in the meantime, Ian has to face some serious choices about his Army Reserve status.

Sales Links

Book Details:

ebook, 260 pages
Expected publication: September 16th 2016 by Dreamspinner Press
ISBN 1634777557 (ISBN13: 9781634777551)
Edition LanguageEnglish

SeriesMarshals – add to your Goodreads shelf here:

A MelanieM Release Day Review: Commitment Ranch (Leaning N #1) by B.A. Tortuga

Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5

commitment-ranch-by-ba-tortuga A fist fight, a snowstorm, a stolen kiss in the barn… and a second chance at love.

Ford Nixel has two law offices, two fancy condominiums, and all the right connections. In short, he has everything he wants.

The last thing he needs is his Uncle Ty’s stake in the Leaning N, a ranch that’s been in the family for generations. Ford hasn’t even been to the ranch in over a decade, not since he left his boyfriend Stoney behind and headed back to college alone.

Ford arrives at the Leaning N to find Stoney, now a single father, right where he left him. A fist fight, a snowstorm, and a stolen kiss in the barn later—Ford knows none of the heat between them has dissipated.

Dreamspun Desires and B.A. Tortuga! A combination I wouldn’t have thought would have worked and yet its a winner across the boards. Using the lovers reunited trope, Tortuga uses the potential loss of the family ranch to bring lawyer Ford Nixel back home to a ranch he hasn’t seen in over 10 years and the man he loved and lost.

Its a premise guaranteed to draw a reader in and it does so here. In Commitment Ranch (Leaning N #1) by B.A.Tortuga, the author uses her considerable skills of characterization to set down her MCs from (as she would say) the get go. The readers get a quick look see at Ford Nixel’s world and understand the hardworking, loner he’s become. I wanted to know more about the man, so wrapped up that personal time is low on his priorities. And when the phone call comes from his Uncle Ty, things start falling into place for the reader and Ford.

Tortuga is a wonderful storyteller. Her narrative unfolds at a pace that lets our curiosity build along with our affection for the characters as we meet them. When the story’s location transfers to that of the Leaning N Ranch and Stony (and family), meeting him, his adorable boy, the chef…all those people have their own revelations and histories. It’s like walking into a place and being welcomed. You take it all in, while being there, absorbing pieces of each of them, while focused on the main romance and trials of Ford and Smokey.

That romance! Its a torturous bunch of misunderstandings, some of which I never quite understood myself. That would be the Uncle’s part in it. Never did get that. But the way in which each man had to work through their misgivings, past histories, and issues of trust? Believable and got straight to my heart. The health problems with the uncle, along with the special needs of the child? All handled with a light, caring hand that worked beautifully within the story without weighing it down. Plus I loved that ranch. I could see that working ranch and the people who helped run it in my head so clearly that I was ready to book a week for myself.

There are, as with every Tortuga novel, wonderfully layered secondary characters and potential couples. As this is the first in a series, I am wondering which and where the next book will take us. The Leaning N Ranch is open for business. Its first story was a terrific romance. I can’t wait to see what the second one brings. I absolutely recommend Commitment Ranch (Leaning N #1) by B.A. Tortuga.

Cover art by Paul Richmond. Another terrific cover in the Dreamspun Desires group.

Sales Links

Book Details:

ebook, 250 pages
Expected publication: September 15th 2016 by Dreamspinner Press
ISBN 1634773683 (ISBN13: 9781634773683)
Edition LanguageEnglish

SeriesLeaning N #1

A Barb the Zany Old Lady Review: Rented Heart by Garrett Leigh

Rating: 5 stars out of 5

Lonely and grief-stricken, Liam Mallaney finally agrees to go out with his friends to make an attempt to get back into being social and sociable a year after he lost the man he considered his husband. As he seeks respite outside the bar and tries to decide whether or not to go home, he’s approached by a young man who propositions him. It isn’t until he decides to go with the guy that he finds out it’s going to cost him a wad of money.

Zac Payne has been surviving on the slim pickings in this small town ever since he moved from London to Holkham to start anew after he recovered from a drug addiction that nearly killed him six months before. Because his services aren’t as often in demand here, he has to work long days and nights to earn enough to support himself and his still drug addicted best friend, Jamie. He feels that he owes Jamie since he’s the one who got Zac to the help he needed on time.

When he takes Liam home he gets more than he bargained for however. Liam is a hot, sexy Alpha male who treats Zac differently from any of his other Johns. In fact, it’s the most memorable night Zac has ever spent with a man, and the first time he ever brought one to his own bed. Unable to forget Liam, Zac daydreams of what might be if he wasn’t a hooker, so when Liam contacts him after a few weeks, he gladly accepts his offer of spending the day with him.

In the meantime, Jamie is falling further into his addiction and though Zac knows he’s powerless to help him, when Jamie shows up at the apartment with a cache of drugs, Zac flips out and kicks him out. Distressed, he does something he’ll later regret while spending the balance of the day with Liam, who is rapidly becoming so much more than just a John.

The author takes us through Liam’s healing from the grief and despair that has plagued him for so long, introduces us to the life he shared with his lover, and gives us a glimpse into the real Liam behind the corporate façade he wears to keep the company they founded together running. Concurrently, we explore Zac’s personality, his hopes and dreams, and his deep desire to do whatever it takes to stay sober. We also get to know Jamie and while watching him rapidly deteriorate, not only in body but also in spirit, we learn the depth of Zac’s devotion to him.

There were many layers to this emotional drama, and with each page turn the author kept my interest at a peak with yet another new development or another perspective. Alternating scenes between Liam and Zac, because so much of the story took place when they weren’t together, added depth to the drama. I appreciated the strength of their inner resolve and the commitment each exhibited as they fought through the difficult circumstances that plagued them.

My respect for Garrett Leigh grows exponentially with each book I read from this author. I honestly wish I could give this story more than 5 stars, and I very highly recommend it to those who are looking for a story of redemption and the engaging characters who fight their way through their very divergent circumstances to finally be together.

Cover art by G.D. Leigh. I love that the author does their own covers so that what they imagines their characters to be ends up being expressed here.

Sales Links

Riptide Publishing

Book Details:

ebook, 228 pages
Published September 10th 2016 by Riptide Publishing
Original TitleRented Heart
ISBN 162649391X (ISBN13: 9781626493919)
Edition LanguageEnglish

Riptide Publishing’s Blog Tour and Giveaway: Rented Heart by Garrett Leigh

Rented Heart by Garrett Leigh
Riptide Publishing

Cover by: G.D. Leigh
Read an Excerpt/Buy It Here

About Rented Heart

Ex-surfer-turned-businessman Liam Mallaney moved back to Holkham, Norfolk, to mourn the loss of his husband. Grief and loneliness keep him a solitary figure, and he likes it that way. There’s no room in his broken heart for anything else.

Rentboy Zac Payne left London and most of his demons behind, but he still only knows one way to make a living. When he spots Liam in a club one night, it seems he’s found his mark. But Liam proves nicer—and their connection far deeper—than he’d bargained for.

Their arrangement quickly becomes too complicated for Zac, who has other things on his mind: namely his BFF and wayward flatmate, Jamie. Zac owes Jamie the world, and even as Jamie’s drug addiction destroys all they have, Zac won’t leave him behind.

Besides, Liam knows nothing of Zac’s home life, too caught up in his own head to think much beyond the crazy heat he and Zac share. But when trouble comes to Zac’s door, putting his life in danger, Liam must set his grief and anger aside to pick up the pieces of Zac’s shattered heart and his own.

Purchase now at Riptide: http://riptidepublishing.com/titles/rented-heart

About Garrett Leigh

Garrett Leigh is a British writer and book designer, currently working for Dreamspinner Press, Loose Id, Riptide Publishing, and Black Jazz Press. Her protagonists will always always be tortured, crippled, broken, and deeply flawed. Throw in a tale of enduring true love, some stubbly facial hair, and a bunch of tattoos, and you’ve got yourself a Garrett special.

When not writing, Garrett can generally be found procrastinating on Twitter, cooking up a storm, or sitting on her behind doing as little as possible. That, and dreaming up new ways to torture her characters. Garrett believes in happy endings; she just likes to make her boys work for it.

Garrett also works as a freelance cover artist for various publishing houses and independent authors under the pseudonym G.D. Leigh. For cover art info, please visit blackjazzpress.com.

Social media:
Website: http://garrettleigh.com
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/Garrett_Leigh
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/garrettleighbooks
Cover art enquiries: blackjazzdesign@gmail.com

Giveaway

To celebrate the release of Rented Heart, one lucky winner will receive $25 in Riptide Publishing credit! Leave a comment with your contact info to enter the contest. Entries close at midnight, Eastern time, on September 17, 2016. Contest is NOT restricted to U.S. entries. Thanks for following the tour, and don’t forget to leave your contact info!

A MelanieM Review: Open Road by M.J. O’Shea

Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5

open-road-by-m-j-oshea Angus has been with the same guy for ten years. When his boyfriend breaks up with him the night of his thirtieth birthday party and announces his engagement to a twenty-two-year-old less than ten hours later, Angus is… a mess. To put it lightly. He spends days in bed, drinks himself into a stupor every night, and ends up losing his job and his apartment. His best and oldest friend, Reece, decides it’s time for an intervention. And a change of scenery.

Reece and Angus take off on a buddy trip across the US. They don’t have much of a plan; they just start driving. It takes Angus a couple of days to do much more than grunt when Reece talks to him, but slowly he opens up. They drive, talk, heal, shout, drink a bit too much sometimes, dance, meet new friends… and somewhere between Portland, Oregon, and Portland, Maine, they fall in love.

Which was the last thing in the world Angus expected.

Open Road by M.J. O’Shea just hit all my buttons in a contemporary romance. It had the right amount of realistic angst, terrific changes in location, a deep friendship that felt as real as an old school picture you keep on your wall, and a romance that slowly unfolds over the course of a journey. One both geographical and emotional.

Of course it starts off with a romance that ends horribly with one half of the couple shattered and humiliated. Our MC had already been feeling inadequate in almost every way in his relationship but Angus becomes depressed and unable to cope when his long term boyfriend leaves him for a younger version of himself. I felt myself falling completely into understanding and love with Angus here. He is so believable as he reels from the humiliation he feels, the shame that he didn’t realize he had been cheated on, all the thoughts going through his head that leave him unable to function. O’Shea puts us aside him, whether its laying next to him on the bed or crumpled on the floor, and makes us believe in this shattered man.

Our hopes (and his) will lie in his best friend. That would be Reese, someone his old boyfriend despised and tried to cut out of his life to no avail. These two have loved each other for most of their lives, have known each others families, they fit together like puzzle pieces, except that Reese is straight of course. Reese is another wonderful character here. Layered, warm. I could see Reese clearly in my mind just within a few pages of O’Shea’s descriptions. I knew exactly who Reese was. and what he meant to Angus.

But the real adventure for them and us starts on the road. Circumstances which I won’t reveal compel Angus and Reese to head out on the road. From city to city, where slowly Angus recovers and they discover that the love they have always felt for each other is something not just deep friendship but something more. Its tenderhearted, authentic and moving. And Angus’ recovery is not a smooth or easy one. It can’t be with all he has emotionally gone through. I appreciated that especially and it made where this couple ended up all the more meaningful.

Highlights of the road trip? It has to be New Orleans. I almost wanted them to stay there. It was magical, sexy and hot. The ambiance that is New Orleans oozed off the page as did the love the author clearly has for the city and its people. It left its spell on the couple and on me with this story. I remember other locations, true, but none like I do their time in New Orleans.

The only thing that kept me from giving this a 5 star review was the last couple of pages. I don’t know…something about the ending felt a little too abrupt for a book and romance that took its time realistically getting to its final destination. Perhaps I felt I didn’t need it, I was so happy with the story that came before. Even now I’m not sure why the epilogue doesn’t sit quite right with me. I know others won’t feel that way, just my opinion. But all the rest of the story? Glorious. From rock bottom to recovery to love, this is a couple and novel I absolutely recommend. Open Road by M.J. O’Shea is a terrific contemporary romance. Grab it up and get started today.

Cover art by L.C. Chase is nice and has elements from the story.

Sales Links

Book Details:

ebook, 200 pages

Published July 25th 2016 by Dreamspinner Press

Original Title Open Road

ISBN 1634773160 (ISBN13: 9781634773164)

Edition Language English

URL

An Alisa Audiobook Review: The Burnt Toast B&B (Bluewater Bay #5) by Heidi Belleau and Rachel Haimowitz with Dorian Bane (Narrator) andTobias Silversmith (Narrator)

Rating: 4 stars out of 5

the-burnt-toast-b-b-audiobook After breaking his arm on set, Wolf’s Landing stuntman Ginsberg Sloan finds himself temporarily out of work. Luckily, Bluewater Bay’s worst B&B has cheap long-term rates, and Ginsberg’s not too proud to take advantage of them.

Derrick Richards, a grizzled laid-off logger, inherited the B&B after his parents’ untimely deaths. Making beds and cooking sunny-side-up eggs is hardly Derrick’s idea of a man’s way to make a living, but just as he’s decided to shut the place down, Ginsberg shows up on his doorstep, pitiful and soaking wet, and Derrick can hardly send him packing.

Not outright, at least.

The plan? Carry on the B&B’s tradition of terrible customer service and even worse food until the pampered city boy leaves voluntarily. What Derrick doesn’t count on, though, is that the lousier he gets at hosting, the more he convinces bored, busybody Ginsberg to try to get the B&B back on track. And he definitely doesn’t count on the growing attraction between them, or how much more he learns from Ginsberg than how to put out kitchen fires.

Derrick is miserable, he never wanted to take over his parents’ B&B, but falls into it after he was laid off and his parents’ passed away. He has never been very comfortable in his skin, even if he won’t admit it to others. Ginsberg is perfectly comfortable with himself and has worked hard to be the man he is today and isn’t going to change that for anyone.

This story was told from both characters’ points of view, which made understanding their thoughts a bit easier. It’s easy to see Derrick struggling with keeping up and being what he thinks a man should be even if sometimes you just want to give him a slap across the back of the head for being an idiot. Ginsberg looks at the world as the glass is half full and is slowly able to show Derrick that everything isn’t as bad as he thinks. Derrick takes awhile to get with the program, but once he does he is all in.

Dorian Bane and Tobias Silversmith did a nice job narrating this story. I could connect with the characters through the voices and emotions they portrayed. This is the first time I have listened to a story with separate narrators for the two main characters, I can’t say that it either helped or hurt the story, it was just different and I still enjoyed listening to them.

Cover art by LC Chase is nice and follows the pattern for the series.

Audiobook Sales Links

Riptide Publishing

Audiobook Details:

Audible Audio, 7 pages, Listening Length: 6 hours and 22 minutes
Published August 2nd 2016 by Riptide Publishing (first published January 3rd 2015)
Original TitleThe Burnt Toast B&B
ASINB01JDGDXLY
Edition LanguageEnglish
SeriesBluewater Bay #5

Winner: Best Transgender Book in the 2015 Rainbow Awards!

Winner: Best Transgender Romance in the 2015 Rainbow Awards

A MelanieM Review: Heart of the Warrior (The Tameness of the Wolf #4) by Kendall McKenna

Rating: 2.5 stars out of 5

heart-of-a-warrior-by-kendall-mckenna Terrell Hubbard, decorated Marine sergeant, proudly serves as Beta wolf to his True Alpha and Dominant. During a mission, he meets Staff Sergeant Kai Thayer, Pack Leader of the Camp Fallujah sippe. Terrell is thrown completely off balance by the strength of their mutual attraction and the intensity of their passion. His entire world felt perfect though, each time they came together to mark and claim one another.

In the chaos of a surprise attack Kai shows poor judgement, driving a wedge between Terrell and him, and landing Kai on the True Alpha’s bad side. Terrell is torn between his ferocious loyalty to his True Alpha, and his new but powerful feelings for Kai. In the battle’s aftermath, Terrell and Kai are drawn together in passion, hoping it’s not the final chance to mark their claims.

First off let me say that I love this series and its author Kendall McKenna. The first story was one of those novels that combined all sorts of unusual elements (the Marines, Afghanistan, deployment, a unique shifter mate bond) and pulled them all together in a powerful story and beginning of a first series. I adored it and so did tons of other readers. I’ve followed it through the sequels and the love affair has continued. Then came Heart of the Warrior and I have no idea what’s happened here.

Heart of the Warrior (The Tameness of the Wolf #4) by Kendall McKenna is really only a third to a half of a story and a fractured one at that. Its the story/romance meeting of Terrell Hubbard, Marine sergeant and Staff Sergeant Kai Thayer, Pack Leader of the Camp Fallujah sippe (both characters we have meet in previous stories). As with the other stories, a sniff sets the pair into motion but here its a flawed usage. We get little feel for the characters. I think we are supposed to remember them more than we do but its been a while since the last story. While Terrell is the strongest (in every way) MC in Heart of the Warrior and couple, Kai suffers from lack of time as a character present in the story here other than as a bed partner. His character seems to shift from one personality to another or maybe because its just that we don’t know him that well. Anyway the bond we feel towards the fleeting couple is limited because of the treatment he gets here. He’s supposed to be an important Pack Leader of the Camp but we get no indication of that here, a flaw in the story that’s carried forward in the relationship.

Also this tale slides around, jumping ahead over apparently key scenes from previous stories you are supposed to have remembered if you’ve read the other stories. If not you are completely out of luck and totally confused. The battle scenes we drop in and out of? Have no idea what’s going on. Its one big mess. And that’s unusual for this series. Its as though scenes from other novels were used here. In fact, parts of this book feel more scrapped together than intentionally written.

The ending is perhaps the worse. It just abruptly ends. As if it was just a chapter in a much larger story. But here it goes no further.

There’s not to say I didn’t enjoy parts of this story. I did. It holds promise as does this couple. But you have to put the pieces together from a jumbled mess of a story.

Who should read this book? I suppose those who are addicted to this series and need a fix. You will get glimpses of your favorites couples. But if you are new to this author and series. Give this story a pass. It does justice to neither.

I like the cover for the story. Its terrific. Wish I could say the same about the novel.

Sales Links

MLR Press

Book Details:

ebook
Published August 19th 2016 by MLR Press
Edition LanguageEnglish

Series: The Tameness of the Wolf – add to your Goodreads shelf here