Ellen Archer was also at the luncheon we had in New York In May. Audio book listeners may know here from her work on audiobooks such as ROOM by Emma Donoghue, Sunday’s At Tiffany’s by James Patterson, The Penny by Joyce Meyers, and more. Please welcome Ellen to Book Journey.
My name is Ellen Archer. I am a New York City based actor and voice – over artist. I’ve been narrating books for over 12 years and have recorded somewhere around 175 titles. I say “somewhere” because I used an alias for some of my earlier raunchy titles and I’ve “forgotten” what the alias is. Now I’m on the straight and narrow and use my own name. I recently finished MIRROR SIGHT, the latest book in the GREEN RIDER series by Kristen Britain. These fantasy books are seriously good. She’s a wonderful writer. ROOM by Emma Donoghue and WHEN WILL THERE BE GOOD NEWS by Kate Atkinson are also great books, and I loved recording them.
How are the books chosen?
About half the time, my agent sends me auditions for specific titles that I have requested to audition for by the publisher or the producer. These days, more often than not, the author chooses the narrator from the auditions submitted to him or her. Other times, publishers call my agent and offer me a book or series without my having to audition. I think I’ve only turned down 3 books in 12 years. That either reeks of desperation or is a testament to how well publishers and producers know me.
These days, more often than not, the author chooses the narrator from the auditions submitted to him or her.
When I am given a copy of a book, usually it is in a downloadable PDF so I can save a tree and work off my iPad. It took me a while to get the hang of not having the actual hard copy in my hands, as I like to write little notes in my horrible handwriting, replete with scribbles and arrows and different colored highlighting. I also like to write “to do” lists and funny things my kids says. I’ve found that the iAnnotate app, is not the enemy – now I can actually read the notes I make. Bonus!
This pic is just a silly one of the various drinks, lip balm and candies I have in the booth with me
I always read the book before recording. I try to read it as I would a book for pleasure. I don’t stop to make a slew of notes in a separate notebook or stop to look stuff up – I just read. I’ll underline passages that I think are important, put a question mark next to something for which I need clarification, make a quick note about a character to jog my memory later (maybe underline a particular line they speak). After I finish the book, I’ll go back through and look over all the pages on which I made notes and (try to) decipher what I meant. I’ll make a list of the characters and something to describe them/their accent or voice/their story. If they remind me of someone I know, or a celebrity or even another character I’ve done, I’ll make a note of that. Then, for that gem of a book for which I get a director, I make a list of questions for him or her (usually pronunciations for character names, but sometimes for regular every day words that big time smarty pants use, and I don’t know how to say). The director calls the author to get pronunciations on character names or places they’ve made up and then looks up the rest of the stuff. When I don’t have a director, (which is more than half the time) I do all that stuff myself. The more complicated the book is, the longer the process. Non fiction is way easier to prep, while a 27 hour-long fantasy book with 73 characters takes a bit more work. I also do a fair number of books that have long passages in other languages. Fortunately, the fine folks at the Boston Conservatory of Music required I take French, Italian and German to complete my degree in Opera and Vocal performance. I’ve been tempted to write the alumni committee a check more than once. They must know that somehow, because they send me a donation envelope every year.
What I enjoy most about narrating a book is getting lost in it. It is such a great feeling. I love the excitement of finding a character’s voice and it feeling completely right. I know I’ve gotten it right when I’m sad to read the last few lines and it’s over. I remember reading an amazing and deeply personal memoir called THE ORCHARD by Theresa Weir. It was beautifully written in first person. The director, Suzanne Torn, the editor, Tommy Harron and I called the author to ask her a few questions before we got started. It was a lovely two-minute conversation. When we finished the book four days later, I had the strongest urge to call Theresa and talk about what happened to “us” — ask how everyone was doing, how she was doing. I nearly picked up the phone before I realized that I actually don’t know Theresa. At all. I knew it would be completely inappropriate to ask her such intimate questions…but after reading her story for four days, it felt like we were friends. I was that invested. I did “like” her page on Facebook so, I guess we’re kinda friends now, right?
While recording my very first audiobook, I kept stumbling over a word. This was a very easy and unfunny word that I couldn’t say – something like “donut.” I’d get as far as “Let’s go grab a coffee and” (wait for it….) “BWHAHAHAH.” Then the engineer, Kay Ells, started laughing. It was that same feeling you get when you start to laugh in church and it just gets worse and worse. I simply could not get through the sentence without hysterical laughter. This went on for several minutes, as I, red-faced and gasping for air, tried to explain to the director why “donut” is so damn funny. She was unmoved. In the end, I had to read the line with my eyes closed so I couldn’t see Katy’s shoulder’s shaking. And, hey, they hired me back!
You can check out more about Ellen Archer at her website: ellenarcher.com
Please watch this site for June audio book related posts like this one. For every post you comment on in June that has this audio book symbol:
I will put you into a drawing for a $25 book certificate for each comment (Barnes and Noble or Amazon – your choice). Winner will be drawn in July.
Good morning! Poo weather here the last couple of days which makes me a little disgruntled. Not like I have had a lot of extra time this week with a Wine and Words meeting, a City Board meeting, and Monday’s second dose of The Fault In Our Stars (glutton for punishment I am….) but… I want to mow the lawn before I leave for the cabin probably early in the am now because I will not be ready to go tonight unless I stress myself out – and I am going to try to not stress myself out.
About the reading…
Right? I am sad to admit that I am reading the SAME BOOK that I was reading on the plane on my way back from New York a month ago.
It’s true. It is that time of year of gardening, lawn care, house cleaning, being outside, walking, running, biking, cabin, projects, grilling…
However – this weekend with a couple days at the cabin that is about to change 🙂 I will of course be finishing up on The Three by Sarah Lotz (yes yes yes I have been reading a book about three plane crashes while I myself was on a plane). It is good, the formatting is interesting…. and hopefully next week I will be telling you more about it 🙂
Then… I will be looking at Little Mercies by Heather Gunderkauf (LOVE her books!) and The Young World by Chris Weitz. Yes – BOOKS. Glorious BOOKS.
Of course, as you know, its not that I have not been talking books. I have been doing a LOT of audio, a lot of REALLY GOOD audio. We still have a few days of audio month left….
Have you tried audio yet? If so what are you listening to?
If not, Why not read some of the audio posts here suggesting books and give one a try?
Please watch this site for June audio book related posts. For every post you comment on in June that has this audio book symbol:
I will put you into a drawing for a $25 book certificate for each comment (Barnes and Noble or Amazon – your choice). Winner will be drawn in July.
To help you out – here are the posts that qualify for this Audio Month Giveaway:
When the Khan’s family home burns to the ground, Saba Khan’s high school teachers and classmates come to the rescue by planning a fund-raiser to help the family get back on their feet from this devastating loss. When a piece of art is found abandoned in an alley way and donated to the fund-raiser, later to be found out to be rare and worth thousands, battles begin…
who should receive the money raised from the art piece?
The finders of the piece?
The school?
Or does it go to the Khan’s?
When the art turns up missing from the gym where it was being stored, fingers are pointed and tongues accuse.
Written at a middle grade perspective, Saba Khan, our main protagonist goes through all emotions while in the midst of the fire crisis including hurt and including love when a popular boy turns his attention to her.
With the story being told from different perspectives including the Principal of the school, Saba’s boyfriend, and classmates this book in audio format is a delight to the ears.
I didn’t love this story, but I did enjoy it.
Please watch this site for June audio book related posts like this one. For every post you comment on in June that has this audio book symbol:
I will put you into a drawing for a $25 book certificate for each comment (Barnes and Noble or Amazon – your choice). Winner will be drawn in July.
It is Paris in the summer in 1926. Ernest Hemmingway along with wife Hadley are enjoying time in the villa in southern France. They laugh and flirt and receive admiring glances from strangers, yet they are not alone. Fife, the woman who caught Ernest’s eye at a party awhile back is there as well. As much as Hadley wishes she could hate her, she finds Fife’s laid back easy-going ways to be appealing. It is easy to see what draws Ernest too her,and Hadley herself has come to know Fife as one of her dearest friends even thought she occasionally gives Ernest an ultimatum – end it now.
Eventually, Ernest does end it. But not with Fife. He ends his marriage to Hadley and marries Fife who is overjoyed as she has won the man of her dreams, even at the cost of Hadley. Together, Fife feels, they were go into their golden years hand in hand.
As years go by, Fife starts to see Ernest giving an appreciate eye to a younger, perkier woman named Martha. Fife suddenly know what it feels what it must have been like for Hadley as she watches, helpless as her husband finds ways to go away with Martha. Heart sick, Fife watches her marriage crumble before her.
But – if Martha thinks that she is the last of the Hemingway wives; she had better think again….
Woo this was good! I listened to this on audio and Kate Reading did a wonderful job narrating the voices of Ernest’s four wives as well as Ernest and an assortment of friends along the way. (Kate Reading’s rendition of Fife was exactly as I would have pictured her sounding, a distinctive smooth self-assured voice.
This was one of those audio books you hate to turn off. I love historical fiction! This audio was filled with real letters and telegrams of conversations that just added to the intrigue of Ernest Hemingway. I had no idea about Ernest’s life or loves, or even his untimely surprising death.
The book is told in alternating chapters by each of the four wives (talk about hearing “her side” of the story!), this fictional story unfolds as though you were right there. It has left me wanting to know more. I have never read Hemingway, but I plan to give him a try after feeling that I now… kind of know the man, and am now curious between all that time of having an unsettled heart… what did he write about?
Audio book month continues and so do the narrator posts and audiobooks and of course, the giveaway that goes along with it. Please welcome narrator Patrick Lawlor. I did not have a lot of time to chat with him in New York but now he will share his narrating life with us:
My name is Patrick Lawlor and I have been narrating audiobooks since 2001. Full-time since 2004. This is what I do, this is my job. How lucky am I that I have a job that combines two of my favorite things, reading and talking?!
I have recorded over 325 books. in every genre. Some of my favorites include Merle’s Door, Lessons From a Free Thinking Dog, by Ted Kerasote, Adam Canfield of the Slash, by Michael Winerip, Timecasters by Joe Kimball (J.A. Konrath), The Troubleshooters series by Suzanne Brockmann, The Darwin Awards series by Wendy Northcutt and the controversial Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson.
I was very lucky to get into audiobooks at a time when there were a lot fewer people trying to do this for a living. The Audio Publishers’ Association held a yearly job market, which was, in essence, a chance for prospective narrators to audition for a bunch of publishers at once, and then have several opportunities to socialize with them and start to get to know them. I was able to make several lasting relationships and got my first gig halfway through the day!
I completed 5 books my first year, 9 my second year, and about 12 my third. Since then, I average between 25 and 30 books a year. This has become my full-time job and I couldn’t be happier about it. I still do theatre when I can, that’s where my roots are, and that was my primary focus before audiobooks, but mainly I record. I have a studio in my home, and these days, record most of my work there. This is probably the biggest change in the industry since I began. There is a huge movement toward narrators recording themselves at home. Digital technology has made it relatively easy to get professional-quality results at home for relatively little money. The internet and things like ISDN and ftp sites, make remote recording and moving around sound files quite do-able. There is a certain, undeniable convenience about recording at home, to be sure, but I do miss going into the studio and working with a director and an engineer. I am, after all, a performer, and I enjoy having others around. Books DO still get done in studios, and I go in every chance I get, but the market being what it is, and the sheer number of narrators entering the business each year, means I need every advantage I can get, and home recording is a big one.
This is probably the biggest change in the industry since I began. There is a huge movement toward narrators recording themselves at home.
Through the years, as I have been exposed to more and various material, I have gone through a process of discovery. For the most part, I have been making this up as I’ve gone along. I have had some wonderful directors who have guided me in the right direction, but I am definitely a work in progress. I have matured, certainly, and learned many techniques that have made me a better story-teller. I generally read slower and more clearly. There was a tendency in earlier books to speed up. My voice also had a tendency to get a little high-pitched when excited. I have much more control these days. At the same time, I am getting older, and so is my voice. I like to think it’s getting better, richer, but those female characters are certainly having to evolve a bit! Altogether, I think I’ve remained pretty consistent, though along the way, I have experimented quite a bit with how to narrate a book, sometimes successfully, sometimes not. Sometimes REALLY…not. It has been a challenging and thoroughly enjoyable ride!
My first audiobook recording gig will always be one of my more fun memories, no matter how many books I record. I was attending the APA Job Market in New York, in early 2001, and I had just auditioned for a room of publishers and producers, when one of them, a producer named John McElroy, caught me in the hall and said he had a short project I would be perfect for. Was I interested? “Of course”, I said and he promised to get me the script by the end of the day. It would require extending my stay in NYC by a day, so I would basically break even, but I was getting my start! And in New York City! (I lived in Los Angeles at the time.) I was ecstatic! I continued the day on a cloud.
When I read the script later in my hotel room, however, that cloud did that little “poof” disappearing thing you see in cartoons. What I had was a chapter from a book of erotica. It resembled nothing so much as a 30 minute Letter to Penthouse. I am certainly not prudish in the least, and I have nothing against erotica, and this wasn’t especially hardcore or anything, but I DID start to wonder about the ease with which I got this gig. And what, exactly in my audition made John consider me ‘perfect” for this? Well, maybe this was normal. What did I know? I had never done a book before.
The next day I went downtown to “the studio.” When I arrived at the address, it was a small, unmarked door between a Bodega and a nail place. I went up to the 3rd floor and entered what seemed to be a travel agency, where Russian seemed to be the primary language and a lot of big, swarthy gentlemen looked dully uninterested in my arrival. I had flashes of that scene in the movie FAME, where the girl goes to her first on-screen gig.. A good quart of flop-sweat released itself into the sleeves of my shirt. After ten minutes or so of trying to get the receptionist to understand what I was looking for (words like “recording,” “audiobook” and “studio” were not among the dozen or so words of English she knew, and that angered her), I decided to call the studio. Outside. At a pay phone. It turns out I had transposed two numbers in the address, and the beautiful, professional studio was across the street!
I had a nice conversation with the director John. In the end John said very nice things about my work and handed me a check and that was that. I was a paid audiobook narrator! I had done my first project! As it turns out, the first of many to come. And no, they have not all been like that.
Please watch this site for June audio book related posts, like this one. For every post you comment on in June that has this audio book symbol:
I will put you into a drawing for a $25 book certificate for each comment (Barnes and Noble or Amazon – your choice). Winner will be drawn in July.
Greetings children of earth! And of course any Shadow Hunters, Vampires, Werewolves, Wizards, Witches, Warriors, Fairies, Elves, Pixies…. I really am an equal opportunity blogger 🙂
And apparently… need more coffee if I am going to be this goofy in the morning. 🙂
Ok… the number. That number is the number of posts I have written since Book Journey began. It’s interesting… I did not notice when post 1,000 and 2,000 went by. Yet, awhile ago I notices I was about 100 posts away from 3,000. Since then I have been trying to keep an eye on it so I could do something for 3,000 (after all… it will take a while to get to 4,000!) I was going to do a super cool countdown (or count up) and not tell you what I was counting…but of course, life was busy… I forgot to count.. and suddenly yesterday I realized, like a baby that is due… 3,000 was arriving this weekend if I was ready or not. 🙂
I already had a discussion question I have been tossing around to post today so please stop in later and meet 3,000, join in the discussion, and a special giveaway because it is 3,000 posts.
3000 posts.
Holy smokes right?
Moving on…
In bookish arrivals… here is what came into my home this week:
I am hoping to work on a couple outdoor projects today but right now our sky is “iffy” if not outdoors, then I will be working on a spare room today prepping auction items for Wine and Words. 🙂
Also – we are still rocking Audiobook Month here with giveaway:
Please watch this site for June audio book related posts. For every post you comment on in June that has this audio book symbol:
I will put you into a drawing for a $25 book certificate for each comment (Barnes and Noble or Amazon – your choice). Winner will be drawn in July.
I have heard Simon Vance narrate before and I am well aware of how others have gushed over his narration. While in the past I found him good, I had not found him exceptional… until now. Simon Vance’s narration of The Other Story totally turned me into a Vance fan! ~ Sheila
Best selling author Nicolas Duhamel (Kolt) is staying at a beautiful Tuscan Island Resort with his girlfriend, working on his second novel highly anticipated by his huge fan following and his editor. His debut book, The Envelope, stemmed from his finding out something about his father’s past and the book just flowed….
now..
he doesn’t have crap.
Lying to his editor, his girlfriend, and his many fans who all assume he is on the island fiercely tapping out something amazing, Nicolas instead is spending his time on Facebook posting pictures and watching the “likes” work their magic into the hundreds. He is hanging on Twitter basking in the attention he receives by typing in anything into that 140 character slot what he is eating, profound (so he thinks) thoughts on anything… and watching people… especially the beautiful girls who find him a temptation as a famous author.
And now, years later, as Nicolas feels on the brink of self-destruction, he discovers that there is more to his family history then he had even uncovered… and within that… is,
the other story.
I listened to this book on audio because 1) I have enjoyed Tatiana De Rosney in the past, 2) it’s the story of a best-selling author and 3) Simon Vance narrating is something I did not want to pass up.
My thoughts…
Nicolas Duhamel is an ASS. He is a walking ego having lived off the success of his first book and then making himself a social media icon. HIs ego is so big that it overpowers the book. On Facebook and Twitter he can be a God… when in real life he is a life sucking worm (my words) who leaves destruction in every life he touches.
*whew*
*Dusts off pants.* *stretches*
Ok. Now that I got that out-of-the-way. Never underestimate the power of writing a story about an author… or a book store…. or a book lover… or a book thief :). Many of us readers… LOVE the literary topics. And, as I mentioned above, that was one of the draws to this book.
Narrator Simon Vance ROCKED this audio. He was so engaging, as he discussed the puketastic (my word) Nicolas that I became quite engaged in the story line… probably mostly because I wanted to know
what would happen?
would he write another book?
what would it be about?
My gosh… am I so infatuated with authors that I will forgive them anything? No. In fact, if I would have went the book route with this one, I probably would have given up on it. While beautifully written and descriptive, it felt L O N G. There is a whole lot of story…. and I did not feel a decisive plot. Is the plot the writer’s block? Or something else? Even as the book closed I found myself questioning if there was a set plot.. .or was the whole book a plot?
If I say it enough.. the word plot loses all meaning. And that sounds about right.
There are some good qualities to the read, I would rate it a 3 out of 5, and certain do not rely on my opinion alone on this one.
*Note – this book has some crude, highly sexual chapters that may not be appealing to some readers (including this one)
Please watch this site for June audio book related posts, like this one. For every post you comment on in June that has this audio book symbol:
I will put you into a drawing for a $25 book certificate for each comment (Barnes and Noble or Amazon – your choice). Winner will be drawn in July.
I recently had the opportunity to meet Karen White at a narrator luncheon. We sat right across from each other and I suddenly had 20,000 questions I did not know I had until we were there chatting. 🙂 Thankfully, she gracefully and patiently answered all my questions… and now she is about to answer some more. Please welcome to Book Journey, Karen White. ~ Sheila
Hi I am Karen White and I started narrating books in 1999. Some of the books I have narrated would be:
Although the industry conventional wisdom is that it takes 2 hours in the studio to record what we call a “finished hour” (an hour after the recording has been edited and readied for release), for me it’s really closer to 2.5 or 3, depending on the complexity of the writing. I am pretty meticulous and I try to avoid recording many “pickups” (re-recording bits where mistakes were made). Not including breaks, I spend about five hours recording, about five days a week. I usually fill in the rest of my workday with preparing upcoming books, engaging in social media, and looking for work.
When I am not narrating,
I have two kids, a husband and a dog, so much of my time is spent hanging out with and doing things with them. I go to my girls’ soccer and softball games (and try not to yell too loudly so as to save my voice but am not always successful!). My husband and I like to cook and give dinner parties. He’s great with the grill and various fancy French recipes, I’m a pretty good baker and try to be creative with the veggies. We all like to make pasta together!
a fruit galette (one of my favorite things to bake)a beautiful evening at the softball field
We live near the beach in NC, so in the summer we make trips to the water. There’s an island across the inter-coastal waterway only reachable by boat – it has a gorgeous, uncrowded beach – and we are slowly learning the ins and outs of getting there (you need TWO anchors to make sure your boat doesn’t float away while you’re swimming, you need flips flops to get across the island unless you want 2nd degree burns on the bottoms of your feet, etc.)
Both my girls on the boat heading out to the island
When looking for good audio when traveling, we are huge fans of the Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place series, narrated by Katherine Kellgren. It is hilarious and unique and kept us awake driving across the country last summer.
Favorite movie and movie snack?
I am definitely a popcorn and a coke kind of gal. No butter.I just saw THE FAULT IN OUR STARS and that’s my favorite (I have a short-lived memory). I love movies that make me feel a LOT, whether I’m laughing or crying – and this had both. Besides all the obvious great moments, my girls and I really loved the casting and original song by the guy who led the support group – what is that guys name? See I already forgot. He was spot on, I remember that.
Elsa!
Bonus question – a funny narration happening
This is a little embarrassing, but I burp a lot when I am recording. I’ve directed other people quite a bit, and while everybody inevitably has interesting stomach noises, usually before and after lunch, I think I am the most prodigious belcher. I think it’s a combination of the fact that I drink a lot of Xiao’s Blend tea which has peppermint, which I learned relaxes the esophageal sphincter and the fact that when I’m reading, my diaphragm is just jumping up and down on my stomach as I’m breathing! I self edit as I go now, but I used to feel bad for the poor editor who had to hear all my loud burps. Now I just yell at my body in between takes when it burps too much or makes weird stomach noises (“Seriously!? Shut UP!”), often in the middle of a really good take… 😉
Prepping a book by reading it on my IPAD
Please watch this site for June audio book related posts, like this one. For every post you comment on in June that has this audio book symbol:
I will put you into a drawing for a $25 book certificate for each comment (Barnes and Noble or Amazon – your choice). Winner will be drawn in July.
Rachel Witshire’s life is going better than she could have imagined. She has a wonderful group of friends including an attentive boyfriend, and she has been accepted into the college she had hoped for. Then, right before she leaves for college a terrifying accident changes everything.
Five years later Rachel still wears the scars of that day, both on the outside and the inside. When she returns to her hometown for her best friends wedding she is filled with uncertainty of what it will be like to encounter the old friends that were part of that overpowering and sad memory. Then a fall puts Rachel in the hospital and when she is able to leave she discovers things are not as they were… her scars are gone, her job is different, and the guy she loves….
but is this a case of amnesia? Head trauma? Or is this a reality that Rachel can cling to, no longer knowing what is truth and what is fiction… and not sure which reality she really wants to hold on to.
In a word… powerful. I have read several books over the past year with the “amnesia theme” but this one takes a little different path. At one point I thought the book felt predictable, and in some ways it was. Then the air was literally forced out of my lungs as I became fully engrossed as the book reached a conclusion that literally made me say “no way,” with a sense of awe and appreciation.
I listened to Then and Always on audio. Narrator Susan Duerden was well-chosen for this book. Thoroughly enjoyable at 8 hours and 45 minutes, a perfect length for a summer listen.
Please watch this site for June audio book related posts, like this one. For every post you comment on in June that has this audio book symbol:
I will put you into a drawing for a $25 book certificate for each comment (Barnes and Noble or Amazon – your choice). Winner will be drawn in July.
It’s raining this morning. Hard. And that’s ok. I just finished mowing our yard yesterday evening and I was afraid that the lawn was too dry. I am in the office all day so this puts no damper on my plans of typing and filing and working on the annual report.
What I wanted to talk about this morning is blogging. It amazes me that about a year ago I wasn’t sure if I was going to continue on and that kind of scared me. Last June I felt in an entirely different place. I felt too busy to keep up on book reviews and book chats and I posted maybe once or twice a week. Maybe. I usually missed writing a Morning Meandering. I was hardly reading a thing so there was nothing to talk about there, and for a while I took a real look at wondering if my season had passed.
Since my time in blogging, a lot of great bloggers have come and gone. A few that really inspired me in the beginning of this crazy chatting about books, are hard to find now…. occasionally popping up on Twitter or on Facebook… but nothing on their site – if the site is even still there. All that time – typing, talking books, chatting, sharing…
gone.
And I had started to think I was too.
So what did happen?
I fought for it. I wasn’t ready to let go of my love of talking books, or my chats with all of you. I accepted that it was ok to step back and do life and not completely let go. So that is what I did and slowly throughout late fall and winter I came back…
but really it was the book expo this year in New York that sealed the deal for me.
I love the expo. I love my bookish relationships that I have made here talking to book lovers on this screen, and then meeting them in real life, and still chatting books with them. I LOVE talking to authors, and publishers, and the heads of publishing houses about what makes them tick. When at the expo, my mind flows with blog post ideas…
topics of publishing houses
connecting with narrators
audiobook week
blogiversary
meeting bloggers (I actually don’t like that word) meeting like-minded Book lovers
events
amazing books coming soon
author events
I literally started making a list of ideas on the plane home.
Soon I will be reaching a mile stone post. I see it coming and I am excited about it because it is crazy to think that for the past 5 years I have chatted books and life to you and I am as energized now as I was when I started. How crazy cool is that?
I can’t imagine going anywhere any time soon. This post was to hopefully inspire any of you out there that are on the edge of deciding, “do I go on?”…. its ok to take breaks. This is supposed to be fun – not a chore.
And I….
am having fun.
If you are a book reviewer/lover/chatter… ok ok, blogger, how long have you been doing this? If you have been doing it for a while are you surprised how long you have been doing it?
What energizes you to keep going?
Oh yeah – and don’t forget – it is audiobook month (I wont let you forget!) GIveaway here for a $25 gift card. An entry for ever comment you have on an Audiobook related post that I have up this month. To help you out… here is what they are:
Book Journey 