To Read, or Not To Read

The SYNC Audiobooks for Teens program, sponsored by  AudioFile Magazine   and powered by  OverDrive , kicks off its eighth year on April 27 th .  Authors represented include Daniel Jos é Older, Franz Kafka, Ruta Septys, and Nikki Grimes. With parents, teachers, librarians, and teens looking for good media within easy access, SYNC is the perfect way to engage teens with new literature for their earbuds. SYNC makes available two FREE audiobook downloads every week, to each and every registered listener, all summer. In 2017, 32 titles will be given away through the 16 week-long season. Teens, librarians, club leaders, and educators may sign up for email or text alerts and can learn more at  www.audiobooksync.com . SYNC creates weekly thematic pairings of teen-focused titles to encourage both critical listening and opportunities to make choices and develop personal tastes. During the summer of 2016, the SYNC program gave nearly 172,000 downloads to more than 31,000 participa

Last week in review has unintentionally turned into last month in review. I've been ill over the past two weeks. I definitely feel better than I did at this time last week, but I'm still not 100%. However, I finally feel like reading again, so that's progress. Currently I'm reading The Confession of Young Nero by Margaret George . The book will be released on March 7. I read and enjoyed a few other titles by George, so I have high hopes for this book. I'm also listening to The Gentleman by Forrest Leo . I'm about halfway through and I highly recommend this book. It's hilarious. I've watched a lot of television over the last few weeks. I re-watched Parks and Recreation on Netflix. I've continued watching the PBS series  Victoria on Sunday. And I also managed to catch the classic Fall of the House of Usher staring Vincent Price. Most of my time has been spent trying to get well. Now I'm trying to get back in the gam

From New York Times bestselling author Jill Shalvis comes the next sexy, standalone novel in the Heartbreaker Bay series... About CHASING CHRISTMAS EVE: Meet cute... Run for the hills—temporarily . That’s Colbie Albright’s plan when she flees New York for San Francisco. Wrangling her crazy family by day and writing a bestselling YA fantasy series by night has taken its toll. In short, Colbie’s so over it that she’s under it. She’s also under the waters of a historic San Francisco fountain within an hour of arrival. Fortunately, the guy who fishes Colbie out has her looking forward to Christmas among strangers. But she’s pretty sure Spencer Baldwin won’t be a stranger for long. Make merry... Spence’s commitment to hiding from the Ghosts of Relationships Past means he doesn’t have to worry about the powerful—okay, crazy hot—chemistry he’s got with Colbie. Just because she can laugh at anything, especially herself... just because she’s gorgeous and a great listen

Hello, fellow readers. I apologize for my lack of posts lately. The flu has made its way into my home. Last week it hit my kids, this week it's me. Please bear with me while I take some time off to recuperate. Best to you all and may the force be with you.

Indiscretion (Andalucían Nights #1) by Hannah Fielding Publication Date: April 9, 2015 London Wall Publishing Hardcover, Paperback, eBook, AudioBook Genre: Romance/Historical Fiction A young woman's journey of discovery takes her to a world of forbidden passion, savage beauty, and revenge. Spring, 1950. Alexandra de Falla, a half-English, half-Spanish young writer abandons her privileged but suffocating life in London and travels to Spain to be reunited with her long-estranged family. Instead of providing the sense of belonging she yearns for, the de Fallas are driven by seething emotions, and in the grip of the wild customs and traditions of Andalucia, all of which are alien to Alexandra. Among the strange characters and sultry heat of this country, she meets the man who awakens emotions she hardly knew existed. But their path is strewn with obstacles: dangerous rivals, unpredictable events, and inevitable indiscretions. What does Alexandra's des

Sex and the City meets Fear of Flying on the dance floor. It’s now or never for Alexis. She’s determined to reinvent herself and make her mark, but when she falls in love with Argentine tango, romance gets in the way. Newly divorced transplant to Los Angeles, Alexis takes up Argentine tango as a way to meet people, but really to resuscitate her comatose sexuality from the deep freeze that was her marriage. She knew she was a goner right after that first tangasm, a fabled phenomenon and here she is having multiples right out the gate. Tango sets something loose in her, something wild and hungry. She enters a series of romantic misadventures with the men who give her tangasms on the dance floor but her usual good judgment is confused by shape-shifting lovers and past-life scenes bleeding through into present reality. When her recklessness puts her life in danger, she freaks out. She resolves to focus on work. No more romance. Not until she can heal and trust herself again. Then Nico en

For me, the most obvious requirement of a good travel writer is that they write about real-life, true experiences.  If people are reading fictional accounts of something that never happened written by someone who’s never been there it suddenly all becomes rather meaningless. My travel stories are completely true and related exactly as they happened; nothing has been contrived or exaggerated. As the reader of a travel book, you want to feel that you’re taking the journey with the writer.  In your mind’s eye, you want to see the sights and people being described, hear the sounds and even sense the smells.  Words need to bring scenes and experiences vibrantly to life to leave the reader amused and amazed.  Dull travel writing does nothing to inspire anyone!    Writing about travel destinations or experiences is different to a fictional novel.  A good travel writer will keep the story moving instead of losing the reader in superfluous detail.  All the tales in my recent book

Audio Publishers Association announces Audie Awards® finalists in 26 categories New York, NY - The Audio Publishers Association (APA) has announced finalists for the 22nd annual Audie Awards® competition, the premier awards program in the United States recognizing distinction in audiobooks and spoken word entertainment.  Winners will be revealed at the Audie Awards® Gala on June 1, 2017, at the French Institute Alliance Française in New York City. For the second year in a row, award-winning comedian, author, and commentator Paula Poundstone will emcee the event.  "This year has shown another increase in both the number and quality of submissions which mirrors the continued year-over-year growth and interest in audiobooks," says APA President Linda Lee.  "We are excited to have Paula Poundstone back to emcee our festivities this year, which again promises to be a rollicking good time celebrating the best-of-the best in our vibrant industry!"