Winners of 'June is Audiobook Month' drawing!

Well, another June has passed and I held my drawing for my audiobook giveaway originally posted here.   As usual, I had my husband, George, select from the names on slips of paper from a bowl (very scientific).

OK, so this picture is actually from the first year I held a drawing.  Now George just pulls torn scraps of paper from a Tupperware bowl but this picture looks so much nicer.

Without further ado, this year's 10 winners are:  nrlymrtl, Todd Vogel, Leslie Fisher, Michael Flanagan, skinmaan, jmcgaugh, Megan, Pauline Wiles, Julie Valerie, and Sandie Docker.  Congratulations to the winners and thank you to everyone who entered!

The winners have all been notified but if you see your name here and haven't received an email, please let me know.

Same time, next year!  Until then -- keep listening!

My latest recording -- a cozy mystery -- is for sale on Audible!

I've been busy recording several books in the past two months.  One of them went on sale a couple of days ago.  It's a cozy mystery set in New Orleans and it was a lot of fun to record.  It's called Imogene in New Orleans by Hunter Murphy. 

At the ripe age of 73, Imogene Deal McGregor has a penchant for following her own instincts, as well as more grit and spunk than her hypochondriac son, Billy McGregor, and Billy's impulsive partner Jackson can handle. The boys take Imogene to New Orleans with their devilishly handsome English bulldog Goose, hoping to visit friends and attend a second line parade, but moments after arriving in the French Quarter, they find their friend Glenway Gilbert murdered in his art gallery. Immediately, Imogene and the boys run into a temperamental and ethically-challenged lieutenant who appears hell-bent on neglecting the crime, compelling them to seek answers themselves. As they delve into Glenway Gilbert's murder, Imogene and the boys realize the deceased artist was surrounded by suspicious friends and lovers. With Goose the bulldog by their side, Jackson and Billy seek answers among old friends and new enemies, while Imogene follows her own ideas on the case. But the sooner they solve the murder, the sooner they can get back to catching beads and eating pralines. 

To listen to a sample or to purchase, head to Audible here.

June is Audiobook Month!

Ah, my favorite month of the year is here.  June is Audiobook Month and it gives me the chance to give out some free audiobooks and post my favorite Ryan Gosling meme.  Can't beat that.  A lot of publishers, authors, and narrators are celebrating Audiobook Month in various ways with giveaways, contests, etc.  A good way to look for these is via Twitter.  Search using hashtags, #loveaudiobooks, #AudiobookMonth,  #JIAM, and #JIAM2016.  I'll add more if I come across them.

I'd also like to point you to the free weekly giveaways sponsored by Audiofile Magazine called SYNC.  This is already the fifth week of free audiobook downloads.  (I should have posted about this when it started.)  Two new books are released each Thursday and are available for download for one week.  One is a classic and the other is a contemporary book.  Here's how you can follow them on Twitter:  @audiobookSYNC and here's the website to see which books will be available in the coming weeks:  Audiobook SYNC.

I'll be giving away 10 free audiobooks at the end of the month.  All you have to do to enter is to leave a comment (and a way to contact you) below in the comment section.  Winners will be drawn at random.  I have over 50 recordings currently available on Audible here.   I will have at least one more available by the end of the month and possibly two depending on my schedule.  Winners have their choice of any of my recordings.  This includes Audible.UK members, too.  I have codes specifically for my books for those across the pond.  

So, spread the word and keep your eyes peeled on Twitter for more places to win!

Thanks for reading! To return to the FICTION WRITERS BLOG HOP on Julie Valerie’s website, click here: http://www.julievalerie.com/fiction-writers-blog-hop-june-2016

Winners of the 'June is Audiobook Month' drawing announced!

June is over and that means the end of the 'official' audiobook month.  Of course, I think every month should be audiobook month!

As we've done in the past, a very high-tech procedure is used to select the winners.  Yes, that's right, George picks them from slips of paper from a bowl.  

Yes, this is the same picture from last year.  I saw no point in having to be neat while cutting up names and putting them into a nice bowl.  This year it was torn paper in a cereal bowl.  But you get the idea.

And the winners are:

Doresa Wise Young
Kristen
Avery Sines
Terri Abbett
Jess

I've contacted everyone and I've already heard from two winners.  They both chose Romancing Olive by Holly Bush as their free book.  It will be interesting to see what the other three winners choose.

Congratulations to the winners and a big THANK YOU to everyone who stopped by and entered. 

Enter to win a free audiobook by June 30th!

I'm having an audiobook giveaway on my website to celebrate June is Audiobook Month.  Just leave a comment -- even a brief 'hello' -- in the section on the bottom of this page.   At the end of June, I'll have a random drawing and 5 people will win their choice of any of my audiobooks.  Here's the current selection on Audible.

Good luck and keep listening!

It's June! That means it's Audiobook Month!

Yes, it's that time of the year again.  Audiobook Month.  A chance to celebrate audiobooks and post one of my favorite Ryan Gosling "Hey Girl" memes.

Audiobooks are becoming more and more popular as people find they have less time to read -- particularly for pleasure.  I tend to listen to a book when I'm doing something mindless like housework and/or exercise.  I've always read before going to bed (my nightstand is never without a book along with the current issue of The New Yorker and/or Vanity Fair on it).  But there are some nights when my brain is willing but my eyes are tired after a long stint spent recording from a Kindle in my booth/closet and/or editing files on my desktop.  On those nights, I put one ear bud in my ear from my Sansa MP3 player and continue listening after turning out the lights.  It's so soothing.  Right now I'm in the middle of Daphne Du Maurier's Rebecca narrated by the late actress Anna Massey.  I'm loving it.   

I actually downloaded Rebecca for free from Audiofile's SYNC program.  Each summer, Audiofile hosts downloads of two free audiobooks each week -- a current book and a classic one -- donated from various publishers.  The SYNC program runs from May 7th through August 13th -- that's 14 weeks of 2 free audiobooks each week.  You can sign up for email alerts so you don't miss out when the new books are released.  Here's the official 'purpose' of SYNC:  "SYNC is a program that gives away two complete audiobook downloads — a current Young Adult title paired thematically with a Classic or Required Summer Reading title — each week to listeners ages 13+ while SYNC is in session each summer."  So head on over here and sign up now!  

There are also a lot of contests and drawings going on this month for audiobooks.  A good way to keep pace is to look up the hashtags #audiobookmonth and #JIAM2015 on Twitter.  LOTS of good stuff out there!  I plan to have a drawing for free copies of any of my recordings a little later this month.  When I do, I'll post here and advertise on Twitter, Goodreads and Facebook.  Until then, keep listening!