Desideratum

This is a story set in the Wild West in the early 1900’s. The story centers around a woman named Ruby who is living a mostly quiet and mostly lawful life… when out of the blue her past comes hustling into town and takes her and us on a journey filled with missteps and mayhem.

This is a story about a family.  It is a close up look at a father and daughter, at two sisters, at a husband and wife. But, it’s also this huge story about tradition and patriarchy and freedom. It felt like poetry to me at times.. and this conversation about it was so rich. We’re talking about In the Time of our History with author Susanne Pari on this Desideratum. 

This is a collection of 10 classic short stories written over a hundred years ago, brought together in a carefully curated anthology. Each story gives a feminine perspective on marriage - its role in society and the personal beauty and pain that can be found within its bonds. We’re talking about Marriage from the Feminine Perspective annotated, published and narrated by Christine Mascott. The anthology earned Christine an Audiofile Earphones Award and a coveted Audie Finalist in the Short Stories and Collections category. Listen to what led her to these public domain, royalty free, stories from the past in the first place and find out why she thinks they still have something to say today.

Find the audiobook here: https://www.amazon.com/Marriage-Feminine-Perspective-Classic-Stories/dp/B09MRVDZJL/ref=tmm_aud_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

Our sponsor for this episode is Pozotron - the audio proofing platform designed to help narrators, proofers, and publishers produce more accurate and efficient audiobooks. Find out more and sign up for a free demo here: https://www.pozotron.com/

This is a story about a girl growing up in San Francisco in the 1930’s - her family suffers one tragedy after another and she decides to escape the city and head to Yosemite… 

Where she crosses paths with a real person in history - a Park Ranger named Enid Michael. 

We’re talking about the historical fiction, The View From Half Dome, with author Jill Caugherty. 

Jill shares how her storyline and characters evolved.  It always fascinates me to hear how one idea built up from the last - how one thing leads to another. I also really liked hearing Jill explain contrast and its importance to this story.

The scene you’ll hear from the audiobook is young Izzy’s first real hike in Yosemite.  She’s with Enid and Ansel and Virginia Adams. Thanks to the publisher Black Rose Writing for giving me the joy of narrating this story. And, thank you for listening. Remember when you enjoy a book in any format, please leave a review - reviews actively help with marketing and improve visibility and sales - plus it’s just nice. 

https://www.jillcaugherty.com/

https://www.amazon.com/The-View-from-Half-Dome/dp/B0C3J9JPH4/ref=tmm_aud_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

Full Transcription with time stamps available here:

https://otter.ai/u/z2o5nwxAu7vXc_XOb4bvFO7G-mQ?utm_source=copy_url

This is a story about a young boy named Philbet. He’s growing up in the deep south in the 1960’s and ‘70’s. He loves cars and his grandaddy’s garden and an older boy named Knox.  In this story, you see how Philbet hides himself and then finds himself. We’re talking about Red Clay Suzie, a fictionalized memoir written by Jeffrey Dale Lofton.

Red Clay Suzie Audiobook

https://www.audible.com/pd/Red-Clay-Suzie-Audiobook/B0BFC47JJY?action_code=ASSGB149080119000H&share_location=pdp

Organizations mentioned by the author:

Books mentioned by the author:

To Kill a Mockingbird

Call Me by Your Name

Episode transcript and timestamps:

This is a story set in what looks like a perfect neighborhood -  rocking chairs on covered porches, manicured lawns and families looking out for each other.   But in this story,  the illusion of perfect families and close friendships fractures when a child goes missing.  We’re talking about the novel The Perfect Neighborhood with author Liz Alterman.  Liz made me laugh and think deeply. I loved her perspectives on rejection and serendipity.  The scene you will hear from the audiobook is from one of my favorite narrators - Gail Shalan. The novel's suspense unfolds through five key perspectives, and the audiobook features five fantastic narrators. The audiobook was produced by Dreamscape.

I want to thank Dreamscape for sponsoring this episode.  They are an independent, award winning audiobook publisher that produces a wide range of titles, including everything from motivational self-help to suspenseful mysteries like The Perfect Neighborhood. Their goal is to provide the best and most high-quality audiobooks to listeners everywhere. They would love to connect, so please visit them at dreamscapepublishing.com, where you can sign up for their weekly newsletter that has audiobook news, deals, and updates on their regular audiobook giveaways. You can also visit them on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok.

Find more of Liz Alterman's storytelling here: https://www.lizalterman.com/

This is a story set firmly in Kentucky bluegrass - a story swirling around a retired history professor who finds herself in one murder mystery after another. We’re talking with the author of the Josiah Reynolds cozy mystery series Abigail Keam, and we begin our conversation with something she has in common with her main character… beekeeping.  

While Death By Greed (Book 18 in the series) just released, you are going to hear the very beginning, the very first scene. We’re going back to book 1 page 1 - and there will be bees in this reading from Death by a Honeybee.

I hope you enjoy getting to know Abigail - hearing about her bees and her characters. You can find her active on all social media platforms as @abigailkeamauthor. I first met her through @wellreadmagazine. Thanks to Mandy Haynes for shining her light on new-to-me authors. And, as always, thank YOU for listening.

This is a story about a string of murders - assassinations - of media pundits. They were extreme peddlers of their party's agendas, and their murders feel politically motivated. Assigned to the case is a group of grizzled and green FBI detectives. We're talking about the crime novel Code Gray with narrator Champ Westwood on this Desideratum.

Listen as Champ reveals what he appreciates about author Benny Sims intent. He loves how Sims grain of sand becomes a pearl as the story unfolds. Champ also explains his controversial process for prepping his audiobooks. And, you'll hear how his background in musical theater shapes his approach to the very intimate performance of audiobook narration.

I hope you have as much fun as I did getting to know Champ (he also narrates under the name Mike Eberhardt). Here's his website with all his narration and VO projects listed. https://www.superfunstudios.com/

As always, thanks for listening

Narrator by Landon Beach is a mystery thriller that will have you asking - what just happened and whodunnit?! Listen as Landon describes how he got inside the head of this hot mess of a main character - an audiobook narrator. And, find out how Landon first met his real life narrator the legendary award winning Scott Brick. Congratulations to Scott on being an Audie 2023 Finalist for Best Male Narrator for this project. Visit www.landonbeachbooks.com for all his books and his newsletter.