Viviana from Enchantress of Books and I are super excited to have the very talented Kendra Elliot on our blogs today to talk about her wonderful Suspense Romance books on audio.  

Kendra, what do you love/like about audio books?

My favorite thing is that it widens my reach. I reach more readers/listeners by being available in audio. I hear from people who physically cannot read a book and they’re very grateful that I’m available in audio. For my own preferences, I don’t like to listen to them…I can’t stand being read to out loud. Even when my husband tries to read me a snippet from a magazine, I say, “Just let me look at it!”

Tell us what involvement do you have in getting your novels turned into audiobooks?

My publisher does everything. I just cheer them on.

How is your narrator selected for your novels?

Book one in the Mason Callahan series

Good question! Over ten novels and novellas, I’ve had multiple narrators. I know on my Callahan & McLane series, they’ve made it a priority to use the same duo for narration, but I’m not sure of my publisher’s selection process on the others.

What information/guidance do you provide to the narrator?

The duo that does my Callahan series reaches out to me each time before they start and asks if I have any guidance. I usually don’t. They have confirmed how to pronounce a few of the Pacific Northwest locations like Willamette. It’s not willa-met.

I am so glad they asked you that.  I just listened to another story and the pronounced Willamette wrong.  If you are from Oregon you will understand.  

Kendra’s debut novel. Book one in the Bone Secret series.

Do you listen to your audiobooks after they are finished?  Why or why not.

NOOOO! When my debut novel came out, I thought it’d be cool to listen to the audio sample on Amazon. I lasted it through two sentences. Those are my words! I don’t know how to explain it…it was too odd. It’s probably similar to how my brother felt when he tried to read one of my books. He said he could hear my voice talking in his head, and he simply couldn’t continue.

If you have one book in your backlist that is not already on audio, which novel would you want to be turned into an audio book.

I started to list VEILED, one of my novellas. But I just double checked on Amazon and it is available in audio. I love my publisher. They’ve made it a priority to get everything I’ve written into audio.

If you could pick one person (male or female) to narrator your life who would it be and why?

Novella #1 in the Rouge River series.

How about Morgan Freeman? I could listen to him read the phone book.

For anyone who has not listened to an audiobook before.  What would you tell them to try to convince them

to listen?

I firmly believe everyone should try it. Clearly it’s not for me, but I have friends who are huge readers  and absolutely love audio too. They listen while working out or during their commutes. You might be missing out on something fabulous.

Here are a couple samples of Kendra’s books:

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Order Her Father’s Grave here: Amazon | Audible 

A little about Kendra:

As a kid, I read and read and read. Laura Ingalls, Nancy Drew, and Trixie Belden were my close companions, and I was never without a book in hand. Today, mysteries are my primary reading genre. I enjoy Lee Child, Karen Rose, Robert Crais, and Tami Hoag. But I also love a sweeping historical novel by Diana Gabaldon or a contemporary romance by Rachel Gibson.

I decided to try my hand at writing a novel after I read a newspaper article about NaNoWriMo. Heck, I can do that. I sat down and wrote a contemporary romance but kept tripping over dead bodies in each chapter. I got the hint and my stories evolved into romantic suspense.

I joined my local Romance Writers of America chapter, the Rose City Romance Writers, and found a fabulous community dedicated to educating its members about writing and publishing. Book purchases are tax deductable?? I also belong to International Thriller Writers and the Kiss of Death Chapter of RWA.

In 2010, my manuscript, Stronger Than Bone (HIDDEN), was a finalist in RWA’s prestigious Golden Heart® contest. My third book, BURIED, won the Daphne Du Maurier award for romantic suspense and was nominated for the 2014 International Thriller Writers’s award for Best Paperback Original and Romantic Times Magazine’s best Romantic Suspense of 2013.

I grew up in the lush Pacific Northwest and still live there with my husband, three daughters, two cats, and a Pomeranian. I am fascinated with forensics, refuse to eat anything green, and love a good Mai Tai on the beach on Kauai.

Learn more about Kendra and her books here: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

And make sure to check out all of Kendra’s books on audio HERE

Kendra’s Giveaway

I’ll give a CD or MP3 file of the winner’s choice of any of three of my novels in audio.