Guilty Indulgence

Friday, September 6, 2019

Audiobook Blog Tour # The Modern Royals @AvenEllis @aemmes @AnAudiobookworm

Author: Aven Ellis

Narrator: Andrea Emmes

Length: 21 hours and 8 minute

Series: Modern Royals, Book 2

Publisher: Tantor Audio

Released: July 24, 2019

Genre: Romantic Comedy

A modern princess. A charming commoner. Can they hurdle tradition to find true love?

Princess Elizabeth "Liz" of York isn't interested in a fairy tale life. Determined to use her elite platform to champion children's causes, she'd much rather raise awareness than find her prince. If only she could stop picturing one certain gardener with vivid hazel eyes....

When the relentless paparazzi invade her space, Liz's crush comes to her rescue and steals her heart. Tossing aside centuries of tradition for something real, she takes Roman's calloused hand and braces for the backlash. But after her progressive approach ruffles more than a few feathers, one member of the monarchy vows to keep the princess locked in her stylish but decidedly ivory tower.

Can Liz break through her birthright to find a powerful kind of love?

Aven began her publishing career in 2013 with her debut release, Connectivity. She currently writes hockey and baseball romances as well as a modern royal romance series.

Her books are designed to make readers laugh out loud and fall in love. Happily-ever-after endings and good-boy heroes are guaranteed.

Aven lives in the Dallas area with her family. She is a huge fan of both the Dallas Stars and Texas Rangers. Aven loves shopping and fashion and can spend hours playing with fragrances in any department store. She can be found chatting it up on social media, eating specialty M&Ms, and crushing on the latest outfit the Duchess of Cambridge is wearing.

Website⎮Twitter⎮Facebook⎮Goodreads⎮Instagram⎮Pinterest

Best Selling, Award Winning Audiobook Narrator, Andrea Emmes was born in Hollywood, Florida, grew up in both Tennessee and Rhode Island and started her career in musical theatre. She’s enjoyed an eclectic career as a singer, dancer, Vegas Headliner, Magician’s Assistant, a Recording Artist and a Video Game Designer.

A total book nerd, Andrea, now enjoys narrating all genres of audiobooks, especially YA, LitRPG, Mystery, Romance, and NonFictionat her professional home studio in San Jose, CA.

Her wide range of character voices and dynamic/emotionally invested performances has reviewers and listeners alike commenting on how she effortlessly pulls listeners in and has versatility and charisma.

Fun Facts: Andrea has a Bachelor of Science in Game Art and Design; was a game designer for Disney Interactive; and gets her gamer-geek on playing games of all kinds!

Website⎮Twitter⎮Facebook⎮Instagram

Aven Ellis' Top Ten Literary inspirations

Sophie Kinsella. The moment I started reading Confessions of a Shopaholic, I felt as though I had never read anything like it before. It was so funny, so vivid, so bright. I knew instantly that these where the kind of stories I wanted to write-ones with humor and heart. And that began my path toward becoming a romantic comedy writer.
Georgette Heyer. I absolutely love her regency romances, in particular Sylvester and The Grand Sophy, which had me laughing out loud. Absolutely brilliant writing.
Jane Austen. The way she weaves together a story is masterful. These are re-reads for me.
JK Rowling. The fact that she had such strength and perseverance to follow her writing dream is truly inspiring.
Maeve Binchy. She wrote the most beautiful descriptions and stories with so many layers.
Julia Child. Her book Mastering the Art of French Cooking is a masterpiece. When you read her book My Life In France, you see what a monumental undertaking it was to write that cookbook and in this book, you feel like you are on the journey. I absolutely love both of them.
Julia Quinn. Her Bridgerton series is a master class in laying out a series. How the plots are so thought out, so interwoven to lead to the next book, is brilliant.
Margaret Mitchell. Gone with the Wind, need I say more? I love the way her plotting kept me turning the page.
Helen Fielding. Bridget Jones’s Diary is humor at it’s best. She is another comedic inspiration for me.
Emma MCLaughlin and Nicola Kraus, The Nanny Diaries. I still remember parts of this book, which made me laugh and made me sad. Most of all, I remember feeling it was totally unique and I loved that about their writing style.

Aven Ellis' Casting Picks for The Princess Pose

Amanda Schull as Princess Elizabeth
Fabian Castro as Roman Lawler
Donny Lewis as Darcy Lawler
Vika Brenova as Lady Amelia Westbrook
Helen Mirren as Jillian Park
Katherine McNamara as Clementine Jones
Freddie Stroma as Prince Christian
Kate Beckinsdale as Queen Antonia
Laurence Nicotra as King Arthur
Francis Cadieux as Prince Alexander
Diane Keaton as Princess Helene
TR Pescod as Clive Lawler

Giveaway: $25 Amazon Gift Card

BOOK 1- A ROYAL SHADE OF BLUE

Aug. 25th:

Country Road Reviews

Viviana MacKade

The Book Junkie Reads . . .

Aug. 26th:

A Blue Million Books

KayBee's Bookshelf, A Literary Blog

One Last Page Book Blog

T's Stuff

Aug. 27th:

Author C.A. Gray

My Creatively Random Life

The Book Addict's Reviews

Aug. 28th:

Valerie Ullmer | Romance Author

Locks, Hooks and Books

WonderlandiansBooks

Aug. 29th:

Jazzy Book Reviews

Reading for the Love of Books

Audiobook Ebook Fascination

Aug. 30th:

What Is That Book About

Nesie's Place

BookishOwlette (Review, Giveaway)

Turning Another Page

Aug. 31st:

Teatime and Books

Haddie's Haven

Smada's Book Smack

Dazzled by Books

Guilty Indulgence Bookclub

BOOK 2- THE PRINCESS POSE

Sep. 1st:

Country Road Reviews

Dazzled by Books

Sep. 2nd:

Valerie Ullmer | Romance Author

The Book Junkie Reads . . .

KayBee's Bookshelf, A Literary Blog

Sep. 3rd:

A Blue Million Books

One Last Page Book Blog

T's Stuff

Turning Another Page

Sep. 4th:

Author C.A. Gray

WonderlandiansBooks

The Book Addict's Reviews

Sep. 5th:

Viviana MacKade

Locks, Hooks and Books

BookishOwlette

Audiobook Ebook Fascination

Sep. 6th:

Haddie's Haven

Smada's Book Smack

Reading for the Love of Books

Guilty Indulgence Bookclub

Sep. 7th:

Teatime and Books

Jazzy Book Reviews

My Creatively Random Life

Plugging you into the audio community since 2016.

Saturday, August 31, 2019

Audiobook Blog Tour #The Modern Royals Series @AvenEllis @aemmes @AnAudiobookworm

Author: Aven Ellis

Narrator: Andrea Emmes

Length: 10 hours and 1 minute

Series: Modern Royals, Book 1

Publisher: Tantor Audio

Released: Aug. 14, 2018

Genre: Romantic Comedy

When art-history student Clementine Jones receives a message complimenting her latest internship project, she doesn't hesitate to answer it. She never dreamed this decision would not only change her life, but the future of the British monarchy as well.

Her response leads Clementine to the mysterious CP Chadwick, a British man studying history at Cambridge. Clementine finds CP charming, smart, and unlike any man she's ever met. Most of all, when she confides her medical past to CP, his perception of her doesn't change. He doesn't treat her as fragile like her parents do. CP sees her as normal, which is something she cherishes.

Clementine, however, has no idea CP is actually Prince Christian of Wales, who has never had a "normal" life. Christian is at a crossroad. His destiny is to be a working royal, but he is desperate to fill that role in his own way. Wary of others, he's kept himself closed off from the world - until he lets Clementine in.

A royal romance is never a fairy tale, but Clementine and Christian are determined to write their own version. Can they overcome their own fears - as well as the constraints of a royal life - to reach their own happily ever after?

Website⎮Twitter⎮Facebook⎮Goodreads⎮Instagram⎮Pinterest

Website⎮Twitter⎮Facebook⎮Instagram

Q&A with Author Aven Ellis

Are you an audiobook listener?
- What about the audiobook format appeals to you? Yes, I’m always listening to a book-when I’m in my car, and right before bed. I love the audiobook format because it allows me to read at times when I can’t. As a writer, when I’m done writing for the day, my eyes need a break. Audiobooks fill that need nicely!
How did you select your narrator?
- The Modern Royals Series is produced by Tantor, and they gave me a couple of narrators to choose from. But I requested Andrea because I heard a clip of her British accent and I knew she was perfect to carry the series forward! Her accent is so good I had a British friend ask if she was British! There’s no greater compliment than that!
Were there any real life inspirations behind your writing?
- I have been fascinated with the British royal family since I was a tween. People always come to me to talk royals and finally another author said, “Why aren’t you writing a royal series? You would be perfect for that.” So I thought about it and decided I wanted to create an alternate reality British royal family. I use the real palaces and traditions in the books, and it’s been a tremendous research project to get those details right, but I absolutely love telling royal stories.
What gets you out of a writing slump? What about a reading slump?
- If I get to a sticking point with my writing, I bounce ideas off my critique partners and beta team until the story is back in the right direction. For a reading slump-I’m lucky, I’ve never had one.
How did you celebrate after finishing this novel?
- I always treat myself to a bottle of perfume after finishing a novel, and that’s what I did.
If you had the power to time travel, would you use it? If yes, when and where would you go?
- You know what? I wouldn’t. I’m grateful for the time I’m in and wouldn’t want to go back to any other time.
What do you say to those who view listening to audiobooks as “cheating” or as inferior to “real reading”?
- If you are consuming a story, if you are enjoying escaping to another world, to me that’s all that matters. Personally, if you are listening to a one of my audiobooks you are consuming my story and that’s all that matters.
What's your favorite:
- Food: steak
- Song: Poison by Bell Biv DeVoe
- Book: Confessions of a Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella
- Television show: MasterChef
- Movie The King’s Speech
- Band: Don’t really have one at the moment
- Sports team: Dallas Stars
- City: Dallas
Are any of those things referenced in appearance in your work?
- My favorite foods appear all the time! I set a series in Dallas, too.
What’s next for you?
- I’ll be releasing the third book in my Rinkside in the Rockies series-Outscored. That is a romantic comedy and yes, it will be in audio, too.

Aven Ellis' Casting Picks for A Royal Shade of Blue

Katherine McNamara as Clementine Jones
Freddie Stroma as Prince Christian
Kate Beckinsdale as Queen Antonia
Laurence Nicotra as King Arthur
Francis Cadieux as Prince Alexander
Amanda Schull as Princess Elizabeth
Fabian Castro as Roman Lawler
Helen Mirren as Jillian Park

Giveaway: $25 Amazon Gift Card

BOOK 1- A ROYAL SHADE OF BLUE

BOOK 2- THE PRINCESS POSE

Plugging you into the audio community since 2016.

Friday, August 9, 2019

Audiobook Blog Tour #Tangled Web #UltimateIndulgence #DeadlyCuriosities #Audiobooks @GailZMartin @tplummer76 @AnAudiobookworm

Author: Gail Z. Martin

Narrator: Therese Plummer

Length: 8 hours 26 minutes

Series: Deadly Curiosities, Book 3

Publisher: Tantor Audio

Released: August 21, 2018

Genre: Paranormal Fantasy

Cassidy Kincaide runs Trifles & Folly in modern-day Charleston, an antiques and curios shop with a dangerous secret. Cassidy can read the history of objects by touching them, and along with her business partners Teag, who has Weaver magic, and Sorren, a 600-year-old vampire, they get rid of cursed objects and keep Charleston and the world safe from supernatural threats.

When zombies rise in Charleston cemeteries, dead men fall from the sky, and the whole city succumbs to the "grouch flu", Cassidy, Teag, and Sorren suspect a vengeful dark witch who is gunning for Teag and planning to unleash an ancient horror.

Cassidy, Teag, and Sorren - and all their supernatural allies - will need magic, cunning, and the help of a Viking demigoddess to survive the battle with a malicious Weaver-witch and an ancient Norse warlock to keep Charleston - and the whole East Coast - from becoming the prey of the Master of the Hunt.

Gail Z. Martin writes urban fantasy, epic fantasy and steampunk for Solaris Books, Orbit Books, Falstaff Books, SOL Publishing and Darkwind Press. Urban fantasy series include Deadly Curiosities and the Night Vigil (Sons of Darkness). Epic fantasy series include Darkhurst, the Chronicles Of The Necromancer, the Fallen Kings Cycle, the Ascendant Kingdoms Saga, and the Assassins of Landria. Together with Larry N. Martin, she is the co-author of Iron & Blood, Storm & Fury (both Steampunk/alternate history), and the Spells Salt and Steel comedic horror series. Newest titles include Tangled Web, Vengeance, The Dark Road, and Assassin’s Honor. As Morgan Brice, she writes urban fantasy MM paranormal romance, with her Witchbane and Badlands series.

Website⎮Twitter⎮Facebook⎮Goodreads⎮Pinterest

Looking to wind down my summer in style, I struggle for reads that go well with hot, lazy days and keep me awake long enough to enjoy them. Then along came Gail Z Martin, who had me at ghosts in Charleston about to destroy the world! Tangled Web is book 3 in her Deadly Curiosities series and, while I have not read the first two, you can be sure I now will. The writing style and tone were eerily similar to another author I enjoy and funnily enough, it turns out to be her alter ego Morgan Brice.

I will spare you the recap as the synopsis pretty much gives the reader what they need to know without divulging any exciting plot bunnies. That said, the thrilling balance of paranormal, mystery and action/adventure in this book makes it quite universally appealing. It is well written, crafted in a way that allows a reader who is not familiar with the series or characters to keep up without feeling like a full blown recap at every turn. The pace and flow of the action scenes is excellent - fast moving without being confusing or over-done. The characters are so real, so multi-dimensional, that the reader quickly and easily invests in the and the overall story line. And everyone who knows me, knows I adore a good Scooby-gang cast of characters when it comes to my Urban Fantasy tales - give me a team that takes on a big bad and saves the world and I am a happily entertained girl!

A major selling point for this as an audiobook certainly should be credited to Therese Plummer. She is one of those narrators whose voice is mild and fairly generic, but not in a negative way. She is able to capture all the unique personalities of from the Southern horse breeders to the ancient Scandinavian demigoddess and vampires who help the intrepid Cassidy and her partner Teag solve the mysteries afoot in the lovely and highly haunted Charleston, SC and save the world. Most importantly, she keeps the story moving along, making both narrative and action scenes equally compelling. As I said, hot summer days are not conducive to full attention but the combo of Martin and Plummer managed to keep me awake and engaged the entire time. I was on Audible searching for books 1,2 and 4 before the last chapter closed!

I would highly recommend this series to fans of mystery, paranormal suspense and Urban Fantasy - it is the quintessential summer read and complimented my stay by the lake to perfection.

Tangled Web gets five (5) chocolate dipped strawberries and an Ultimate Indulgence award.

I received this audiobook as part of my participation in a blog tour with Audiobookworm Promotions. The tour is being sponsored by Gail Z. Martin. The gifting of this audiobook did not affect my opinion of it.

Q&A with Author Gail Z. Martin

Q: How drew you to writing Urban Fantasy?

A: I love the idea of supernatural creatures and magic in the modern, ‘real’ world. The thought that there are things lurking in the shadows that we don’t know are there...That just turns the plot bunnies on for me!

Q: This series is set in Charleston, SC. How did you pick that city?

A: I went to a conference there, and saw how beautiful it was and how haunted. I decided right then I needed to set a series there! It’s got such a great vibe, but it hasn’t been used in a lot of books like New York or New Orleans.

Q: What does Urban Fantasy mean to you?

A: For me, it’s about magic and monsters that are part of our world, just out of sight, hiding from our notice. It’s ghosts and supernatural creatures and magic. It’s curses and haunted places and things that go bump in the night.

Q: Who are the main characters in Tangled Web?

A: Teag Logan is on the cover. He works at Trifles and Folly, an antique and curio shop in Charleston that really exists to get haunted and cursed objects out of circulation. He has the ability to weave magic into cloth and he’s also an amazing hacker.

Cassidy Kincaide owns Trifles and Folly, and she can read the history of objects by touching them.

Her boss is Sorren, a nearly 600 year-old vampire, who is part of a group of mortals and immortals who save the world from supernatural threats. Cassidy and Teag work with Sorren to protect Charleston and the world.

Q: What fascinates you about the supernatural?

A: I’m fascinated by the idea of magic, of people and creatures that are more than or different from what we expect. I love the idea of being able to do things no one else can do with magic, or to have extra supernatural abilities. And I just like the creepy factor.

Q: Have you always liked stories about ghosts and haunted places?

A: I got my first book of ghost stories when I was a kid. My favorite TV show when I was a preschooler was about vampires. I always wanted the monsters in ScoobyDoo to be real. And I love walking around in cemeteries, looking at the monuments, making up stories about the people in my mind!

Q: How do you get your ideas for stories?

A: Everywhere. I see things in the headlines, or on the History Channel, or I see a movie or TV show and think...hmm, what if it had gone another way? I overhear people talking in the line at the supermarket, or at a restaurant, and that will take me off in another direction. Ideas are everywhere!

Q: You use a lot of local history in your story. What’s your research process?

A: I look up the history of a place before I use it in a book, and I also make sure to look at urban legends and ghost stories about the area. I also look into famous scandals and crimes, abandoned places, haunted sites. If there’s a particular object involved in the book, I’ll look into it. I draw on photos of local landmarks for descriptions. If possible, I visit the site to get the vibe. I also use Google Street Views sometimes. It’s a lot of fun!

Q: How much do you draw on local urban legends and ghost stories?

A: A lot. The more I can tie a story into the setting, the more natural it feels, like it couldn’t happen anywhere else. I want the setting to be like a character in the books, to feel real to the reader. The legends and ghost stories say a lot about a place’s history and the kind of people who lived there, the types of struggles they had.

Q: How do you handle using real places and people in your books?

A: If it’s a public place or a monument or a government site, I will use the real name. If it’s a private business, I’ll make up a fictitious version. That way I can do with the setting what I want without worrying about making a business owner mad. Also, if I make up my own version of a business or restaurant, then I control it, and I don’t end up mentioning a place in my books that later goes out of business! As for people, I generally only use real people who are dead and were famous.

Guest Post

Haunted Heirlooms and Cursed Curios

By Gail Z. Martin

I grew up going to antique stores and flea markets with my parents. All of the unusual items intrigued me. So many interesting things that were strange, beautiful, or just plain odd. Some I didn’t recognize, and had no idea about what they did.

So I made up stories about the items, and the people who owned them, as well as how they came to be for sale. That turned what might have been a boring wait into an adventure. Many of the shops had that dark, dusty look to them where it didn’t seem impossible for magic to happen, or a cursed item to be lurking in a corner.

It always fascinated me to think about the people who had owned those items. What did the object mean to them? Was it a gift? A souvenir? Something with sentimental meaning? It seemed so sad that their stories were lost. And sometimes, I’d come across an item that just felt ‘wrong’. It made me draw back and not want to touch it. It gave me the creeps. Probably my imagination, but who knows?

Trifles and Folly, the antique and curio shop in Tangled Web (and my Deadly Curiosities series) is based on all of those memories, as well as imagination and a few nightmares. The idea of a store making sure that haunted and cursed items are removed from circulation so they can’t hurt anyone really sparks my imagination. After all, you never know where that interesting antique might have been!

Teag Logan—Looks a bit like a young Keanu Reeves. Skater-boy dark hair. Late twenties. Tall and slender. Had been working on his Ph.D. In history before he got a summer job at Trifles and Folly, discovered his Weaver magic, and decided that saving the world was more interesting.

Cassidy Kincaide—Think of Nicole Kidman in her twenties, with strawberry-blonde hair. She inherited Trifles and Folly from her uncle, because of her ‘touch magic’. She’s a psychometric, able to read the history of an object by touching it.

Sorren—He’s a nearly 600 year-old vampire who helped Cassidy’s long-ago ancestor found Trifles and Folly 350 years ago. Sorren is Cassidy’s business partner, and he’s part of the Alliance, a coalition of mortals and immortals who keep the world safe from supernatural threats. He looks like he’s in his late twenties, with blond hair and eyes that are the color of the sea before a storm.