We thank everyone who took the time to enter.  And, of course, we thank Avon for their generosity and creativity in putting together such a terrific prize package.

Don’t forget that until December 12th, you can save 20% off the price of Avon Books when you shop in the online Harper Collins store.  Just enter the code AARAvon20 at checkout.

-Sandy AAR

Sabrina Jeffries is arriving on the audio scene in a big way with three books in early 2010, (January), The Truth about Lord Stoneville (January), Never Seduce a Scoundrel (March), and Only a Duke Will Do (May).  Ms. Jeffries has two audiobooks to date – a short story, Gone But Not Forgotten, and an audio cassette version of A Dangerous Love from 2001.  Let’s hope the powers that be choose to give us some of her earliest titles as well (my favorites).

Julie Garwood’s historicals are once again appearing in audio format.  In the past, her historicals were offered in audio cassette and mostly (if not totally) in abridged format.  November, 2009 saw the release of The Bride followed by The Prize in December.  Gentle Warrior (March) and Rebellious Desire (August) are scheduled for 2010.  Possibly this means we will see more of her historicals released as the year progresses.

Another romance author we’ll be seeing more in 2010 is Christina Dodd as a number of her books, both old and new, are scheduled for release.  One of her older titles, Just the Way You Are will be released on November 29^th followed by two more older titles, One Kiss from You and Scandalous Again (both in April).  Two of her new releases will also be offered in audio format, Almost Like Being in Love (January) and Close to You (March).  My favorite of Dodd’s books, Rules of Attraction, is available only in cassette tape format and sits in my audio library.

Linda Howard continues to release her backlist with Son of the Morning released in a few days (November 29^th) followed by Kill and Tell (January) and her anthology Strangers in the Night (March).  Also scheduled for 2010 are two of her upcoming releases, Blood Born with Linda Jones (April) and Veil of Night (August).  I’m betting we’ll see more of Howard’s older books released in audio format during 2010.

And since the world of audiobooks carries with it the certainty of change and uncertainty, I am sure there are many, many other exciting releases out there for 2010.

Leftovers from November

Here are just a few of the gems you can find on our updated New Releases for November list:

Brockmann, Suzanne – Kiss and Tell

Jenkins, Beverly – Through the Storm

Mallery, Susan – Holly and Mistletoe

Peterson, Tracie – A Surrendered Heart

Showalter, Gena – Playing with Fire

Audiobook Romances on Sale in December

Abridged

Coulter, Catherine – Catherine Coulter FBI CD Collection 2: Point Blank, Double Take, TailSpin

Deveraux, Jude – Days of Gold: A Novel

Garwood, Julie – The Prize

Krentz, Jayne Ann – Running Hot

Robb, J.D. – J.D. Robb CD Collection 9: Creation in Death, Strangers in Death, Salvation in Death

Steele, Danielle – Danielle Steel CD Collection: Amazing Grace, Honor Thyself, Rogue

Unabridged

Balogh, Mary – A Matter of Class

Garwood, Julie – The Prize

Garwood, Julie – Sizzle

Hamilton, Laurell K – Divine Misdemeanors

Hanover, Hevin – Total Eclipse of the Heart

Krentz, Jayne Ann – Fired Up

Macomber, Debbie – The Man You’ll Marry: The First Man You’ll Meet & The Man You’ll Marry

Macomber, Debbie – The Man You’ll Marry: A Selection from The Man You’ll Marry Collection

Quick, Amanda – Ravished

Roberts, Nora – Lessons Learned

Roberts, Nora – One Summer

Ward, J.R. – Covet: A Novel of the Fallen Angels

Whitney, Phyllis A – Amethyst Dreams

Whitney, Phyllis A – Woman Without a Past

Woods, Sherryl – Amazing Gracie

Recent Additions to My Audio Library

Taking advantage of another great sale at Audible recently, I made a number of additions to my library at half price.

Gone Too Far – Suzanne Brockmann

I’ve read five of The Troubleshooters series and not in order.  But like everyone else, I waited for Sam and Alyssa’s story with great anticipation.  Now I find myself in a Brockmann mood and think it’s time to hear rather than read this dynamic couple’s story.

Breaking Point – Suzanne Brockmann

Max and Gina hold their own as the primary love interest here but it is the continuing story of the secondary romance between Jones and Molly (from Out of Control) that most drew me to Breaking Point.  Listening to the sound sample, I’m not crazy about the narrator’s interpretation of Max’s character but I’m willing to go with it and hope he sounds more like the Max in my head as the story continues.

Cry No More – Linda Howard

The most moving of Howard’s books (Death Angel is a close second), I clearly recall this story and the various nuances of the lead characters years after my first listen – an unusual feat for me.  I considered this an outstanding audio presentation five years ago and I’m ready to experience it all over again.

Delicious – Sherry Thomas

Although it’s not my favorite Thomas book, I still enjoyed Delicious in print.  Narrator Virginia Leishman received an A from me with her narration of Private Arrangements.  Let’s hope she does it again.

To Die For - Linda Howard

Listening to To Die For, one of my favorite contemporary romances, was difficult the first time around since I couldn’t quite wrap my mind around narrator Franette Liebow’s very southern interpretation of heroine Blaire.  But I’ve developed a sort of indifferent acceptance of Blaire’s drawl and this now ranks as a comfort listen which means I wanted it on my MP3 player.

Drop Dead Gorgeous - Linda Howard

The sequel to To Die For, it’s more of Blair and Wyatt who, in my book, rate as one of the most entertaining couples in contemporary romance.  Narrator Joyce Bean’s Blair is much easier on the ear than the Blair as performed by Liebow in the prequel

My two Audible credits this month are reserved for two yet-to-be released November audiobooks, Son of the Morning by Linda Howard and The Bride by Julie Garwood.  I’ve been looking forward to both of these audiobooks for months.

Now for your thoughts

What new releases are you looking forward to?

Do you know of other 2010 upcoming audiobooks?

Do you know of any December releases that failed to make this list?

What are the latest additions to your audio library?

What are your latest audio successes or failures?

Ending Notes

For those new to our Speaking of Audiobooks column, be sure to check out our audio archives for further recommendations and discussions.

See you again in December.

- Lea Hensley

If you haven’t read the original Dracula, I highly recommend it. There’s so much more going on in there besides the vampire story. In addition, if it’s romance you’re after, there are tons of vampire romances out there and most of us have probably tried at least a few of them. So, here’s a poll – and probably something that will end up growing the TBR mountains we all seem to have:

-Lynn Spencer

I never thought I’d say this, but here’s my answer to the reading slump:  Stop reading.

About three weeks ago, I had a period of major crunching, and for two solid weeks I didn’t read a thing.  My review books lay sulking on the table.  The books I’d borrowed from friends were abandoned.  Comfort reads were no longer a comfort – how could they be, when I couldn’t even face opening their covers?  No newspapers, no magazines, and had the Bernstein Bears appeared I would have shunned them too.  In short, I went into total reading freeze.  For me, that’s huge.

The main reason was simply a question of fatigue – I’ve been too tired to do anything except work, eat, and sleep, emphasis on the latter.  But when it was over, and after getting a solid ten hours of sleep, I successfully opened a book.  And from the ashes arose an interesting realization: I was glad to take a break from reading.  I was satisfied that I had stopped.  I read that book enthusiastically, even though it turned out to be a dud.  I was once again happy in the world of literature.  All because I’d stopped reading.

I suppose coming from a representative (voluntary or otherwise) of a literary publication (online or otherwise), this sounds mighty strange.  But sometimes a clean, temporary break is best.  Most of us have gorged ourselves at some time or other and felt sick afterwards, be it Thanksgiving dinner, Coldplay or Julia Quinn.  I almost killed any enjoyment of Pride and Prejudice when I watched it ad nauseum, day in, day out.  I finally forced myself away, but it sure taught me to take things in small doses.

This particular time, I don’t think I’ve been overdosing on reading or romance novels.  But when I went back after taking a break, I realized I was reading with fresher eyes: Fresh in the sense that I’d been straining them, but I also felt as if I’d come home from vacation.  Home is familiar and comfortable, even though the second stair still creaks or you have to go back to sharing a bed with your sister.  But I also appreciate what I didn’t have for a while, and especially the fact that I have the leisure and ability to return to it.

It’s strange what a change of pace can do, even if it’s as simple as changing a pervasive, lifelong habit such as reading.

-Jean Wan AAR

From now until December 12th,  when you shop at Harper Collins online, you’ll save 20% from your total order when you enter the code AARAvon20 at checkout.

And, to keep the good news coming, we’re also excited to announce a giveaway of an exciting package of Avon advanced reading copies for one lucky winner packed in a cute (really, really cute) handmade tote bag. To enter for your chance to win, just post in the comments section of this post by Thursday,  November 19th at 12 midnight, eastern time. A winner will be randomly selected and announced here on Friday.

The prize consists of three e-galleys and six print galleys.  The actual release date of all upcoming books is included in parentheses, but the prize will be shipped shortly after the contest concludes. Here’s what the winner will receive:

e-galleys of:

• Abandon the Night (February) and Embrace the Night Eternal by Joss Ware.  (A clue for readers:  Joss Ware is also known as Colleen Gleason and these books are the second and third entries in the author’s exciting new trilogy.  The first book releases in January.)
• The Elusive Bride by Stephanie Laurens.  (February)

Print galleys of:

• First Drop of Crimson (Night Huntress World, Book One) by Jeaniene Frost (February)
• Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake by Sarah MacLean. (April)
• His Darkest Hunger by Juliana Stone (April)
• Taming the Highland Bride by Lynsay Sands (February)
• Secrets of a Scandalous Bride by Sophia Nash (March)
• Live to Tell by Wendi Corsi Staub. (March)

The winner’s print galleys will come packed in this supercute pink and green (love pink and green!) handmade tote bag from Funky Chic Designs.

A few caveats:  This giveaway is intended to get advanced copies of books into the hands of readers, so if you review for another review site or publication, please don’t enter. And, regretfully, due to high shipping costs, the giveaway is open only to those who live within the United States.

We thank Avon for their generosity in putting together the giveaway and for giving AAR readers the opportunity to save money on books at the Harper Collins online store.  Just enter the code AARAvon20 to save 20% off your total order from now until December 12th.

Good luck to everyone!

-Sandy AAR

A friend of mine says I like “goofball” heroes and, to some degree, I think she’s right.  But humor takes fierce intelligence (Jon Stewart, anyone?) and I find it incredibly attractive when someone is confident enough in himself that he doesn’t need to hit others in the face with his brains. It’s fun (not to mention sexually exciting) to discover that someone you initially underestimated is w-a-a-a-a-y smarter than you thought, right?

So, forthwith and with no more verbal diarrhea, here are my fave brainiac/goofball romances:

Mr. Impossible by Loretta Chase:  Rupert and Daphne.  (Insert sigh here.)  The verbal fencing in this book is off the charts fabulous.  The reasons I love this one are legion and, hey, if you love it, too, you know why. It is a perfect confection composed of romance and laughter in equal parts. I’ve read others on the Internet say that they don’t think Rupert is as intelligent as Daphne.  I disagree.  Completely.  And, I’d venture to say, Daphne does, too.

Bridal Favors by Connie Brockway:  I think this one is a bit neglected in the pantheon of greatness that is the author’s backlist and, though I loved Bridal Season and My Dearest Enemy and All Through the Night is my favorite historical romance of all time, this is the book I’ve sighed over in multiple rereads.  Not only is it laugh out loud funny with both verbal sparring and situational humor, it’s also incredibly romantic. Funny people feel and the author makes you believe it.

Heaven, Texas by Susan Elizabeth Phillips: Hero Bobby Tom Denton is an ex-professional football player, but I think his primary talent really lies in being a professional goofball.  Bobby Tom is always underestimated.  Bobby Tom always pays.  And Bobby Tom is always affable when he’s working his way through numerous accommodating groupies.  Gracie is uptight.  Make that way, way, way uptight.  Not to mention the sexual omega to Bobby Tom’s alpha. They are true opposites in almost every sense and their chemistry is combustible.  Heaven, Texas is deliciously funny and…well, just plain flat out completely delicious.

Slightly Dangerous by Mary Balogh:  Of my four favorites, this is the only one in which the roles are reversed, with heroine Christine the prick-er and Wulf the prick-ee.  The book (which incredibly and tragically does not seem to be currently available at Amazon) is not especially funny and strikes an altogether different tone than my other three favorites, but it is heartbreakingly romantic and emotionally real.  As the author’s homage to Pride and Prejudice (the original brainiac/goofball romance?), it is my favorite of all books by this prolific – and incredible – author.  Unlike P&P, the author allows us inside Wulf’s head as he stumbles into love and those are the passages that I’ve reread many, many times.  They feel special in a way I don’t really think I can articulate.

So, what do you think?  Is the brainiac/goofball a favorite plot device of yours?  Is there another plot for which you are always a sucker?

-Sandy AAR

My top overused plotline at the moment is the heroine who writes romance (including chick lit) and/or erotic novels. There have been a number of them in the last few years, and I wish they’d take a break. The romance/erotic novel writer heroine may lead to any or several of the following scenarios, which I’ve read to a surfeit:

-The heroine has only experienced bad sex before the hero comes along, but her own sex scenes are ever so thrilling.
-The heroine has had lots of good sex before, added to lots of research, and now there is an issue about how she knows everything about sex.
-The hero makes sweeping assumptions about the heroine due to the erotic novels/romances she writes.
-There is constant identification between the heroine and her fictional characters.
-The heroine bases her latest fictional hero on this hot man she’s just met/she’s known for years.
-The world in general reacts with great snobbism to the fact that she writes romance.
-In a historical: The heroine instigates an affair with a rake for research reasons.

Been there, done that. Now what I’d love was a heroine who wrote travel books, or YA fiction, or fantasy.

Another plotline I’d really like to see retired for a couple of years is the whole idea of fated mates. This can be found in about every other paranormal, or that’s my impression anyway. Now what is so romantic about a gent taking a single sniff at a lady and instantly knowing, without any doubt, that she’s The One? Suppose she had used a different deodorant that day? As you can see, I am not fond of the plotline as a rule. Whenever I read a book with this motif, a little inner demon keeps asking nigging questions, like: What if she’s not into furry and refuses him outright? Why does this never ever happen when the woman in unattractive (except in her own eyes), or the man is paunchy, or either one is suffering from animal hair allergy? Why, oh why, does the partner so chosen, perhaps after some token resistance, always accept this must be so? So I really like to see a werewolf hero who choses his mate because of, well, liking her. Or lusting after her great body. Or because her dad’s the alpha and the hero wants to become crown prince. Just not the fated thingy.

I’m also getting a tad bored with all those traumatized heroes. Yes, I realise many, many readers love a suffering hero, a hero with a dreadful past he must come to grips with. I only wish there was a more of a mixture here. Sometimes, I just yearn for a happy-go-lucky guy in a romance. No angst, no PTSD, no brooking or scowling; just a good-humored man who is content with where he is and what he does.

How about you? What are plotlines that you think have been overdone recently, and that should take a break? What variations of these plotlines would you prefer instead?

-Rike Horstmann

Though the entire article is written in a light tone and is somewhat tongue in cheek, one cannot help noticing two things: The writer (1)doesn’t know a whole lot about the romance genre and (2) feels completely free to insult it anyway. The article is divided into several sections, but for Romance, the Paradise reads are literary books such as Possession by A.S. Byatt or Gone With the Wind (though Love Story inexplicably makes the list). Even Georgette Heyer only makes it into Purgatory. And you can guess what’s in Hell. That’s right! Every genre romance mentioned in the piece goes right into that Hall of Shame.

From the genre romances mentioned, one can tell that this author does not know much about romance and doesn’t appear to have made much of an effort to research it. There are no paranormals on the list, category romances and inspirationals may as well not exist and forget about the new(and wonderful) authors of recent years! Instead, the author focuses on a small sample of Nora Roberts’ work, an Elizabeth Lowell series from the 90s, and some 80s vintage Judith McNaught, among a few others. The most recent release on the list is from 2000 (More Than a Mistress by Mary Balogh) and descriptions of the books talk primarily about sex and sappiness. That’s right. “Love means never having to say you’re sorry,” holds a place higher on the respectability scale than the poignant mixture of humor and emotional insight of Julia Quinn at her best, Laura Kinsale’s literary flourishes, or the simple beauty of Carla Kelly’s writing. And what of Jennifer Cruisie, Linda Howard, Meredith Duran, Marsha Canham, Elizabeth Hoyt and…? The list goes on and on. As with any other genre, romance can boast some truly phenomenal writers.

And then there are the sly insults. Must everything be phrased in terms of cliche or sappiness? I can think of a lot of things to call books by Mary Balogh or Connie Brockway, but sappy and cliched?! No, not really. Things do tend to end in happy endings in romance, but that’s no more a sappy cliche than finding out who killed the dead person in one’s mystery novel. The infinite forms of light which can illuminate the infinite forms of darkness speak of art and imagination to me, and the triumph of good over evil strikes a chord far deeper than the author of this article gives credit for. Wallowing in unhappiness and gothic melancholy speaks no more profoundly of the human condition than does having the courage to join with someone, decide you love no one other than that person, and you want to build a future with him or her, come hell or high water. Negative emotions and unhappy endings are not the only things that can cut deeply in a person.

Of Connie Brockway’s My Dearest Enemy, the author mentions that it has sex scenes that may make readers cringe. Wow. If they think that book will make readers cringe, I can think of some good erotic romance novels that might make these folks break out in hives! And if one only thinks of explicit sex in negative terms, I hate to see how the impact of some of the well-written and luscious scenes I enjoy from the likes of Amanda McIntyre, Liz Carlyle or Judith Ivory would be lost on such a reader.

In the end, I have to say that I find it rather sad that this magazine has written very good guides to science fiction, mysteries, historical fiction, seafaring novels, you name it. However, when it comes to romance, they can only offer an out of date listing and mockery. Poorly done – and disappointing, coming from a publication that should be capable of better.

-Lynn Spencer

The Untamed Bride by Stephanie Laurens
Maureen and Moriah

and

Bound to Shadows by Keri Arthur
Patricia

Congratulations to all of our winners!

-Lynn Spencer

Although I own all of these books in print, I have never actually read any one of the four.  My immense satisfaction with this series comes solely from listening to the unabridged audiobooks.  Now, I can’t imagine just settling for the printed word when I choose to revisit Frasers and company.  It’s as though there is another whole dimension beyond the mere reading that totally captures my mind’s eye.

It goes without saying that Diana Gabaldon’s writing is the basis of the love herein.  Without her exceptional storytelling, where would we be?  However, when it comes to audiobooks, there is a second star in the wings who vividly brings these books to life and that is narrator Davina Porter.  Much of today’s column is high praise of one sort or another for Ms. Porter’s ability to so completely engage my emotions while providing easily distinguished characterizations.  Seldom did I need a “he said” or a “she said” once a character was introduced.  Told in first person, the warmth or occasional smile in Porter’s voice further defined Claire’s character and her objective view of the world.

Awareness of a character’s accent doesn’t usually enhance my enjoyment of a book and, in fact, serves as more of a distraction since I can’t effectively play those enunciations in my head.   However, in the hands of Ms. Porter, accents were a purely positive experience and hearing her distinctive Scottish brogue played against a more common English accent worked to create a greater sense of drama.

Similarly, words such as didna, canna, wasna, or ye’d are not likely to inspire a favorable view of any character in my mind but those words coming from Jamie’s mouth, as interpreted by Ms. Porter, were the utterances of a thoroughly virile man and forever changed my view of a Scot’s brogue.  My heart melted a little each time I heard Jamie call Claire “Sassenach” since I could clearly hear his love for her (and sometimes patient tolerance of her actions) in that endearment.

As I have more time to listen to an audiobook than actually sit down and read a book, I spent hours each day listening to the Outlander series and found myself so steeped in the action that I felt a real kinship with this large cast of characters.  I’m convinced the listening, rather than the reading, made my heart swell even more with emotion and my smiles grow all the larger because I had the luxury of staying with the story even as I cleaned the kitchen or walked my dog.

But this type of immersion in the action also had its downside for me with the series’ numerous incidents of torture and violence.  There is no skimming ahead when Jack Randall is abusing Jamie yet again and I wasn’t too fond of hearing the intricacies of hanging a traitor or burning a witch either.  My smiles may have been bigger at times because of the non-stop listening experience but occasionally my stomach definitely felt all the weaker for it.  Sometimes it became a test of endurance which led to many an “otherwise occupied” moment as I attempted to remove myself a little from what I was hearing.  Fortunately I discovered a faster speed on my iPod (thanks to LinnieGayl) and although it sounded a little funny, I found it quite helpful.  Those very effective pauses Davina Porter utilizes so frequently became a mere catch of breath.

Over the past few months, I re-listened to these first four Outlander books and found myself enjoying this round of listening even more than the first.  Having a general sense of the books’ happenings as well as an understanding that there is a purpose to all of those seemingly insignificant storylines, increased my listening pleasure substantially.  For example, with my first listen of  Outlander, I failed to grasp the importance of a very simple passage with its subtle shift of direction.  But as I listened again and heard Jamie tell Claire before their wedding ceremony that his name was “James…Fraser”, I felt chill bumps of anticipation.  At Davina Porter’s very effective delivery of those two words, I rubbed my hands together and said “Here we go!”

Now that I am familiar with this series’ audiobooks, I see it as a comfort listen (despite those torture scenes) as its rather episodic nature lends itself easily to starting or stopping at almost any point.  Peggy P’s comments inspired me to view this series as such in an earlier Speaking of Audiobooks discussion:

“I have an MP3 player dedicated to just Outlander, I’ve got all the available books on it and when my commute gets really ugly and I need to chill out – that’s my comfort listen. Since I’ve read/listened to the books so often, I can start anywhere and pick up the story…”

Now I have a specific purpose for my little second generation iPod nano when I replace it with a larger capacity device at Christmas.  I’ll use it exclusively for comfort listens of the Outlander series.

Availability and Cost

Although I’ll eagerly listen to the Outlander series in any format, I recently did so on my iPod nano and found it much less cumbersome.  Listening to Books 1-4 on my cassette tape player five years ago required that I change or turn over a cassette tape 226 times (and I don’t think the CDs are much different).

If you chose to buy rather than borrow or rent this series, the MP3 format is the least expensive.  CDs and cassette tapes are relatively affordable for Outlander and Dragonfly in Amber but Voyager and Drums of Autumn can cost considerably more.  You will find significant price variations at a number of online sites so I recommend you check around before purchasing any of these books in either CD or cassette tape format.

For those of you familiar with the Outlander series, you may ask why I restricted my discussion of this series to the first four books.  Primarily this is due to the fact that affordable copies of the unabridged versions of Book 5, The Fiery Cross and Book 6, A Breath of Snow and Ashes have been difficult to find in the past for purchase and often are unavailable through public library systems as well.  In our September 29^th Speaking of Audiobooks column, MarissaB shed some light on this confusing issue:

“I found the following under Diana Gabaldon on wikipedia.com and thought you might find it interesting. The Outlander series has been released in unabridged audiobooks (read by Davina Porter) and abridged audiobooks (read by Geraldine James). The licenses for the abridged books have not been renewed and the unabridged versions, which Diana Gabaldon prefers, will be the only ones available when the licenses expire. Several of the Lord John books have been released in audiobook form, read by Jeff Woodman.

Because of a non-compete clause in the abridged-audio contract, the unabridged versions cannot be sold in retail outlets (including bookstores and audible.com) until the license of the corresponding abridged book has expired. For this reason, The Fiery Cross and A Breath of Snow and Ashes are not yet available on audible.com, but will be as soon as those licenses expire. In the meantime, unabridged recordings of these books are available from Recorded Books.”

As I was finalizing this column, I discovered that A Breath of Snow and Ashes has recently become available in unabridged CD format.  Possibly those licenses have expired!

It should be noted that the latest in the Outlander series, Echo in the Bone, is easily available in CD, cassette tape, or MP3 formats.

My second reason for sticking with Books 1-4 for purposes of this discussion is much easier to explain.  I am perfectly satisfied with the ending of Book 4, Drums of Autumn.  I’m ready for Jamie and Claire to lead a somewhat normal life and don’t especially want to read more of their trials and tribulations.  In saying that, I feel a bit disloyal to the series but I’m all for happy endings and on that, Drums of Autumn delivers completely.

Time for Your Thoughts

Although today’s column is written to encourage a general discussion of the audio aspects of this beloved series, please feel free to make comments about content as well, especially in regards to Outlander.  Discussion of plot elements in Books 2-7 is encouraged as well – I only ask that you include a spoiler warning with those particular comments.

What are your thoughts on the Outlander series of audiobooks?

Did a particular scene stand out for you in the audio version?

Was listening to the torture or graphic details hard for you?

What format did you use for listening?

What source do you recommend for buying or borrowing?

Do you have any general questions about the series in audio?

What is your favorite line or passage of the Outlander series?  Mine is from Outlander when Jamie says to Claire after they are married, “Don’t be afraid.  There’s the two of us now.”

And, as always, do you have any general tidbits to share with us about your latest audio successes or failures?

I’ll see you again later this month when we discuss December audiobook new releases.

-Lea Hensley