And we have audio!

Rio Star has just been released as an audio book.

In an email conversation I had with the narrator, she mentioned that it must be very strange to hear an alien voice inhabiting the world the writer created. It's been very interesting hearing the voices she's given my characters, and the many different accents she had to use. I never really gave much thought to the number of nationalities that show up in Rio Star. My only quibble is that I wish someone had asked me about the pronunciation of Patty's husband's name, which is Irish Gaelic and doesn't sound the way it's spelled. (It also explains why I managed to have two characters with the same first name without realizing it, because they are pronounced so differently.)

Otherwise, the narrator, Kathy Bell Denton, did a fantastic job, and it was a real blast hearing my characters speak and Patty's thoughts given voice. As a writer, you never really know how your work is to others until you hear it read out loud, because it strips away what you think is there and shows you what really is there. I quite enjoyed it, but then, I'm biased, lol!

Rio Star is available as an audiobook from Audible.com, Amazon.com, and iTunes, supposedly.

Speaking of Patty, she's been whispering in my ear lately, so maybe there's still hope for more from her.

Some recent reads:

To finish off the Hornblower run--

C. S. Forester:

Admiral Hornblower in the West Indies--This is a series of short stories following Hornblower's adventures commanding the West Indies fleet, trying to control pirates, smuggling, and renegade French soldiers.

Robert Goldsborough:

The last two of his Nero Wolfe books:

Silver Spire
The Missing Chapter

Michael Pearce:

The Mamur Zapt series:

The Camel of Destruction
The Snake-Catcher's Daughter
The Mingrelian Conspiracy
The Fig Tree Murder
The Last Cut
Death of an Effendi
The Bride Box--This one is new, available only as an ebook from what I could see.

The Sandor Seymour Mysteries:--A second series by Michael Pearce, featuring Scotland Yard detective Sandor Seymour. Set, as with the Mamur Zapt books, in the years just prior to WWI.

A Dead Man in Trieste
A Dead Man in Istanbul
A Dead Man in Athens
A Dead Man in Tangier
A Dead Man in Barcelona

Agatha Christie:

After the Funeral--Poirot

I did finally finish The Jamaican Affair of 1805 (see previous post), at a point when I was between batches of books. My opinion is unchanged.

More later~~

New reviews for Rio Star and Reef Runner

Cathy at Kittling: Books has posted her review of Rio Star here.

And RT Book Reviews has posted their review of Reef Runner here. (I suspect it's too late to correct Patty's last name in the review, but I think I can live with that.)

Thank you very much to both of you ladies!

New cover

This is the new cover for Reef Runner. It's difficult to tell from this size, but the diver farthest from the viewer is holding a knife, which explains the weird position of the closer diver. A bit more dynamic than the first cover, I think.

If all goes to plan, the ebook version should be coming out on April 12.

Reef Runner

This is the cover image I received for Reef Runner, the third book in the Patty O'Donnell Mysteries series. There's a possibility it may end up looking a little different from this in its final form, but probably not much.

I've just finished going through the galley looking for those niggly bits that managed to escape author, editor, and proofreader on previous run-throughs. So far it looks pretty good, but there's always the chance something glaringly wrong will show up only after it's in print and nothing can be done about it.

It looks like the publication date will be in April, which means it will be available in ebook first, and then paperback about a month or so later, either in May or June, depending on when in April it comes out.

And here's the blurb from the back of the book:

Patty O’Donnell has everything she could want in life—a loving husband, a job she enjoys, and a year-old daughter she adores. An enemy from the past needs to make a lot of money quickly and believes he can use Patty’s skills and talents. Forced to choose between life as his slave and her daughter’s safety, Patty sacrifices her own future to save her child.

Every step takes Patty deeper into a world of theft and deception. A scam on the Great Barrier Reef nets two very different results—financial gain, and the unexpected attention of a dangerous crime boss, who offers them both a choice. Serve him, or die.

You can find reviews and the first chapter here.

The CAPAs

The Romance Studio's nominees for the 2010 CAPAs (go here for details) have been announced, and I have been informed that my book Blood Money is among two nominees from Mundania Press in the Romantic Suspense category. Congratulations to my fellow Mundania nominee, Susan DiPlacido (House Money), and to all the other nominees. I am surprised and honored to have been nominated. Many thanks to The Romance Studio!