I have audiobook news!
I’m so excited because I finally have news about the audiobook for The Wedding to share with you. Plus information about The Baby…and there is a new chapter of Sebastian this week.
So, before we get into the Cruise Control update, I’ve got two BookFunnel giveaways with lots of free books to tell you about, as well as six books. So, let’s get into it!
– Sian
GIVEAWAYS
This BookFunnel giveaway is HUGE. It’s got 288 books in it, all romance and all either free books, samples, or novellas.
Go check it out! I downloaded He’s The Boss because you all know about my billionaire thing…if you don’t…I have a thing for billionaires. I don’t write about them, I write about rock stars…but I read about billionaires. 🤣
Another BookFunnel giveaway, this one has 96 books in it and again, they’re all free books, samples, or novellas.
I grabbed Mail Order Persuasion because I thought the cover was amazing!
Click here to check out the books
BOOKS
What do you do when the one person you can’t have is the one person you can’t resist?
Emilia
It was hate at first sight for Carter and I. The day we met he pushed me and I bit him. Mind you, we were only eight and ten. We’ve graduated to bigger and better things now. Just a few days ago I threw fake cockroaches all over his bed, and he retaliated by throwing itching powder over mine. Carter has upped the stakes though. He’s playing an entirely different game now – one where he infuriates me with his annoyingly hot body and the way he looks at me. I’d be all over that… If he wasn’t my best friend’s brother.
Carter
She’s the bane of my existence and the center of my universe. Who could’ve known that the line between love and hate would be so thin? I love the way her eyes light up in anger far too much, and I hate the way she makes me feel when she looks at me with barely concealed longing. The stakes in our little feud have never been higher. I’m playing for keeps.
Author’s Note: Mayhem is Book 1 in a series that follows Emilia Parker and Carter Clarke through high school, college and adulthood.
I’ve added this to my TBR list because OMG, it sounds amazing but I’m at 10 KU books right now…again. 🤦♀️
What happens when you have to start working with a man who is irresistible to you, yet you respect and fear?
Dr. Matthew Russell is one of the most respected but at the same time, feared surgeons. He is very experienced, very precise, and very focused on his work. His cocky attitude and high sense of self made him a hated man in the hospital in which he worked.
With a reputation for being very strict and never working with anybody who could not deliver their best, his undeniable sex appeal, however, made all of the female staff fall head over heels for him, and Bailey Jennings was no exception.
When Dr. Lopez decided to retire, young Bailey had two choices: either work with the sexy but intimidating Dr. Russell or lose her job. She decided to take the challenge, but will she be able to remain professional while having that gorgeous man next to her each and every day?
Will she be able to reach the standard that he required in his assistants? Will she manage to win over his respect?
And will she be able to make him see her as more than just a colleague but as the sexy, passionate, beautiful woman that she was and maybe give her much more than just a work relationship?
Life after the Army is complicated. So is falling for the boss’s daughter. John must get his heart to fall back in line or he’ll lose everything he fought for.
After an IED ends his military career, Major John Rathborne struggles to re-adjust to civilian life as a veteran. Haunted by the death of his friend, John’s determined to find his canine partner, Koda, now retired and re-homed. The last place he expects to find her is on a ranch in Montana where he lands a foreman job and a chance at a new start.
Katie Locke just wants the new guy gone. She doesn’t need some stranger invading her ranch, no matter how much her father insists they need the help. But she can’t ignore John’s brooding presence, and even her dog shares an uncanny bond with him. When her father suffers a heart attack, Katie has no option but to put her differences with John aside to save the future of Three Keys Ranch.
As they slowly find a common bond and their attraction heats up, both realize they must heal from past wounds if they want to explore a relationship. But John hasn’t told Katie about certain parts of his life–including that he and Koda had once been partners. When they learn someone is out to destroy the ranch, and Katie is in their crosshairs,
John is determined to protect her at all costs. But can he open his heart enough to save their blossoming relationship? Falling for the boss’s daughter was bad enough, but allowing Katie to see all of him could mean losing everything he’s fought for…including Koda.
Hearts Unleashed is the first book in the contemporary cowboy romance series, Three Keys Ranch, that will appeal to fans of AJ Pine and Jennie Marts.
In Match Mate Club dragons are always looking for company…
Ingrid Jones would never admit she’s in love with her boss. It’s especially painful watching him find a new mate every night. But Ingrid holds a secret power, one that could finally make him hers.
Mason Amaranth has everything except for a mate. This billionaire playboy is itching to settle, and things look promising when a beautiful blonde shows up on his doorstep. But her lovely face hides deeply rooted secrets.
An unforgettable night changes the course of fate, but Mason is bound by a watertight contract. He must make a choice…but only one.
Will love or destiny prevail? Find out in this first installment of an exciting new series!
Note: This is Dragon Shifter Paranormal Romance Book 1 in the series “Billionaire Match Mate Club Series”. All books in the series can be read as standalones with a HEA and no cliffhangers.
He’s an overprotective cowboy. She has a stalker. Will he be her knight in shining armor?
Sarah
I have a secret. I’ve been in love with a cowboy since I was 16. For years I wouldn’t admit it to myself, because I was focused on becoming a teacher. But after graduating and being forced to take a job as a waitress, I find myself in a situation where only Mac can help. A dark threat is closing in and he is my only hope of escape.
Mac
I still remember the first time I saw Sarah. We were both teenagers, and she was swimming in the lake wearing a sexy red bikini. Since then, I’ve ached for her. But she had big dreams, so I settled for friendship. Until she finished college… Now, I plan to do whatever it takes to make her mine. Step one will mean helping her ditch her skeevy boss. Step two? Find out who is stalking her and why.
Come meet the small town of Rock Springs Texas with a family that has your back, a town that knows your business, and men who love with everything they have.
Sacrifices is a riveting romantic story with historical and suspenseful elements set in the 1960s Jazz scene and the present day.
Jane O’Sullivan, a sultry twenty-seven-year-old singer, starts a torrid, forbidden affair during the 1960s jazz scene in London. Working hard, she makes a name for herself. She’s a woman with dreams, hopes, and a burning desire to leave Europe behind and travel to New Orleans with her lover, Louis.
Louis Simpson, a charming twenty-nine-year-old musician from Jackson, Mississippi, is on tour with his band in London. Back home, the height of the civil rights movement plays out in the USA. Driven by ambition, a forbidden love, and a desire to turn his life around, he pushes forward, living his dream.
Once their paths cross, a twist of fate crushes Jane’s world, forcing her to make a life-changing decision that impacts both her and Louis. This historical love story spans across the Atlantic and roams through Europe with love, loss, and broken promises.
Twenty-five years later, when Jane and Louis’ paths cross on a Greek island, will the helping hand of fate bring them together, or rip them apart, once more?
CRUISE CONTROL
Well, helloooooo, dear reader! You’ve reached the Cruise Control update. For anyone who’s new, this is where I tell you all of the latest happenings in the Cruise Control world.
I’ve got a lot to share with you, this week. After several weeks of only one or two books with an update, I’ve got four in the series with news, today!
Before I jump into book-specific stuff, I wrote a blog this week titled, “The Baby is here…also my books are long and real” where I talked a bit about The Baby and also shared some thoughts about my author career, so far.
I also mentioned about the secrets that exist in The Album and The Wedding that will get the first person who tells me they’ve figured them out, a signed copy of the book. You can find that blog by clicking here. 😉
GABRIEL’S ALBUM – GABRIEL AND ARIANA
I really need to get D to put “temporary cover” on this for me. I mean, I could do it myself, but isn’t that what friends are for? 😝
Gabriel’s Album is chugging along, nicely. I’ve almost reached the end of chapter five and it’s currently sitting at 23,358 words. It’s definitely a lot easier to write a book where the story is already written, but I’m also having so much fun writing this.
Gabriel has different thoughts and perspectives and is in different places, so notices different things. It’s just so fascinating to be in his head instead of Ariana’s. I really love comparing their two points of view.
This one doesn’t come out until Gabriel’s birthday next year, of course. In the meantime, if you haven’t read The Album yet, you can find it here.
THE WEDDING – HEATHER AND HARRISON
!!! AUDIOBOOK NEWS !!!
Okay, that heading is a bit obnoxious, but I have no regrets. I’m so excited! I got the extended sample for the audiobook of The Wedding from the narrator this week.
She works in aged care for her day job, so she’s had to push back the deadline for completion, which I completely understand.
This is the first audiobook that I’m having made, and she’ll be launching into the audiobook for The Album straight afterward. I’ll paste my feedback below.
I’m hoping I wasn’t too picky and I tried to give good feedback on things that were positive as well as negative, to help her find the perfect balance. Apparently, it’s important to get it right at this point because once this is locked in, the whole book with be produced this way.
So, here’s my feedback. For reference, she read the June news article as well as a sample from the second chapter. I requested this, so I’d hear the whole band. She read pages 15 – 22 (from the line “They walked forward, slowly…”. through to “…laughed at her expression as she passed them”).
Each comment has a timestamp for where in the recording it was.
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I loved the tone of the article being different from the regular narration.
In general, it just needs to be a bit faster. I know that I said slower than the sample for The Album, but it turned out that pace was perfect, I’m sorry for steering you in the wrong direction!
01:55 – “Well, fuck” – The way this is said is brilliant. I never imagined it said this way and it’s hilarious.
02:22 – The emphasis on the “so much” is more sexual that I expected.
02:56 – I liked this, but more of a pause and emphasis on brilliant.
03:56 – Weird pause between “seemed” and “nervous”
04:40 – The tone in this section is a bit more breathy than intended.
05:24 – This more “everything that was said or done…” the tone of this is perfect. Less dreamy, more…real?
06:00 – I love the way this is narrated.
07:30 – I DIED AT THE WAY YOU NARRATED HER SEEING THE BALLOONS. Brilliant. It reminds of the laughter in your voice when Gabriel fumbled the pool shot in The Album.
09:17 – “Heather couldn’t understand why they would go for it” – Again, misses that “real” tone and seems breathy.
09:50 – “He didn’t sleep with everyone who crossed his path” – That “real” tone is gone again.
10:07 – Banquette is pronounced “Bang-ket” – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2vlIILUd-M
10:12 – I hate the way Seb says “Happy birthday, old man!”. Everyone has had a very visceral reaction to this lol. We’re all very attached to Sebastian, though. His voice other than that is good.
10:36 – Hayden’s voice is so perfect. He’s introverted and nice.
10:46 – Not a fan of “you know where I am”. Harrison’s voice is also perfect.
10:54 – “I’m wounded, Seb” – “I’m” kind of slurs into “wounded”.
12:00 – “Yes! Thank you.” – Perfect and the way she continues on.
13:05 – The woman’s voice is so freaking perfect.
13:17 – Again, love Hayden’s and Harrison’s voices.
13:42 – “He smelled amazing” is too sexy.
13:52 – This section from “the familiarity of his lips on hers” is too sexy. It gets back on track at “When their kiss ended.” – It’s funny, with the sample from The Album, a friend of mine commented on the sexy tone of your voice and said it would be good for the sex scenes LOL! But yeah, here it’s kind of too sexy and dreamy.
14:13 – “…to Darius Thompson” – Again, totally perfect and unexpected, I love the way you show her shock and surprise.
14:29 – This is perfect Heather. So good how her voice is in this section.
15:32 – Ariana’s voice is also perfect here. Odd pause before “I missed you guys”.
16:55 – “Practically indecent” is said so perfectly, I love it!
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So, there you go. I hope I wasn’t too picky and it helps to get it right. Of the audiobook narrators that I heard for The Album, she enunciated every line of dialogue exactly as I expected it.
I think I threw her off by saying that I wanted it slower…it turned out her pace for her audition was perfect. I can’t wait to see what she comes back with. I’m dying to have the audiobooks completed for the first two books!
THE BABY – LITA AND SEBASTIAN
Whoop, whoop! The Baby is finally up for pre-order. For anyone who missed last week’s newsletter, if you let me know you’ve pre-ordered, I’m adding everyone to a list and you’ll get an extra chapter from Sebastian’s point-of-view a year before anyone else can read it.
I talked about it in the blog I wrote this week, too, so again, you can find that by clicking here.
In book news, though, I’ve locked in an editor and she is ready to go. I’m so excited, I did interviews via Zoom and it’s so weird to be doing stuff like auditioning narrators and interviewing editors.
I remember when I first published The Album, I didn’t really like a ‘real’ author just because I’d written and published a book. I’m slowly starting to feel like one, now, and that’s because of you guys. You read my books and you like my books and you write reviews and you have thoughts and feelings about them. I love that. 💗
Anyway, if you want to pre-order The Baby and join the list of people who will be getting the extra chapter in advance, you can find it here.
SEBASTIAN – YOUNG ADULT CRUISE CONTROL
As always, we end with Sebastian. This is the first of the four Young Adult novels that I’m writing about the band’s earlier days. I’m writing it in a serialised format on Wattpad.
Chapter 15 – All Day We Talk About Gabriel is up now!
If you haven’t read any of it yet, you can read it for free on Wattpad and you can find the first chapter here.
I hope everyone’s having a brilliant weekend. Happy reading!
