Audio Book Lovin Presents: Jessica Clare Interview

Hi Everyone! Books-n-Kisses and I are extremely excited to have you be a part of our Audio Book Lovin’ Series! 

Jessica: Hi there! Thanks for having me. I’m excited to be here. ☺

Viviana: Jessica, what do you love/like about audio books?

Jessica: I really love that ‘forces’ you to hear every single word. As a reader, sometimes I get in a hurry and I skim. But when I listen to audio, I hear every single word that the author intended and to me, it feels like a different experience. I love it! Also hearing a guy with a sexy voice deliver his lines helps. ;)


Viviana: Share with us about the beginning of your venture into Audiobooks. What made you decide to take a chance on this platform and go that route?

Jessica: Most of my books have been purchased by either Tantor or Audible. They take control of things, give me a high quality narrator, and I sit back and let them take care of it! As for audio, the reason I went this direction is because my husband is a massive audio devotee. He would much rather have a story read to him than read it on paper. He’s turned me on to audio, as well!


Viviana: What involvement do you have in getting your novels turned into audiobooks? 

Jessica: Most of it happens behind the scenes, but I get a say in some of the narrative choices. I honestly try to stay out of things for my own books, because I get ‘stuck’ on the words. If I listen to the book, I want to rewrite entire swaths of it and that isn’t conducive to things. All I hear is what I did wrong, so I listen long enough to make sure the narrator has captured things how I want them to be read, and then I bail out!


Viviana: What was the process like, to find the perfect narrator for your books? (Note: if you were not part of selecting the narrator, we can skip this one :) )

Jessica: I don’t like to bounce around for narration. All of my billionaires have been done by the fabulous Jillian Macie, and she’s perfect because she’s got that snappy, quick voice. For my young adult fantasy, The Scarecrow King, I went through some of my YA audiobooks. I was blown away by Cassandra Morris’s performance in Kelley Armstrong’s Darkest Powers trilogy, so I asked Audible to please ‘get me someone like Cassandra Morris’. They did me one better AND THEY GOT ME CASSANDRA MORRIS. I squeed for days!

I’ve also released my own audio books on ACX (the self-publishing arm). For those, I put my books up for auditions. I thought I’d get maybe five. I got over a hundred! It was so daunting, because they were all really fantastic, but I went with Hollis McCarthy (who is also a stage actor) because she did such a fabulous job with capturing the characters. I loved that she had a different ‘voice’ for each character and no one sounded the same.


Viviana: Has the performance of the narrators changed the way you see or hear your characters?

Jessica: Not really! Mostly because I’m all “Oh god, why did I pick that word!!” and so then I can’t listen any further. Authors really are our own worst enemies.


Viviana: What’s next for you? 

Jessica: I am currently writing DIRTY MONEY, an over-the-top, super sexy billionaire romance. It’s a little more ‘in your face’ than the Billionaires and Bridesmaids and I’m kind of loving it!


Viviana: When you’re not writing… what do you do for fun? 

Jessica: Nap? I do feel like I’m always writing lately, thanks to deadlines! But when this book gets turned in, I’m going to sit down with a few pints of ice cream and mainline Orange is the New Black season 4!


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

Jessica: I would say to listen to samples! Find narrators that you enjoy listening to and shop their backlist. Also, you can change the speed that someone is reading to you on several apps, so if you find the narration too slow, speed it up! But otherwise, give it a shot. Audio is awesome to listen to in the car, or at night when you don’t want to wake your hubby up with your Kindle light.

In addition, try different kinds of books with audio! Sometimes a book feels too ‘dry’ to be an easy read, but it’s an entirely different experience on audio. I wasn’t all that interested in ‘The Help’ but the audio was fantastic. Ditto the Amelia Peabody mystery series. I found them super dry to read text-wise, but they were a joy to listen to in audio.

Viviana: Thank you Jessica, for hanging out with us today!! 

Jessica: Thank you so much for having me! Audio on, people!!

We hope you enjoyed the interview! Please check out the audio clips below and check out the awesome giveaways! 

Purchase at Amazon | Audible | Tantor



Purchase at Amazon | Audible | Tantor

About The Author

Jessica Clare is a New York Times and USA Today Bestselling author who writes under three different names. As Jill Myles, she writes a little bit of everything, from sexy, comedic urban fantasy to zombie fairy tales. As Jessica Clare, she writes erotic contemporary romance.
She also has a third pen name (because why stop at two?). As Jessica Sims, she writes fun, sexy shifter paranormals. She lives in Texas with her husband, cats, and too many dust-bunnies. Jill spends her time writing, reading, writing, playing video games, and doing even more writing.



You can find Jessica at

Website
Facebook
Twitter
Goodreads
Audible
Tantor

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Now, go visit Kelly!!!