Audiobooks... I love them

I love audiobooks. Have I told you that before? Well, I do. Part of the reason is because I find it difficult to read books on kindle or hardcover. I read, but I drift. Sometimes I drift off to sleep. Not that they are boring, but because staring makes my eyes tired. Listening, however, keeps me glued to every word. And when I notice I miss things, I do often rewind and relisten to catch up. The other reason I've come to understand is that I'm an auditory learner. I learn better by listening. So if I read out loud, then I remember longer, or if I am told something face-to-face or walked through something on the phone I learn it quicker. YouTube videos are good too because the verbal explanation comes with steps to watch.

Audiobooks have gotten me away from NEVER READING. I often say I don't read. Well, there was a time period where I didn't. I couldn't find time and reading was the thing that got shoved out of the schedule. Now, I CAN read, but it's through listening. Some people don't like it, but I REALLY DO! So for those authors out there considering putting their books on audio, I say DO IT! If I can find a book on audio there is a higher chance I'll read it.

Some of my recent reads (listens) are:

BUY IT NOW ON AUDIBLE

This was a really good book! I've only listened to the first 4 in the series, so the rest may be better, but I really LOVED SECRETS. The character Victor Bayne could probably be counted in my top 10 favorite characters of all time alongside Adrien English, Miki St. John, & Drizzt Do'Urden!  I know, I know, I'm like 10 years behind on discovering the brilliance of Jordan Castillo Price, but 10 years or not, I'm here now.

The first Book in the series came out in 2006.

In 2006, I was writing a sci-fi book called Escaping Reality. I wrote 284,000 words I think. Sometimes the number 267,000 comes to mind so I'm not completely sure how many words this was, but it was more like a trilogy and since that time I've taken it apart by chapter. It's no longer one doc, but many docs. Eventually, I plan to get back to it, but right now I don't have time. But in the same year Jordan introduces Victor Bayne, I was finding my joy of writing. I had NEVER written an entire story before 2006. So as far as I'm concerned, 2006 was a great year!

Another book I've listened to recently is...

On AUDIBLE HERE.

This is a very cute story. My only problem is that I would have liked it to be longer. Like maybe the end of a novel where the things the characters reflect on, are played out instead of memories. However, it was very cute as is.

I also listened to Dirty Heart, which is the last book in the Cole McGinnis Series.

This was an excellent ending to a wonderful series.

I guess I've been listening to more books lately because I'm in a funk. I'm kind of depressed and can't seem to focus on writing. I NEED to write JOCK 4, and I have tons of ideas rolling around in my head, but nothing is coming out. I'm dry. I'm not enthused, I'm not real happy, and I can't blame it on "family situations" forever. I guess part of it is self-pity. "I can't do it." But that only goes so far. I have to pull myself out of this and buck-up and DO IT!!!!!

I'm part of the way through edits of JOCK 3, so at least readers will get that book this year. I don't have the cover yet, but I'm excited for it.

I'm also excited for MY OWN AUDIOBOOKS. If you didn't know, I've got three audiobooks in my publication list.

 Buy Names Can Never Hurt Me HERE.

 Buy Misplaced Affection HERE.

 Buy JOCK 1 HERE.

Thanks for stopping by. I hope you will leave a comment on your thoughts about audiobooks. Do you have a favorite? Have you listened to any of mine? Which narrator do you like best?

That's all for now.

Hugs (& Kittens- for Jason.)

~Wade

Another Audiobook for your listening pleasure

Names Can Never Hurt Me is now out on AUDIO!

What if sexuality wasn’t a definable thing and labels merely got in the way?

Nick Jones can’t remember a time when he wasn’t part of the in crowd. Everywhere he goes, he stands out as the best looking guy in the room, and women practically fall into bed with him. Then, after kissing Corey on a dare led to much more and on many occasions, Nick’s “screw anything” reputation escalated, but he didn’t care. 

When Nick meets RC at the restaurant where he works, it throws his whole life out of whack. RC lives up to his dubbed nickname “scruffy dude.” He seems Nick’s complete opposite, but Nick can’t get him out of his head.

Because of peer-pressure and his fears about defining his sexuality, Nick struggles with stepping out of his comfort zone and caring about someone different than himself.  If he’s lucky, somewhere between arrogance and ignorance, Nick might find out what it means to be an adult, but if he’s wrong, he could lose everything.  

I cannot believe I have 2 releases in the same week! The funny part is that this happened in December too. (Not the same week, but same month.)  No! Jocks Don’t Date Guys came out December 14, 2015. And then, a couple weeks later, Misplaced Affection went live on Audible on December 30, 2015.

So now in March 2016, I have Names Can Never Hurt Me out on AUDIO on Monday the 21st, and , Bankers’ Hours comes out on Friday, March 25th! I am so very happy for these releases.

Remember the blog tour for Bankers' Hours. I hope you can stop by each post and comment. Or, if you already have all my books and you want someone else to win, then please share my posts and tell people about my books. :) Word of mouth is the fastest way to inform others of the books you like. You can find links to all the blog posts HERE, and I will update that page daily as new links become available.

My personal favorite: American Love Songs by Ashlyn Kane.

XOXOXOX

Goodreads

Hello again.

You have no idea how much I am dying to share my cover for Bankers' Hours! I love it. It is very different than my other ones, but that's okay.

With NAMES, I second-guessed myself. It wasn't selling and I thought I had scared people with the cover.  That's why there are two! I thought a sexy cover may catch readers attention. I shouldn't have done that. The original cover is the one I wanted. Don't get me wrong, I love both covers, but the first one is the one that should have stayed.

It is the cover that fits! However, I DO like the second one. I do! I see this model as Nick Jones. Nick is sexy and full of himself in the beginning. The story is about growth and Nick Jones grows so much as a person in this story.

Speaking of, NAMES will be in audiobook later this year! I have a narrator and he just finished reading the story. He said he loved it. I'll keep you posted.

So, what I really wanted to talk about is Goodreads. Who out there are members? How do you use it? How can I get more involved? What I like about blogger is that is feeds to Goodreads and my blog posts are able to be read there. If you comment, I will answer!

I want to get more connected to Goodreads readers. I am on there and you MAY friend me! I like comparing books and stuff. I try hard to remember to list the books I read. You can see my favorite authors. I like Josh Lanyon, Rhys Ford, Ashlyn Kane, Amy Lane, Jordan Hawk, Kade Boehme and more. I haven't figured out how to do a Wade Kelly group on there, but I do get notifications on email of anyone comments on my blog post on Goodreads. Ask a question and I will answer :) 

I guess that is all I was thinking about. Goodreads. How do you use it? What more would you like from me?

hugs and kisses :D <3

New Releases, And an Incentive to buy the Audio of Misplaced Affection

Hello,

It's been a while. I think it's because BLOGGING tend to get shoved to the back of my mind. As far as social media, I use Facebook the most. I'm constantly connected to it. I instant message and "like" posts. I get notifications all day long. Facebook is easy. Blogging takes thought. I have to think about what I want to say and often I've got nothing.

What's been going on lately?

I had a couple releases in December!

No! Jocks Don't Date Guys came out December 14th.

If you haven't checked them out, please do! There is an excerpt of No! Jocks Don't Date Guys on Dreamspinner and Amazon. Reviews are all over the place, but the biggest issue seems to be with the cheerleaders and the dad. Sorry. :/ I was trying to go for an issue that was NOT about Chris being gay. Oh well.  
5 stars (50)  |  4 stars (99)  |  3 stars (43)  |  2 stars (15)  |  1 star (0)

Then, Misplaced Affection went LIVE on AUDIBLE.COM on December 30th.

You can hop over to Audible and listen to an excerpt of Chris Patton narrating Misplaced Affection. The list price is $24.95 for 15 hours. When produced through ACX, they are the ones who set the price in relation to the length. Then there is a discounted price for audible listeners. (Those are members of audible.) When you are a member, you have different levels of membership. I am a member on the lowest level (I think) of 2 credits per month. This means, that for a certain amount of $$ per month, I get two credits to buy audio books. 1 credit = 1 book. I can use my credit on a $17.95 book, on down to a $4.95 book. Whatever book I want. Since I discovered I can listen to more books than read, I joined and I look forward to choosing 2 books every month! So far, I haven't actually listened to 2 books EVERY month, but the option is there. If you haven't tried audio, visit audible and listen to some samples. They have samples of everything! Some narrators you may fall in love with, some you may cringe. Everyone has different tastes. I have some narrators I LOVE to listen to.

If you aren't a member, TRY IT! Sign up, choose Misplaced Affection for your 1st book and let me know. *Then, I'll mark you down and when my next book comes out, I'll send you a copy!

(*Note: Audible lets me know when someone DOES JOIN for the first time and buys my book as a new member. There is an incentive program. If they send me an incentive, then I will pass my joy onto you with a free book. eBook or paperback. **Redeemable at least 30 days after new membership on audible.)

Other News:

I have turned in the last stage of edits on Bankers' Hours. This means it will be up for pre-order soon, probably February for my March release. You may now GUESS on the release date. I have had several guesses already on my facebook group The Wade Brigade. (Join if you are a fan and you're on Facebook!)

I will do a cover reveal soon on my blog and website, but probably not on Facebook or Twitter until there is a pre-order link with it. But feel free to comment on this link and let me know WHEN you think Bankers' Hours will release! I actually already HAVE the date, but I will take guesses until February 5th. THEN, I will select a winner unless the pub date hasn't been guessed. :/ I'll send you a free eBook copy of Bankers' Hours if you win :) Happy Guessing <3

AND..... Some of you will be very happy to know Dreamspinner contracted a narrator to record Names Can Never Hurt Me. By summer, I should have another audio book on the market :)

That is all for now. Hugs!

Tuesday teasers - NAMES

Hello,

Short but sweet post for Tuesday Teasers. This is a short excerpt from Names Can Never Hurt Me. I recently changed the cover. I hope you like it.

You can buy either cover in paperback from Dreamspinner Press.

Also Available on AMAZON, Barnes & Noble, etc.

This is a scene after RC and Nick finally spend some quality time together and are just getting to know each other.

After a kick-ass stir-fry meal—I’ll go with meal—I asked if I could turn on some music. I knew he liked music, so I figured it was the best way to keep the enjoyable afternoon enjoyable. They say music soothes the savage beast; well maybe it staves off the beast before he becomes beastly. Sounded good to me.

He reluctantly agreed, “Um, yeah, sure. You can put on some music.”

 “Why do you sound so hesitant about it?”

RC replied, “Because no one’s touched my CDs before. Don’t…. Just don’t get them out of order.”

“Okay.”

“Or better yet, hit shuffle and then you don’t have to do anything. It’s an old stereo system. It was my dad’s.”

“Uh-huh,” I agreed.

I walked into the living room and plopped down in front of the stereo. It was indeed old—like dinosaur old—but easy to figure out how it worked. I opened the hatch-like front and the insides spun around like an old-time jukebox filled with forty-fives. I only knew what forty-fives were because my mom had some. I pulled one CD out. “500 Days of Summer, the motion picture soundtrack,” I read out loud. “Never heard of it.” I put it back and pushed play. I watched the inside turn since it was internally lit, and I heard the mechanism engage. Because all his shit was in alphabetical order, I found the CD case and read the back. The singer on this track was Zooey Deschanel. 

I stood up, listening to the plucky tones of what sounded to me like a ukulele. Funny, I didn’t know people still played those. I closed my eyes and let myself go. If I was going to be me and act like that in front of RC, then he’d have to get use to the fact that I randomly danced sometimes. Only Corey knew that about me. I’d told him a long time ago I liked dancing with my little sister. It was fun spending time with Jennifer, and her friends could be really funny to watch, but I’d never told my friends because they might have thought I was less manly. Corey was the only one I trusted with the info. Now, RC was going to get an intro into Nick 202: Dancer Extraordinaire.

I recalled a song from Just Dance and tried mimicking the moves. They fit this swingy little tune quite well. I was not the best dancer in the world, if I was truly honest, but I was good at copying dance moves. That was the reason I always won that game and Jenn hated me for it. I swayed my hips and moved my arms, all the while tapping my toes. I kept my eyes shut, and I could only imagine what RC thought if he was watching. Was he watching? I hope he’s watching. More than likely, I appeared much like a happy-go-lucky eight-year-old, spinning with my arms held gently out as if catching a breeze as I twirled.

I remembered watching my sister dance in the grass one sunny afternoon when she was six. I’d always thought she was adorable when she whirled her princess dresses around and swayed to the music. She was so beautiful as she spun, not caring what anyone thought. I tried to reproduce that innocence now, in RC’s living room. He'd only seen the sex-crazed part of me. He needed to experience the goofy, carefree side as well. I could be fun. I wasn’t all about the sex and women.

I heard the lyrics saying something about Su-Su-Sugar Town. The singer, Zooey Descha-something, sang, “I never had a friend or wanted one, so I’ll just lay back and laugh at the sun….” I liked her voice. It tinkled like glass wind chimes.

I kept my eyes tightly shut, afraid RC was watching, but also afraid to find out he wasn’t because then I’d be disappointed. I thought he was there because I could smell him. His soap or something had a distinct aroma I’d picked up on the first time we’d eaten lunch together. I’d liked it but was too embarrassed to ask him what it was. Now I was more nervous than embarrassed to ask because he might think I was coming on to him. I mean, it wasn’t like I couldn’t or didn’t want to come on to him, but if I did, I was defeating the purpose of just being around him twenty-four seven like Paul suggested. If I really did like RC, I should feel something without the need to bring sexual attraction into the mix.

I thought my dancing might get a laugh out of him, but RC hadn’t made a sound. Either he didn’t want to hurt my feelings with snide comments or he liked watching me dance. “Liking me” was an awe-inspiring concept. Maybe I could do more quirky things in his company like I always wished I could do normally but never did for fear of ridicule. My friends didn’t welcome random silliness unless alcohol was involved. If RC accepted me as I was, it would give me more reason to pursue my feelings, even if they were somewhat convoluted in my brain.

I played it cool even though the uncertainty of the moment was killing me. In my mind's eye, he was leaning against the doorframe, observing my silly behavior from a short distance away. Possibly grinning. I was having so much fun floating around, I was saddened to hear the song end and the CD player shuffle. It picked a different one.

A song I knew came on, and my heart thudded suddenly. Oh my gosh, I can sing this one! I was so excited. I sang way better than I danced; my chorus teacher in high school told me so. She’d said I could sing professionally but that’s a hard career to get into.

I stilled momentarily, my back to where RC theoretically stood, and played the air piano I pictured in front of me. RC stifled a snicker. Oh good, he’s there. I didn’t allow his presence to draw me out of my trance, though. In that moment, I was Carly Simon. Just as the lyrics started, I pulled an imaginary microphone up to my mouth, spun around, opened my eyes, and started singing on cue.

A shadow crossed his face, and he shifted his stance. Still, I sang. Maybe he’d gotten the impression I was singing to him and he didn’t like it. So far I hadn’t seen any indication he liked me. That would explain the discomfort I plainly saw. He had gotten pissed in the car, after all. I couldn’t bear the idea M-L had about him not being attracted to me at all. I was adorable, wasn’t I? And if he didn’t like me singing this song, what could I do? It wasn’t my fault he had very little music I recognized. Plus, it had shuffled to this song. I hadn’t picked it.

RC joked, “And I thought you didn’t listen to music. How the heck do you know all the words to ‘Nobody Does It Better’?”

“James Bond,” I blurted between lyrics. “My dad loves James Bond.”

RC smiled, giving me the impression he liked my singing. He also must have known this was the theme song to The Spy Who Loved Me. He shook his head and strolled over to the CD player, switching it off.

I protested, “Hey, I was getting good.”

RC nodded. “Yeah. You should audition for The Voice.”

I tapped my chin. “Maybe I should.”

“You’re so vain,” RC half-joked, or at least I thought he was joking.

I pointed out, “That’s another Carly Simon song I know.” I knew it only because M-L sang it to me at one of her parties when I was doing something she found arrogant. I laughed at the time because I’d never considered my vanity a bad thing. Was it? I’d have to think on it.

He chuckled. “I bet. Is there anything you can’t do?”

“Um….” I considered. “I can’t rebuild a transmission. Not yet.”

RC laughed out loud and marveled, “Oh my gosh. Well, I guess there’s one thing I have over you. …"

For the full chapter, I guess you have to buy the book.

Or come to a reading of mine. I'll be at Birdie's Cafe on March 26th form 6-8 pm.

Thanks for stopping by!

Hugs <3

In the Works

It's been 10 days since I last posted. Ooops. I'd like to say that so much has been going on that I forgot to post, but that isn't exactly true. Much has gone on, but not out of the ordinary. I normally lead a very busy life with driving children places and taking care of animals and the house and laundry, cooking etc… There is never a dull moment in this house. We watched the Raven's play and lose to New England on Saturday. It was a really close game and exciting to watch.

I also gave thought to the cover of Names Can Never Hurt Me and decided to ask for a change. As much as readers LOVE the book who take the time to read it, it is also not a big seller and there are WAY TOO MANY readers I am losing simply by (possibly) having a cover that is too off-putting and controversial. This IS the cover I wanted. It is. I wanted a more neutral cover without cover-models, that basically captured my point in the book. It did. The cover below says it all.

Except that it also does NOT tell you it is a ROMANCE NOVEL. It also does't say anything about being a romance between two men. It is maybe TOO neutral. Ya see, I am not widely read to begin with. If I were Stephen King, and I use his name all the time because everyone knows who he is, I could put a puppy on the cover and nothing else and people would buy it. I could picture a tree or a xylophone and my readers would probably suspect what they were going to read without having a cover that spelled it out. Even before flipping a book over to read the blurb, Stephen King fans KNOW what he writes. No so with me.

For those Wade Kelly fans who follow my blog or read my Twitter Tweets, or have "Friended" me on Facebook, you already know what I write and although all my books are different, I suspect you know what you are getting yourself into. For the random people out there who have yet to experience the Wade Kelly Special, they don't know what to look for, they don't recognize the name, and they are more likely apt to pick up a different book on Amazon by a different author that they've maybe never heard of JUST BECAUSE there is a hot guy on the cover. I am not saying I am against guys on the cover. What I hoped I could do was widen my reader base by having a cover that was DIFFERENT. But mine was too different. Very few people bought it.

In the interest of trying not to slit my throat before I am even out there, I asked to have the cover redone, WITH GUYS ON IT! Dreamspinner was very accommodating and the cover is in the works. I am excited about it. Now, readers will get the chance to see what Nick and RC might look like. For those who read it, be warned, it is extremely hard to find a larger, hairy, italian looking dude with long curly hair and green eyes etc. The guy I picked was the best I could do. I think he's good enough. He makes the point that the one protagonist is not a typical twin or stud. (Although plenty of people will consider him a stud anyway!) My models will hopefully do the trick and catch some more reader's eyes. I need to or this awesome book will die. Personally I want it to take off so DSP will consider doing an audio version! Wouldn't that be cool? So, fingers crossed, we will have another cover on Names Can Never Hurt Me soon.

With the re-do, maybe I will give away a few paperbacks! ;) Stay tuned!

In other news, I've been writing. There was a LONG DRY SPELL where I didn't feel motivated at all. Then, I had about six different characters talking at the same time so three books started moving ahead. I have word-counts on:

Only Skin Deep - the sequel to NAMES
The Honorary Tooth Fayrie - a comedy about a male hygienist.
and ….. and….. the sequel to JOCK! Should I tell you the title yet? No, I'm gonna wait. Those in the Wade Brigade on Facebook have heard the title I'm leaning toward. I have been outlining this book and plan to hit it hard when I have some time.

My main issues are time… and um, TIME!

Did I mention I have kids? Yeah, well, last year I think I did a good job balancing the time between smily and writing. This year I hope to do an even better job and make a stronger commitment to really being an AUTHOR and not a part-time writer.

Goals… (I hate setting them because I always come up short)

1.  To have a good chunk of the new JOCK book done by the time I go to the Dreamspinner Writers Workshop in March. That is not a lot of time, but I think I can do it as long as the words flow. Fingers crossed and hope they flow like a waterfall during monsoon season! :)

Once JOCK 2 (Title coming soon) is done and submitted to DSP, I need to get two other projects working this year. So,

2.  Finish writing my vampire comedy/ horror My Lover Sucks because I want to submit this to a different publisher and spread my "eggs" out among other baskets. (To use a metaphor) I think having two works submitted this year will help jumpstart that ball rolling of having MORE THAN ONE publication per year! I was 2-3 a year! After I submit MLS, I will jump on another self-pub!

3.  Rewrite Sculpting Clay! and get it self-pubbed. Is that wise? I don't know. Self-pubbing so far is turning out VERY SLOW moving indeed. BUT, I think it is because I am not well known. Once I get my name out there, then hopefully readers will find my other stuff on Amazon like Misplaced Affection! I self-pubbed that so I could have another publication out within six months of NAMES. If I can self-pub Sculpting Clay before the year is out, then I can only hope that JOCK 2, and My Lover Sucks will be published in and around the time that Sculpting Clay make as reappearance.

Does that all make sense?

I'm trying to play the publishing game. Authors need to learn the rules of what works and what doesn't. I attended a seminar about publishing facts that was designed to inform self-pubbers, but the stats are helpful for anyone really! 3-4 books out a year is what the most successful authors do. More than that, well you are the bomb! (*ehem* Kade.) I don't see myself ever writing that fast. I simply don't take the time to do it because I have other priorities. Maybe as the kids are older and the words and ideas are flowing, I can do 3-4 a year, but for now I will be chuffed to get to 2-3 a year. (So far, it has been 1 per year! FYI)

So, I think that's all. I don't know where my day has gone. I am going to share this post, eat lunch, and write (JOCK 2 title here).

My main character is named Chris. I haven't had a Chris so I thought it was a good name. Chris is a soccer player! (Shocker) I'm thinking blond or dark blond hair, bright happy smile. Everyone's friend. Captain of the soccer team! This is a 1st person narrative from Chris's POV. I haven't come up with a last name yet. I DO have the love-interest's name, but I'm not sharing yet ;)

Anyway… talk at ya laterz….

Wade
xoxox

Don't forget to order your copy of my latest HERE!