Audio Spotlight: The Fall of Mrs. Parsons by Phil Geoffrey Bond and narrator Jenn Lee

Publisher: Chess Books/Above Deck Entertainment⎮2021

Producer: Audiobook Empire

Genre: Fiction

Release date: April 15, 2021

Synopsis: Mrs. Parsons lives a quiet life in a small cottage in the woods on the outskirts of town, having woken next to her husband Lloyd, and has gone about with her normal routine every day for the past 50+ years. But on this most extraordinary day, she will venture out into the world, reclaiming her place in it and, in so doing so, rediscover herself.

In this lush, romantic short tale from Phil Geoffrey Bond, the simple life is revealed as not so simple at all.

Listen to an excerpt from the book here

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About the Author: Phil Geoffrey Bond

PHIL GEOFFREY BOND is an award-winning author, best known for his collection of short pieces, All the Sad Young Men, and the celebrated picture book, My Friend, the Cat, based on the popular stage show. Often mixing dramatic prose with live theatre, his original pieces My Queer Youth, The Disney Diaries, My Friend, the Cat, My Roaring Twenties and Small Town Confessions have been embraced by a wide range of off-Broadway audiences. As a playwright, Phil has developed work at The Sundance Theatre Lab (The Citadel), and many regional theatres throughout the states. A fixture on the NYC nightlife scene, he is a seven-time MAC (Manhattan Association of Cabarets), two-time Bistro and one-time Nightlife Award-winner. Currently, he is the writer/producer/host of Sondheim Unplugged, now enjoying it's 6th year at Manhattan nightspot Feinstein's/54 Below. 2016 will see the release of his debut novel, The Last Year at Low Tide (Chess Books). In 1993, he was awarded the Presidential Medallion from President Clinton on behalf of his work as a young playwright.

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About the Narrator: Jenn Lee

After 20+ years as professional NYC actor, I stumbled into some documentary voiceover work. From that moment on, I knew the trajectory of my career had been changed forever. I adore narrating and doing VO, and every job feels like a gift.

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Spotlight: Southern Heat by Natasha Madison

Release Date: June 1

Willow

After being left for dead, I was given a fresh start by my knight in shining armor.

My protector.

I never had a family before they took me in.

But I don’t know how to stay or trust.

I always had a bag packed and ready just in case I needed to escape again.

Like they say, old habits die hard.

Being in the shadows is lonely, but lonely is safe.

Quinn

I was the quiet one, the one who stood in the back and watched things unfold. The cowboy who only cared about his horses instead of the glory.

Until I found her fighting for her life. Something inside me shifted, and I couldn’t stop it.

I couldn’t stop protecting her.

I fell in love with her with one look because she was my soul mate.

Even though I knew I couldn't make her stay.

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About the Author

When her nose isn't buried in a book, or her fingers flying across a keyboard writing, she's in the kitchen creating gourmet meals. You can find her, in four inch heels no less, in the car chauffeuring kids, or possibly with her husband scheduling his business trips. It's a good thing her characters do what she says, because even her Labrador doesn't listen to her...

Connect:

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Spotlight: Moonlit Kiss by Amy McKinley

Release Date: June 1

When artist and conservator Gianna Bellini lands a dream job in Venice to restore and complete a century-old fresco painting, she packs her bags and hops the first flight to Italy. But as she walks the cobbled streets with eerie familiarity, she comes to the revelation that she has been to the floating city before—just not in this lifetime.

Handsome Venetian native Sergio Vitale rescues Gianna from a chilling plunge after a misstep at a canal-side café. As their budding relationship deepens, so does her progress on the restoration job—except the fresco painting’s missing a panel. She turns to Sergio for help. The closer they get to discovering the unfinished design, the more Gianna is tormented by vivid dreams and haunting whispers where century-old Venetians have met their end.

In a city where the past and present walk hand in hand, Gianna struggles against destiny while Sergio fights for a future that includes her in it.

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About the Author

Amy McKinley is the USA Today Bestselling Author of the romantic suspense thriller Gray Ghost Novels, Moonlit Destination series, Deadly Isles Special Ops, Five Fates paranormal romance series, and several stand-alone titles. Her edge-of-your-seat books are filled with surprising twists and just the right amount of heat and danger. She lives in Illinois with her husband, two daughters, two sons, and three mischievous cats. You can find her at www.AmyMcKinley.com 

Connect with Amy McKinley

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Audio Spotlight: The Memory Keeper by Jenny Hale and narrator Melie Williams

Length: 8 hours 13 minutes

Publisher: Harpeth Road Press⎮2021

Genre: Romance

Release date: Feb. 18, 2021

Synopsis: From the USA Today best-selling author of The Summer House comes a story about lost loves, chasing dreams, and the people who show up when they're needed the most.

Hannah Townsend has the perfect job at a New York magazine, a small but elegant apartment in the Upper West Side, and a successful beau named Miles Monahan. This year, she’s leaving the icy city sludge for sunshine! She’s got tickets for two to Barbados, and she’s meeting Miles at the airport for a week of cocktails, sandy beaches, and the music of steel drums.

But her life is turned upside down in the span of that one morning. Hannah is rocked by the news that her beloved grandmother is very sick, and Hannah needs to come home to her small Tennessee town right away to be with her family and help run her gran’s dilapidated flower shop. If that isn’t enough to deal with, she discovers her boyfriend is seeing someone else.

On her birthday, she finds herself packed into a car on a ride-share to her hometown of Franklin, Tennessee. When everything seems to be going wrong, it’s the kindness of a handsome man from Hannah’s past named Liam McGuire that might just save her. But a new development that threatens Gran’s shop and secrets surrounding Liam could alter both their lives forever.

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About the Author: Jenny Hale

Jenny Hale is a USA Today, Amazon, and international bestselling author of romantic contemporary fiction. Her books have sold worldwide, have been translated into multiple languages, and adapted for television. Her novels Coming Home for Christmas and Movie Guide Epiphany Award winner Christmas Wishes and Mistletoe Kisses are Hallmark Channel original movies. 

She was included in Oprah Magazine's "19 Dreamy Summer Romances to Whisk You Away" and Southern Living's "30 Christmas Novels to Start Reading Now." Her stories are chock-full of feel-good romance and overflowing with warm settings, great friends, and family. Jenny is at work on her next novel, delighted to be bringing even more heartwarming stories to her readers. 

When she isn't writing, or heading up her romantic fiction imprint Harpeth Road, she can be found running around her hometown of Nashville with her husband, two boys, and their labradoodle, taking pictures--her favorite pastime.

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About the Narrator: Melie Williams

Melie Williams is passionate about audiobooks. A trained singer and actor with degrees in Vocal Performance and English, she understands the written word as well as what makes a great performance. Although she loves narrating many types of books, her favorite genres are Romance and Mysteries/Thrillers.

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Spotlight: The Things My Mama Never Told Me by Nancy Mae Johnson

Nonfiction; Self-Help for Teens; Parents of Teens; Tee & YA Social Issues.

Date Published: May 13, 2021

Publisher: Acorn Publishing

An insightful glimpse into what it is to be a teenager today . . . making mistakes, surviving them, and rocking your beautiful, powerful self.

In Things My Mama Never Told Me, Nancy "Pants" Johnson, mentor, leader, educator, and teen advocate shares the stories of brave, resilient, powerful young women who, despite their sometimes overwhelming and scary circumstances, overcome their fears and hold onto their dreams with unwavering strength.

Here are some of the questions she asked herself and her teen authors:

· Do you have questions, concerns, fears about being a teenager?

· Do you sometimes feel like your stress is going to burst out of your eyeballs?

· Do you sometimes get fed up with friends, family, or social media?

· Have you ever ignored your intuition and ended up in an unsafe situation?

Learn how to embrace your beautiful body, your abilities, and your worth; to monitor your own use of social media, cell phones, and computers, becoming aware of how they make you feel; to recognize your power as a woman in all aspects of your life, no matter your sexual orientation; to own your choices about what you want to do with your life and with whom you want to spend it; to deal with your stress in more positive and creative ways; to listen to your intuition and form personal safety boundaries; to love yourself first when making decisions about relationships, intimacy, your body, sex, and birth control; to be alert to red flag warnings and signs of abuse; to recognize the signs of alcoholism and addiction in yourself and others; to bring your secrets into the light; to forgive yourself; to prioritize your own health and well-being.

Being a teenager is hard and sometimes totally frustrating. You will survive. I’ve got you. You are just the person for the job.

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About the Author

Nancy Pants Johnson is an author, mentor, educator, and advocate with more than 20 years experience listening, learning, and guiding teens through their life stories. After surviving her own tumultuous high school life and teen marriage, Johnson entered college at age 32 and dedicated the rest of her adult life to being a teen advocate.

Johnson graduated summa cum laude from SDSU with a B.S. in English Literature and an MA in Secondary Education. She taught English within a Visual & Performing Arts Academy until her retirement in 2014. Today, she advocates for teens in her role as Director of Teen Programming for the San Diego Writers Festival. She mentors teens in local high schools as they write their stories for KidsWrite San Diego, and shares weekly with Al-Ateens in recovery.

Pants lives in La Mesa, California, and finds joy in her husband, children, grandchildren, her garden, and her dog, Phoebe. Visit Nancy at nancypantsjohnson.com to read her blog, follow her school visits with teens, and be an advocate yourself by donating one book to one teen in the inner city. You can also find her on Facebook @ nancyjohnson3766 or Instagram @ #nancypantsjohnson.

Connect:

Website: http://nancypantsjohnson.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/nancyjohnson3766

Instagram: #nancypantsjohnson

Goodreads Book: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/56768723-things-my-mama-never-told-me

Goodreads Author: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/21107865.Nancy_Mae_Johnson

Spotlight: Influenced by Eva Robinson

Psychological Thriller

Release Date: May 14, 2021

A psychologist shouldn't be losing her mind, but Hannah is anyway. She needs a new job and lots of sleep—fast. Desperate for a change of fortunes, she contrives a meeting with her former classmate. As a student at Harvard, Rowan became famous on Instagram by chronicling a glamorous life.

The two women soon form an obsessive friendship, and Hannah is drawn into a privileged new world. But when a garden party takes a shocking turn, Hannah and Rowan find themselves suspected of murder. The Cambridge police start closing in, uncovering their dark secrets one by one. Now, the friends are unraveling—and by the time the truth comes out, one of them will be dead.

"Influenced is the sort of book where you end up staying up until the middle of the night because you can't let it go. Hannah is a character you fall in love with... and then stay on the edge of your seat as her life spirals out of control. A must read for psychological suspense lovers." -- New York Times and Washington Post Bestseller Mike Omer

Excerpt

A sharp blow splintered the back of her head. Pain shot through her skull.

Stunned with the blinding pain, she stared out across the garden. The knock from behind had been a pure shock to her system, robbing her of rational thought. She wondered vaguely if she was ruining the party somehow.

She opened her mouth to scream, but she wasn’t sure if she was making any sound.

Gripping the railing, she tried to make sense of the world around her. A labyrinthine garden sprawled out beneath the old wooden deck. It stretched all the way to Fresh Pond, where dark water glittered in the distance. It should be peaceful here, but pain was ripping her head open, and someone was screaming.

Only now did she realize she’d dropped her phone onto the gravel path two stories below. It lay there, shattered.

Was she screaming, or was it someone else?

She nearly lost her balance over the railing, and she gripped it tighter. The feel of the rough wood under her hands sharpened her senses, and her thoughts crystallized.

Her friend wanted to kill her.

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About the Author

Eva lives in Burlington, Vermont, with her husband and two boys. In the past, she worked as a school psychologist--something she draws on for her psychological suspense. She spends her free time taking photos of the misty Champlain lake and reading. Eva Robinson is the alternate pen name of the paranormal author C.N. Crawford.

Connect:

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/eva-robinson

GoodReads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/21259996.Eva_Robinson

Amazon Author Profile: https://www.amazon.com/Eva-Robinson/e/B091CTDMRR