Erin Keyser Horn's Blog, page 3

WINGS OF THUNDER

WINGS OF THUNDER, Book 2 in The Thunderbird Legacy
Synopsis:

I can’t love. To love is to kill. I don’t love him. I don’t.

If she were a normal fifteen-year-old girl, Ivy Nimiki would only be worried about getting her driver’s license, arguing with her dad, and finding time to spend with her friends. She wouldn’t be losing sleep over her sudden lack of storm control, the inevitable curse that will claim the life of the boy she loves, and her nightmares of the Great Horned Serpent. Ivy never has been, and never will be, normal. It’s up to her to find an amulet to defeat the Serpent and end the curse. But how can she do that when the Thunderbird has disappeared? She needs the strong wings of thunder, plus the three newest members of the clan. Gabe’s touch affects her like no other’s, Cal’s heart keeps time with hers, and Dan’s soul holds her together. When falling in love, do you listen to your body, heart, or soul?

Click HERE to buy the ebook!

Erin would be happy to send you a signed paperback of Wings of Thunder! Just click on the PayPal button to order:

WINGS OF THUNDER Cover Release!!

I love all my writing days, but one of the best is Cover Release Day! I thrive on the collaboration that goes into the cover, and it’s amazing how the art helps bring the story alive. My cover designer is the uber talented artist, Rod Karmenzind, and he did not disappoint with the WOT cover. In fact, it’s my favorite cover yet—which is really saying something, considering how much I loved the first two he made for me! See how gorgeous it is:

Isn’t it breathtaking?? Gets me every time. I especially love the combo of blue wings, clouds, and lightning. Rod, I know I’ve thanked you already, but I’ll probably just keep thanking you for the rest of my life.  

So what is this book about, you ask? I just happen to have a synopsis for you:

I can’t love. To love is to kill. I don’t love him. I don’t.

If she were a normal fifteen-year-old girl, Ivy Nimiki would only be worried about getting her driver’s license, arguing with her dad, and finding time to spend with her friends. She wouldn’t be losing sleep over her sudden lack of storm control, the inevitable curse that will claim the life of the boy she loves, and her nightmares of the Great Horned Serpent. Ivy never has been, and never will be, normal. It’s up to her to find an amulet to defeat the Serpent and end the curse. But how can she do that when the Thunderbird has disappeared? She needs the strong wings of thunder, plus the three newest members of the clan. Gabe’s touch affects her like no other’s, Cal’s heart keeps time with hers, and Dan’s soul holds her together. When falling in love, do you listen to your body, heart, or soul?

So there you have it! WINGS OF THUNDER releases Nov. 15th—just two weeks away! If you haven’t read EYES OF LIGHTNING, Book 1 in The Thunderbird Legacy, I have good news for you—the ebook is currently on sale for only $1.99. You can find it on Amazon or Barnes & Noble. If you want to read the first chapter or get more info, go HERE.

Even more good news! To celebrate this lovely cover, I’m having a WINGS OF THUNDER contest, starting now and ending Monday, Nov. 4th at 8:00 PM CST. All you have to do is share the WOT cover on a social network and you will be entered to win a free copy of WOT (ebook or paperback, your choice)! So you can share the photo on Facebook, retweet the link on Twitter, pin the photo on Pinterest, reblog on Tumblr or here on WordPress. Just be certain to share from my original posts so I can easily track the shares—don’t copy and paste into a brand new post because I might not see it. Contest is limited to one entry per person (feel free to share it as often as you like! But I’ll only count each person once for the sake of my sanity). I’ll announce the winner of the free WOT copy on Monday. Good luck, and thanks so much for sharing! I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again many, many times:  I love my readers. Ya’ll are the best.  

EYES OF LIGHTNING Audiobook Giveaway, IndieCredible, and Facebook Goodies

As you can tell, there’s a LOT going on this week!

Breaking News #1:  I finally have free copies of the EYES OF LIGHTNING audiobook!!

 

The audiobook is narrated by the talented voice actress, Terry Doty, and she brings a whole new level of sarcasm and powerful emotion to the story. It’s like a movie unfolding inside your head—SO COOL. You can hear the tension in this excerpt of the audiobook:

Goosebump-inducing, right?! To win a free copy of the audiobook, all you have to do is sign up for my newsletter. Bonus for signing up—you get a free short story from Gabe’s POV! If you’re already a subscriber, no problem; just send me an email to let me know you’re interested in the audiobook. Then you’re automatically entered in the contest.

I’ll accept new subscribers until Sunday, September 8th. Then I’ll announce the winner Sunday night. Good luck!!

Breaking News #2:  I’m thrilled to be part of IndieCredible, a month-long celebration of indie authors!

Check out this awesome video to see me (starting at 2:45) and several more authors who will be participating in multiple blogs throughout September:

 

As part of IndieCredible, I’ll be interviewed on the Little Read Riding Hood blog on September 19th. That post will include an interview with me, a sneak peek of WINGS OF THUNDER, plus giveaways of my books. Hope to see you there!

Breaking News #3:  Starting today, I’m offering daily tidbits of fun info on my author Facebook page. Be sure to like the page so you don’t miss anything! Here’s the weekly breakdown:

Monday’s Music:  I’ll share a song from one of my story playlists and talk about why it’s significant.

Tuesday’s Teasers:  Excerpts from WINGS OF THUNDER.

Wednesday’s Whys:  Ask me a question about anything, and I’ll answer it if at all possible!

Thursday’s Thoughts:  These are inside looks at my life, my writing process, or my stories.

Friday’s Favorites:  I’ll recommend one of my favorite books in the YA genre.

Saturdays and Sundays will feature new GRACED photographs. I missed sharing them over the summer!

So it’s a busy time, but I can’t help but love it. Let me know if you have questions about any of this!

EYES OF LIGHTNING Wins RONE Honorable Mention! Celebrating with a WINGS OF THUNDER Giveaway!

On August 9th at the RONE Award Ceremony in Las Vegas, EYES OF LIGHTNING was awarded the Honorable Mention in the Young Adult Paranormal category!!! I think my jaw is still lost on the floor somewhere!

RONE stands for Reward of Novel Excellence, and it recognizes books from small publishing houses or independent authors. The award is unique in that the book must progress through three rounds of evaluation. The first round is the reviewing process by InD’tale Magazine, in which the book must get four stars or higher. The second round is reader preference, when fans vote for their favorite book. Top books from that round are then submitted to a panel of professional judges. Each judge reads the books and ranks them based on continuity, characterization, story arc, and more. Ranks are combined and tallied to determine the best overall book in each genre.

I’m SO blessed by the people in my life who helped make this award possible. I have a quality book thanks to my editor, Ellie Ann, my wonderful test readers, and my cover designer, Rod Karmenzind. Also sending out a huge THANK YOU to all the fans who voted during the second round. Without you amazing people, my book never would’ve made it to the panel of judges!

And so, this is where I celebrate, throw a big party, and do a little jig! I wish I could give you ALL a free book! But since I can’t quite manage that level of partying, the least I can do is give away one book! If you voted, you’ve already read EYES OF LIGHTNING. But you haven’t read WINGS OF THUNDER yet . . . and hopefully you want to? If so, and if you voted during the RONE awards, leave a comment on this post and you’re automatically entered to win a free copy of WINGS OF THUNDER as soon as I have the paperbacks (probably mid-November). Or I can send you the ebook version sooner, in early November. This is my very first giveaway of WOT—my way of saying THANK YOU to my awesome fans!!

Giveaway ends a week from now, Saturday, August 31st, 8:00 PM CST. So be sure to leave a comment before then, and good luck!!

Interview with Ellie Ann, THE SILVER SICKLE, and a Giveaway!

Introducing the brand new release from Ellie Ann!

THE SILVER SICKLE is for fans of steampunk, cyberpunk, Veronica Roth, Scott Westerfeld, and Ally Condie.

BOOK DESCRIPTION from Amazon:

The end of humanity will come through the Silver Sickle . . .

Farissa lives every moment with reckless abandon, for it may be her last. Any day now, the alien goddesses will harvest her and take her to the mysterious Silver Sickle, never to return. She’s accepted that. What she can’t accept is this new idea of freedom Zel has planted in her head. She’d give almost anything to be with Zel, but how can she run from her destiny if it means putting the whole kingdom in danger?

Everyone in the desert kingdom believes the goddesses are immortal, but Zel has invented a way to kill them. Now all he has to do is convince Farissa to run away with him and plant a seed of hope in her heart that she’s not destined to die. Little does he know that one seed of hope could change the course of the future.

My Review

THE SILVER SICKLE has it all—adventure, humor, romance, and end-of-the-world tension. Add in the life-sucking aliens who masquerade as goddesses and the clockwork soldiers with unsurpassable loyalty, and you get an epic tale that stands out as original and unforgettable.

The story is told from the POVs of Gira, Zel, and Farissa. Gira is the leader of the Amar, the alien race that is secretly incubating their young to take over Earth. As much as I wanted to hate Gira, I found myself sympathizing with her. Above all she is a mother, willing to do anything—or sacrifice anyone—to save her offspring.

Zel is the cogsmaster’s apprentice, excelling at innovative research and fixing the clockwork soldiers. If the Amar knew that his technology could bring about their destruction, they would kill him. But Zel would risk his life to save Farissa from being sacrificed to the Amar. Because of his aptitude for science and his attention to details, I fell for the handsome Zel in a big way. Or perhaps it was his devotion and love for Farissa that made me swoon.

Farissa is one of my all-time favorite female characters. She can run above the city on steam pipes or hang upside down from a balcony. She can scale a rock wall or challenge the king to a horse race. Knowing the Amar could claim her life any day, she lives every hour to the fullest. It’s the same reason she holds back from loving Zel—she doesn’t want him to get hurt when she dies. And she won’t let him endanger himself to save her.

Nothing about this unpredictable story is black-and-white. The characters are realistically flawed, and their dilemmas are not easily solved. Ellie Ann has a way with language and proverbs that perfectly fits the cyberpunk world she has created. She doesn’t shy away from harsh truths, but she presents them in a non-graphic way. I can recommend this book to teenagers and not worry about over-the-top language, explicit violence, or sex scenes. In fact, I do strongly recommend this book—to anyone who loves a captivating story with characters you root for. THE SILVER SICKLE should come with a warning label: Do not make other plans for the day you read this. I stayed up half the night to finish it and was a zombie the next day. It was so, so worth it. I’d gladly escape reality to read this amazing book.

My interview with the lovely Ellie Ann!

Me:  What inspired you to write THE SILVER SICKLE? 

Ellie:  The book of Esther has always inspired me. It’s so intriguing and exciting, and I liked the idea of a common girl saving an entire race.

 

Me:  The plot and setting of TSS is so original. Did the idea come to you fully-formed, or in bits and pieces? How did you put it all together to create an amazing new story world?

Ellie: It took so many months of world building and character profiles. I probably wrote about three different drafts of the Amar’s alien profile. In my first draft (with my writing partner, Al) we wrote in good Amar, who fought to save the humans. They got cut, and the hatchlings got added.

The characters each had several drafts as well. At one point, Zel worked a lot more with the steam pipes. I had a lot of help with the character profiles from Piper Bayard, who has really great intuition and knowledge about writing good characters, and she was patient enough to read and critique all my profiles.

Nothing came fully formed. All my first ideas suck. I have to toss out my first 5-100 ideas before I find the really good ones.

 

Me:  Who’s your favorite character from TSS, and why?

Ellie:  Farissa, the dead girl walking with an inexplicable zest for life. I love how she looks at things with both eyes wide open, how she doesn’t put herself first, and her sense of humor. 

 

Me:  In addition to being an author, you’re also an editor! Which job do you like best? Do you think you’ll keep doing both in the foreseeable future? 

Ellie:  I love writing best. But I’ll always edit. It keeps me sharp. Without a doubt, I learned more about writing from editing manuscripts than any conference, book, or pep talk I’ve ever heard on writing. I love reading a manuscript, figuring out the problems and triumphs of the story, and then finding the answer together with the author.  

 

Me:  You’re a producer of interactive books at Noble Beast, the writer of digital comic books, and the writer of the Slice of Life transmedia project. Wow. What do you like about transmedia storytelling, and what would be your dream project?

Ellie:  I love how good multi-media stories immerse the reader in the book. Sometimes when I’m reading a description about a sound, I’d love to hear the sound effect. Or when the characters are traveling, I’d love to see where exactly they are on the map. And I love illustrations and symbols—they help bring the story to life. It’s these details that can capture a reader and not let go—that’s why I love it so much.

My dream project is Slice of Life—working with talented illustrators, graphic designers, composers, directors, animators, and poets to create an immersive story.

 

Me:  I think you’re one of the most talented jugglers I know—a wife and a mom to three kids, yet you still manage to edit and write every day. What’s your secret?? The whole world wants to know!   

Ellie:  I hire my toddler to write all my blog posts.

Just kidding.

I have a robot to do all my housework. His name is Alexander the Great and he’s good at everything except making French bread.

Ha! Not really.

I think the things that keeps me productive are that I sit down at my desk at the same time every day for the same amount of time, I turn off all distractions (goodbye, *sniff* internet), I’m not a perfectionist, I focus at one thing at a time, and then I clock out and rejuvenate my brain, aka, take care of the house and kiddies.

Also, I surround myself with awesome friends like ERIN HORN who give me great writing advice and are good listeners and take the stress off the job. Also, I surround myself with great editors like ERIN HORN who polish up my imperfection-riddled manuscripts and don’t seem to get too annoyed in the process.

Added note from Erin: Awww! You know people will think I totally wrote that last part myself, right?

 

Me:  Connecting with people is another one of your talents. What’s your favorite part of social networking and marketing? How do you fit it into your schedule?

Ellie:  I j’adore meeting new people! My favorite part of social networking is hearing new stories and seeing things through different points of views. As far as scheduling? I’m not very good at this, buuuuut…I’m always trying to give myself a time limit. Like, after writing time I’ll be on social media 20 minutes and I have to get everything I NEED to do done first and then I can play. Sometimes I end up playing for a leetle more than 20 minutes. *cough* hours *cough*

 

Me:  You were born in the jungles of Thailand, raised in a small farming village in Iowa, have lived in the middle of a Texan desert, and now abide in the Ozarks. Which location has the strongest hold on your heart? Where else in the world would you like to go?

Ellie:  Grinnell, Iowa has the strongest place in my heart. It will always be my beloved country.

One of my life goals is to take a long romantic trip to Paris with the love of my life, Michael. That’d be perfection. I’d also like to visit my sister and her family, who live in S Sudan. I’d also love to see Amman, Jordan. Ah, so many places to go, so many things to see! 

 

Me:  What book or project of yours can we look forward to next??

Ellie:  Twisting Steele, the second in the Sarah Steele thriller series will be released anytime now. It’s when Sarah and her best friend, Mandy, go on a vacation to Rio and get tangled up with some mysterious kidnappers called The Blondes.

The comic for MotionWorks Entertainment that I’m writing will be released by the end of the year.

And I’m currently writing Girls and Boys, a post-apocalyptic comedy about a village where the gender roles are reversed.

Thanks so much for having me, Erin! 

 

Thanks for stopping by during such a busy time, Ellie! And readers, you’ll want to enter Ellie’s giveaway on her website that’s going on now and will end in three days. The winner gets a $25 gift card and a signed copy of THE SILVER SICKLE (with the bonus of a tall tale featuring you!). Be sure to check it out for your chance to win!! And CLICK HERE to learn all the ways you can follow Ellie, through Facebook and Twitter and beyond. This woman is hilarious and kind and on the cutting edge of transmedia and more—you won’t want to miss it!

What Motivates You to Keep Writing?

Today I’m answering a question from Amber, a reader and aspiring author. She asked me how she can keep writing when she’s tired at the end of the day from other jobs, kids, and just the usual busyness of life.

This is such a great question, and one I’m constantly trying to find the best solution to in my own life. I always seem to think that lack of time is the biggest obstacle to my writing. Whether or not that’s true, or if it’s just what I tell myself, I’m not sure. But it seems clear that without some type of motivation, writing becomes nearly impossible. And with so much craziness going on, it’s normal to struggle with writer’s block or real-life emotions clouding the emotions you want to portray in your story.

The short answer to the problem is: find what works for you. Because we’re all different, true? But that answer seems like a cop-out, so I’ll give you a list of ideas from myself or other authors. I get lots of good advice from my critique partner, Ellie Ann. Maybe one or more of these will work for you, or inspire new ideas you come up with . . .

How to Keep Writing, No Matter What:

1. Write in the same place at the same time, every day.  This is a way of tricking your brain into making writing a habit. When you get to that familiar time and place, your mind knows it’s time to write. The hard part is finding a time that works best for you on a daily basis. Maybe you can wake up before the rest of your family. Or maybe you’re the last one to go to bed. Or maybe you can talk your child into a midday hour of quiet play time/reading time, and that’s when you go and frantically write as much as you can in the allotted hour. Find what works and stick to it!

2. Prioritize and sacrifice.  There’s only so much time in the day. If you want to move writing up on your priority list, that means something else needs booted off. No, not your other job or your family, God forbid. Something nonessential. When I got serious about being a professional writer, I gave up TV. Seriously—I don’t watch TV now except for special occasions a few times a year. I also had to give up some of my reading time, which was much harder. But to fill the void, I started listening to audiobooks in the car or when I was doing housework. So that’s how I get my reading fix, and we all know how important reading is for writers. It’s a requirement for the job!

3. Multitask like it’s an Olympic sport.  Since there is only so much you can sacrifice, and since you still need to take care of yourself (sleep, people, don’t forget to sleep!), the essential stuff needs to be multitasked whenever possible. That was why I asked my husband to make me a treadmill desk (a simple shelf mounted on the wall next to my treadmill), so I can walk as I use the computer. It’s exercise, and it saves me from a trip to the chiropractor, which happens when I sit at a desk too often. I already mentioned how I listen to audiobooks as much as possible when doing mundane chores. Also, make sure to carry a little notebook or laptop with you. That way if you’re waiting to pick up your kid from swim lessons, or waiting anywhere, you can pull out that notebook/laptop and jot down story ideas or fragments of a scene.

4. Keep that writing frame of mind.  This sounds kind of weird, but it really works for me. Even when you’re not sitting in front of the computer, you are still a writer. So think like one! If your brain isn’t otherwise occupied, use it to brainstorm for your story. If you know what scene you want to write next, you can turn that scene over and over in your head—rehearsing possible dialogue, imagining details of the setting, seeking plot holes. Then, when you finally get your time at the computer, the scene is ready to burst out of your fingertips. This also helps with writer’s block and getting your mind in the right emotional state. Try to write a new scene every day, if that goal works for you.

5. Build your support team.  If your family and friends aren’t on your side, it makes writing SO much harder. But if you tell your significant other how important it is to you, and how you could really use some more writing time, he or she can help out by watching the kids or doing dishes or whatever it takes. Or maybe you have another family member or friend who is willing to help. Also important are those people who are like cheerleaders, motivating you and encouraging you to keep going. The ones who ask you how far along you are on your book, so you want to write a lot just to impress them.  ;-)  These are the awesome people who will be in the acknowledgements of your book. Gather them close to you and don’t let them go!

Hope this answers the question at least a little. How about you? What motivates YOU to keep writing??

RIVER’S EDGE Video and Giveaway!

I’m so excited to present this new video, which features an audio excerpt from the RIVER’S EDGE audiobook (narrated by the brilliant Carin Gilfry Lawrence!) and video footage of the real Thomson Causeway (the setting of the book). Hope you enjoy this visit to the Mississippi River and the Slavic spirit of the forest . . .

And since I would love to share this video with lots of people, I’m giving away a free copy of the RIVER’S EDGE audiobook! To be entered to win, all you have to do is share the video. You can share it on your blog/website, Facebook, Twitter, or other social media, earning up to five possible entries. Once you’re done sharing, click the Rafflecopter link below and enter your shared links in the contest widget that appears (don’t forget this part, because otherwise I might not know you shared it!).

Contest ends July 10th. Let me know if you have any questions, and thanks in advance for sharing!!  :-)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

ALA Chicago!

I happen to work at a library, but that’s not the real reason why I went to the American Library Association Annual Conference. Nope, the real reason was to meet authors and get ARCs (Advanced Reader Copies, or Advanced Review Copies, depending on who you talk to). I first went to ALA four years ago, the last time it was in Chicago—which makes it within driving distance and saves me the price of a plane ticket. If you’d like to relive that first trip to ALA, including the epic (in my mind) story of how I met John Green, click here.

And just as I was four years ago, this year I was again accompanied by my twin nieces, fellow book nerds Vicki and Savannah. What follows is the story of this year’s ALA—in pictures. . . .

We almost missed Sarah Dessen’s signing. She was nice enough to stick around and sign all our books. Such a sweetheart!

Next we hurried to see this amazing writer, Lois Lowry. She signed my copy of THE GIVER!

Me grinning like crazy because I LOVE Laurie Halse Anderson. She always takes the time to exchange kind words with everyone who comes to her signings. She’s one of my author role models!

Veronica Roth’s signing had the longest line of the day. Here’s the chic Veronica signing DIVERGENT for Savannah.

Savannah got lots of compliments on her t-shirt (based on John Green’s THE FAULT IN OUR STARS, just in case you’ve been living in a cave for the past year and a half). We missed seeing you at this ALA, John Green.

I love meeting authors and mingling with so many cool book people. Thanks to all of you!! But I’m not a city girl, and being surrounded by that many people makes me a tad claustrophobic. I didn’t breathe easily until I was back in rural NW Illinois. Still, I hope to be back at ALA the next time it comes to Chicago! And I hope my lovely nieces will want to come too.  :-)

 

 

 

 

Audiobook Giveaway!

I have two free audiobooks of RIVER’S EDGE to give away! And like most giveaways I do, my newsletter subscribers get the first shot at winning!

The audiobook consists of MP3 files that you can listen to on your computer, iPad, iPod, iPhone, or other MP3-player. If you have a CD burner, you can even burn the files to blank CDs and listen to the audiobook that way.

SO, if you’d like a chance to win the first free audiobook, all you have to do is subscribe to my email newsletter by clicking HERE. Don’t worry—I won’t spam you with emails. The newsletter only goes out once a month or so. After you confirm your subscription, you’ll get a bonus gift of a free short story told from Gabe’s POV.

Or, if you’re already a subscriber, reply to the email I just sent to your inbox (check your junk mail folder if you didn’t get it). Replying to the email will let me know you’ve entered the contest. You have until Sunday, June 23rd, to email me. On Sunday I will draw a winner and contact that person.

A week or two after that, I’ll be giving away the second audiobook, and that contest will be open to everyone. This first contest is my way of thanking my newsletter subscribers. Good luck!!

For more information about the audiobook and its awesome narrator, Carin Gilfry, you can read my blog post about it HERE.

River’s Edge Audiobook!

 

For those who don’t already know this about me, I LOVE audiobooks. I not only listen to them in the car, but also when I cook, clean, or even brush my teeth. I’d guess that I average about fifty audiobooks a year, and probably forty-five of them are Young Adult. I like to think this makes me something of a connoisseur of YA audiobooks, HA. I know a good audiobook when I hear one.

You can imagine how THRILLED I was about the chance to turn River’s Edge into audiobook. All I had to do was find the perfect narrator for the story. So I started listening to audio samples from narrators—lots and lots of samples. None of the them seemed like quite the right fit . . . until I heard Carin Gilfry Lawrence’s audio sample.

A little background on Carin. She’s a mezzo-soprano opera singer with a Master of Music Degree from The Juilliard School. She’s performed in operas, music festivals, and musical theater around the world. When I email her, I never quite know if she’ll be in New York or L.A. or Switzerland. Considering all this, you might expect her to be a bit of a snob. But that’s the best part—she’s the opposite of snobbish. She’s incredibly sweet, supportive, and upbeat about life in general.

River’s Edge narrator, Carin Gilfry Lawrence!

But I didn’t ask Carin to be my narrator because she’s sweet (that’s just a great bonus for me). When I heard her audio sample, I knew I wanted her voice on the River’s Edge audiobook. She has a wide range of tones and expressions. Her comedic timing is spot-on, which is crucial for a story with a lot of sarcasm. She knows the perfect moments to pause, sigh, or laugh. She gives nuances to the different characters based on their personalities and backgrounds. Her Russian accent is exceptional, which she uses to great effect throughout the story. She’s familiar with Slavic mythology, and she knew better than I did how to pronounce the Slavic spirits and names. And the icing on the cake: Carin has an out-of-this-world singing voice, just like River’s Edge main character, Kasia. Carin recorded a song excerpt for the audiobook, and it took my breath away.

Lucky for me, she said yes when I asked her to narrate River’s Edge. And I’m SO excited with how the project turned out. I can’t imagine having anyone else narrate this story; Carin was perfect for the role. Thank you, Carin, for all the time and effort you spent!! This isn’t a good audiobook—it’s an amazing one.

If you’d like to buy the audiobook, you have three main options:

1. Audible.com. Currently available for $19.95, OR you can get it for $7.49 if you try a three-month trial membership with Audible (which you can cancel at any time without having to pay more than $7.49).

2. Amazon. Currently available for $17.46, or get it for FREE by trying a one-month trial membership (again, cancel anytime you want without a fee).

3. iTunes. If you already have iTunes on your computer or other device, you’ll be able to find River’s Edge in the audiobook store for $17.95.

The audio files you download from any of these sites can play on your computer, tablet, iPod, mp3-player, Android, iPhone, Kindle tablet, and more. Audible even gives you the option to download the highest-quality files if you’d like to burn them to CDs from your computer. Lots of possibilities!

CLICK HERE to go to the Audible site and listen to a five-minute sample of the audiobook (by pushing the play button underneath the cover image). You’ll get to hear Carin’s super creepy Russian accent for the forest spirit!

Let me know if you have any questions about any of this, and I’ll do my best to help! Thanks so much for listening!!