Proofing and Literacy Autographing

The proofs for the audio book version of WHERE SHE BELONGS arrived in my in-box yesterday from AudioLark. I proofed four chapters right away, so am about 25% through. I’m really enjoying the audio book! The narrator, R.E. Chambliss, also narrated BORROWING ALEX. She did such a great job capturing the romantic comedy tone of BORROWING ALEX that I wondered how her narration of an emotional romance novel would compare. My verdict? R.E. is every bit as good at narrating serious, emotional stories as she is at narrating romcom. Jess, Adam, Nora (Jess’s mother), and the secondary characters are all coming alive for me. I think that’s what I love most about my novels being made into audio books–how they feel to “come alive.” It’s a different experience listening to a book you’ve published, and I am so pleased with the audio rendition thus far. I hope my readers (listeners?) will be, too.

As for the Five Star Expressions library-hardcover edition of WHERE SHE BELONGS, I’ve registered for the RWA National Conference in Anaheim this July. I signed up for the Librarians’ Luncheon on Wednesday, July 25th, and I just found out today that Five Star is donating a box of my books to the Literacy Autographing that will occur in the convention center next to the Conference hotel. So I’ll be signing copies of the book for the public.

I am excited about this. I have only signed as Cindy once before, and that was a long time ago, when HEAD OVER HEELS was first published. I donated ten of my own copies to the Autographing, however, because there wasn’t a box of books by my station, my name placard and place were removed. Then I arrived with my books in my arms, and the volunteers setting up the stations realized they’d made a mistake. There was no room for me in the Ps, so I sat at the end of a table in the Ms. I managed to sell all ten copies of HEAD OVER HEELS that I had brought along, but it was a little weird to be sitting among the Ms.

I have signed as Penny once, and the publisher in question always donates books to the Literacy Autographing. Apparently, they had donated a box of Penny’s books plus had stuffed two more copies into a box of another author’s books. Good thing they did, because the full box of books was nowhere to be found and all I had to sign were those two measly copies. I quickly “sold out,” heh heh, but stuck around to speak to readers regardless.

So…my third Literacy Autographing is approaching, and this time cross your fingers it goes off without a hitch!