A Survivor Story
It’s been nearly five years since Aaron woke up in the hospital so broken, he couldn’t stand the sight of his own face. The flashbacks no longer dominate his life, but he’s still unable to find intimacy with his lover, Spencer Thomas. With time, patience, and the support of his family, his therapist, and his loving partner, Aaron has figured out how to live again. The problem is, Spencer hasn’t. His life has been on hold as he waits for the day he and Aaron can have a normal relationship. Hoping to move things forward for them both, he takes a job as a programmer in downtown Chicago, leaving Aaron alone.
Reeling in the wake of Spencer’s absence, Aaron receives another shock when his attackers are caught.
Now, he must testify and verbalize his worst nightmare. Publicly reliving his trauma without Spencer at his side destroys his precarious control. But he finds someone who can understand and empathize in Jordan, who watched his brother cut down in a school shooting. With Spencer gone and the DA knocking at his door, Aaron seeks solace in Jordan, and Spencer will have to risk everything to hold on to Aaron’s love.
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J.P Barnaby Talking about
Hearing Aaron
In my head, I’ve been hearing Aaron Downing and Spencer Thomas. For the last four years, I’ve been hearing what I think their voices would sound like. Today, I actually heard them. Because today, I downloaded the audiobook of Aaron from Audible.com. I heard the soft-spoken voice of Aaron and the measured cadence of Spencer. Listening to the tender way the narrator took care of Aaron with perfect inflections honestly gave me chills.
I’ve been listening to audiobooks for years. That medium brought me everything from Harry Potter to Sinner’s Gin. I listen in the car, at my desk at work, and at night before I go to bed. First, it forces me to slow down and actually read the book, taking in the nuances of every sentence and every turn of phrase. For Aaron, it blows me away that I captured the story he told with such elegance.
When Dreamspinner approached me about making Aaron into an audiobook, I was simultaneously ecstatic (because I love audiobooks) and wary. Who would they find to be the voice of my Aaron? Would he be young enough? Quiet enough? Perfect enough? They sent me several auditions. I listened to each one, scoring it based on their voice and inflections. I selected a few candidates in order of my preferences, but my top choices turned down the job. They didn’t have a problem with it being gay romance or the fact that it contained gay sex—it was Aaron’s pain, the violence forced onto him.
So, I received a second round of interviews. In them was Aaron’s voice—young, soft-spoken man reading part of the first chapter of Aaron with perfect, reverence inflections. I requested him and he accepted. Then, he worked with me on how I wanted the texts read and the code. It took longer than I expected for them to make it perfect, but they did. Without question.
When I sat and listened to the first few chapters today, I got chills.
He sounds desperate when Aaron would be desperate. He sound scared where Aaron would be scared. Earnest and full of pain, the voice is exactly what I never knew I wanted from an audiobook.
I’ve already requested him again, should Dreamspinner decide to make Spencer into an audiobook.
It really is that good.
Don’t believe me? Check out the sample (just below the cover image): http://www.audible.com/pd/Fiction/Aaron-Audiobook/B00ITYUGAS/ref=a_search_c4_1_1_srImg?qid=1394505291&sr=1-1
Award winning romance novelist, J. P. Barnaby has penned over a dozen books including the Working Boys series, the Little Boy Lost series, In the Absence of Monsters, and Aaron. As a bisexual woman, J.P. is a proud member of the GLBT community both online and in her small town on the outskirts of Chicago. A member of Mensa, she is described as brilliant but troubled, sweet but introverted, and talented but deviant. She spends her days writing software and her nights writing erotica, which is, of course, far more interesting. The spare time that she carves out between her career and her novels is spent reading about the concept of love, which, like some of her characters, she has never quite figured out for herself.
Web site: http://www.JPBarnaby.com
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/JPBarnaby
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/JPBarnaby
GIVEAWAY
Have been waiting to hear Spencer’s POV.
Me too. I was a little apprehensive about hearing Spencer, but he did a great job!
Congrats on this, having read a tiny little part before it was finished, I’m looking forward to reading the entire book now. Best of luck with this, not that you need luck. 🙂
-Andy
Thank you so much! I think you’ll like the rest of the book.
I’m so eager to hear the voice actor’s work, and find out who it is…I’ve definitely had that “wrong voice for the book” experience as a listener, so how wonderful that it turned out perfectly!
Yes, I listen to a lot of audiobooks and getting a bad narrator is the worst, but I couldn’t have been happier about this one.
I’m an audiobook fanatic. Love them. But the wrong narrator can ruin the whole experience. I snagged Aaron with this month’s audible credit and I can’t wait to start it.
I am very protective of Aaron and it took a few tries to find the perfect narrator for him. I think we did. 🙂
this sounds really angsty .. love it!
They both are – Aaron and Spencer. Give them a try – the first chapter of Aaron is free on Dreamspinner’s website: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=3263
I tend to have a huge pile of books that I keep adding/buying to, so I still have Aaron waiting to be read. I know this one sounds like another book that I want to add/ purchase.
I haven’t read Aaron yet, but I’m anxious to read both books! I’m just getting into audiobooks, which is great because I spend lots of time in traffic. Thanks for the fantastic giveaway!