~~~ Guest Post by Christine Amsden ~~~
Learning to Listen
I love audiobooks. At the end of the day when my eyes are tired and I want to lie in bed with a good book, audiobooks let me rest my eyes and relax my body in ways that don't involve juggling a paperback (or even an ereader). I can close my eyes, sink into the mattress, and embrace a story that is as complete as the written form. (Audiobook listeners these days wouldn't stand for abridgement!)
I know I'm biased. I'm visually impaired so for me learning to love audiobooks was a necessity. It was start listening or stop reading – I did choose the latter during college (I was too busy with textbooks anyway) but after I graduated I learned to listen.
The one thing many audiobook naysayers don't realize about listening to a story is that it's a learned skill. Teachers (appropriately) spend years teaching children to read text and retain information with their eyes. We're programmed to gleam information that way, and it's a great method. Really. But it's not the only method.
The first few times I listened to an audiobook I hated it. The readers didn't put the emphasis on the right words. It was a pain to go back and “reread” something I missed later on. I couldn't skim through the bits I used to brush past (like long paragraphs of description). In short, I couldn't use all the reading strategies and skills I had fallen back on my entire life.
But gradually, and in my case due to necessity (I became legally blind at the age of 18), I retained more information from each story. In fact, because I was forced to read every word at a measured pace, I often read a more complete version of the story than I ever did with text. (Yes, that's my impatient personality talking, but there it is.)
I now love audiobooks so much that I'm having my Cassie Scot series recorded and put up on audible. The first two books are already available. Mind Games, which was just released as an ebook on April 15, will be recorded and uploaded in the next few months.
To tell you the truth, it's a little scary listening to my own books read back to me by a narrator. I hear the words in my head a certain way and they don't seem quite the same when they come back at me! But I'm proud to have my books available in audio format for readers who now how to listen.
Mind Games (Cassie Scot Book 3)
Beware your heart and soul…
Evan broke Cassie’s heart two months ago, and she still doesn’t know why. She throws herself into family, friends and her new job at the sheriff’s department, but nothing helps. The only thing that finally allows her heal and move on is the love of a new man, mind mage Matthew Blair. Cassie finds him…irresistible.
Matthew may also be the only one who can help keep the non-magical residents of Eagle Rock from going crazy over the murder of a beloved pastor’s wife. It looks like a sorcerer is to blame, but while Cassie tries to figure out who, others take matters into their own hands. With tensions running so hot, a single spark might set Eagle Rock ablaze.
First Chapter: http://christineamsden.com/wordpress/?page_id=3118 (Warning: Contains series spoilers. New readers to the series would be better off checking out the preview of book one below.)
Buy Links
In case you have trouble with the hyperlinkes:
Other titles in this series:
Cassie Scot: ParaNormal Detective
Cassie Scot is the ungifted daughter of powerful sorcerers, born between worlds but belonging to neither. At 21, all she wants is to find a place for herself, but earning a living as a private investigator in the shadow of her family’s reputation isn’t easy. When she is pulled into a paranormal investigation, and tempted by a powerful and handsome sorcerer, she will have to decide where she truly belongs.
First Chapter: http://christineamsden.com/wordpress/?page_id=1712
Buy Links for Cassie Scot: ParaNormal Detecitve
In case you have trouble with the hyperlinkes:
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Cassie-Scot-ParaNormal-Christine-Amsden/dp/1606192752/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1368971523&sr=8-1&keywords=Cassie+Scot
Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/cassie-scot-christine-amsden/1115049717?ean=9781606192757
Audible (audiobook): http://www.audible.com/pd/Mysteries-Thrillers/Cassie-Scot-Audiobook/B00FA89FZ8/ref=sr_1_1?qid=1379697202&sr=1-1
Secrets and Lies (Cassie Scot Book 2)
Cassie Scot, still stinging from her parents’ betrayal, wants out of the magical world. But it isn’t letting her go. Her family is falling apart and despite everything, it looks like she may be the only one who can save them.
To complicate matters, Cassie owes Evan her life, making it difficult for her to deny him anything he really wants. And he wants her. Sparks fly when they team up to find two girls missing from summer camp, but long-buried secrets may ruin their hopes for happiness.
Buy Links for Secrets and Lies (Cassie Scot Book 2)
In case you have trouble with the hyperlinkes:
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00FX4C0YM/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00FX4C0YM&linkCode=as2&tag=chrisamsde-20
Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/secrets-and-lies-christine-amsden/1117158667?ean=2940148499534
Audible (Audiobook): http://www.audible.com/pd/Mysteries-Thrillers/Secrets-and-Lies-Audiobook/B00HFDO8BC/ref=a_search_c4_1_1_srTtl?qid=1395684489&sr=1-1
Author Bio
Christine Amsden has been writing fantasy and science fiction for as long as she can remember. She loves to write and it is her dream that others will be inspired by this love and by her stories. Speculative fiction is fun, magical, and imaginative but great speculative fiction is about real people defining themselves through extraordinary situations. Christine writes primarily about people and relationships, and it is in this way that she strives to make science fiction and fantasy meaningful for everyone.
At the age of 16, Christine was diagnosed with Stargardt’s Disease, a condition that effects the retina and causes a loss of central vision. She is now legally blind, but has not let this slow her down or get in the way of her dreams.
In addition to writing, Christine teaches workshops on writing at Savvy Authors. She also does some freelance editing work.
Christine currently lives in the Kansas City area with her husband, Austin, who has been her biggest fan and the key to her success. They have two beautiful children.
Social Media Links:
In case you have trouble with the hyperlinks:
Web site: http://christineamsden.com/wordpress/
Newsletter: https://tinyletter.com/christineamsden
Blog: http://christineamsden.com/wordpress/?page_id=200
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Christine-Amsden-Author-Page/127673027288664?ref=hl
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ChristineAmsden
Google+: https://plus.google.com/u/0/117845642477854934607/posts
Goodreads: ttp://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1030664.Christine_Amsden
Praise for the Cassie Scot Series
From Publisher’s Weekly:
“Amsden continues the story of the only mundane member of a supernaturally-gifted family in this middling sequel to Cassie Scot: ParaNormal Detective. Cassie, stubborn and proud, is bravely trying to live on her own after her family disowns her. Struggling to make ends meet, she accepts a case involving a pair of magical girls who disappeared from summer camp. With the aid of the handsome Evan Blackwood, to whom Cassie is attracted despite her family’s disapproval and her own better judgment, she follows the trail of the missing girls. What she finds is a dark side of the magical world, and the hidden depths of her family’s past force her to reconsider long-held assumptions. The growing complexity of Cassie’s world makes this an entertaining installment, focusing as much on the will-they, won’t-they romantic chemistry between Cassie and Evan as on the primary mystery. An inconclusive ending is clearly intended to feed into the next volume.”
Kim Falconer, bestselling author of The Spell of Rosette, Quantum Enchantment Series, had this to say:
“When sorcerers call the shots, what’s a girl without powers to do? Get ready for a ripper of a murder mystery full of romance and intrigue, where magic potions bubble, passions spark and vampires are definitely not your friend. Cassie Scot: ParaNormal Detective grabs you by the heart and won’t let go until the very last page. Well written, immersive and unputdownable. This is urban fantasy at its best. More please!”
Book Specifications
Title: Mind Games: a Cassie Scot novel
Author: Christine Amsden
Author web site: http://www.christineamsden.com
Publisher: Twilight Times Books
Genre: paranormal fantasy
*Print ISBN: 978-1-60619-279-5
Format: 5.5x8.5 trade paperback; 276 pages; $17.95 USD
*eBook ISBN: 978-1-60619-278-8; $6.50 USD
Format: ebook in pdf, ePub, Kindle, Mobi, PRC, etc.
Distributors: Amazon Kindle; Apple iBookstore; BN.com Nook; Kobo Books; OmniLit, etc
Release date: April 15, 2014 ebook; June 15, 2014 trade paperback
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*The giveaway begins on April 15, 2014 at midnight and ends on July 16, 2014 at midnight.
