The Audiobook Boom and the Rise of Digital Voices: Should Romance Authors Pay Attention?

Get ready to dive into the world of audiobooks! This is the first in a series of seven articles (plus a bonus!) where we'll explore everything you need to know about the booming audiobook market, the rise of AI narration, and what it all means for romance authors. We'll cover topics from comparing human and AI narration, to cost breakdowns, using KDP Virtual Voice, protecting your brand, exploring hybrid approaches, and looking at the future of the industry. This series was sparked by a conversation with one of my author clients who, while busy with a new release, was invited to KDP's Virtual Voice program. We agreed to explore it "after the release," but my curiosity took over, and I knew I had to investigate.

What Deanna Read #105: March 2025

Well, March was a dismal month of reading. Some audiobooks which seems like the only way my brain could cope with reading because I was actually pretty burned out from a string of very intense book edits for a re-release. As I'm typing this, the proofs for the last book in the series are due back in a couple of days. I just need to apply those, and then it's just a matter of the book being uploaded and the series is complete (again!). It's actually very exciting.

Hope your reading for March has been a lot better than mine.

Here's what I read in the last month.

Red Havoc Rogue

Sealed With A Kiss

At Grave's End (full cast dramatized version) 🎧Graphic Audio 📘Kindle eBook

Little Sunshine

Beyond Taboo: Reader Outrage and the Child Abuse Allegations | Daddy's Little Toy by Tori Woods

Here's a small news update on this case as of April 16, 2025.

Sometimes, something catches my attention and I feel compelled to write about it...

Grab a cup of coffee and settle in – we're diving deep into the Daddy's Little Toy controversy, exploring the legal fallout, reader outrage, and future of erotic daddy romance. TL;DR: Author explores taboo child abuse themes, faces legal action and arrest, serving as a cautionary tale for the publishing industry.

Fiction pushes boundaries. That's what it does. It explores the messy, the uncomfortable, even the terrifying parts of being human. It challenges us. It provokes us. It makes us think. But sometimes, it breaks. And when that happens, we have to ask: where's the damn line? How far is too far when we're talking about real-world harm, not just fictional discomfort?

300 Books and a Bloody Mary: How Did That Happen? Celebrating My 300th Book Project

Guess who’s out of the deadline cave for now? Well, out long enough to take a breather and write this much delayed article and to have a little celebration. Book #302 and its detailed lined edits have just whooshed off to the author for revisions. I’ve got the headspace to celebrate instead of deciding between intentional sentence fragments vs avoiding sentence fragments, and stylistic choices vs grammatical necessity for word choices and sentence structure. Y’all… it’s been A LOT.

Second Chances: Celebrating Julie Rowe's Lethal Game Re-release and My 301st Book Project

In the publishing industry, we often talk about the "long game" – the dedication, perseverance, and sheer grit it takes to build a sustainable career in this industry. We focus on the next book, the next chapter, the next sentence. But every so often, it's important to pause, look back, and appreciate how far we've come. And that's precisely what I'm doing today, as I celebrate not only the release of Julie Rowe's fantastic Lethal Game, but also my 301st book project.

So Many Books, So Little Time. Everything You Need to Know About Kindle Unlimited

"Is Kindle Unlimited really worth it?" I see this question pop up in every book group I'm in, at least once a week. And honestly, it's a totally valid question! Even though Kindle Unlimited (KU) has been around since, get this, July 2014, there's still so much confusion surrounding it. I remember when I first signed up – I downloaded the Kindle app, clicked "subscribe," and thought, "Unlimited books! Awesome!" I didn't even glance at the terms and conditions (don't judge, we've all been there, right?).

What Deanna Read #104: February 2025

You guys!!! I am SO TIRED. My day job is kicking my butt, so it's a good thing that I love it. I honestly don't know if I read much in February because I was away for a few days and didn't get much reading done, then there was a lot of work reading and when I'm doing a lot of work reading the brain doesn't cope well with fun reading. I'm currently about to start the 4th? 5th? read through of the book I'm editing. Oof!

Here's what I read in the last month.

One Dark Spark

Elusive Enforcer

The Coldest Case 🎧Audiobook

False Hope

Marking Milestones: Steve Shipley's "False Hope" Release and My 299th Book Project

Happy Book Birthday to "False Hope"! Today marks the release of Steve Shipley's latest Blake Willis Thriller, and I couldn't be more excited to celebrate this launch. Not only is this Steve's third book in the series, but it also represents my 299th book project, this one as an editor, bringing me one step closer to a significant milestone in my publishing journey.

What Deanna Read #103: January 2025

I'm in catch up mode here, so you guys are getting two "What Deanna Read" posts in one sitting. Yay!! Right?? The funny this is - I made a mistake when I was prepping December 2024's reads and actually did January 2025 first. Then I went, oh crap, I made a mistake. And then I ran out of steam and that was the end of that.

So here I am, the end of February, exhausted, sleep deprived, and trying very hard to catch it. It's also almost one in the morning (as in VERY LATE AT NIGHT) so I could be slightly delirious as well. Onwards...

Here's what I read in the last month.

Thawed Gladiator: Varro

A Curse in Darkness

The Serpent and the Wings of Night 🎧

Shadows of the Bottle

What Deanna Read #102: December 2024

You guys!!! It's February. Okay, it's only February 1st, but I'm late on last month's What Deanna Read which was for December 2024. Oof! Time is flying by. I don't have an excuse. Work has been crazy busy. I had this plan to have a holiday from about December 18th through to mid-January, but that lasted about 4 days before things got crazy and has stayed crazy.

Update: It's OBVIOUSLY not February 1st anymore. It's actually closer to the end of the month. You know what happened? I started putting this together and then I realised that I was accidentally putting my January 2025 reads instead of my December 2024 reads, and it was about 3am and I ran out of steam. I kinda just konked out and then work got bonkers. And if you're wondering why and haven't seen, this was the reason. It's actually been an exciting time.

Here's what I read in December 2024. Better late than never, right? Really, really late. Soz!

A Guardian For Christmas

Snowed In With The Bosses

Catnapped: A Pawsitively Purrfect Christmas

A Cold Dark Promise 🎧

Supporting 300 Author Dreams: From Project Manager to Publishing Partner

A friend recently asked me about my career trajectory, wondering how I went from implementing multi-million dollar IT systems to working in publishing as an author services provider. When I went to point her to my LinkedIn profile, I realized it was terribly out of date. As I sat there updating it, something struck me – I've been part of bringing nearly 300 books to life. That number stopped me in my tracks. How did I get here? Let me tell you.

So You Love Reading? A Book Lover's Path to Editing

I get this question at least once a week: "I love reading, and I spot errors in books all the time. How can I become an editor?" Every time I see this message in my inbox or social media, I smile because I understand exactly where they're coming from. Reading is more than just a hobby for these people – it's a passion that makes them want to dive deeper into the world of books and publishing.