So which lucky duck will be enjoying Phil Gigante’s aural pleasures?

As much as I wanted to send one to every person who commented, I want to retire someday too. So I had my daughter pick a number and the winner is:

 DARLA

WOOT! Happy eargasms, girlfriend!

Now, please send your name and address to BevLQB (at) gmail (dot) com and I’ll have Kiss of the Highlander on unabridged CDs shipped directly from Amazon to you. Let me know if you would prefer MP3-CDs instead.

BevQB’s review of Kiss of the Highlander (The Highlander Series, Book 4) by Karen Marie Moning, narrated by Phil Gigante
Paranormal historical timetravel fantasy romance Audio Book released by Brilliance Audio on 20 Jan 08

Kiss of the Highlander in audio format is the perfect mating of story and storyteller and I can’t imagine merely reading this story from a printed page ever again. Phil Gigante brings every minute of this pure escapist fantasy story to life. Audio books, in fact most Romance books, don’t get any better than this!

WAIT! WAIT! I know you are expecting me to once again squee about the aural pleasures to be found in Phil Gigante’s eargasmic portrayal of Drustan (and, oh, I will), but there’s much more to expound on in this absolutely spell binding audio book. (btw, did ya notice the big “contest” tag? Hmmmm?)

This is the fourth audio book release in KMM’s Highlanders series and centers on Drustan MacKelter and Gwen Cassidy. Containing both paranormal and fantasy (fae) elements, Kiss is set, through time travel, in historic and modern day Scotland. This is a standalone story, so it is not necessary to be familiar with the previous books in the series to enjoy this one, but, trust me; you’re going to want them all!

Have I ever mentioned just how damn ENTERTAINING Phil G’s narration is? In fact, I really hesitate to refer to what he does as mere narration. It’s a PERFORMANCE. The voices and effects he uses for all the characters, both lead and minor, are spot on. Often, when a man attempts a woman’s voice, it comes off as mocking. However, while no one will ever mistake Phil’s voice for a woman’s, I quickly was no longer conscious that a man was voicing the female characters. Yes, he uses a higher pitched voice for women, but there’s something else there too… a softness, a vulnerability… something… that does not scream “man mocking woman”.

Unless he wants to. One of the most entertaining moments in this audio book and one that showcases Phil G’s amazing talent is when Drustan is teasing Gwen and repeating her words in her “voice” . So we’re treated to Phil as Drustan mocking Phil as Gwen using Drustan’s version of Gwen’s voice. Trust me, Phil nails it!! Just hand him next year’s Audie Award now!

When I think of The Highlanders series, Kiss of the Highlander has always been the first one to come to mind. But if, like me, you are also a fan of KMM’s brilliant Fever series, you will have a lot of fun listening for Fever clues throughout the Highlander books. Kiss is the second book with a direct link to the later series (The Hallows appear in book 3, The Highlander’s Touch), and is the first of the MacKelter books (we meet Christian MacKelter, from Bloodfever, towards the end of Kiss). It’s fascinating to revisit all the Highlander fae lore that eventually comes together to spawn the complex Fever books.

But, the most compelling reason (besides my all-time favorite Nathan Kamp cover pic) to buy this (and all the rest of the series) in audio format is what narrator Phil Gigante does for your ears— and other body parts that are directly or indirectly attached to them. Be sure to use earphones when listening to Drustan’s seduction of Gwen- Phil uses a deep vibrating growl that you can seriously feel down to your toes! I’m not ashamed to admit that listening to Phil G’s Scottish brogue has become an addiction and an obsession for me.

	Grade: A Listen to a summary of the book followed by a sample of Gigante’s narration here. And oh, what a shiver-worthy sample it is!
	Click here to sample the rest of the Highlander series audio books.Book 5, The Dark Highlander, will be released 20 March 2008, followed by book 6, The Immortal Highlander, in May 2008. I highly recommend that books 5 and 6 be read/listened to in order AFTER this 4th book, Kiss of the Highlander. Go. Buy. Or borrow from your library. Audio books don’t get any better than these!

CONTEST!!

It’s no secret that everyone here at TGTBTU is unashamedly a fan of the Romance genre. Plus - we love nothing more than to share our love of the genre with anyone and everyone. So, I’ve decide to put my money where my mouth is.

I so love this audio book that I want to SHARE IT WITH ONE LUCKY DUCK AND WILL HAVE IT SHIPPED DIRECTLY TO YOU FROM AMAZON. Just comment on this post for a chance to win one copy of the unabridged KISS OF THE HIGHLANDER CDs.

One entry per IP address, U.S. residents only (sorry non-US folks).  The winner will be selected from comments made before midnight tomorrow, Tuesday, 18 March, according to the blog timestamp (we’re US Central timezone).

And, if you end up listening to Kiss of the Highlander, PLEASE let me know what you thought of it.

Read more from Bev at Cubie’s Confections.

From the “OMG That’s So Freakin’… uh… NOT All That Exciting” News File:

Last month Random House made the BIG ANNOUNCEMENT that they would begin selling their audio books DRM-free “As of March 1, the house ‘will no longer require that our retail partners use DRM when selling audiobooks via digital download. We believe that this move will allow for healthy competition among retailers targeting the iPod consumer without posing any substantive increase in risk of piracy.’”

Now, the New York Times is reporting that more publishers such as Penguin Group and Simon & Schuster are announcing their own move to DRM-free audio books. And booksellers, such as the Borders Group, are showing more interest in sales of audio book downloads.

I’ve never thought of audio books as using DRM, just ebooks. But IF I understand this correctly (and I checked with Teddypig to make sure I did; DRM for ebooks is one of his hot buttons), then the fact that all the downloadable audio books that I personally own can only be downloaded in digital format through either Audible’s Audio Manager or Overdrive Media Manager (Brilliance Audio) software means they are using DRM. Yes, I know—- DUH! Of COURSE that’s DRM, Bev! But here’s why I wasn’t sure—- once I’ve downloaded them, I can burn them to CDs, download them to any MP3 player, and even upload from those forms to another PC.

So, if audio books are protected by DRM, just what is DRM protecting?! What’s the freakin’ fuss about? Really, this is pretty much just a big announcement that this is business as usual minus the need to jump thru a hoop or two, right? Besides, I kind of LIKE those download managers.

For me, the most exciting news in all that non-news is that I can buy downloadable audio books from emusic. Never heard of them before and never would have guessed they sold audio books, [Shut up! I still use the word “album”] but I’m always on the lookout for new ways to feed my audio book addiction.

I am wondering, however, if all these announcements are going to throw a monkey wrench into Amazon’s plans. Amazon’s recent acquisition of Audible, combined with their purchase of Brilliance Audio last May, raised all kinds of warning flags for me. With Amazon virtually controlling the audio book market, they could potentially set prices wherever they damn well please. Maybe even lower prices for their Kindle audio format (yep, THAT’S what the earphone jack is for) with higher prices for other formats.

If the most immediate benefit to downloadable audio books going DRM-free is that there will soon be even more outlets for purchase, then Amazon will have no choice but to keep their prices competitive. Who knows, they might even LOWER prices to maintain their competitive edge! As long as that means that audio book producers don’t have to lower their production standards, than I think we are about to see audio books explode in popularity. I think it’s been their relatively high price in comparison to print or ebook that has kept consumers away. Teddypig tells me that DRM adds to the price, so really, there should be no excuse for the high prices I see for many downloadable audio books, particularly in comparison to audio books on CDs. No, I don’t expect the prices to ever fall anywhere near as low as the price of paperbacks, but I’m willing to continue to pay more for the convenience, entertainment, and enjoyment

I recently emailed Stephanie Laurens when I could only find the ABRIDGED (no-no-no) version of her new Cynster series release Where the Heart Leads. I also have been patiently waiting for Recorded Books to re-release Devil’s Bride on CD (it’s currently only available in expensive library edition cassettes) and hoped she would have the 411.

Well, SQUEEE, cause Stephanie Laurens took the time to answer me personally! Regarding the UNABRIDGED version of Where the Heart Leads— “I agree with you entirely over the inadequacies of the abridged version - I do not know why they bother, but apparently libraries prefer them. Seems odd to me, but…

However, the answer to your question is yes - all my works ultimately go to Recorded Books for the unabridged version. Because of the constraints inherent in the system, the unabridged is usually at least 12 months behind the release of the book. I think Recorded Books is behind on a few of the Cynster works, even though they are doing them, and are even further behind on the Bastion Club novels, but again they are coming through. They’re just slow.”

Regarding the re-release of Devil’s Bride on audio CD—“We’ve been nudging them over this - how hard could it be? We’ll keep at them.”

So, bad news for my “I want it NOW” side, but did I mention that Stephanie freakin’ Laurens answered me herself?!!! SQUEE!

ADDED: Couldn’t hurt to email Recorded Books (customerservice(at)recordedbooks(dot)com ) and ask them whether they are planning to re-release Devil’s Bride in a consumer’s edition, can it? I just did.

Now, no mention of audio books would be complete without our Phil Gigante. Last I heard, his prep work is done and he should be in the studio recording Karen Marie Moning’s The Immortal Highlander (release date 20 May 2008). That’s Adam’s story, which is swoon worthy enough, but remember what happens in that one—- there are scenes with Adam, Drustan, Dageus, and their wives all in the same room! I have no doubt that Phil is gifted with enough talent to nail those scenes, but I also have no doubt that my autopsy report will read “Death by Eargasm”.

…to bespell his mate. Hmmm, that might also explain the eargasmic power of THE VOICE, which is perfectly paired with KMM’s Highlander series audio books. And it turns out his written “voice” is just as swoon worthy.   Read on for a sigh-worthy “how we met” story from actor, voice actor, narrator, etc., Phil Gigante.

Thank you for inviting me to participate in the Valenduckie celebration. With a name like that, how could I refuse?

Valentine’s Day is also an anniversary for me: the day my lovely Natalie and I moved in together. Or as she calls it, “Our ‘shacking up and living in sin’ anniversary.” That’s my sweet, delicate Scots lass for you!

But this is the story of how we met - a real “meet-cute” in Hollywood terms.  So…here goes.

I was playing Dracula in a stage production in Dallas, Texas. It was one of those warm October evenings in Texas, and I had stepped outside to cool off a bit between scenes. I was garbed as the count: authentic turn of the century tux, vest, and flowing velvet cape that tended to move with a life of its own in the warm night breeze.

I turned to re-enter the theatre, and saw a sight that literally stopped me in my tracks for a moment. My friend Kristi was standing behind one of the most gorgeous female backs I had ever seen, attempting to free a stuck zipper and zip the young lady into a skintight cat costume.

I was mesmerized. This unknown woman had a cascading mane of auburn hair flowing down to mid-back. And her back! Smooth, creamy skin, with delicate shoulder blades peeking through her hair. The zip on the body suit was stuck fully open, giving me a glimpse of the lowest of her lower back. Lower still (yes, I looked!) her sweet bottom and the longest legs ever were clad in the black second-skin.

I didn’t think; couldn’t think. I strode over, my cape wafting behind me, moved Kristi aside, and took the offending zipper. I slipped a finger inside the suit behind the zipper (so it wouldn’t pinch, of course), and gently pulled it up. I wanted to do it with my teeth. As the zipper rose, my finger glided up the ridge of her spine, and I saw gooseflesh form as it snicked to the top. Her skin was warm and soft and she smelled absolutely amazing.

The mystery woman let out a little “Woo! Thanks, Kristi,” then turned to face a tall, elegantly dressed vampire mere inches away. A vampire with an idiotic grin on his fangs, who was now staring into her large, hazel-green eyes. Her breath hitched, actually hitched in her throat. Then she gave me a head-to-toe look, finally coming back to rest on my face.

“Nice teeth,” she said.

“Do you want to try them out?” flew from my lips before I could help myself. Then she was pulled back to rehearsal, and I was pulled backstage, where I had nearly missed my entrance cue.

Dracula was very passionate on stage that night. And soon, my mystery lady did indeed “try them out”. And she still is.

Phil Gigante

[Ed.: *sigh*]

Phil Gigante is an actor, director and producer with over 20 years experience in theatre, film, television, and radio (that’s him on the right in one of his many stage roles). Based in Chicago for many years, he still makes his home in the Midwest and is currently the artistic director of Gigantic Productions and Little Giant Children’s Theatre.

In addition to Phil’s amazing narration of Karen Marie Moning’s Highlander series (he received an Audie award nomination for Beyond the Highland Mist, the first book I coined the term “eargasm” for), he is also the narrator for Brilliance audio productions of books by Nora Roberts (Blood Brothers), Christine Feehan (Dark Possession), Catherine Coulter (Double Take), Margaret Truman (Capital Crimes novels), Daniel Silva (The Secret Servant- another Audie ward nomination) and many, many more. To hear audio samples of all of Phil’s work with Brilliance Audio, head over to AudioBookStand and do an advanced search by narrator Gigante.

So how about it? Anyone else want to share your “How we met” stories? 

Aural Pleasures 103 - “What” Audio Books are Recommended

In Aural Pleasures 101, we looked at the “Why” and “Where” to buy audio books. In Aural Pleasures 102, we shared advice on “How” to select audio books. So now, for the “What” to buy. Here are a few of my recommendations (audio sample links provided when available, click the cover pics to go to each book’s Amazon page):

Within the Romance genre, most narrators will be female, so I highly recommend that Aural Pleasure novices who are also historical romance fans start with The Indiscretion by Judith Ivory (click to sample Audible.com audio), narrated by Barbara Rosenblat (pictured at right). This Victorian era “lady and the cowboy” story would be a light, enjoyable read on its own, but Rosenblat elevates it by breathing life into Liddy and Sam. She narrates the book in a nondescript American accent, then gives Liddy an upper class British accent that is somehow filled with humor, vulnerability, and playfulness. And the fact that a woman is doing Sam’s voice was lost to me in seconds because his mumbly Texas drawl IS Sam. I think I smiled through most of this audio book. What a JOY this was to listen to! But to illustrate the points I made in Aural Pleasures 102, Rosenblat is also the narrator for Katie MacAlister’s Light My Fire (Aisling Grey series). Even though I ADORED her in The Indiscretion, I listened to the sample and I just don’t think her voice “fits” the MacAlister series as well (could I request that all you rabid Rosenblat fans PLEASE throw only soft objects at me?)

For multiple eargasms, pick up The Highlander series by Karen Marie Moning, narrated by Phil Gigante. So far, the first three have been released - Beyond the Highland Mist (click for sample), To Tame a Highland Warrior (click for sample), and The Highlander’s Touch (Nov 20, 2007)- with the rest apparently to be released in sequence at two month intervals. Phil Gigante does such a good job with the female voices that I was quickly no longer aware that the narrator was a man. And what he does for the male voices… *shiver*… his different Scottish brogues gave me aural eargasm after eargasm! What an amazing talent Gigante is! My only caveat is that I seem to hit the back track button A LOT when listening to Gigante’s narration. Oh, it’s not HIS fault. Well, not really. It’s just that sometimes I get so swept away by HOW his swoonworthy character voices sound, that I forget to pay attention to WHAT they’re saying! (FYI: Phil Gigante is also the narrator for the first book in Nora Roberts’ new Sign of Seven Trilogy, Blood Brothers)

The last three books in Charlaine Harris’ Southern Vampire series (Sookie Stackhouse) are narrated by Johanna Parker: Book 5, Dead as a Doornail (click for sample), Book 6, Definitely Dead (click for sample), and Book 7, All Together Dead (click for sample). This is a series that I initially didn’t care for because it moved too slow for me in print form. But now I can’t wait for each new release because Johanna Parker brings Sookie Stackhouse to Southern Fried life! I find myself stopping and just floating along with her smooth, small town Louisiana drawl filled with Sookie’s vulnerability and strength. Then she changes not only the pitch and tone, but also the cadence of her narration to bring all the characters in Sookie’s world to life. I notice that Book 1, Dead Until Dark (click for sample), has recently been released in audio, so I hope that bodes well for the release of all the earlier books in audio format, too.

As with the Harris’ series, I never quite heard the voice of Queen Betsy right in my head. The heroine of MaryJanice Davidson’s Undead series came across as a shallow bit of fluff to me. But thanks to narrator Nancy Wu I realized that Betsy’s irreverent snark is not to be missed (and wait till you hear Tina). All six books are available through Audible.com (click to sample).

I mentioned in Aural Pleasures 102 that “since an audio book forces the listener to slow down and read at the narrator’s pace, you will almost always discover things you never noticed before or see scenes in a different light when listening to a favorite book in audio format.” I have found that, even after multiple readings of Laurell K. Hamilton’s Merry Gentry series and Karen Marie Moning’s Fever series, I ALWAYS have new insights after listening to the audio books.

    Brilliance Audio produces Hamilton’s Merry Gentry series, and the narrator, Laural Merlington, does a heroic job of creating distinctive voices for all the characters. I particularly love the hint of Irish brogue she injects into Doyle’s voice. I’ve read the books multiple times, but I NEVER fail to catch something new every time I listen to the audio books. (click to sample Brilliance Audio)

Brilliance also produces Moning’s Fever series audio, narrated by Joyce Bean who, to my ears, has a voice a bit too mature for our heroine. And DOH! Why was I so discombobulated with her Southern accent? Mac IS Southern, yet I never heard it in my head when I read the book. When Darkfever was first released in print, I read it, turned it over, and immediately read it a second time. Then I splurged and downloaded this one from AudioBookStandDL (see Aural Pleasures 101). In this case, the story was so engrossing that it overcame my initial awkward reactions to the narrator. And it is amazing how much more I STILL got out of the audio even though I had just read the print book twice! (click to sample Brilliance Audio)

Virgin Books Limited produces the Black Lace (yes THAT Black Lace— erotica for women) audio books (click to sample Audible.com audio). One of my all-time favorite books is A Gentlemen’s Wager by Madelynne Ellis (to be re-released in print with this luscious new cover early next year followed by the long awaited sequel, Phantasmagoria), but the audio book didn’t quite live up to my expectations. To my Midwest American ear, the narrator, Betsy Garden, sounded too contemporary (the book is set in Georgian England) and did not create the distinctive character voices I’ve come to expect. So I couldn’t settle into the audio until I just accepted her narration as a Joan Collins or a Victoria Beckham reading the book out loud. [hee] Nevertheless, I STILL managed to view a couple of scenes in a new light. It wasn’t truly disappointing, I just think it was a missed opportunity to bring even more dimension to a story that contains one of the most deliciously complex characters (Vaughan) I’ve ever read (click to sample AGW).

And the Dud Duck Award goes to…

The Raintree Trilogy (Inferno, Haunted, Sanctuary), Silhouette Nocturnes published by Harlequin Enterprises LTD. The trilogy is an enjoyable, multi-author (Linda Howard, Linda Winstead Jones, Beverly Barton), three-book story that was ruined by a bad narrator/story “fit.” Narrator Stefan Rudnicki pairs up with a different female co-narrator in each book (Hillary Huber, Theo McKell, Gabrielle de Cuir). I thought it was just a matter of acclimating myself to his style and, when Audible.com had a sale, I bought the last two books before I was finished with the first one. BIG mistake. First of all, Stefan Rudnicki should never, EVER, attempt a female voice again— he just sounds like he’s mocking women. And second, by the time I hit book three, I was gnashing my teeth and tempted to just go buy the print books so I would never have to listen to his.slow.style.of.speaking.ever.again. GAK! Buy these books in print or ebook only! (click to sample Audible.com audio… if you dare)

I’ve also downloaded some non-romance audio from Audible, too— including several episodes of Evening at the Improv and several episodes of Biography on A&E. These hold-up surprisingly well in audio format!

So help the current and future audio addicts out— have you listened to any audio books that elevated the original print story (they don’t necessarily have to be Romance)? Listened to any duds we should stay away from? If there’s enough interest maybe Syb will take pity on us poor desperate addicts and let us periodically have audio book rec sessions, which should make the selection process easier for all of us. C’mon and share— you KNOW you want to!

Don’t Miss:
Aural Pleasures 101 - “Why” and “Where” to buy Audio Books - Tell us why you listen to audio books.
Aural Pleasures 102 - “How” to Select an Audio Book - Come share your tips for selection.

Read more from Bev at Cubie’s Confections.