Julianne MacLean’s titles represent some of my earliest romance reading back in 2003 when I discovered her American Heiress series. Twelve of Julianne’s titles are now available in audio format with five from her Pembroke Palace series released just yesterday. Her first audiobooks were published by Tantor Audio but Julianne decided to take the reins on publishing and has released her last seven titles through ACX under her own name.
Talking with Julianne last fall, I learned of her decision to publish her own audiobooks and asked her to share with us some of the details. We timed it to include news on the audio release of her Pembroke Palace series and a giveaway!
The Giveaway
We’re giving away two sets of the first three audiobooks in Julianne MacLean’s Pembroke Palace series – In My Wildest Fantasies, The Mistress Diaries, and When a Stranger Loves Me (Audible downloads) courtesy of the author. Entry is simple. Just complete the easy entry form found at the bottom of the page by midnight (CST) Saturday, February 22nd. No comments are necessary although we’d love to hear your thoughts in our discussion area. You may only enter once. We’ll contact winners the morning of February 23rd so watch your email as we must have acknowledgement of your win within 24 hours. If we don’t hear from you, we’ll select another winner. Bloggers and reviewers, we welcome your entry.
Talking with Julianne
Lea: Welcome to AudioGals Julianne!
Julianne : Thank you for having me!
Lea: It looks as though seven of your titles are now in audio format and I believe by the time our talk goes live, there will be five more added to that list. Did you listen to audiobooks prior to your first audiobook release?
Julianne: I usually read print or ebooks, but I do enjoy audio books for long car rides.
Lea: Your first five audio titles were released through Tantor Audio with Antony Ferguson narrating the first, Captured by the Highlander
Julianne: I was nervous about listening to it at first because I didn’t know how I’d feel about hearing a voice other than the voices I always imagined in my head. But once I heard the narrator perform the story, I was pulled into the action and found myself riveted, as if I’d never heard it before and didn’t know what would happen next. That’s what’s so amazing about an audiobook, especially with a talented narrator. He or she can bring a whole new dimension to the words on the page. It was all new to me.
Lea: In 2013, you published Books One and Two in The Color of Heaven series in audio format under your own name. As this is an ongoing series for you, please give our listeners some background.
Julianne: I originally wrote The Color of Heaven as a stand-alone novel in 2011, but readers kept emailing me to ask if I would write more books like it – and I do listen to my readers. What they really seemed to enjoy was the first-person characterization that felt real to them, and the fact that there was some element of real life magic in the story. I am now staying true to that theme in all the books, exploring subjects like near-death-experiences, fate, destiny, and the meaning of our dreams. It’s my goal to take the reader on a ride into that mysterious dimension of our everyday world – usually through some sort of love story – but I leave it up to the reader/listener to decide what is magical or what can be explained.
Lea: Shannon reviewed The Color of Heaven here at AudioGals. It looks as though it is categorized as general fiction rather than romance. Is that correct? Can we expect to see general fiction from you in the future as well as romance?
Julianne: All the books in the Color of Heaven series have romance in them, but they don’t necessarily adhere to the usual romance genre conventions, so I think it’s correct to categorize the book as general fiction. There are other plot elements or situations that sometimes become the primary focus – such as Sophie’s near-death-experience and her relationships with the other characters in the novel. There is definitely some crossover in terms of how the books can be categorized and this will continue for the other books in this series. At the same time, I always make sure there is an uplifting ending that provides a happy sigh, no matter how it comes about.
As far as straight historical romances go, I’m not giving that up. I already have another Highlander novel plotted and I would also like to return to the Pembroke Palace series for the next generation in the Edwardian period. I’m just not sure when that will happen as I have a tight publishing schedule for more Color of Heaven books in 2014.
Lea: And now, you are publishing your entire Pembroke Palace series. I believe this is a series that was originally released in print format 2007 – 2012? What can our listeners expect?
Julianne: First of all, the entire series will be released in one day on Feb 18, so listeners won’t have to wait for the next instalment, which I think is wonderful! Readers can expect each story to stand on its own in terms of the romance, but the entire series has a full story arc and a secret secondary love story that is a constant thread throughout and is resolved at the end with Seduced at Sunset. Also, with the fabulous Rosalyn Landor narrating, the stories have a beautiful emotional quality and realism that I adore.
Lea: You chose Rosalyn Landor as your narrator of this latest series. Was this your first time to choose your own narrator?
Julianne: No, I chose the narrators for The Color of Heaven and The Color of Destiny, but this was a different experience because I needed a British narrator with an appropriate historical voice. I also wanted to choose someone who could do the whole series in one fell swoop, and I’d always loved Rosalyn’s narrations for Lisa Kleypas and Julia Quinn. I knew exactly what I would be getting with Ms. Landor, and I knew my characters would be in good hands!
Lea: Why did you decide to publish your own audiobooks through ACX rather than continue through a mainstream audio publisher such as Tantor?
Julianne: For a couple of reasons. First, I was keen to have full creative control of the whole process and choose my own narrators. In the past when my audiobook rights were sold to mainstream publishers, I had no say over anything, including the release date and cover art. This time I’ve been at the helm and have really enjoyed the whole process, working directly with the narrators and producers.
It also gives me the freedom to make the books available in audio format in the first place. When Harper Collins held my audiobook rights for 9 historical romance novels, they simply never sold those rights to an audio publisher. Now that I finally have my audio rights back, I’m making sure they all get produced.
Lastly, it’s a business decision as well as a creative one. Because I am the rights holder as well as the publisher, the royalty rate is more generous, which will make a difference in my earnings in years to come. The downside is that I have to pay the upfront costs to have the audiobooks produced, and obviously no one is paying me an advance. But I think it will be a wise investment for the future.
Lea: Okay – since I’m talking with you, I must ask you about two titles that are my particular favorites – An Affair Most Wicked
Julianne: Definitely! I’m so glad you asked! My entire American Heiress series is next on my To-Do list for audio. I’m looking forward to diving into production of those! I’ll also be producing the next books in the Color of Heaven series.
Lea: Thanks Julianne for joining us today at AudioGals. I’ll be waiting for the American Heiress series and, in the meantime, it looks like I’ll be spending some time with Rosalyn Landor!
Time to Enter
We’re giving away two sets of the first three audiobooks in Julianne MacLean’s Pembroke Palace series – In My Wildest Fantasies, The Mistress Diaries, and When a Stranger Loves Me (Audible downloads).
Giveaway ended.
Lea Hensley
I was so thrilled to see these books were released as audio and can’t wait to listen to them. I really appreciate that Julianne understands how important the narrator is to audiobook listeners. There have been some books produced by authors recently that I would have loved to listen to but the narrator ruined the book. I wish more authors would do research into what makes a successful audiobook.
congratulations!
I love your interview with Julianne! She is a very talented writer and I love her style of writings. I am so glad she decided to offer her books as audio books, they are perfect for me! Congratulations Julianne!
I’m always interested to hear what readers/listeners like or don’t like. Sometimes it can be so subjective. I have been paying attention to the ratings of other audiobooks on Audible to get a sense of what readers like, but it’s hard to tell why when they just rate with a number. I do love it when readers actually comment on why they liked or didn’t like a book. It’s helpful for making decisions about future books.
I had a hard time deciding what to do with THE COLOR OF DESTINY, because that story has three different point of view characters and one is male. I struggled with whether or not to use one female narrator do all three points of view, or hire three different narrators. In the end, I went with three different ones, and I will be very curious to learn how readers respond to that approach.
I enjoyed the three different narrators because it was very easy to discern the three different points of view. Your solo narrator for the first Color of Heaven spoke in a breathy whisper that was difficult to listen to. She also read the male characters in a normal tone of voice which I found distracting and an uneven performance. I realize she was one of the narrators in Color of Destiny, but having her only do 1/3 of the book really helped.
As far as leaving just numbers for a review, I usually leave comments if I feel the performance was at or above average (3 stars or more). Rather than say anything negative, I thought an author would prefer no written comment. I LOVE your highlander books and own them all, including several I bought from Tantor Audio. I just didn’t care for the Color of Heaven’s narration and the story was OK, so I didn’t leave a comment. But, because the narration was better with the Color of Destiny, I did leave a comment. on Audible a few weeks ago. :)
Choosing the right narrator for the right story can be an important factor! Some stories are beautifully written by the author, but the narrator’s voice don’t correspond very well. Maybe, when choosing the person, ask others, for their feedback. I love audio books, because I can listen to them while I make my jewelry or my arts& crafts.
I have not finished Color of Destiny yet. But so far, I like the three different voices. It makes it clear and easy to follow. You made a good choice.
Glad I discovered this site. i like audio books since there are so many books and i have less time to read. Thanks for the giveaway. I have been a fan of Julianne’s books for along time
I enjoyed all three books when I read them. I’d love to listen to them in audio. Thanks for the fabulous giveaway!
I am so glad to hear that these books are out in audio form. It must be exciting to be able to choose the narrators for your books and be so hands-on.
I’m eager to read some of Julianne’s historical works. I reviewed The Color of Heaven for this site, and just finished reading and writing the review of The Color of Destiny. She is a very talented author, and, since I love historicals so much, those are definitely on my to-be-read list.
I really enjoyed your interview, Julianne! I love the fact that your books (which I love) are being released in audio format and that you are able to be so involved in everything. Congratulations!
Congratulations on the all the audio books coming out! Great interview!
Great interview! I would love to read the Pembroke Palace series so thank you for the chance! This is my first time to your site and it’s fantastic! :)
I absolutely love Rosalyn Landor as a narrator. I frequently search her name and nothing else looking for new audiobooks on CD at my library.
I have listened to books on tape and CD, but have not yet tried the audible style yet.
It’s great to discover that more authors are taking audiobooks seriously and taking a hand in the way their works are recorded and presented. The covers are beautiful, by the way!
As is obvious from many of my reviews, I certainly don’t think Ms Maclean could have chosen a better narrator!
I thoroughly enjoyed listening to Color of Heaven. Loved it!!
I am listening to Color of Destiny now. They are my work out ”reading”. Terrific narration on both of them.
Thanks for all the great comments everyone! You have no idea how helpful it is to have feedback like this, because it’s very challenging to produce an audiobook and feel like you’re getting it right.
I live in a rural area and I LOVE LOVE LOVE audion books. I can’t get enough of them. I would freak out if I won this one. I give most of my giveaway wins away but if I won this one I would keep it alllllll for myself. Fingers crossed and thanks for the chance.