Listening to my own audiobooks

If you ask most writers, they will probably agree that it’s hard (and often painful) to read or listen to their own books. No matter how well a project may be received by readers, it rarely measures up with the perfect, ideal version in the writer’s own head. The experience of reading or listening to the finished work is overwhelmed by a constant desire to go back—to edit, tweak, finesse, polish, push the words just that much closer to perfection.

I’m no different, and this was certainly my experience as well when I listened to the audiobook versions of the first three novels in the Jessie Black Legal Thriller series, Burnout, Informant, and Deadly Evidence.

I listened to each one during my commute to and from my day job, and there were times when I actually cringed and winced, I was so hyper-alert for sentences that could be improved, scenes I could make more effective. It was painful in the beginning.

But only in the beginning.

A funny thing happened after the first few chapters of each book. My inner critic fell silent as my imagination was drawn into the stories. I credit this in large part to the excellent narrating skills of Xe Sands and the professional production values of Tantor Media, which brought my creations to life in a wonderful way. By the midpoint of each novel, I was fully captivated by my characters, their struggles, and the twists and turns of the stories. Could I have written better novels? Any novel could hypothetically be improved. But that stopped mattering to me. This may sound egotistical or self-serving, but I have to say it: I loved listening to my own books!

If you’re a fan of the Jessie Black series or legal thrillers in general, pick up these audiobooks. I think you’ll enjoy listening to them as much as I did.

Check out the audiobooks by clicking on the covers below: