My UK publisher, Total-E-Bound had a release of a new product line on the weekend. Namely, audio books. This makes a lot of sense. Even without deliberately looking for such information, I’ve noticed in my meanderings around the intertubes that audio books are rising in popularity. I suppose it’s because people are running out of time to just sit down and read a book, and it’s a lot easier to plug in a set of headphones and just listen to one. Most working people in the Western world have MP3 players nowadays, they’re relatively inexpensive to buy, and even cell phones contain enough memory, and software, to play back audio, so it doesn’t require much of additional expenditure to move to listening to books.

For people whose eyesight isn’t that great, audio books are also a terrific solution for them, and TEB’s move also opens up another range of books they can purchase and listen to.

Why am I waxing lyrical about audio books at TEB? Well, because it’s another string to my bow. You see, I narrated all six stories of the initial audio launch. I didn’t realise it until I wrote the last sentence, but this is the second time I’ve been involved in a TEB launch. I was part of their line up of writers when they first opened, and now I’m here again when they’re launching their audio books.

I think it’s important for writers to have a few sources of income because — especially now — income is not guaranteed. And it makes a real change to be involved in some kind of writing, but not from the writing angle. I’ve had to learn an entirely new vocabulary and way of looking at words, which is something I always enjoy doing, and the team at TEB have been very understanding with my ramping up on the knowledge meter, which I’m also utterly grateful for.

I’ll be honest with you. I was really in a bit of a quandry over publicising the fact that I can do narration. If I ever got to the stage where I had a good quality, saleable manuscript that people would buy, would a prospective agent look at my bio and say, “Nah, doing too many things”? Agenting is such a personal thing that it’s difficult trying to second-guess potential rejections. On the other hand, narrating books couldn’t hurt a writer’s budding career, could it?

Well, obviously, I’ve decided that it couldn’t, because here I am telling you about it. As for the releases themselves, they are:

Maggie’s Menage – Lacey Thorn

• Maggie had spent a lifetime trying to win the love and affection of her father, but nothing seemed to work. Now he was asking her to seduce and marry one of two men that he had selected for her…for the good of the family name and company. But Maggie has other plans. Plans that will leave both men thinking of her as something other than a wife, and leave her father’s plans for marriage in ashes.

  Alex and Patrick were there to investigate Dom Houston and through the carelessness of his assistant managed to get in to see the man himself.

  But it was the blonde haired beauty that commanded their attention from the get go. And when she arrived at their hotel room later in the day,neither was willing to walk away. If Maggie wanted a menage then they were more than willing to give it to her.

  But for two of them it would be more than they could have ever imagined.

Boy Toys – Brynn Paulin

• Dana’s job title is scientist not babysitter. She’s irritated when her boss slates her to accompany department bad boys, Christopher and Jason,to a meeting in London on her weekend off. Since her job transfer to England, she’s hidden her attraction to the much younger men.Unfortunately, the attraction seems to be growing every day and every night she fantasises about them. Three days virtually alone with themwill be no fantasy and might instead be an embarrassing disaster. But…

  Jason and Christopher have had their eyes on Dana since she joined their department. Through a little finagling they’ve arranged for her to bepart of this trip. They’re sure her project is a spot on compliment to theirs and her presence will be an ideal addition to their bed. Now all they have to do is convince her that the bad boys will make her perfect boy toys. Forever.

Best Mates – Ashley Ladd

• Lovers Alec Russert and Kevin Cosby feel horrible for their best mate,Jennica Chapman, when her current beau dumps her. And yet, they’re gladhe’s out of her life.

  Unfortunately, thirty-six year old Jennica thought this was her lastchance to have a baby, and she’s much more upset about this than losingthe boyfriend. As Alec is feeling his biological clock also, he suggeststo Kevin that they help her out of her predicament.

  But, they’re the ones in for a shock when Jennica tells them they may be too tame for her sexual likes. It turns out that Jennica is a submissive and she loves to be bound and spanked by her master. The shock wears off quickly when Alec and Kevin decide that Jennica will like two Dom masters much better than one.

  Soon they realise their best mate really is their best mate, and that she’s always owned their hearts.

The Wager – Dakota Rebel

• Menage-a-Trois with a twist, and a vampire bite.

  A weekly game of Billiards between a couple becomes interesting when the stakes get raised to include a pair of friends in the payoff.

  Sadie and Will are vampires who have a wager based on a weekly billiards game they play. Their stakes are always sexual and this week will be no different. But for this week’s wager they decide to include a couple of their friends, Dave and Tony, in the payoff. If Will wins, he gets to watch Sadie have sex with their friends while he gives instructions as to what he wants to see. But if Sadie wins, she wants to instruct their friends on what to do to Will.

Fourplay – Desiree Holt

• How many is too many, or is it not enough?

  She loved the menage her lover, Michael Collins had introduced her to, but now here they were, spending a week at Duncan MacLaughlin’s cottage in Scotland and Holly Martin wasn’t sure she was ready for the surprise he promised her. No details, just a wide grin.

  The surprise turned out to be Jim Grainger, a friend of Michael and Duncan’s, who was as much into a foursome as the other men. With all that testosterone flowing around her, and three very gorgeous and sexy men to play games with, Holly suddenly realized she loved a sexy numbers game.

Monsoon Fever – Lisabet Sarai

• Divine temptation lies in wait in an ancient and mysterious land.

  In their first years together, Priscilla and Jonathan enjoyed a marriage based as much on physical passion as on love. However, the travails of business and the tribulations of the Great War have taken their toll. When Jon’s father dies in faraway India, the couple travels to the father’s isolated Assamese tea plantation to settle his affairs. Far from the bustle and distraction of London, left alone to endure the monsoon rains while Jon struggles to complete the final harvest, Priscilla realises how much she misses Jon’s touch.

  Anil Kumar arrives with business documents for Jon to examine. The charismatic native enchants both Priscilla and Jon with his god-like beauty and charm. In separate incidents, each of them succumbs to Anil’s lustful attentions. Will the illicit desires excited by the handsome Indian be the final stroke that destroys their marriage? Or the route to saving it?

So, now you know. Audio books. I does them.