Joanna Bourne’s The Spymaster’s Lady narrated by Kirsten Potter, the second entry to the Spymasters series, has been a romance audio favorite since its release by Penguin in 2010. In fact, it is such a favorite that Joanna Bourne was chosen as one of the winners of the Author’s Romance Backlist You Most Want to See in Audio category in the 2012 Favorite Romance Audiobooks Poll category over at AAR.
Now Tantor Audio is releasing the other three full-length books in the Spymasters series in audio format starting with Ms. Bourne’s The Forbidden Rose
That means it’s time for a BIG Joanna Bourne giveaway. We’re also talking with Tantor about their commitment to romance audio. And to finish it all off, we’re tempting you with a sound clip of The Forbidden Rose. It’s not a sample you will hear elsewhere as we have chosen it just for this event.
The Giveaway
We’re giving away three sets of Tantor’s Spymasters series releases courtesy of Tantor Audio. Three winners will receive MP3 copies of The Forbidden Rose, My Lord and Spymaster, and The Black Hawk. The Forbidden Rose will be sent upon each winner’s confirmation. My Lord and Spymaster and The Black Hawk will be mailed upon their release.
Entry is simple. Just complete the easy entry form found below by midnight (CST) Friday, May 2nd. No comments are necessary although we’d love to hear your thoughts in our discussion area. You may only enter once. We’ll contact the winners the morning of May 3rd 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. Due to audio geographical restrictions, the giveaway is limited to those living in the U.S. or Canada.
Talking with Tantor Audio – A Friend to the Romance Genre
When I think of Tantor, I’m filled with a sense of gratefulness for their dedication to the romance market. Tantor not only offers a large selection of quality romance releases each month but they are also open to requests from romance listeners. Time and time again, we have seen a wished-for title appear on Tantor’s Coming Soon list. Tantor is serious about romance audio and their large backlist of listeners’ favorites is proof of their commitment.
Lea: Can you give us a look into Tantor’s decision to produce these three entries to the Spymasters series in audio format? Did you all have a sense that these were books romance listeners were eager to see in audio format?
Tantor: In general, Romance is a genre that has been growing nicely on audio over the past few years, and since the first book in the series was published a few years back, we felt we could build on the popularity of that first book by publishing the next 4 books, including the frontlist ROGUE SPY coming in November.
Lea: We always wonder about the process of choosing the books you publish. Generally, how are the decisions made day in and day out?
Tantor: Without tipping our hand too much, I can say we use many factors in deciding which titles to acquire. Some factors may work for one genre but not necessarily another. The merits of each author and/or title are looked at very closely. The obvious things to look at are sales and writing quality. But, there is much more that goes into it.
Lea: Tantor has gained a reputation as being a publisher that pays attention to romance. We can always rely on a significant selection of quality romance titles each month. Can you tell us about your dedication to the romance market?
Tantor: Thanks to the many ardent listeners out there, Romance continues to be one of our strongest genres. We’ve been increasing the number of titles published – in paranormal, historical, contemporary, and other subcategories – and this growth will continue. We’re also dedicated to making sure fans can find the titles they are looking for in the formats they prefer.
Lea: You all pay attention to the narrators as well. Kirsten Potter narrated The Spymaster’s Lady and she is now narrating these three additional Bourne titles. Romance audio enthusiasts love seeing their favorite narrators performing even more romance titles. It’s like guaranteeing us a good listen. Who at Tantor makes the decision for narrators and what goes into their decision? Do they audition?
Tantor: Tantor employs a dedicated production/casting team. Their sole purpose is to match narration talent and titles, as well as produce audiobooks. Tantor works with over 130 narrators, many of whom are the top rated in the industry. Romance continues to be an important genre for us. We know listeners are passionate and we work hard to ensure each narration connects with the listener by conveying the sentiment, feeling and passion of the title. It’s also important to keep a narrator on a series wherever possible for continuity, familiarity with characterizations. We know it’s very important to listeners.
Lea: What about the new narrators? We discovered a good number of those narrators we now rely on for that all-important “good” listen (even a number of our favorites) through Tantor. How do you all choose this new talent?
Tantor : Tantor has always been committed to developing new narration talent, which happens through an extensive search and audition process. We are proactive in seeking out new talent locally and nationally. Tantor’s screening process requires a demo to determine narrator’s ability to characterize voices, i.e. male, female, old, and young characters, and various dialects. A celebrity, author or voice over artist doesn’t necessarily make a talented narrator. Our process ensures we find the talent we are looking for and what we think best reflects the authors’ voice. Our listeners judge our success and we’re proud of our track record.
Lea: Is Tantor open to suggestions from romance audio enthusiasts for narrators of a particular book or series? And how is the best way to request a particular title from Tantor in the future?
Tantor: Tantor is always open to title and/or narrator suggestions. Simply put we want to license the best books and work with the best narrators. Suggestions for licensing can be sent to rightsemail@tantor.com and for narration at narrators@tantor.com.
Lea: Does Tantor have any special plans or releases in the works you want to share with our listeners today?
Tantor: We were thrilled to be able to support “The Classics” Romance Audio infographic from Audiogals last year, and we’re looking forward to seeing the second in the series during “June Is Audiobook Month.” We have a whole host of great releases planned, including two new Nalini Singh titles, more from Jill Shalvis, and a new Jennifer Ashley. The best way to stay informed is to follow us on Facebook and Twitter, sign up for our HotList enewsletter on Tantor.com, and check out our companion sampler site Goodlistens.com.
I encourage our listeners to take a look at Tantor’s large backlist of romance titles. From their paranormal and urban fantasy series such as Nalini Singh’s Psy/Changeling, Ilona Andrews’ Kate Daniels, Thea Harrison’s Elder Races, and Christine Warren’s Other to their contemporary and romantic suspense series such as Julie James FBI/US Attorney, Pamela Clare’s I-Team, Erin McCarthy Fast Track, and Jill Shalvis’ Animal Attraction to just a few of their historical romance series including Jennifer Ashley’s Highland Pleasure (Mackenzie), Pamela Clare’s MacKinnon’s Rangers, Anne Stuart’s House of Rohan, and Loretta Chase’s Dressmaker series, I imagine you will find a listen to fit your tastes.
A Sound Clip from The Forbidden Rose
Proof that the Kirsten Potter we recall from The Spymaster’s Lady is back as strong as ever with The Forbidden Rose.
Time to Enter
Enter to win one of three sets of Joanna Bourne titles including The Forbidden Rose, My Lord and Spymaster, and The Black Hawk.
Contest is closed.
Our thanks to Tantor Audio for joining us today and sponsoring our giveaway.
Enjoy!
Lea Hensley
I’m so excited that the rest of Joanna Bourne’s Spymaster series books are going to be released on audio. Count me among those who consider The Spymaster’s Lady among the best romance audios. I listened to it a couple years after reading the book and it made me love the book even more! Thanks for the giveaway!
Thanks for picking a sample that shows narration and both female and male voices. My biggest deciding factor is a sample that shows all three and sadly most samples do not, which means I will not purchase after a horribly expensive experience years ago with badly narrated books of a beloved author.
If Tantor is reading, I’ve been wondering whether Heyer rights can be acquired. Some favorites have only been done abridged (Venetia) and others are horrifyingly bad (These Old Shades) and some do not seem to have been narrated at all. I figure it’s a slim chance but it would be wonderful to get some better narration.
Growlycub – you’ll be pleased to hear that Naxos has a bunch of Heyer audios coming up from July onwards, and Venetia (my personal favourite) is among them. :)
I know they have abridged versions. I couldn’t find any info on their site on future releases. Do you have a source? Our online lib had almost all of the BBC versions but recently they disappeared. :(
My source is new release info from Naxos. I can’t remember the exact details, but I think there is one release per month from July-November.
Thanks! Will keep an eye out.
Wow! You picked perfect books for a prize.
Lea, please excuse my tub-thumping on a subject you and I have discussed before, but in the hope someone from Tantor is monitoring this post, I’m going to moan about the thorny subject of geographical restrictions. It’s great that these Joanna Bourne titles are being released at last (and I can say the same about many of the titles Tantor is issuing, like the Loretta Chase ones) – but how frustrating it is for those of us outside the US not to be able to purchase large numbers of them as downloads. I know it’s a rights issue, and that in many cases I can purchase CDs, but I can’t use my Audible subscription on those! Is there any hope such titles may be available to those of us across the pond at some point? Or that Tantor will be able to acquire more territorial rights for the audiobooks they are publishing?
Thanks so much Audiogals :)
This was very enlightening. It would be so much fun to win this set of Jo’s outstanding work. Thank you for the opportunity.
HUGS!
Mel
I haven’t entered the contest because i doubt if Tantor would send them to me if I won — just because I’m in the UK. I would love to know why, when Tantor buys the rights to make an audiobook, it does not include the UK rights in the purchase. Every time I hear about a romance title which they are recording, and I look for it, I discover that it isn’t available to me. To pre-empt a possible reply — I know for a fact in more than one instance that it is not because the authors want to withhold the UK rights. I have to assume therefore that it is a policy of Tantor’s.
You are missing out on a huge market! Please change this policy and let us enjoy the audiobooks too!
Ha! Well, I can’t enter because of my connection with AG, but if I could, I’d no doubt have had the same thought, HJ.
I doubt it’s down to a policy of Tantor’s though – most likely it’s publishing/mechanical/digital rights, which probably means it’s primarily a commercial decision, assuming that worldwide rights are more expensive to buy than single territory ones.
But like you, I would very much appreciate an answer.
I adore these books–the wry sense of humor that entwines the despair– the delightful word choices– and above all, heroines and heroes that go together like bacon and peanut butter sandwiches. Yummy.
Joanna’s books are the ones I read and re-read.
And now to listen and re-listen! Yea!
Joanna Bourne is amazing! I love all of her books and am so excited that we’ll be getting a new one later this year. I’ve never listened to one of her books on audio, but I’d love to. Fingers crossed!
Crossing my fingers and hoping for luck here!! I recently read The Forbidden Rose and just loved it – I would love to add Bourne’s books to my audiobook collection!! :)
Holy crap, that was wonderful. I want these. What wonderful reading.
Of course, I am your number one fan, Miss Jo.
Julie
What an interesting post to read. Thanks for sharing so much info, Tantor. Joanna’s books sound GREAT!
After a 10 year hiatus from romance novels where i was reading strictly fantasy and espionage thrillers (Tom Clancy et al) I picked up a copy of My Lord and Spymaster from my local library and was instantly hooked again! So I have Joanna to thank for my current romance reads as I went from her book to some other historicals and then on to goodreads to see what others were reading. Now I’m completed immersed in the romance world again, and very happy to be here!
So excited the rest of Joanna Bourne’s books are coming out in audio. The Spymaster’s Lady was one of my first audio listens and it hooked me on the medium.
I love Joanna’s books and own several.
I also love Tantor Audio – you can always find good bargains. :)
I have been a fan of Ms. Bourne since reading “My Lord and Spymaster”, in fact I have read it twice and also downloaded the audio from Audible.com. Can’t wait for the other books. Ms. Bourne certainly has a way with words.
This is the best news! I listened to Ms. Potter’s narration of Ms. Bourne’s book some time ago but still remember the excellence of her work. Since all those books are on my Keeper shelf, I am thrilled to hear that the complete set will be available soon.
Love the voice!