A New Interview with Bestselling Author, Lauren Carr
Spotlight On: Twofer Murder
Anyone who visits Mystery Suspense Reviews often will know we are great fans of Lauren Carr and her various series. What began with one series has grown into the Mac Faraday series, The Partners in Crime series, and the Thorny Rose Mystery series. Each with interconnecting characters, you can’t help but grow attached.
So we were delighted to join the current virtual tour for the audiobook version of Twofer Murder. As part of the tour, Lauren has answered some questions many of us have asked about her series in audio.
You’ll enjoy her gracious answers below. Watch for our review of Twofer coming in February. Can’t wait!
There is also a surprise included in the interview, that of a new series coming in March!
Interview with Lauren Carr
I noticed that you have worked with four different narrators for your books? Is there a reason for that, or did it just work out that way?
In a way, it just worked out that way. When I first opened my books for auditions to find narrators for them I had selected Dan Lawson to narrate The Murders at Astaire Castle and Blast from the Past. He did a super job. But then, due to scheduling, he was unavailable for other books.
So then I decided to make the Thorny Rose mysteries available in audiobook and selected a CJ McAllister, who has a sophisticated style that was perfect for this series, which focuses on murder cases in the big city in and around our nation’s capital and around the world.
I felt that the Mac Faraday mysteries needed a tone that was more down to earth then the big-city style of the thorny rose mysteries. So I felt that I needed a different narrator for those for that series. I was very lucky to find James Lewis to narrate the Mac Faraday mysteries.
At the same time that I was looking for narrator for the Mac Faraday mysteries Mike Alger submitted an audition which intrigued me. Upon looking at his website I listened to a sample of his work where he spoke with a down-home style that I found to be perfect for the Lovers in Crime Mysteries, which take place in the small town rural community of the Ohio Valley.
What do you look for in a narrator?
Patience! I am joking, but one of the most important things I look for when it comes to working with anyone is someone who is easy to work with.
For my books, I needed to find narrators who had a wide range of voices that they could bring to the audio recordings. My books do have a lot of characters in them and readers of the print and e-book’s have the advantage of a cast of characters at the beginning of the book in which they can refer to. However, I can’t include that list in the audiobook version. Therefore, listeners must depend on the narrator to bring each character to life in a way that is not only interesting, but unique so that they will can distinguish one character from the other.
What was the most rewarding part of the production process? Was there anything surprising?
Hearing my books has made me a better writer. Having heard them read out loud, I find that when I write I am thinking about the listener’s listening experience as well as the reader’s reading experience.
The most surprising thing to me was hearing how the various voice actors would interpret the various characters in my mysteries. As the author, I had a definite impression of how my protagonist would sound and speak. It never occurred to me that someone would interpret my characters any other way. My vision was set in stone. But I found during the auditions that there were various different ways for readers, and actors, to see my characters.
It affirmed what I already knew—which was that every reader brings their own unique interpretations to a book. Writers do need to be aware of that.
Why are audiobooks a good alternative to print or e-books?
My readers want my mysteries to be in all formats: e-book, print, and audiobooks. Whenever I mention giving up even one of them I hear wailing from somewhere
.
When I first became an author, I had one friend who only listened to her books in audio. She had a long commute to work and that was when she would listen to her books. She would go through a couple books a week.
Over the years, I would occasionally, but not very often, have readers request all of my books in audible. So when Amazon suggested I go through their company ACX.com, I decided to do it. Since then, I have discovered that for many readers, if it were not for audiobooks, they would not be able to enjoy their favorite books.
For example, my sister listens to my books during her commute to work. With her busy lifestyle that is the only time she can read my books. So I gave them to her in digital format and she listens to them through her audio system in her SUV.
What would you tell someone who has never tried listening to an audiobook?
Try it, you’ll like it.
Since my books have been coming out in audible, I have found that I am enjoying audiobooks more and more. For myself, and many book enthusiasts I know, will read books in both e-book and audio. I love to read in bed in the evening. I find that I will read in e-book until my eyes get tired. Then, I will switch to the audio version, if the book is available in whispersync, to listen to the book until I fall asleep.
I believe that the audiobook market is where the e-book market was about seven years ago. When my books first came out in e-book, it was a big deal for me to sell any. Now, the lion’s book of my books sales are in e-book but I see a gradual increase in sales in audiobooks.
Do you have any upcoming projects that your fans should be looking for?
ICE, the first installment in my new series, will be released in March.
The Chris Matheson Mystery series revolves around cold case mysteries. Retired FBI investigator, Chris Matheson and his friends, retired from various law enforcement agencies, combine their investigative specialties to heat up those cold cases that keep them up at night.
In the first installment of this series, ICE, the Geezer Squad (the name they gave to their team) reopens the missing persons case of Sandy Lipton, a pregnant girl who disappeared during an ice storm.
Here’s the synopsis for ICE, scheduled for release in March!
They say no good deed goes unpunished. Such is the case for Christopher Matheson.
Twenty-five years ago, Chris accepted an invitation to escort Sandy Lipton to her senior prom. The college senior had been long aware that the shy teenager, who always waited on him at his favorite local diner, had a heavy crush on him. His feelings for the socially awkward girl was an equal mixture of affection and sympathy.
Months after a pleasant evening that ended with a single good night kiss, Sandy’s family slaps Chris with charges of statutory rape and a paternity suit.
No problem, declares Chris’s father, captain of the local state police troop, and their family lawyer. A paternity test on the baby as soon as it is born would surely prove Chris’s innocence of all charges. Except that days before Sandy Lipton’s due date, she disappears, along with any chance of proving Chris had not taken advantage of the vulnerable girl.
The disappearance divides the townspeople of the Shenandoah Valley.
While many believe that the real culprit had abducted Sandy to keep the identity of her baby’s father a secret, others believe the state police captain had made her disappear and used his influence to keep his son out of jail.
Decades later, the Sandy Lipton case is has gone as cold as ice.
Now a retired investigator of the FBI, Chris Matheson returns home to discover that the cloud of suspicion that had been cast over himself and his family is still there. A single father, he is determined to clear his family name for the sake of his three young daughters.
With the help of a team of fellow retired law enforcement officers, each a specialist in their own field of investigation, Chris Matheson goes to work to thaw out this cold case and chip away at the truth to uncover what had happened to Sandy Lipton and her baby.
The Tour
Book Details:
Book Title: Twofer Murder by Lauren Carr
Category: Adult fiction, 400 pages
Genre: Mystery
Publisher: Acorn Book Services
Release date: November 17, 2017
Tour dates: Dec 4 to Jan 19, 2018
Content Rating: PG + M (Please be aware that TWOFER MURDER is a murder mystery. There are depictions of murder and some violence–though easy on the gore contents. No f-words but there may be some mild profanity, and mild religious expletives such as “damn”, “hell” and “Oh God!”. Some depictions of brief sexual content (kissing). No drug use or underage drinking among the protagonists.)
Book Description:
Twofer murder? What’s a twofer murder?
Twofer Murder is a treat for fans of best-selling author Lauren Carr’s fast-paced mysteries! Lauren’s latest novel contains the main characters from her three successful series: Mac Faraday, Lovers in Crime, and Thorny Rose mysteries. The guys go away for a fishing weekend only to get caught up in the murder of a journalist investigating fraud at a timber company. Meanwhile, the ladies are spending the weekend in the presidential suite at a posh resort where Jessica Faraday is to accept a lifetime achievement award for her late grandmother at a murder mystery writers conference. But before they have time to get their facials, they get wrapped up in their own real mystery when an up and coming author ends up dead!
Lauren Carr’s Twofer Murder is a 2-for-1—making it a must-read for any mystery fan!
To read more reviews, please visit Lauren Carr’s page on iRead Book Tours.
Lauren Carr is the international best-selling author of the Mac Faraday, Lovers in Crime, and Thorny Rose Mysteries—over twenty titles across three fast-paced mystery series filled with twists and turns!
Book reviewers and readers alike rave about how Lauren Carr’s seamlessly crosses genres to include mystery, suspense, romance, and humor.
Lauren is a popular speaker who has made appearances at schools, youth groups, and on author panels at conventions. She lives with her husband, and three dogs on a mountain in Harpers Ferry, WV.
Connect with the author: Website ~ Twitter ~ Facebook ~ Instagram
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
