#audiobooks

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I've finished: Dead Country by Max Gladstone

This is a novel about a powerful magician returning to the remote town that cast her out when her powers manifested. It is about people and their relationships with each other and with their home / land. Relationships that are an integral part of the magic system.

This is an adult novel and while there are allot of grudges, they go beyond petty grievances. It is an introspective book and it matters to the plot.

I was impressed by the depth of the world building, history and magic system. I wasn't aware that it is set in a universe already established in Gladstone's Craft series. This ignorance was a bonus for me as I slowly discovered how big the world is outside Edgemont.

https://app.thestorygraph.com/books/5b23a65b-e9eb-4096-9b0b-1a2dbd21b299

@bookstodon @audiobooks

If you have never listened to my audiobooks before and don't know where to start, allow me to recommend The Giantess Slave by Amber Collins.

A female mad scientist kidnaps two party girls to create the ultimate instrument of her revenge: a 200-foot tall woman!

It's a scifi story with a light sapphic vibe that's the lowest heat of all my books -- it's far more suggestive than explicit and barely registers as PG-13.

*Friends sometimes say they'd like to check out my work but feel uncomfortable at the thought of listening to me narrate spicy sex scenes. I respect that! This might fit the bill.

It's also as campy as a 1950's drive-in movie.

And I had more fun than I know how to tell you doing the sexy mad scientist voice!

Bonus: for reasons I absolutely do not understand, several listeners have …

A 200-foot woman, barely contained by her white bandeau bikini top, scowls as she crushes a blue sedan in her left hand. To her right, text says: "The Giantess Slave. Written by Amber Collins. Narrated by Adara Astin".

Something that listeners may not know about the world of audiobooks:

Authors choose which platforms to sell their audiobooks on. Narrators don't!

Narrators are guns for hire. We show up and do the work, but authors control the business decision.

Listeners sometimes tell me that they wish the books I narrate were available on a particular platform, or that they *weren't* on particular big monopoly sites.Me too, friends! But as a narrator I don't call those shots.

How active is Mastodon for authors and narrators? I'm still trying to get a feel for this space. Aside from and , what are other good hashtags to follow? Does anyone post casting calls here? (I've heard that's a big thing on the bird site, but I'm not going back there.)
Please boost for reach!

It's the end of the month & you know what that means!

It's a great time to support your fave indie artists, writers, musicians and creators by boosting us, buying from us, subscribing to our newsletters, reviewing our work, leaving a tip, etc.

Your support lets us keep making art for you. Thank you! 💕

PS If you are an Audible member and you have credits leftover at the end of the month, why not treat yourself to an audiobook narrated by yours truly? They're also available from Amazon & Apple Books. 💋

https://
adaraastin.ck.page/87de3a4c9f

* Boosts appreciated *

@audiofiction @bookstodon

Vintage Pin-Up Calendar from March 1950. It's illustrated with a curvy redhead in a green polka dot bikini and matching flats on a blue poolside lounge chair ankles crossed, knees up, chest out, arms behind her head, looking off camera with an innocent expression. It's 100% retro girl-next-door cheesecake.

My third book was The Left Hand of Dog, an excellent recommendation from @Knien . It's just the kind of audiobook I like -- lots of distinct voices, and all British as a plus. 😂 The story is good silly fun, full of geeky references -- Spock's brain, I about died! -- but also has a lot of humanity, as femme-agender-asexual-disabled Lem finds herself feeling home at last with the motliest crew of silly aliens imaginable.

I think it might have felt too twee for my tastes in print, but the audio really sells it. First in a series.

@bookstodon



Spanking is the topic of the day in certain circles so I should let you know that I have narrated a spanking romance!*

*I have actually narrated two, but one was lost to an Amazon Erotica Purge.

I can't tell you which book without it being a spoiler, so if that's a book you might enjoy, I'll share the details in the next post, under a CW. (It's available in book form as well as audiobook.)💋

1/2 👇

@bookstodon @audiofiction

If you are dreading Valentine's Day, I am happy to give you a romance or erotica audiobook of your choice for free, no strings, no questions asked.

1. Pick out a title from among the books I have narrated at the link below.
2. DM me your choice.
3. Let me know if you'd prefer a free code for Audible UK or Audible US.*

*These are my only options, sorry. But you can redeem them from anywhere by changing the Audible website country settings or app settings.

Have a Happy Valentine's Day on me, please! 💋

https://adaraastin.ck.page/87de3a4c9f

@bookstodon @audiofiction @LonelinessCorps

It occurs to me that I haven't been talking up the audiobooks I've narrated in a while. Other more urgent projects are at the front of the queue at the moment and there are only so many hours in the day.

But! That said, if you ever have questions about the books I've narrated or you'd like a free review copy (I always need reviewers), ask away!

Also, if you're curious about my voice, there are free samples of all the books in their store listings, too.

https://adaraastin.ck.page/87de3a4c9f

@audiofiction @bookstodon


Apparently, in the wider bookish community, there is this idea that listening to audiobooks doesn't count as reading. This idea is ableist af.
I mean, what about blind people?

And besides, what about people who can focus better and longer when listening (audio), instead of reading (visual)?

What about people who can better focus on listening to stories while doing something, for instance going for a walk, doing sports, crocheting, knitting, or arts and crafts?

I've finished: Lucky Day by Chuck Tingle

Lucky Day dresses a well worn fantasy trope: you can't cheat lady luck, and dresses it in science fiction clothes.

It is interesting to see a statistician have to deal with probability defying events on the personal, philosophical and investigative levels.

However this novel must come with a body horror content warning. Tingle absolutely delights in graphic descriptions of injury and death.

If you want a more family friendly novel that deals with the implications of impossible phenomena manifesting in our world, try When We Were Real by Daryl Gregory.

https://app.thestorygraph.com/books/7690dede-bb83-45a7-98cf-28dd75493055

@bookstodon @audiobooks

I've finished: Vigilance by Robert Jackson Bennett

This is not what I'm used to from Robert Jackson Bennett,

A hard hitting, near future, techno-thriller, parody of American gun culture.

It is not the funny sort of satire, it is the tragic, tense drama kind.

Published in 2019 it hit's a bit too close to home in 2025.

https://app.thestorygraph.com/books/08c7b0e6-cf4b-4405-8219-5d51dd7b8095

@bookstodon @audiobooks