Look and Listen!
- Rosie Burke
- Jan 22
- 6 min read
I cannot believe I get to write this but it's true: We are thisclose to having all the Dropped Puck Series stories available for you audio-readers!
I mentioned before that having my books available in audio format was a huge deal for me. It's partly because I spent my entire college career learning about adaptive options, resources, and activities. It's partly because I grew up with a family member who required special assistance due to medical limitations--he was actually the catalyst for my focus in both undergrad and grad school.
But, selfishly, it's also for me.
See, I have very bad eye sight. Extremely near-sighted, one eye is -6.00 and the other is -5.50. That might not mean much to people who haven't spent their entire life wearing some form of corrective lenses, but for those of us who never miss our annual exams, you get it. Basically, I can see clearly only to about 18-24" in front of my face.
Great for reading. Really shitty for almost everything else.
So... why audiobooks?
Well, the issue is that my eyes spend all day trying to focus on the going-ons around me, that by the end of the day they are tired. Weak. I also have an astigmatism, making the lights and images blurry.
Oh, and I'm light sensitive.
I read on my phone and Kindle a lot because I can set those to dark mode, making the background black or nearly black with white or lighter grey writing. this keeps reduce the headaches frequency and intensity. But... there's always something when I visually read a book.
And I read... a lot!
Know what else I do a lot?
Housework. Errands. Menial tasks that I really don't want to be doing and therefore have little to no enthusiasm to actually get through them. Even as an Upholder--someone that places the same urgency on inner vs outer accountability-- there are days, most days, where I really don't want to do the "mom stuff."
Audiobooks are the way I convince myself to do them. I tell myself "you're not cleaning. You're just moving around as you listen to a book."
Yes. You're eyes and ADHD are crap. ... Now About those audiobooks!
Oh. Okay. Yeah. Sorry.
Last week I was finally able to share that Saving Grace is now available on Audible. The incredibly talented Marina Craven voiced these characters and ... WOW! She did the most amazing job and I can't believe how lucky I was to be able to work with her.
Saving Grace is Book 4in the Dropped Puck Series. It follows Grace Schwaltz-- the PR Guru we've gotten glimpses of along the way-- and Garrison Balchek--the goalie who sees everything and says almost nothing.
This book explores voyeurism and exhibitionism. It shows the dichotomy of people, how someone feels comfortable blending in... until they NEED to stand out. How someone can be content acting as an island but changes when they realize there's someone for them.
I freaking LOVED writing this story. I loved literally every minute of it. This was the book I think wrote itself the most and I just got to type the words. Ugh... so good.
But... didn't you say All the Dropped Puck stories?
Hell yeah I did!
See, back in like September or October of 2024, I decided to take the plunge. I prepped all of my books (DPS and 6th Man to date) to be sent out for auditions. Doing things a bit different, I didn't wait for narrators to find my stories. I searched for voice actors based on what I wanted from the characters.
And then... I messaged them!
LAWD was that scary. I mean, no part of me likes reaching out to someone--particularly a stranger--and asking them to do something for me. Add in the fact that the thing I'm asking for requires them to do WORK? Yikes!
But that's the thing. Because I did the super scary thing, I found incredible people. Women who loved the concepts and felt they could do the job.
By the end of October, I had all of my books in contracts! Yep! from Trading Tinsel through to Man Coverage, I found the right voice for each story, worked out the deadlines, and had contracts signed.
Trading Tinsel was released in December, just in time for the holidays! That wasn't the initial goal, but when ACX puts a hold on all projects while they promote their site-wide sale, well you learn to just roll with it.
After that, Marina sent over the files for Saving Grace. The flu held me up, but I was able to work through them. She took the pick ups and made a great project even better. We submitted to ACX and then waited. I think, between the two of us, we refreshed every, I don't know, 15 minutes? Pretty sure most of their page clicks during that lame duck period were from her and I!
Next Up?
Coach's Call!
Amber Goode is back, voicing Tommy, Amy, and 5 year old Clara in the Coach-Nanny romance. Having worked together previously on Trading Tinsel, we already had a decent understanding of what to expect, which was INCREDIBLE!
Now, at the time that this blog post goes live, I'm not sure if this book will be available for purchase. I do know that Amber and I were able to finalize all edits (Pick ups) and we submitted to ACX well before our original deadline. Either way, this book should hopefully be on the Audible shelves by February 1st!
And Then?
Well, there's only one more book in the Dropped Puck Series. Final Shot, narrated by Harlow Wilde, is currently in the process of edits right now. Harlow has sent over all the audio files and I'm working my way through them. The goal, as long as everything stays on course, is to have the final book in the series available by Valentine's Day.
Again, this is not set in stone. ACX has the ability to rush or slow this process down and we're all just twiddling our thumbs as they do it. LOL
That means, as long as we don't face any hiccups or hang ups, the final three books in the Dropped Puck Series will be in the world within a month of each other! Isn't the bananas?
Something I learned in this whole process is that, while I love the idea of bang-bang-bang, releasing these audiobooks so quickly; it does mean that I will have to take a step back from actually writing for a bit. Between listening and edit of the multiple books still outstanding as well as starting the process all over again so we can have In The Zone on Audible as well... there's just not enough time in the day. I don't want anything to suffer or get piss-poor quality, so we're just hitting pause on writing until I'm better situated in the audiobooks.
Don't worry though: I can't step away completely! I do have general notes for the book at I think will be next. I mean, I'm a chaotic writer. So, technically, I've got notes for TWO books. I need to decide which one I'll be focusing on in a few weeks/months, but that's something for later Rosie to deal with! Today Rosie is just going to enjoy finding readers who love the Chicago Sharks athletes and the BadAss women who tame them--off the ice! If you're trying to figure out what's in store the our Franklin U Hawks, I got you! Jennifer Walls and Mariana Olmeda are hard at work on their respective stories. They've both shared some of their processes on their socials, so I've gotten glimpses of the rough product already and WOW!! I'm as excited as y'all for what's coming up.
Just a heads up, due to the boom-boom-boom release schedule in the next few months, there will be a few extra blog posts. If you're subscribed, that means you'll get a few extra emails from me each month. BUT I promise! They're worth it! You're definitely going to want to know when these books drop so you can snatch up one.
Alrighty. I think that's it.
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