TEACHING AN OLD DRAGON A NEW TRICK

We're so excited to have super talented author Jade Lee join us today at popculturedivas! Jade is contemplating the coolness of audio books, the sexiness of Dragonborn and treating us to a great giveaway!

Read on!

by Jade Lee

I have discovered something interesting and new! Books on CD! Obviously, this is not new technology, it's just new to me. And don't I feel behind the times? Why, I wonder, have I never listened to a book on tape? And why is it such a revelation to me now?

I used to believe that audio books were a bastard stepchild, neither a book nor a full performance. If I wanted to watch a show, then I'd turn to TV, movie, or (best of all) Broadway. Books were meant to be read, so pretending to translate the media to a stage production is awkward at best...or so I thought.

Well, I've begun to drive a lot. Generally, I listen to music when I drive. That's the media designed for listening, ergo I pop in an album when I can only listen. But I tend to play music when I'm rollerblading because it helps me keep a rhythm and speed when I begin to flag. The last time I popped in my favorite music CD when I was driving, I got annoyed because I wanted to start moving my legs. I was ready for a workout and being trapped in a car was distinctly annoying.

So for my last few long drives, I checked out a book-on-audio from the library. "How lazy is that?" I thought to myself. "I can't even be bothered to read a book, but now have to listen to someone else read to me. Am I pathetic or what?" Fortunately, I'm an old hand at ignoring feeling pathetic, so I went ahead and popped in Force of Nature by Suzanne Brockman. Loved it. Yes, I loved the book, but I really loved listening to someone else read to me, complete with voices and everything! I've since gone on to listen to a Nora Roberts' book and a couple of Linda Howard's books.

Here's the thing: I love that listening forces me to go slower. I hear nuances in the text that I think I'd miss if I were zipping through the book reading it myself. I'm forced to linger on description that I might otherwise skim and enjoy dialogue that is verbalized in its own special way. How weird is that? I really like taking the time to hear everything!

I don't have any great insights here. I'm just stunned by how much fun it is to listen to a media intended to be read as a book, not listened to out loud. What about you? Did you resist only to be surprised? Did you think only people with bad eyes listened to books on tape?

Someone give me your insights, and one of you will win a FREE Jade Lee book! And if I might make a suggestion...how about the first of my fantasy romance Dragonborn (adventure, sex, fun...with dragons!)

About Jade Lee:

Children of mixed races have their own set of rules. As the daughter of a Shanghai native and a staunch Indiana Hoosier, Jade Lee struggled to find her own identity somewhere between America and China. Her search took her to Regency England, where the formality of culture hid a secret sensuality that fascinated her. But Devil's Bargain was just the beginning. That same search adds a mystical element in her Tigress series beginning with White Tigress. In those books, Jade delves into the hidden sensuality of the Dragon/Tigress sect in pre-revolutionary China.

Jade is a USA Today Bestseller, 5 time PRISM award winner, Romantic Times Reviewers Choice winner (and 4 time nominee), and a state racquetball champion! She’s been a RITA finalist twice, 6 time RT KISS award winner, and the recipient of multiple glorious racquetball bruises and injuries. But her favorite accolade comes from reader emails. Thank you, thank you, thank you for your wonderful emails! I couldn’t do it without you!

At home, her husband and two daughters try to ignore her stacks of Zen sexual texts. Instead, they brag about her award-winning humor pseudonym, Katherine Greyle.

http://www.jadeleeauthor.com

USA TODAY BESTSELLING AUTHOR

Getting Physical (Blaze) Sept 09
Dragonbound April 09
The Concubine (Blaze historical) Feb 09