Audiobook Giveaway

You might not have noticed, but I talk a lot about listening to books. I got into audiobooks when I was making a long commute via bus. I talked a little about it in my blog post here back in January of this year. Even though my commute is now five minutes, I still love listening to audiobooks.

Why?

Because anymore I have very little time to actually sit down and "read" a book. But I can listen to an audiobook anywhere! Well, not at church, though I'll freely admit there are times I'm sorely tempted during those late city council meetings.

Audiobooks are great when doing yard work, laundry, housework, grocery shopping--even while doing mindless projects at my day job. And long trips? Fabulous!

So, what's my point?

Earlier this week I posted a book review here for Brandon Sanderson's new book Mistborn: The Alloy of Law. I forgot to mention that I didn't read the paper book. I listened to the audiobook.

And it was freaktastic!

Michael Kramer, who reads all the books in Brandon Sanderson's The Mistborn series and The Way of Kings is well known to me. He and his wife, Kate Reading, are the narrators for the Wheel of Time series. I love their performances. I was thrilled when I downloaded the audiobook for The Host by Stephenie Meyer (which I liked more than the Twilight series) and found out that Kate was the narrator.

I know. I use the word "love" a lot. I think Michael is one of the best readers out there.

In association with the gracious people at  Macmillan Audio, I'm doing an audiobook giveaway--just in time for Christmas! If you've been wondering if you'd like audiobooks, here's your chance to try one out. It would also make a great gift.

It's simple and painless to have your name thrown into the contest mix:

1. Be a follower of my blog
2. Add a comment to this post, telling me you want your name entered and include your email address.

At 7 p.m. MST on December 21st I'll let random.org select a winner. I will forward your information to Macmillan Audio, and you will have the choice between a downloaded file or CDs (obviously you won't get the CDs in time for Christmas).

Following is a snippet from The Alloy of Law to give you a taste.

The Reader's Imagination

For not having written anything on WIP #1 since June 30th, I think I've made some great progress. I've received  three full-novel critiques back and, while it needs work, the results have been very positive and encouraging. In fact, I was so elated yesterday at work that I had a hard time concentrating on the matter at hand--getting ready for the candidate orientation. I'm well into the municipal election season, and things are getting crazy at work. Not a time to make mistakes because I'm distracted; those kinds of mistakes can get me sued. *sigh*

But an issue I've been trying to deal with in my tale (and is something others have raised as an issue) comes down to how much I should leave to the reader's imagination. I've mentioned before that I suck at description. I'm learning, and I think I'm getting (a little) better, but it will never be my strong point. It's hard to describe something that your mind's eye doesn't really look at.

How to explain it better. My stepmother was wonderful at creating silk and dried flower arrangements. She could just grab a little of this and a little of that and in minutes have this beautiful creation. I realized I had a problem the first time I went to a flower display, walked around looking at different kinds of flowers for nearly an hour, and then left the store empty handed. The lovely creations that popped in my stepmother's mind were on vacation in mine.

Or maybe retirement, since they still don't show up for me.

I like to leave some things to the imagination of the reader. I will describe my characters somewhat, but I don't want to say too much. I like the reader to be able to fill in the blanks, so to speak. I read somewhere that one of the reasons the Bella character in the Twilight series is so popular is because it's possible for the young girls reading the book to superimpose themselves on her, to be Bella. I'm completely good with that. I just don't know if I'm good AT it.

I'm struggling right now with how much description to put into the physical, romantic elements in the story. I don't want my story to be a substitute for an aphrodisiac--unless it's the readers' own internal thoughts that are taking them there. If the readers prefer an image of a more chaste relationship, I want them to have that option as well. I just hope the creative juices for this aren't on vacation, when I start working on it in August.

How do you approach your description? Do you prefer more or less?