Are you one of the millions of people in the world who do not like reading, but love listening? Someone who seeks information, but doesn’t enjoy getting it from a book? Maybe you are one of the growing numbers of people who listen to books anywhere at any time…while driving, cooking, walking, or exercising. One in five of us are now listening to recordings of books.

As an author, do you want your book in the hands of as many people as possible? My purpose in writing Jackson is to drive conversations about mental illness, the struggles of families, of love, and hope. If those discussions happen as the results of an audiobook, why not make that available?

If you are listening to audiobooks, you learn to appreciate and seek out the highest quality. Some authors will choose to create or produce the audiobook themselves. I simply don’t have the expertise, equipment, or talent to do so. There are several options and after a great deal of research, I discovered Marnye Young who is a multi-award-winning narrator and recognized by the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today. Marnye had narrated my first book in 2017 and is now the owner of Audio Sorceress, which has a Canadian branch. Almost immediately, I was screening the narrators for the two main characters of Jackson and June. The choice was exciting and not at all easy, with so much Canadian talent, but Jeremy Thomas Gilmer and Nancy Petersen stepped into the roles and began production. They immediately immerse us into the lives of a mother and son who find themselves wandering through the constantly evolving landscape of acute and chronic mental health. The official release is on the horizon!

Audiobooks continue to increase in popularity with a 16% rise in market sales last year which, “Continues an eight-year trend in double-digit revenue growth”. There are countless reasons for this, and perhaps our busy lifestyle is one of them. Regardless, audiobooks provide a convenient alternative where we can lose ourselves in someone else’s story, perhaps while also exploring a trail, preparing a meal or simply enjoying a pajama day!