Our fabulous author Clare Connelly gives us an insight into discovering audiobooks and why she loves them!
Reading is one of my favourite ever habits. When I’m not writing, I love to lose myself in the pages of someone else’s work, to hear their stories and fall in love with characters of their creation. I go through phases where I read a Mills & Boon a night, instead of watching TV or a movie, and it’s such a sigh-worthy way to end the day.
But life is hectic – increasingly so, it feels. With two little people in school, and various extra-curricular activities, my own work, the gym, grocery shopping, catching up with friends, the never-ending housework, I’ve lost so much of my reading time that I despair! I can’t live in a world where I don’t get to regularly escape to those sexy locations with hot heroes and lovely heroines.
I was mentioning this to a friend of mine who is an avid reader – no sooner has a book hit the shelves than she’s devoured it. Well, it turns out, she had a nifty little secret up her sleeve – one I can’t believe I hadn’t thought of myself. When my friend is cooking, driving, cleaning, grocery shopping, doing yoga, she is also…reading! Well, more precisely, listening to someone else read! It more than doubles her ability to consume books (totally what we bibliophiles do, obviously), and offers the complete escapism of letting the words wash over her, carrying her deep into the story.
Hallelujah! It was a life-changing realisation. I downloaded my first audiobook and was up and running. The most mundane chores took on a whole new dimension as I listened to book after book – and no one ever knew! I might have been strolling the aisles of the supermarket but in my mind, thanks to a narrator I’ll never know, I was whisked away to a secluded Greek island, lost in the banter of a hero and heroine, smiling to myself from beneath insultingly-bright fluorescent lights, as I plucked bread and milk and chocolate from the shelves.
If you’re an avid-reader who finds a reading habit hard to maintain, might I suggest you give an audiobook a go to ensure a reliable way to get your book-fix? You will not regret it, I promise. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m off for a walk to the post-office so I can hear how this chapter ends!
Fancy listening to some romance audiobooks? Check out the latest from Mills and Boon Dare audio!
