Laurie Catherine Winkel

Audiobookworm Blog Tour: A Witch’s Path, Book 4

A Witch’s Concern

Author: N.E. Conneely

Narrators: Jeff Hays, Laurie Catherine Winkel

Series: A Witch’s Path, Book 4

Length: 7 hours 25 minutes

Publisher: N.E. Conneely

Released: Jan. 16, 2018

Genre: Paranormal, Supernatural

 

Michelle has been figuring out what her life is like now that the demon has been killed, and Sylvia and Varro are dead. Even the clans of witches trying to attract her to their way of life have backed off and given her a chance to grieve. Her relationship with Elron is stronger than ever, but there are things left unsaid.

On the way to her parents’ wedding, the delicate calm she’d been living in is broken. Witches are out for her blood, her family is caught in the crossfire, and friendships are threatened. Work doesn’t let up either, and she partners up with Elron to deal with magic gone wild. Michelle finds that her problems are larger than one clan of witches, and is forced to choose between the people she holds dear and the way of life she loves.

This is the fourth book in a series, following A Witch’s Trial. It is a standalone novel, however, your experience will be greatly enhanced if you’ve heard the previous books.

N.E. Conneely

N.E. Conneely lives in northern Georgia with her dog and a mountain of books. They sweat through the summer and freeze through the winter, and life as they know it comes to an end when so much as a single snowflake falls out of the sky. For fun, N.E. plays with her dog, reads, knits, crochets, paints, and does tie-dyeing and origami. She makes a great pizza and is currently negotiating with her husband about raising sea monkeys and growing a vegetable garden.

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Narrator Bio

 

Jeff Hays

Jeff Hays has made a name for himself in the audio book world by creating immersive experiences out of his productions. His versatility and authenticity in voicing characters, expressive low-impact narration, and dedication to offering the highest quality audio possible has earned him a loyal following of listeners. Having been fascinated with sound since he can remember, Jeff takes his background of composing and producing music, and his continual consumption of the avalanche of fictional media we all experience in these modern times, and uses it to inform his style of story telling in the audiobook realm.

And now, having produced more than 80 audio books and perfecting his craft, using the namesake of his live streaming narration show, the Soundbooth Theater shingle has been hung. Soundbooth Theater is dedicated to applying Jeff’s production methods to new audio books with other budding narrator talent, and expanding his scope from audio books, to voicing and producing animation.

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Narrator Bio

 

Laurie Catherine Winkel

Laurie got into voiceover by studying with the legendary dialect expert Paul Meier and hosting the teen program for a nonprofit for the blind, Kansas Audio Reader. She speaks French fluently and, before diving into audiobooks, lived and performed for some time in France. She’s racking up some bizarre credits, playing a range of characters onscreen from Disney princesses to horror scream queens, and proving her audio versatility by narrating everything from cowboy romances to action-packed GameLit fantasy trolls. You can also catch her in a few VR video games. Her favorite is playing confident, power-hungry, whip-smart anti-heroines.

Like Jeff Hays, she hails from the Kansas City area but currently lives in Atlanta.

 

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To read my full review,

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I received this audiobook as part of my participation in a blog tour with Audiobookworm Promotions. The tour is being sponsored by Jeff Hays. The gifting of this audiobook did not affect my opinion of it.

 

Q&A with Laurie Catherine Winkel

 

  1. How did you wind up narrating audiobooks? Was it always your goal or was it something you stumbled into by chance?
    1. Well, I was encouraged to do so by my professor, Paul Meier, who I had no idea was a big name in the audiobook world for his dialect coaching and founding the IDEA archives. I kind of stumbled into it later when I was asked to audition for a program called Kansas Audio Reader in college, which was a specialized radio broadcast for the blind. For three years I ran a program reading YA books for blind teens. I had no idea it was going to be so relevant to my life.
  2. Did you find it difficult to “break into” audiobook narration? What skill/tool helped you the most when getting started?
    1. Because I had unknowingly gained all that experience in nonprofit, and training in my acting work, I found the performance pretty accessible. What was throw-your-headphones-at-the-wall infuriating was all the tech! I am not a tech-savvy person, and learning even the basic specs of audio recording was a huge struggle. When troubleshooting one of my first home-recorded books, I spent so much time on internet forums that my eyes dried out and I got a twitch. But there’s a lot of help available on the internet if you ask the right questions.
  3. A lot of narrators seem to have a background in theatre. Is that something you think is essential to a successful narration career?
    1. I think a theatre background is an excellent addition to any performance-based career. You simply won’t get the same depth from acting into a vacuum all the time. Speaking into a microphone feels like that to me — we are our own directors, coaches, and engineers.
  4. What type of training have you undergone?
    1. I studied with Paul Meier, one of the top dialect coaches in the world. I have a BA in theatre from the University of Kansas. And I’m always taking acting classes. Any serious actor should never stop learning and coaching.
  5. How do you manage to avoid burn-out? What do you do to maintain your enthusiasm for narrating?
    1. Honestly, I get burned out vocally before mentally. I have to take breaks and rotate with other projects.
  6. Are you an audiobook listener? What about the audiobook format appeals to you?
    1. Absolutely. I have to drive a lot, so I cycle between about a dozen audiobooks and podcasts at any given time.

Giveaway

A Witch’s Concern Giveaway: $50 PayPal Cash

Apr. 5th:

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Apr. 6th:

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Apr. 7th:

Booktalk with Eileen

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Jazzy Book Reviews

Lilly’s Book World

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Apr. 9th:

Bookworms Corner Blog Spot

Audiobook Romance

T’s Stuff

Apr. 10th:

Chapter Break

The Bookworm Lodge

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Apr. 11th:

The Book Addict’s Reviews

Blogger Nicole Reviews

Working Mommy Journal

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Review: A Witch’s Concern (Witch for Hire #4) by N.E. Conneely

My Reviews


Absolute Power Might Not Corrupt Absolutely, But It Is Addictive!

A Witch’s Concern is #4 in the Witch for Hire Series by N.E. Conneely.

Jeff Hays and Laurie Catherine Winkel narrates.

This has multiple POVs, but it is a continuing story arc revolving around One Main Character! HFN endings with no BIG cliffhangers, but there ARE open issues.
I would advise to read these in order to get the most out of the experience.

Length: 7 hrs and 25 mins

Content Warning: Still PG in terms of steam.

 

 

♥ Story ♥

 

A lot of things were tied up in the Witch’s Path Box Set, but now the big picture issues are manifesting. Michelle and Elron can at least lean on each other for their PTSD issues. Plus, there is a wedding, eventually! The ebook counterpart is available through the Kindle Unlimited program.

 

“It’s a pleasure to have you here to witness the union between Nancy Gretchen Oaks, outcast, and Greg Patrick Nelson of the Docga. As the lot of you have had twenty years to protest this union, any complaints you have now should be kept to yourselves.”
— Nana

 

It is eluded that there may of been a small breather, but this starts out crazy and doesn’t let up. Sylvia’s warning of more demons to come was a serious one, but no one truly knows when or where. Varro’s knowledge and the Tree’s gift are not things to be ignored, but Michelle’s stubborn butt is determined to do so. I yelled at her so much during this book because she should know better by now! Seriously!

A lot of characters are total Twat Bags, but they made the loyal ones shine even more. Amber, Nana, and Elron are the best and need an award, or a cake!

 

Gretchen, This Throat Punch is for you!

 

Its all self fulfilling prophecies. They all bring it onto themselves, and most get their due. The ending opens up a whole new can of hot mess and that is not even including the impending Demon problem. I am sure there is more crazy to come in the future! My fingers crossed for a Michelle and Elron wedding, but I’m not holding my breathe.

 

Audio Sample

 

 

♥ Author ♥

 

N.E. Conneely Continues to fill in blanks, as she draws new ones.

 

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♥ Narrator(s) ♥

 

Jeff Hays and Laurie Catherine Winkel narrate. This is a true Duet so all the characters are the same voice all the time no matter who’s POV the chapter is focused on. It’s the BEST way!

 

Jeff Hays continues to voice all the guys, Yay! He is still amazeballs, but he is getting a partner in crime this time around, and it is only getting better!

 

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Laurie Catherine Winkel does all the girls and perfectly complements Jeff. They make an awesome duet team!

 

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A Witch’s Concern

Witch for Hire Series

Written by N.E. Conneely

Read by Jeff Hays

And Laurie Catherine Winkel

Ebook obtained through Kindle Unlimited

Audiobook obtained at my request and I am voluntarily leaving this unbiased review