MLSimmons

Meet Melanie S.

I’m Melanie, and I like to live vicariously through fictional characters. I enjoy reading and listening to mostly fictional books in the paranormal genre, including Urban Fantasy, Paranormal Romance and Horror. I will read contemporary romance on occasion, but not often. I will occasionally throw in a biography, usually autobiographies of people that I find interesting. Listening to autobiographies that are narrated by the author have been great in my experience.

I started listening to audiobooks when a new book in a series was coming out and I wanted to get a refresher, but didn’t have time to read all the books (I think it was Anita Blake). I fell in love. I stayed with strictly re-reading books that I’d already read for a long time. I eventually tried an audiobook for something that I hadn’t read first and was hooked there too. Now, I listen to audio for both re-reads and first time. I have some series that I’ve given up reading and only listen. I try to get any many books/audiobooks from the library to help save on my budget. Books on CD and the newer digital downloads from the library really allow me to listen more. I then purchase my favorites (because who can wait in line for your favorite book??) and less mainstream books from Audible or some other online retailer.

• Kelley Armstrong’s Otherworld series

• Kim Harrison’s Hollow series

• Laurell K. Hamilton’s Anita Blake and Meredith Gentry series

• Jeaniene Frost’s Night Huntress series

• Patricia Briggs’s Mercy Thompson series

• Ilona Andrews’s Kate Daniels series

• Diana Rowland’s White Trash Zombie series (phenomenal on audio)

• Darynda Jones’s Charley Davidson series (phenomenal on audio)

• Stacia Kane’s Downside Ghosts series (phenomenal on audio)

• Karen Marie Moning’s Highlander series (phenomenal on audio)

All of these are good on audio, but I called out my go straight to audio because the stories are even better listening. With audio, the narrator is everything, I’ve read books that I loved and despised them on audio. I’ve also listened to books because I loved the narration better than the story.

My other hobbies are horseback riding (I own two horses, though one is retired) and snowboarding. I take a vacation every year to a cabin on a small island in Canada. It is great because it is just me, my hubs and the dog. I usually read a book a day for every day I’m there. I work in digital marketing, and I’m able to listen to audiobook at work sometimes and always on my 30 minute commute morning and evening.

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