Up 'Til Dawn Book Blog: Audio Excerpt & Tour: Acer by Lilly Atlas

Author: Lilly Atlas

Narrators: Noah Michael Levine and Erin deWard

Series: No Prisoners, Book Three

Length: 9 hours 53 minutes

Publisher: Lilly Atlas Books LLC

Released: July 17, 2017

Genre: MC Romance

After one unforgettable night with a dangerous outlaw, Fia knows she must limit contact with the kind of man who could never fit in her wealthy circle. Unfortunately, she can't keep their brief but passionate encounter far from her thoughts. When she seeks him out for reasons unrelated to their chemistry, the worst happens, and Fia is attacked by a madman.

With her life turned upside down, she seeks help from the one person she can't get out of her mind. Betrayed by someone he should have been able to trust above all, Acer spends the next two decades of his life avoiding entanglements that have any chance of ending with a knife in his back.

The MC life provides a safe way to have personal connections and loyalty due to its simple rule: betray the club and punishment will be severe. Still, he keeps a large part of himself locked away inside, hidden even from his MC brothers. When the woman who's been messing with his head for months reappears in his life needing sanctuary, Acer jumps to her aid. He's committed to help her reclaim her life, but determined to keep her at arms-length in the process.

As Acer and Fia fight their growing feelings, his club is in danger from a new and different kind of enemy. Will his refusal to put his full trust in anyone, including the woman he's falling for, end up destroying more than betrayal ever could?

Lilly Atlas is the contemporary romance author of the award-nominated No Prisoners MC series. She’s a proud Navy wife, mother of two spunky girls, and one crazy pug. Every time Lilly downloads a new EBook, she expects her Kindle to tell her it’s exhausted and beg for some rest. Thankfully that hasn’t happened yet, so she can often be found absorbed in a good book.

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Noah Michael Levine is an Audie Award-Winning audiobook narrator and producer living in beautiful Nyack, NY. His over 180 titles include almost every genre. While he loves his work completely – and collaborating with all kinds of different authors, he does not love writing about himself in the third person.

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Erin deWard is an Audie Award-Winning narrator with over sixty titles in genres ranging from Spirituality to Young Adult to Adult Contemporary and others. She's worked on stage, screen, and behind the mic for over thirty years. She is beyond grateful to have come to this place in her life and thanks all of the people and organizations that sped her on her way. In addition to her love of acting, Erin is passionate about her work as an audio describer, translating visual images in media and performance into aural pictures for people who have low or no vision. She studies and performs Shakespearean text and can most frequently be seen cavorting onstage with The Strange Bedfellows, the adult troupe of the Children’s Shakespeare Theatre of New York. Erin lives in lovely Nyack on Hudson, New York with her husband, daughter, sometimes her college-aged son, and two ill-behaved but loveable dogs, Annie and Benevolio. Proud member of SAG/AFTRA

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Q&A with Author Lilly Atlas

Tell us about the process of turning your book into an audiobook.

The first time was a bit daunting because I didn’t have a clue what I was doing, what the experience would be like, or if turning my book into an audiobook was a good financial decision. After some research, it looked like ACX would be the best option. I listed the first book in the series, Striker, on ACX and received a bunch of interviews. Noah was my clear favorite, and thankfully he’s a pro at this and was very patient and helpful with a total newbie. Now that we’re on to the fourth and fifth books, the process is easy and we have a great working relationship.

Was a possible audiobook recording something you were conscious of while writing?
1. I didn’t really consider it until I was in the process of publishing the book. Honestly, publishing in general wasn’t necessarily something I thought I would do until I was about three quarters of the way finished with writing the book.
How did you select your narrator?
1. I chose Noah for the first book through ACX’s audition process. Striker received quite a few auditions and Noah’s was the clear favorite. After working with him and having a fantastic experience, I decided to use him and his partner Erin for the rest of the series. Having the duet narration really takes the storytelling to another level.
How closely did you work with your narrator before and during the recording process? Did you give them any pronunciation tips or special insight into the characters?
1. Before each book, I provide basic character sketches for any new characters. I highlight the way the character looks, attitudes, accents, and anything I think will help them bring the character to life. So far, Erin and Noah have done an fantastic job of making my visions a reality. Throughout recording, they will upload a chunk of chapters at a time to ACX and I’ll review and approve them.
Were there any real life inspirations behind your writing?
1. The entire series takes place in the desert in Arizona. The town is fictional, but descriptions of the desert are based on real experiences. My husband is in the Navy and we were stationed with the Marines in Twentynine Palms CA for a few years. It doesn’t get much more desert than Twentynine Palms, at least not here in the US.
How do you manage to avoid burn-out? What do you do to maintain your enthusiasm for writing?
1. I’m still fairly new to the game, so I really haven’t had a slump as far as enthusiasm yet. I have three little kiddos at home, and spend three days per week writing. The other days I’m home with the munchkins. It’s proven to be a really great balance and keeps things fresh. On my writing days, I’m excited to get all the ideas that have been swirling around in my head out of there.
Is there a particular part of this story that you feel is more resonating in the audiobook performance than in the book format?
1. There are a few parts of the story that are quite emotionally charged. Erin and Noah do an amazing job of capturing the range of emotions the characters go through. That’s one of the things I love about audiobooks. You can really feel the story coming to life and experience it in a way that is very different from reading alone.
If you had the power to time travel, would you use it? If yes, when and where would you go?
1. Yes, I would definitely use it. I’d go to sometime in the future. As a bit of a technology junkie, I’d love to see what the world will look like in a hundred years.
What gets you out of a writing slump? What about a reading slump?
1. Thankfully, I have yet to experience a true writing slump. There are times when I struggle through a scene or chapter. Either I’m not happy with the way it’s moving from my head to the computer, or I’m a bit stuck with what I want to say. I’ve found that as long as I write something, even if it ends up being complete junk, it helps me push through. Later, when my mind is fresh and I’ve stepped way from it, I come back and edit the scene until I’m satisfied.
In your opinion, what are the pros and cons of writing a stand-alone novel vs. writing a series?
1. So far I’ve only written in a series. I recently plotted out a book that I thought was going to be a stand alone, but as I developed the secondary characters, ideas began flowing for their stories as well. Guess that means it’s going to end up being a series instead of a stand alone!
What's your favorite:
1. Food - Bread. I’m holding out hope for a reverse-Atkins diet that is based around eating carbs.
2. Song - Right now I’m obsessed with Sound of Silence by Disturbed, but I mostly listen to country. I’m sure it will change soon enough
3. Book - I could never pick just one. As a child, it was A Little Princess, but as an adult, the list is too long to choose.
4. Television show - Game of Thrones, hands down
5. Movie -
6. Band
7. Sports team - Born and bred in NY so it’s the Yankees for me
8. City - Washington DC. I right outside the city for many years and love everything about it (except the traffic).
Are any of those things referenced in your work?

There are a few things, music choices and such that are based on things I like. It’s easier to incorporate something you know about. In the book I’m working on now, the heroine is a physical therapist, which comes directly from my life. I worked as a PT for almost ten years before completely changing my career path and becoming a writer.

What bits of advice would you give to aspiring authors?
1. Hire a professional editor and really try to learn from them. Since I started this process, I’ve learned so much about writing, editing, marketing, business management, publishing, and the list goes on. What’s been extremely valuable, is all the lessons, tips, and tricks I’ve learned from my editors. I try to internalize everything they tell me and use it in subsequent books. It can be a bit daunting at first, especially the part where you sometimes have to put away your pride and take some criticism you may not agree with, but it’s a worthwhile learning experience every time.
Do you have any tips for authors going through the process of turning their books into audiobooks?
1. Spend some time going through the auditions. You want to think about pacing, accent, do you like the way they do male and female parts if it’s just one narrator. There are a number of things to take into account. But don’t go crazy! For me, it was really a gut feeling about who I thought would portray my characters the best. Also, don’t be intimidated by ACX. Once you have the process under your belt once, it’s much easier. There is a book called the Audiobook Book that really helps walk you through the process of audiobook creation. It’s very helpful.
What’s next for you?
1. In terms of audiobooks, Erin and Noah have the next two books in the series, Hook and Lucky, in their queue, so they are forthcoming. Right now, I’m writing the last book in the No Prisoners MC series. Then, it’s on to a new series!