As we prepare to release the first books in our catalog in June, I’ve been looking back on the past year. I just came across the paper on which I scribbled potential company names but none of them were the perfect fit.
I finally decided upon a name that encompassed everything I wanted for my company: Ideal Audiobooks. From the start, my goal was to publish audiobooks that narrators I respected would be proud to narrate, and books that would reach listeners in a deeply satisfying way.
I was thrilled to find Ideal’s first author in Heather Vogel Frederick, a middle-grade fiction writer with several wonderful series: Pumpkin Falls Mysteries, The Mother-Daughter Book Club, and Spy Mice. Heather’s books exemplified what I wanted to bring to the world on audio: stories with heart.
I’m happy to have veteran narrators Cris Dukehart, Kate Rudd, and Emily Woo Zeller join me in playing modern-day Little Women in the Mother-Daughter Book Club Series. The first book in the Pumpkin Falls series, Absolutely Truly, weaves Charlotte’s Web, Shakespeare, and a lighthearted mystery around a story about a girl whose family has to start life over in a new way when her father comes home injured from Afghanistan.
The second author to sign with Ideal is a well-loved colleague, Tamara Ireland Stone. I narrated her debut novel several years ago, and her beautiful writing has stayed with me ever since. Her prose has a timeless quality – contemporary with a classic feel. Our audiobook of her new release, Every Last Word, very quickly became one of my all-time favorites. It deals with a teenage girl’s struggle with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, and addresses themes of friendship, bullying, and the power of words.
With these books as the cornerstone of our catalog, we began to fill out our schedule with wonderful titles in women’s fiction, romance and YA. I hope you’ll join us in celebrating stories from the heart as we expand our catalog throughout the year.
Thank you for taking the time to visit with us at Ideal Audiobooks. Sign up for our newsletter to stay up-to-date on contests, deals, and new releases.
Amy Rubinate
