Crazy Gone Love
When Cate Brody took a look at the free audiobook offerings we have here on Podiobooks.com, she found a big hole: no “chick lit”, to use her terms. That ends today, with her story Crazy Gone Love. It’s narrated by her friend, Anna Kelk:
Ceil Clark is fed up with dating the twenty-something hipsters and slackers that litter the streets of Los Angeles nightlife like empty, discarded cans of Red Bull. Against the wise advice of her best friend, Lupe, she makes a pre-meditated decision to seduce, tag and bag her newest boss—Wayne Hayter; the cool and always collected thirty-something, corporate-loving, sports-car-driving, designer duds wearing, General Manager of the Porsche dealership where Ceil merely tolerates her 9 to 5 gig.
But when a deliciously cute, mysterious and vaguely wild-eyed musician by the name of Mason Philips begins to crop up almost daily in and around the parking lot adjacent to her job just to chat—Ceil is intrigued—though he is just ‘another loser in a garage band’. Suddenly, the stoic and unruffled Wayne Hayter has some serious competition to contend with almost before his flirtation with Ceil manages to get off the ground. But Mason Phillips—with his cheerful positive outlook, pit bull-like tenacity and an unwillingness to hear the word ‘no’— has a couple of tricks up his sleeve to keep the ball in his court. By the end, Ceil’s only wish is to keep her hair from turning white before she has a chance to choose between her two dream suitors.
July 11th, 2008 at 6:50 am
Woot!
Why is it “chick lit” rather than something less sexist like “romance” though?
July 11th, 2008 at 6:55 am
That would be a fantastic question to ask of the author and narrator, Nobilis. As mentioned in the text, it was upon their request that we created the category with that exact name.
July 12th, 2008 at 1:14 am
Hi Nobolis,
I am the reader for Crazy Gone Love and I am with you on the sexism in the category “Chick Lit”. However, I am not offended deeply by it like some people possibly would be. Sorry if this is you. However, “chick lit” is an already established category in the fiction community. The reason I believe this is considered “chick lit” and not “romance” is to distinguish the type of novel it is: modern, quirky, with a plot and social statement, from the Fabio-on-the-cover-Harlequin-Romance novels that are straight out woman meets man, they are attracted to each other, fall in love, a simple conflict arises, which once resolved, ends with the characters walking off hand in hand to face a perfect future together. Chick lit also tends to have a humorous base to it. Hope this helps. Please go to the website to debate further. The author is US based and I am in New Zealand, but she’ll answer all questions and comments from the website.
July 15th, 2008 at 12:33 am
I’ve been waiting for this as a subscriber of podiobooks for a long time now! Some chick lit is very welcome what ever it is called, I love it and can’t wait to listen to this story!
Great work!
and thanks!
July 19th, 2008 at 9:28 am
Hey all—I’m settled into my new home and I’m here (finally!) to answer any and all questions. I decided to stick “Crazy Gone” in the Chick Lit category, because I equate Romance with cheesy Barbara Cartland novels and trashy books that come ‘three-for-the-price-of-one’ at any discount or dime-store. Also has anyone ever noticed that lack of humor in most of those novels. End of controversy…
July 19th, 2008 at 10:06 am
that’s kate@ ….
July 19th, 2008 at 10:32 pm
I LOVE this story! I absolutely consume podiobooks and have listened to most of the popular authors. I honestly can’t remember a story that I’ve enjoyed more. True this genre is right up my aisle, but I think anyone could appreciate the quirky dialog and relationships in this story. The characters intrigue me and I can’t wait to find out more about them!
July 21st, 2008 at 4:32 am
It’s good to see the author emerge finally. Cate was so excited she forgot her name starts with a “C”. Hee!
Any questions you want to take off the website (http://crazygonelovepodiobook.blogspot.com/) can be directed to:CrazyGoneLove@gmail.com
July 23rd, 2008 at 4:00 pm
Oops…
August 12th, 2008 at 10:02 pm
Hello I love the book, I love chic lit. I don’t have money right now but when I do I’ll donate. Keep up the good work Ladies! I hope you can keep writing Cate I like Your style. Anna love you too… what is New Zealand like?
August 12th, 2008 at 10:05 pm
Sorry Anna didn’t finish what I meant to say to you, I think You’re doing a great job with all the different voices…Love It!!!
August 15th, 2008 at 3:11 pm
Hi Alillia,
Thanks for the words of encouragement! We never have enough feedback and I guess it’s good to hear nothing but positive when we do. New Zealand is cold, wet, and beautiful. Enjoy the new chapter.
Anna
August 15th, 2008 at 3:29 pm
Calling all readers of this book. Do us a favor/favour and give us a rating, yeah? Money is also acceptable. Jab jab, wink wink.
Anna
August 23rd, 2008 at 12:56 pm
Good grief! Over 2,300 readers for this story??? Hey, you know a girl could also use a good book agent right about now…
August 23rd, 2008 at 4:33 pm
Hey Catey! No, that’s actually the “downloads” number, but if it were that number of readers it would still be small potatoes. I think you need followings in the tens of thousands to even make it worth a publisher’s time, but I may be wrong.
But if I were you, I’d go to a new set of publishers or Dragoncon and promo the book and work the connections. Also, you could talk to the other authors here to get a sense of what’s needed. Go to the community mentoring program they have on this site. Go to the Author’s section up top.
Good luck!
Anna
August 26th, 2008 at 3:19 pm
Thanks for the heads up, Anna-Girl, but you know I’m too darn lazy to do all that self-promoting jazz—that’s why I specifically whined for an Agent and not a publisher.
September 11th, 2008 at 7:02 pm
Cate, Anna,
Thanks for the great story! This is a rollicking fun listen! Not typically the type of story I would listen to or read, which goes to show that good writing and narrating makes all the difference! The characters have real a real three dimensional quality as well as being hilarious! Glad you did label it “Chick Lit”. I would not even have looked at it if it had been “Romance”…there are no Fabio’s in my library, print or otherwise…
Can’t wait for the next chapter!
September 12th, 2008 at 11:42 pm
Thanks Adventure Mom. Words of encouragement are always a boon for the amount of energy it takes to get one of these out. I am back from vacation and will try my best to get the next episode up asap.
Cheers/Thanks
September 18th, 2008 at 3:46 pm
Thanks for the good words Adventure Mom! Feedback is very much appreciated around here. And when you get a little further along in the book can you tell us who’s the most hilarious character in your opinion and why? Thanks again…
September 27th, 2008 at 5:52 pm
I’m definitely not a chick lit fan, nor romance, or anything closely related. Usually it’s sci-fi, horror and suspense for me, but this book was a great listen. The characters were eccentric and the plot was a wild roller coaster.
September 28th, 2008 at 2:33 am
Thanks Chris. Like labor pains, I’ve already forgotten all the pain and can only see the completed baby: Crazy Gone Love. She’s beautiful ain’t she? I know, I know, I’m biased, like any good aunt. Good work Catey Girl. I’d redo it all cuz now that it’s complete I can see all those inflections and unseemly flaws I could have done differntly, but I don’t want to be Lucas…it’s done. Enjoy! Ta ta for now.
October 1st, 2008 at 4:07 pm
Thanks Chris; and also a big thank you to all the people who wrote in with their kind words. Like Anna mentioned I have another novel on the way. I just hope everyone enjoys the next one as much as “Crazy Gone Love”.
(Speaking of “Crazy Gone”…right now a special someone in my life is giving me a hard time because he suspects I’ve written all about him, but I won’t tell him the name of the novel or where he can find it. Unfortunately Mr. Genius sees himself as some kind of modern day Sherlock Holmes and thinks he’ll track down my novel eventually. I’m praying and keeping my fingers crossed that he won’t…)
October 8th, 2008 at 8:38 am
I tried to get into this book but the narration was so terrible with an echo and badly done accents that I couldn’t even get through the first 3 chapters. It sounds like it was done in someone’s kitchen by someone who has no experience with narrating. I would not recommend this book due to the rather awful listening quality.
October 10th, 2008 at 2:48 pm
Awesome! Our first bitchy commentary. Cool. I guess I need to consider rerecording the first five episodes so that the commentary can remain on the book and not the background noise. As far as I’m concerned this comment is like hating a book because the cover has a line through it and the pages are a bit tatty and dogeared but it gives good insight nonetheless. Sorry Catey girl. I messed one up for us. Onward. Catey’s almost finished another book. I’d love feedback from the fans if I should keep the accents/voices or not. If I don’t hear from you, I’ll record it without since the voices take a LOT of effort, if they’re not adding value.
October 13th, 2008 at 1:58 pm
This is an audiobook, thus the listening quality is what gives the first impression of a book, it is way more important than a ratty cover. I know, I collect old books. A ratty cover shows that a book has been well used and is worth it’s salt. I said very little about the quality of the writing itself because I was unable to listen to it, re-recorded this could be an excellent book. My point is if you’re going to listen to a book you have to actually be able to stand listening to it.
October 15th, 2008 at 3:28 pm
Don’t give it another thought, Anna-Girl—ONE bonafide complaint out of—what?—Five thousand downloads? ‘Ain’t nuthin’ but a chicken wing…’ You’re my first choice when it comes to narration; quite a few people (I’ve been told) think you have the perfect voice for narration, and I happen to agree with them. And recording quality can always be improved on.
October 23rd, 2008 at 10:45 am
Anna, PLEASE keep the voices! I’m halfway through listening to this book and I adore it. The writing is great and the narration is perfect. I love the accents used for the characters, it gives them more life and makes for a great story to listen to. I’ve heard several podio books and this one is by far my favorite. Great work to both of you! I look forward to your future books!
October 26th, 2008 at 10:24 pm
Thanks Cheyanne. I appreciate the comment. Please vote for the book when you get a chance. I realise the sound quality sucks until episode 5 or 6 but I’ll get to redoing them as I can. Catey’s finishing up a book. It WAS finished, but she’s reworking her magic and will send it to me as soon as it’s ready. *Sigh* voices, huh? Alright Cheyanne girl, just for you, then.
October 28th, 2008 at 3:30 pm
Hey Anna—Guess what? I’ve finished re-tooling the next novel. It’s a little more laid back than “Crazy Gone”—but I hope everyone finds it just as entertaining. BTW Cheyanne, I’m glad you’re enjoying my novel, and thanx for the compliment. Compliments are much needed around here!
November 9th, 2008 at 6:27 pm
I just wanted to say that I love this book. I loved the characters, the plot and especially the love scenes! I was surprised at how much I actually got into the whole story and was yelling at the characters throughout. Absolutely loved it.
November 12th, 2008 at 2:23 am
Thanks Maggie. I know what you mean. I went through the roller coaster of emotions, at times loving and respecting and hating and being sick about the characters. It just goes to show what a great author Cate is, when you think about the fact that these are all paper people that don’t exist, it makes me laugh. But we can relate, or totally be disgusted by, or secretly love them, in all their flawed glory.
November 12th, 2008 at 4:24 pm
Hey, what can I say? I love flawed characters!