BLAST, BLITZ, PROMOS, REVEALS, & TOURS . . . : SPOTLIGHT Audio - MYSTERY SUSPENSE - EASY INNOCENCE (Georgia Davis P.I., #1) by Libby Fischer Hellmann Narrator: Beth Richmond

EASY INNOCENCE

The Georgia Davis P.I. Series, #1

by Libby Fischer HellmannNarrator: Beth Richmond

Length: 11 hours 54 minutes
Released: May 25th 2016
Publisher: The Red Herrings Press
Genre: Suspense; Mystery

When pretty, smart Sara Long is found bludgeoned to death, it's easy to blame the man with the bat. But Georgia Davis - former cop and newly-minted PI - is hired to look into the incident at the behest of the accused's sister, and what she finds hints at a much different, much darker answer. It seems the privileged, preppy schoolgirls on Chicago's North Shore have learned just how much their innocence is worth to hot-under-the-collar businessmen. But while these girls can pay for Prada price tags, they don't realize that their new business venture may end up costing them more than they can afford.

Libby Fischer Hellmann left a career in broadcast news in Washington, DC and moved to Chicago over 35 years ago, where she, naturally, began to write gritty crime fiction. Fifteen novels and twenty-five short stories later, she claims they’ll take her out of the Windy City feet first. She has been nominated for many awards in the mystery and crime writing community and has even won a few. She has been a finalist twice for the Anthony and four times for Foreword Magazine’s Book of the Year. She has also been nominated for the Agatha, the Shamus, the Daphne, and has won the IPPY and the Readers Choice Award multiple times. Her novels include the now five-volume Ellie Foreman series, which she describes as a cross between “Desperate Housewives” and “24;” the hard-boiled 5-volume Georgia Davis PI series, and four stand-alone historical thrillers set during Revolutionary Iran, Cuba, the Sixties, and WW2. Her short stories have been published in a dozen anthologies, the Saturday Evening Post, and Ed Gorman’s “25 Criminally Good Short Stories” collection. Her books have been translated into Spanish, German, Italian, and Chinese. All her books are available in print, ebook, and audiobook. Libby also hosts Second Sunday Crime, a monthly podcast where she interviews bestselling and emerging crime authors. In 2006 she was the National President of Sisters in Crime, a 3500 member organization committed to the advancement of female crime fiction authors.

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**Q&A with Libby Fischer Hellmann, Author of the Georgia Davis P.I. Series**

Tell us about the process of turning your book into an audiobook.
- I have a background in film and TV, so I am the “executive” producer and director of my audiobooks. Here is my process:

- - Choose a narrator. At this point in my audiobook career, I have several narrators whose voices I love and, more importantly, love to work with. They are professionals in the business and deliver an almost finished product. I use them consistently in my two series. I have another narrator whom I use for my historical thrillers. Most are women, but I have found two wonderful and versatile male narrators. (ie different accents and inflections). They include Eva Kaminsky, Nan McNamara, Beth Richmond, Diane Pirone Gelman, Derek Shetterly, and Karyn O’Bryant.

- - However, if I was looking for a narrator, I’d use ACX. (That’s how I found all the above.) Most of all, a narrator has to be an actor. They need to throw themselves into several different roles or personas during the course of a novel, so I listen to several of their samples, to make sure they are versatile. They also need to have a solid resume, so I know they have a track record performing different genres and types of books. Finally, their fee per finished hour needs to be within or close to my budget. (It’s not cheap). Finally, they have to be familiar with sound quality (most have their own studios) so they can deliver a quality product that meets the specs of audio distributors.

- - If I’m using ACX, narrators will record a 1-2 page audition for me, which helps a lot. If not, I ask them for one. I usually choose a passage that has dialogue, so I have a sense of how they’ll differentiate the characters.

- - If I like the sample, we start talking. They need to be willing to check with me about words or expressions (I use Yiddish from time to time) they may not know how to pronounce. We also talk about tone, mood, and how I see the main characters. Most narrators appreciate this type of discussion, and I would never hire someone who does not.

- - If they seem amenable to everything, I make them an offer. Usually, I already know their price per finished hour, so I know what my cost will be. Occasionally, we might negotiate, based on the volume of work I’m giving them or the length of the audiobook.

- - Once they record chapters, they send them to me either by dropbox, Audacity (free audio software which I use a lot) or sometimes ACX. It’s up to them whether they want to record the entire story or send chapters in batches – I prefer the latter. If there are problems, or there are mis-pronounciations, we can fix them more easily if they send me, say 5 chapters at a time. Sometimes their inflection is off, and they’ll need to re-record a paragraph or so. But I ALWAYS listen to EVERY CHAPTER carefully before I approve it.

- - Once I’ve listened to everything and approved it, they send it to their sound engineer for “polishing” (Equalizing audio volume, clarity, and more). If they don’t work with an engineer, I can find one, but I’d prefer to have them use their own. That’s it. Then upload the audio to Findaway Voices or Audible, and wait for their approval. Because I work with professionals, there is rarely a problem. But when there is, I let the narrator know, and he/she fixes it.

Do you believe certain types of writing translate better into audiobook format?
- I do. I think writing in which there is dialogue and different characters is far more compelling than a memoir or biography. (Although I did listen to Madeline Albright’s recorded voice for days and never had a problem). But drama usually captures my attention in a more visceral way than straight narrative. If I am listening to non-fiction, the narrator has to be VERY good. By that, I mean a voice that carries inherent emotion and expression without overdoing it.

Was a possible audiobook recording something you were conscious of while writing?
- Because of my background in film, I’m conscious of writing a screenplay rather than an audiobook. In fact, I tend to visualize scenes and chapters right down to an establishing shot, a pan, a dolly, and intercutting between close-ups during dialogue. So yes, I am conscious of writing something that might be “performed” or “Seen” in another medium.
Were there any real life inspirations behind your writing?
- Some books come from a vision. Others real life. EASY INNOCENCE (the 1st Georgia Davis thriller) came to me out of fear. My daughter was starting high school, I was recently separated, and I doubted my ability to be the single mother of a teenage girl. A hazing incident at a nearby high school had just occurred -- it made the national media – half a mile from our house. No one died, but several teenagers ended up in the ER. I started to wonder what would have happened if a girl had been killed instead. That was the premise of the book. Actually, most of my stories have a connection to reality, some more than others. I wrote DOUBLEBACK during a period where the Mexican cartels were getting a lot publicity about taking over the drug trade. TOXICITY was written when there was a lot of fear over toxic waste dumps. And HIGH CRIMES (whose title speaks for itself) was written a year after the 2016 election.
How do you manage to avoid burn-out? What do you do to maintain your enthusiasm for writing?
- Great question. When I was first starting out, I didn’t think I’d ever lose my enthusiasm or drive; when I was stuck on a novel, I’d write a short story instead, sort of as a palate cleanser, and then go back to my novel. Now, though, if I’m unenthusiastic about writing something, I don’t. The run-up to writing HIGH CRIMES is a perfect example. Before I realized that was the book I should be writing, I brainstormed two complete thrillers with my closest writing friends. One was set during the McCarthy era; the other was contemporary and had to do with concierge drug purveyors. By the time we’d finished brainstorming them, I just couldn’t write either. Why not? Because there has to be a spark in my gut that fires when I know I’ve found the right story. It’s not logical, and I can’t explain where it comes from, but it HAS to be there. As soon as I started messing around with what ultimately became HIGH CRIMES, that spark fired, and I KNEW this was the book I had to write.I do recommend reading and listening to audiobooks during fallow periods, both fiction and non-fiction. Sometimes an aside by one of the characters or a narrative passage says something that fires that spark, and you start asking yourself, “what if?”
If this title were being made into a TV series or movie, who would you cast to play the primary roles?
- It’s funny, because as time passes without a movie option, I need to keep changing actors so they aren’t too long in the tooth to play the roles. One of the first actors I thought of to play Georgia Davis was Naomi Watts. Or Charlize Theron. Now I’m thinking more along the lines of Jennifer Lawrence. Possibly Kirsten Dunst. I like Ellen Hollman, too. But my favorite would be Mila Kunis, if she would consent to be a blonde. Georgia’s half sister, Savannah, could be Dakota Fanning. Jimmy Saclarides is Zac Efron. But he could be a young George Clooney. The other characters depend on which book we’re filming.
Your crime books and audiobooks cover many different subgenres within the crime/mystery genre: amateur sleuth, PI, historical thrillers, police procedurals, and even a cozy. Why?
- I like to say I am “writing my away around the genre.” I love crime fiction in ALL its variations, because an unsolved mystery or questions about evil-doing is one of the most elemental plot drivers in literature. The answers to those questions opens the door explorations of good and evil; heroes and cowards, social and cultural institutions—in other words, human nature itself. So I enjoy trying different ways to get at those explorations. Of course, I have to do my homework and make sure the story is as accurate and faithful to the genre as I can, but that part is fun for me. The truth is that each story presents its own challenge, and I enjoy challenging myself.
How would you describe your protagonist, Georgia Davis?
- Georgia Davis is a PI and a loner. She’s cautious, distrustful, and keeps people at a distance. She has baggage. While Ellie Foreman (the protagonist of my other series) will go out to lunch with you and give you TMI about her life, Georgia won’t go out to lunch at all. As a former cop, she doesn’t want you to know too much about her. She was in love once with a former cop, but he dumped her for another woman, so she is gun-shy where relationships are concerned. It took 4 books before she met the police chief of Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, Jimmy Saclarides, whom she dearly loves. She is very protective of her half-sister, Vanna, and Vanna’s son Charlie, but they both can drive her nuts. She’s not used to have a family and support system.
What’s next for you?
- I just started a historical fiction novel set in Vietnam during the Vietnam war. It’s written from the perspective of two Vietnamese sisters. The story begins in 1968 but jumps ahead twenty years. I’m very excited about it – it’s the first non-mystery I’ve ever written.

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Narrator Beth Richmond has recorded more than 100 audiobooks in the last decade from her studio on the Mendocino coast. Among her favorites are those from Georgia Davis series. “It is a privilege and pleasure to return repeatedly to such a vividly drawn character and world. Ms. Hellman’s books live inside me now, as if they were memories from my own life. What fun!” [gallery columns="2" size="medium" ids="25890,25889"]

Books 4 & 5 in the Georgia Davis P.I. Series are available for review from the ADOPT-AN-AUDIOBOOK PROGRAM.

After Sara Long is murdered in the forest preserve during a hazing, PI Georgia Davis interviews a high school boy rumored to have hooked up with Sara, which could have angered the boy’s steady girlfriend enough to be considered a suspect.