Donald Davenport has narrated 6 audiobooks on Listento.it by 5 authors. The most-rated is Jam Sessions.
Blue Umbrella Sky
Summary
Finalist for the Lambda Literary Award in Gay Romance. Milt Grabaur has left his life, home, and teaching career in Ohio to start anew. The Summer Winds trailer park in Palm Springs, butted up against the San Jacinto mountain range, seems the perfect place to forget the pain of nursing his beloved husband through Alzheimer's and seeing him off on his final passage. Billy Blue is a sexy California surfer type who once dreamed of being a singer but now works at Trader Joe's and lives in his own trailer at Summer Winds. He's focused on recovery from the alcoholism that put his dreams on hold. When his new neighbor moves in, Billy falls for the gray-eyed man. His sadness and loneliness awaken something Billy's never felt before - real love. When a summer storm and flash flood jeopardize Milt's home, Billy comes to the rescue, hoping the two men might get better acquainted...and maybe begin a new romance. But Milt's devotion to his late husband is strong, and he worries that acting on his attraction will be a betrayal.
©2020 Rick R. Reed (P)2021 Rick R. Reed
The Hangman's Soliloquy
Summary
He thought that the worst was behind him. He was dead wrong. The action-packed second entry in the Herman Ingram Series. It’s been six months since the destruction of QNI’s headquarters. The aftermath has thrown Herman Ingram into a mental tailspin. Lauded as a hero for his part in exposing the company’s corruption, Herman finds himself struggling to maintain his sanity. Inching closer to his breaking point, Herman is recruited by Greg Schultz, a former QNI executive whose family was murdered. Now determined to eliminate the remaining corporate facilities, Schultz invites Herman to document his quest for vengeance. While Schultz is intelligent and driven, something darker is taking hold of him. When people begin dying, Herman begins to wonder if the company is trying to protect their remaining assets or if the charismatic Schultz is orchestrating the chaos. Can he get to the truth before more people are killed or will he follow Schultz’ descent into madness? Find out in the high-octane sequel to Jeb Bohn’s suspense-thriller Bermuda. If you’re a fan of James Patterson, Karin Slaughter, C.J. Box, Mary Burton, and Willow Rose, you won’t want to miss this engrossing listen!
©2020 Joseph Bohn (P)2020 Joseph Bohn
The Heart of the Lion
Summary
Lose yourself in the Golden Age of Hollywood - and discover the story of the man who helped create it. Hollywood in the 1920s: The motion picture industry is booming, and Irving Thalberg knows it takes more than guts and gumption to create screen magic that will live forever. He’s climbed all the way to head of production at newly merged Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and is determined to transform Leo the Lion into an icon of the most successful studio in town. The harder he works, the higher he soars. But at what cost? The more he achieves, the closer he risks flying into oblivion. A frail and faulty heart shudders inside this chest that blazes with ambition. Thalberg knows that his charmed life at the top of the Hollywood heap is a dangerous tightrope walk: each day - each breath, even - could be his last. Shooting for success means risking his health, friendships, everything. Yet, against all odds, the man no one thought would survive into adulthood almost single-handedly ushers in a new era of filmmaking. This is Hollywood at its most daring and opulent - the Sunset Strip, premieres at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre, stars like Clark Gable, Greta Garbo, Jean Harlow, Joan Crawford - and Irving is at the center of it all. From the author of Hollywood’s Garden of Allah series comes a mesmerizing story of the man behind Golden Age mythmaking: Irving Thalberg, the prince of Tinseltown. Martin Turnbull's Hollywood’s Garden of Allah novels have been optioned for the screen by film and television producer Tabrez Noorani.
©2020 Martin Turnbull (P)2020 Martin Turnbull
The Man from Milwaukee
Summary
It’s the summer of 1991 and serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer has been arrested. His monstrous crimes inspire dread around the globe. But not so much for Emory Hughes, a closeted young man in Chicago who sees in the cannibal killer a kindred spirit, someone who fights against the dark side of his own nature, as Emory does. He reaches out to Dahmer in prison via letters. The letters become an escape — from Emory’s mother dying from AIDS, from his uncaring sister, from his dead-end job in downtown Chicago, but most of all, from his own self-hatred. Dahmer isn’t Emory’s only lifeline as he begins a tentative relationship with Tyler Kay. He falls for him and, just like Dahmer, wonders how he can get Tyler to stay. Emory’s desire for love leads him to confront his own grip on reality. For Tyler, the threat of the mild-mannered Emory seems inconsequential, but not taking the threat seriously is at his own peril. Can Emory discover the roots of his own madness before it’s too late and he finds himself following in the footsteps of the man from Milwaukee?
©2020 Rick R. Reed (P)2020 Rick R. Reed
The Water and the Wine
Summary
The Water and the Wine is set on the Greek island of Hydra in a '60s artistic community. The author lived there as a child. The main focus is on Leonard Cohen and his lover/muse, Marianne Ihlen. Other real characters are Australian writers Charmian Clift and George Johnston, whose marriage is volatile. Norman Peterson is an American sculptor who makes works out of objects he finds. Each night, at Douskos Taverna, the artists and writers meet and discuss their ideas about life, art, philosophy, and religion. They are tolerated and accepted by the local Greek islanders, many of whom also feature in this book. The novel mixes fact and fiction: The Silver family (loosely based on the author's own family) arrive on the island and are drawn into a world of creativity and excitement but also infidelity, jealousy, and dysfunctional relationships. The book explores the effect on the children of this lifestyle, the tensions between the men and the women, the conflict between wanting to create and being hindered by domestic responsibilities, and how financial pressures can hinder one's freedom. The beauty of the island, the flowers and goats, the mules that transport people and goods, the Greek food and landscape, all provide an antidote to the human instability. Ultimately, the novel asks the question: What is the price of creativity?
©2018, 2019 Hookline Books (P)2020 Tamar Hodes
Jam Sessions
Summary
Meet Phillip. His mom relocates him to a new school in the middle of the school year. Things do not go well. Phillip lands himself a trip to the dean of student's office when he tries to forge his mother's signature. Maybe if he spelled her name correctly it would have gone better. Phillip also finds himself having more and more anxiety. And the song some bullies are singing is certainly not helping: Phillip Willip, Puddin, and Pie. Got a bad grade and made him cry. There is one class Phillip has that is going well. It is with Mr. Filter, who starts each day with a writing prompt. These "jam sessions" allow students to be creative and enjoy writing. Phillip writes about being a basketball on a soccer field. Another day he writes about receiving two dragon eggs in the mail, one for himself and one for a particularly cute girl. But will Phillip ever be able to make his real life go as well as his Jam Sessions?
©2020 Gerald O Harwood (P)2020 Gerald O Harwood