Today I am so pleased to welcome Kirt Graves to Joyfully Jay. Kirt has come to talk to us about the upcoming audio release of Ravensong by TJ Klune. He has also brought along an exclusive audio excerpt to share. Please join me in giving Kirt a big welcome!

 

My first exposure to TJ Klune was when I read Wolfsong in preparation for recording my very first audiobook. I had two prevailing thoughts as I read.

One: “This book is very long. What have I gotten myself into?”

And two: “For an author who writes about werewolves, this TJ chick really knows how to create well-rounded humans.” (Have I mentioned before that I was convinced “TJ” was a woman’s pseudonym for the longest time?)

Of course, I learned quickly that TJ writes stories across many genres and that his ability to write characters of many backgrounds is one of the reasons he’s so popular. So when the time came to prep for Ravensong, I wasn’t surprised to find that TJ was giving more backstory to Gordo’s relationship with Rico, Tanner, and Chris. I was surprised by how much I missed them.

In Ravensong, we get to pick up where the events of Wolfsong left off, but we also get to flash back to Gordo’s childhood. And because TJ is a genius, he gives us lots of scenes between Gordo, Rico, Tanner, and Chris as children. They are heartwarming and hilarious in equal measure. I remember visiting my husband’s family home for the first time and seeing pictures of him as a kid all over the house. Of course, I knew he had been a child. I didn’t order a fully-formed adult from Match.com. But looking at pictures of him as a child — surrounded by family, being goofy, sleeping in the back seat of the family car, posing next to farm animals — made me appreciate the entire life he had before me. How all those moments turned him into the man I love today. The scenes with young Team Human gave me the same feeling. Rico, Tanner, and Chris didn’t arrive at the garage as a fully-formed witch entourage. They grew up with Gordo. They know his strengths. They know his faults. They know his heart. And their loyalty and love meant so much more to me after Ravensong.

Because of those feelings of affection for the boys from the garage, I chose a scene in which Gordo discusses how he feels about Rico, Tanner, and Chris when they are kids. I hope you enjoy this exclusive audio excerpt from Ravensong.

Ravensong by TJ Klune, book two in the Green Creek series will be released on December 6. The audiobook of Wolfsong is available wherever you buy audiobooks, and the short story Lovesong is available in audio for free wherever you get your podcasts.


Excerpt


Blurb

Gordo Livingstone never forgot the lessons carved into his skin. Hardened by the betrayal of a pack who left him behind, he sought solace in the garage in his tiny mountain town, vowing never again to involve himself in the affairs of wolves.

It should have been enough.

And it was, until the wolves came back, and with them, Mark Bennett. In the end, they faced the beast together as a pack… and won.

Now, a year later, Gordo has found himself once again the witch of the Bennett pack. Green Creek has settled after the death of Richard Collins, and Gordo constantly struggles to ignore Mark and the song that howls between them.

But time is running out. Something is coming. And this time, it’s crawling from within.

Some bonds, no matter how strong, were made to be broken.


Bio

Kirt Graves is an audiobook narrator most known for his work in the MM Romance genre. His performance of TJ Klune’s Wolfsong was featured as one of Audible’s Five-Star Faves in November 2016. A tenor by training, Graves can easily move between characters of any age, genre, gender or ethnic background.

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