Ruby Allure's Books

Ruby Allure's Books
Ruby Allure's Books

Saturday, 12 December 2015

A letter to all those that love to 'Take All the Credit'.

Dear 'Take all the Credit',
I have been observing your existence for a while now. You really do fascinate me because you and your type appear in most of the corporations I have worked in. You may not be aware there is a whole 'office animal' section dedicated to you. The thing is it seems that this is the time of year where you ramp up your game. I worked out why it is too. It is the end of year appraisal time and you will do whatever you need to to enable you to attain the largest bonus.

Of course you have spent the year working up to the finale by practising on various projects and discovering the best workers to take all the credit from. They are a type too: they are those who work hard and do their best and don't speak up. This may well be the 'office shafted', the 'office actual worker' or the 'office extremely efficient'.
 

The thing is my dear take all the credit is that people know who you are and discuss you. Many avoid working with you for the reason that they have been shafted by you in the past. Others have found new techniques to make sure people know they did the work. I personally embed my name on the whole document. However, I have found ways to make you look like a wombat. My favourite of late has been providing you with a presentation with completely incorrect data to make you appear a complete fool. I notice you have not approached me for anything since, so it worked! I guess that was because your name was emblazoned with big letters on the front of the presentation that you made to the Managing Directors. Woops!
 Image result for pig in a suit
My dear Take All the Credit is you need to be aware that I have been leading a small rebellion against all the 'take all the credits' in this world. I have seen so many decent people be trampled by your credit taking behaviour. It started small in our corporation where a number of people gave The Office Zoo book as the Secret Santa present. They highlighted the 'Office Take All the Credit' within it. I noticed you laughing all the way through the different office types until you came to the highlighted pages and glanced around the room wondering who had discovered you. We have all known it for all while and felt that you should not get away with it. We also felt you needed to know that we knew what you were up to! The thing is from shyte the beautiful flowers grow and you behaviour has united a rebellion through other offices too. You see I mentioned what my colleagues did to some of my friends and they thought it was great and did the same. I guess it could be misconstrued as some kind of bullying but taking advantage of others is also bullying too. In truth all the decent hard workers simply spoke up in a different way.


Image result for dishonest bankerImage result for dishonest business man
So I do want to say thank you because your office type contributed to the The Office Zoo - A Field Guide to Office Animal Observations and it would have been missing a key animal had you not demonstrated your traits so clearly. What's more, observing you and how you treat people has contributed material to the Love Hunt books, which are selling nicely. It seems people who work in offices completely identify with the antics that go on! So thank you so much for showing me all your underhand tricks for taking all the credit. Without you I would have missed out a crucial part of corporate life. So thank you and.... We all know who you are!


The Office Zoo Audiobook
 
If you were an office animal, what would you be? Erm...what do you mean an office animal? Well you may not know this, but there are numerous varieties of office animal migrating to the workplace each day. Every type, with its own characteristics, is awaiting discovery in The Office Zoo. All of those who enter the office jungle on a daily basis have potential for office animal categorizing adventure. Whether we like it or not, each of us falls into one of the many office zoo categories. So which one are you? Which office animals surround you?
 
The paperback on Amazon.com: http://amzn.com/B00H7MRV5G
 

   

I’ll try to write this without spoilers or going too long winded, but the basic gist of this review is: If you are a fan of humour with a generous helping of wit and you’ve ever worked in an office, you will like listening to this!

Boy, it’s a jungle out there. If only there was a field guide with the helpful hints, tips, and ‘general don’t get yourself eaten accidentally’ advice that could help us navigate it all…well this might just be it! Office zoo reads like a Nat Geo guide or a safari special, but on the study of a species of 'animals' that you don't need to travel outside of your city to see in their natural habitat (yay!).

The book reads from point of view of an explorer, which added to the experience and immersion into the guide. The author’s tone was to me perfect for the subject matter. It took me a moment to get used to the narrator’s voice, but once I settled in I realized it was actually a good choice. The narrator reminded me so much of animal nature guide narrators, and that definitely put my brain right in the action, and I had no trouble visualizing the office beings that the author was so helpfully describing.

Despite it being in the humour category, there were quite a number of valuable lessons presented, albeit some slightly over emphasized - the better for us to recognize and work to correct them. If only all company welcome packages included certain snippets of this with the avalanche of company policies - if not only to show that humour is not dead in the office world, but so that people would have a much more enjoyable (and more memorable) reminder to be aware of how they engage with others in the office. We spend so much of our lives in offices (unless you are an actual safari guide, professional base jumper, or something equally office-free), a guide is definitely needed.

There are some characters that were rather harshly covered, but these are made in ‘lemme tell it to you straight’ tone, so it fit with the narrative of the book. Near the end of the book a few of the character’s seemed repeated, or at least very similar to those described in the beginning of the book (granted a I listened to the whole book in one shot, so it may be better to listen to the chapters in segments).There was a weird thing with the recording on my device where all of a sudden it sounded like the narrator teleported to an echo-y tunnel right in the middle of a chapter. I got over it, but it is jarring.

I went into this book expecting to be entertained. I was. But it also got me thinking about my everyday environment in a different way. A humorous take on office culture and a well spent afternoon! I will look up the author’s other work.

Love Hunt: Dating Game Audiobook
 

Come on admit it - as much as we deny it - we ladies like a good love hunt.

We have tick lists, ideals, and we hunt in high-heeled packs. Of course, we're all hunting for that elusive right man who ticks every box and even has tidy nostril hair. Okay maybe not you, but you know other ladies who love the hunt.

Well, it's time for Eva and Gracie to love hunt, and their "targets" are rich men - the golden sperm. Such exciting escapades would provide the pair with entertaining discussions during their dull office hours - or so they thought. What they did not anticipate was the discovery of the "booby man"; humorous but very hard truths about wealth, themselves, power; and the RichIdiot.com phenomenon.

The question remains: can love really be hunted?
 
 Love Hunt II: The Love Game: Richidiot.com, Book 2 | Ruby Allure
The Love Hunt has returned. Gracie is back on the dating horse after a huge fall in her first tick-list-tastic love hunt.
Her new dating adventures take her and Eva into the depths of "the love game".
In the meantime, Eva, the ultimate Russian gold digger, has come to the conclusion that her poor "village idiot boyfriend" will never be enough. He will certainly not pay off her accumulating debts. She needs a rich man, and that means rich idiot dating.
In The Love Game, Eva and Gracie travel the journey of extreme love learning. On the way, they will discover their love and lust lists, their intrinsic issues, and experience some hilarious and jaw-dropping dates in pursuit of the wealthy ideal.
All of this in the pursuit of love.
The Love Hunt II is on!


Wednesday, 9 December 2015

Chocolate and Other Baking Experiments


Chocolate and Other Baking Experiments
 
 

Well you would think you could leave what appears to be chocolate biscuits on your desk without them being abducted. Oh no... Not in my work place. So what happened? Two of the naughty boys I work with spotted a Tupperware box filled with biscuity creations on my desk. Of course they thought they would nab one while I was at the drinks machine.

Please note I had not mentioned I had made biscuits to share. I had not offered these biscuits and I certainly thought that no one would nab a biscuit. So when I returned from filling my water bottle I discovered my manager and one colleague guzzling water and coughing. They pair had bitten into my chilli-based creations and had the hottest shock of their lives. Now what do you do with that?
The pair had been caught red-mouthed swiping my chilli chocolate biscuits. What was the result? Well I was banned from baking by my team. Was that fair? On the bright side it meant that I had more opportunity to eat my own special chocolate creations without having to share.


So today was a momentous day... I made raw chocolate. The reason that I made it myself is because I wanted to eat coconut virgin oil and make the stuff taste nice. To me taste nice is different to most people because I don't eat sugar anymore. With that in mind, I knew I wanted chocolate but without sugar. I came up with using either date syrup or maple syrup or stevia.
 

So the chocolate is made like this:
Please note there are no measures because I am experimental.
Coconut virgin oil - quite a few lumps.
Macca powder (apparently is should be lacuma powder but I didn't have any)
Date syrup  or maple syrup to sweeten
Pure cocoa powder.

I am sure you are wondering how these creations came about: I melted the coconut oil in a pan and experimentally added everything else. I then spooned them into the chocolate shaping tray and messed up most of my kitchen! Amazing. I had quite a lot of mixture left so I added in oats to make them into choc-jacks rather than flap-jacks. I hope this experiment inspires you and since the creations are somewhat experimental (as with all of my cooking) that is the best direction that I can provide.

Here is how they look:




Well I have to say that I was very pleased with the outcome; however,  I may well have offended the people I offered them to. Admittedly I work on a different team now, although my notorious baking reputation follows me  thanks to my manager. Incidentally he will not try any of my food explorations anymore - he said he was chilli-scarred for life!

I just want to add that I am no cook. I make experimental creations because I decided not to eat sugar, cut out diary and have stopped the gluten. When you stand in a supermarket and look at the choices then you realise you may well become creative to find ways to know what is residing within in your food.

Friday, 4 December 2015

Coming into Being

Coming Into Being
 


Over the last couple of days I have had some time to reflect and have read numerous healing posts about all the things we need to do to 'fix' ourselves. I have also just read a book called The Untethered Soul, which is an absolutely awesome book. At the same time I have been witnessing numerous people working through their 'stuff'. Now what I find fascinating is what is this 'stuff?' that one has to work through? For some it is repeat patterns, for others it is suppressed emotions and for others it attempting to unite the fragments of a shattered self. For so many it is no easy task; however, why does it have to be so hard? Why do we feel that we are broken and need to be fixed? There must be an easy way...


What I find  most fascinating is people are attempting to fix themselves without a model of what works. How will you know when you are fixed? Do you really expect a luminous moment where the heavens open and you are given a gold star? What's more, there are so many iconic personalities that are suggested role models; however, many of them are broken or have been broken and it is their imperfections that have driven them. Also have you noticed how many ways you can be fixed? There are so many people lined up offering solutions in exchange for cash. Your flaws are a financial money making machine for others. At the same time these fixers are suggesting they have the secret to inner unison. Some of these are helpful but the expert on you is you. There are people who can apply models of theory to you to help you wade through what you are not aware of. Yet again you go to someone saying you are broken and you need help to be fixed. Often this 'fixing' opens a can of multi-headed fixing worms.

So you may wonder where this is going. Well I have been watching numerous people struggle with themselves, to fix, to eradicate, to let go of.  They seem to be desperate to change who they are. Yet their personality is who they are. The irony is they are perfect as they are. Yet they chase an invisible ideal that is unattainable and people keep making money from them with offerings of insights. What makes it worse is they will be fixed in the future - when something changes. You are never fixed now. This is what gets me about it... Why indulge in years of endless turmoil to determine what is wrong with you? It is wonderful to be reflective, it is excellent to address your fears and walk through your inner fire but when does it stop? There seems to be a new development within the healing realm where people actively indulge in an inner struggle to be spiritually superior to others. I have waded through more than you... I have dealt with more shit than you... Who cares? What you are is what you are. Live your precious life and appreciate it.

Now admittedly there are layers to the person and we do not get to experience all of who we are. Also there are parts of ourselves that we do not like such as the archetypes of the prostitute, the deviant, the victim or the thief and those parts of ourselves become suppressed and sit in dark mental vaults gaining power. They are like neglected children and attention seek in whatever way they can to draw your attention. To unite these parts they need to be accepted and recognised. This comes through self love and lack of judgement and sitting in a space with them. They do not need to be fixed they just need to be recognised, accepted and loved. It is the same with emotions. Allow yourself time to feel and process the emotions. Sit with the emotions, feel them accept them and allow them to be recognised. Once you essentially realise these are parts of the layers of self you can then move into the 'you space' and this is the calm observer who sits beyond your thoughts. The real you.  It is an expansive space of calm. When you move into this space you are able to observe the inner chatter and commentary. There is a deep silence beyond the thoughts, the mind and the chatter. That is the real you.  When you find this silence you have the capacity to come into being. To be rather than fixing. It is in this state that you realise that nothing really matters other than living your life. Mastery is loving the life you have and allowing it to unfold. Every experience is simply an experience whether it is positive or negative. What's more, you realise how trivial all our struggles are when you realise we will all die. When you accept that you are walking into life half way through the show and you will be leaving before it is complete then your decision making is quite different. How would you behave if you knew this was your last week on the planet? I don't think that you would be so terribly concerned by trivialities would you? You wouldn't be desperately trying to fix yourself. You would be focused on living every perfect moment!


Well I hope this gives you some perspective and helps you come into being.



Saturday, 28 November 2015

An Interview With Ray McCurdy, Audio Producer.

An Interview With Ray McCurdy, Audio Producer
 
 
At the beginning of 2015, I put The Office Zoo up for audition on ACX.com, the audio production platform. In all honesty The Office Zoo was an accidental book, one that I wrote for fun while observing office dynamics and politics. I used to take part in a weekly 'call of doom', which was an incredibly boring call. In that time I would observe a character and post it on a blog and share it with my fellow office workers. I have to admit what made the blog so popular was the brutal honesty of the observation. I wrote what others dared not to say. Well, I had to stop because the call stopped and my working life is intense. It was then fate stepped in because I ran into a colleague on a train. We were both about to go on holiday and she said to me 'I used to love your blog and reading about the bizarre characters - is there anyway you could turn it into a book? I want to get it as a Secret Santa and as leaving gifts for people who leave the office.' I had not considered that such a book would be popular but produced it anyway because I like to take opportunities when they present themselves.

Anyway fast forward to Ray's audition. I had asked for a 'voice' who could deliver a humorous dialogue and sounded like David Attenborough. Well Ray didn't just deliver, he had me crying laughing at the delivery of the Office Stinker. As soon as I heard his voice, I knew he was the 'one'. Anyway here is his interview and I hope he inspires you!

 Image result for audiobook production
 
How did you get into producing audio books?
In 2014, I was the musical director, and also played one of the main characters, in a production of the musical Smoke On The Mountain.  One of the starring roles was played by my friend Rich Grimshaw who has been producing audio books for several years.  Rich and I talked about his audio book experiences and he encouraged me to give it a try.   I've always been an avid reader and I also enjoy voices and dialects.  I enjoy performing, so its a way for me to combine all these interests into one activity.  

What do you look for when choosing to work on an audio book?
When choosing a book to record, I look for something that I enjoy reading first of all.   Then, when possible, I like to find something that allows me to use different character voices or dialects.  Sometimes, I'll find something that I think is good information, like a self-help book, that someone might listen to, but not get around to reading.  So I can read it for them!


What are some of your funniest / weirdest and most awkward experiences within audio production?
The funniest times are when you read something that makes you laugh, and the laughing causes you to mess up the take somehow.  Then you have to do it over, and over, and over.  Sometimes the more you try to fix it, the worse it gets until you just have to come back to it later. 


What was it about The Office Zoo that appealed?
As I read through the audition text for the Office Zoo, I began to recognize "types" that I had encountered myself in the various offices I've worked in.  I loved Ruby's
descriptions of her observations of these wacky "animal" characters and I found myself channeling Sir David Attenborough in the Life series of nature documentaries.   That's where the accent came from that I used when reading the book.


 

What are your favourite bits of The Office Zoo that the readers should listen out for?
My favorite is the "Office Take All The Credit".  There is great satisfaction when he / she gets what they deserve!  I also identify with the Freaky But Definately Geeky as (there is one sitting close to me right now!).     

Image result for take all the credit

Readers should listen out for the insufferable "Office Maternal / Broody / God She Wants To Get Pregnant" and the accompanying "Office - I Did It! I Got Pregnant - I Am Going To Be A Mom!".  Sadly, everyone knows this person and Ruby says what we've all wanted to say but didn't.  That's what I like most about this book.  It gives hilarious voice to all those things we WANTED to say, but were pretending to be polite enough not to say. 

The Office Zoo Audiobook
 
If you were an office animal, what would you be? Erm...what do you mean an office animal? Well you may not know this, but there are numerous varieties of office animal migrating to the workplace each day. Every type, with its own characteristics, is awaiting discovery in The Office Zoo. All of those who enter the office jungle on a daily basis have potential for office animal categorizing adventure. Whether we like it or not, each of us falls into one of the many office zoo categories. So which one are you? Which office animals surround you?
 
The paperback on Amazon.com: http://amzn.com/B00H7MRV5G
   
I’ll try to write this without spoilers or going too long winded, but the basic gist of this review is: If you are a fan of humour with a generous helping of wit and you’ve ever worked in an office, you will like listening to this!

Boy, it’s a jungle out there. If only there was a field guide with the helpful hints, tips, and ‘general don’t get yourself eaten accidentally’ advice that could help us navigate it all…well this might just be it! Office zoo reads like a Nat Geo guide or a safari special, but on the study of a species of 'animals' that you don't need to travel outside of your city to see in their natural habitat (yay!).

The book reads from point of view of an explorer, which added to the experience and immersion into the guide. The author’s tone was to me perfect for the subject matter. It took me a moment to get used to the narrator’s voice, but once I settled in I realized it was actually a good choice. The narrator reminded me so much of animal nature guide narrators, and that definitely put my brain right in the action, and I had no trouble visualizing the office beings that the author was so helpfully describing.

Despite it being in the humour category, there were quite a number of valuable lessons presented, albeit some slightly over emphasized - the better for us to recognize and work to correct them. If only all company welcome packages included certain snippets of this with the avalanche of company policies - if not only to show that humour is not dead in the office world, but so that people would have a much more enjoyable (and more memorable) reminder to be aware of how they engage with others in the office. We spend so much of our lives in offices (unless you are an actual safari guide, professional base jumper, or something equally office-free), a guide is definitely needed.

There are some characters that were rather harshly covered, but these are made in ‘lemme tell it to you straight’ tone, so it fit with the narrative of the book. Near the end of the book a few of the character’s seemed repeated, or at least very similar to those described in the beginning of the book (granted a I listened to the whole book in one shot, so it may be better to listen to the chapters in segments).There was a weird thing with the recording on my device where all of a sudden it sounded like the narrator teleported to an echo-y tunnel right in the middle of a chapter. I got over it, but it is jarring.

I went into this book expecting to be entertained. I was. But it also got me thinking about my everyday environment in a different way. A humorous take on office culture and a well spent afternoon! I will look up the author’s other work.
 

Sunday, 22 November 2015

An Interview with Helen Lloyd, Audio Producer

An Interview with Helen Llloyd, Audio Producer
 
Image result for Helen Lloyd audio
 

 

Just to give you a little context: Helen first provided an amazing audition for the production of Money Farm, a book about the future of finance. It has been described as the Brave New World of Finance. What astounded me about her was how she switched between numerous accents and had such power in her tone when she delivered. What's more, she completely engages readers,which has been mentioned in the numerous audio book reviews.
 
 
Once Money Farm was complete Helen noticed I had written some comedy chic-lit books called Love Hunt. The premise is simple: two women are hunting rich men to remove them from their mundane office lifestyles. One woman is a tick-list fanatic and the other is a self-confessed Russian gold-digger. The pair are living secret dating lives and engaging with wealthy men in hope to live a better life. They email each other at work about their escapades and the happenings in the office. Of course there is an issue - nothing is good enough for Gracie and Eva, the Russian bombshell, intends to get her debt paid off and increase her collection of shoes.
 
 
When Helen provided me with her audition I was actually blown away. The Russian accent was astounding and in terms of portrayal of the Russian character, well she had me in absolute states of hysterical laughter. Honestly she was brilliant.  When Love Hunt 1 was finished Helen went straight into Love Hunt 2 and delivered a performance so excellent that I am proud to have written the book. Anyway here is her interview and I have to say she is so humble considering her phenomenal talent.
As I said I before, I feel it is a real joy to be able to work with such talented people.
Please enjoy!
Love Hunt II: The Love Game: Richidiot.com, Book 2 | Ruby Allure
 
Q: How did you get into producing audiobooks?


I recorded my first audiobooks way back in 1980s … recording in a professional recording studio onto tape and the books were distributed on cassette tape – so my involvement with audiobooks goes back a long way – though there was a long gap in the middle when I was working as a television producer, when I just didn’t have the time to continue with something that is so time intensive, so audiobooks took a back seat until I took redundancy from ITV and set up my personal studio.    

I have always read for pleasure – and I guess heard characters in my head right from the very beginning of reading stories. I read to my son … and now read to my grand-daughter. I also think   that moving into audiobooks was in many ways a natural progression from my initial training as an actor and the first two decades of my working life as an actor.  Audio training and voice work was part of my drama school course (I trained at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama) and always felt quite comfortable in front of a microphone. I have done some radio drama as well and have played a wide variety of roles on stage in theatres up and down the UK and in the West End and also doing bits and bobs on television, so I am well used to interpreting other people’s words and creating credible characters.  
 
In the early 1980s, I moved into television as a presenter and began to do VO work, then moved sideways to behind the camera and eventually became a programme producer making documentaries for ITV and digital TV channels, while at the same time doing quite a lot of corporate and commercial voice over work as well as narrating over fifty broadcast television programmes.  I learned about production technically and artistically … and also how to edit (pictures as well as audio) and how to meet deadlines – all transferable skills, invaluable in audiobook production.
 
I took redundancy from ITV and returned to my roots – I went back into theatre briefly as a producer and director, also as a youth theatre leader and company manager and even worked as an actor once more. Eventually, I set up my home and got back into full time narration and VO work – often working remotely with Audiobok producers and production houses from my own studio, and I realised that this was something I really wanted to get more involved in. ACX was not at that time available in the UK, however it was increasingly seen as an additional opportunity for narrators in the US. I joined forces with an independent US based producer who, acting as a third party ‘producer’ gave me direct access to ACX in the US and I produced my first three independent reads through Push Play Audio in 2013.  When ACX opened up in the UK in 2014, I signed up and started looking for books to narrate and produce myself while continuing to narrate for audiobook publishers remotely through various producing houses in the UK and US. 

Q What so you look for when choosing to work on an audio book?  
It always has to be about the writing and the story for me, and I enjoy working in almost all genres of books. I don’t feel comfortable reading erotica – or overtly political or religious books. My favourite kind of read are those with a great storyline and a clear narrative voice combined with vibrant and original characters that move the story forward in an interesting way. I like multi-layered books where there is more going on beneath the surface – where there is scope for real character and emotional development.  If a book is badly written and poorly constructed, has clichéd characters and stilted dialogue, then that is a real turn off. It is just not worth the effort and time involved.  
 
It takes a lot of hours to produce an audiobook – and if a book does not engage me, how can I hope to engage the listener?  I am unwilling to spend hours and hours producing something that will always be substandard because however well it is read, if the writing is poor, it will never really work - you just can’t make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear I’m afraid. So quality of writing is what I am looking for … always. 
I narrate all genres of book - heavyweight histories and non-fiction reads, short stories, lots of romances, fantasy, comedy, classics, horror and just about everything in between.  I prefer to work on books that offer a fee payable per finished hour (PFH rate) or at least offer a stipend if they are royalty share (RS). As a full time narrator - I don’t have another day job – narrating books and doing other VO work is how I earn my living – and as well as the time it takes and the investment in equipment that  have made, there are other costs involved. Though I am very happy to edit my own work, I prefer to hire a professional audio proofer. This makes such a difference to the quality of the finished read and it is notoriously difficult to proof one’s own reads.  I need to know that those costs will be covered. On a royalty share deal, there is always the chance that I will end up being out of pocket. 
Having said that, there are rare occasions when a book just jumps out at me and I just feel I have to do it … even if it is a Royalty Share. However, I can only afford to do that a couple of times a year – and at periods when there is no paid work in the pipeline. 


Q What are some of your funniest/ weirdest and most awkward

experiences within audio production?

I have discovered that I have a particularly noisy digestive system - I rumble
when I am hungry and also for an hour or so after eating, especially if I eat bread or wheat based cereal – so grabbing a sandwich is not an option when I am working. Fortunately porridge doesn’t seem to cause such a repertoire of rumbles!  
 
That aside, I cry at the drop of a hat. Anything remotely sad and I sob. I have
wept buckets at a baby alien saying goodbye to its master (! Yes really).  Things always go wrong in books, a hero is killed or injured, people get sick, a relationship comes to an end (or ends happily … I still sob); animals or people are shot, hurt, maimed, hunted, haunted, frightened lost.  You name it, anything remotely sad, and I cry. As you can imagine, this causes major problems - sniffing is not allowed – and when you really cry it makes your throat hurt and your voice sounds snotty for a considerable time.  I have also been known to get the giggles. Sex scenes can also be particularly problematical –highly educational they may be but mostly I just find them funny, especially at ten in the morning.  There I am … old enough to know better, shut away in isolation in my little box, essentially talking to myself – and when things get steamy I am often struck by the silliness of the situation and get the giggles.  Then there are the days when your brain and your mouth just won’t talk to each other. Even the simplest phrase becomes gobbledeygook and nothing sounds right … the only thing to do at this point is to give up for an hour or so … walk the dog, hoover the stairs, do something totally different, switch off and try again later. 

Q: What was it about Money Farm and the Love Hunt books that appealed?

I think the thing that drew me to Money Farm was the fact that the book was so inventive and so multi-layered.  It also echoed the real life situation where the Global banking crisis had made most of us ordinary mortals feel disgust and mistrust at the financial system – and the heroine of MF was so cynical, so tough and so anarchic that she instantly appealed. Also Money Farm was so original, unlike any other book I had come across … it was full of inventive characters and there was the full gamut of worldwide accents specified in the book. It posed a real challenge to come up with believable and original voices for so many people. I really enjoyed that and some of the reviews have commented on the range of voices in the read– very gratifying. 


Although The Love Hunt books have a similar financial theme (the heroines are definitely looking for guys with money) these books come at things from a completely different angle – and one which again I found original and challenging. The Love Hunt books are purely character voices … there is no narrative voice at all – there is also a lot of humour in the books as well as a lot of common sense. I found the two main women really interesting to play and particularly warmed to Eva the crazy Russian blonde bombshell. She just had the best lines! 
 
Q What are your favourite bits of Money Farm and the Love Hunts that the readers should listen out for? 
I don’t really have any favourite bits that jump out at me. I think taking any section out of context is almost impossible to do. That is why it is so difficult to find the right sample section to go on the ‘Audible’ listing … choosing any individual section is really difficult.  Hopefully people will be grabbed in the early pages and will just want to go on listening! 

 
To hear Helen's Brilliance!!!:
Money Farm | Ruby Allure
How do you feel about the value of your life being based on the amount of money sitting in your bank? If we are all inter-connected by money, then why do so few people pay attention to how money works? Fear and denial are perfect for generating debt and that is what the world is run on. Now imagine, if in the future, one financial institution became so powerful that it could choose to eradicate the present monetary system. Then what happens?
 
Love Hunt: Dating Game Audiobook
 

Come on admit it - as much as we deny it - we ladies like a good love hunt.
We have tick lists, ideals, and we hunt in high-heeled packs. Of course, we're all hunting for that elusive right man who ticks every box and even has tidy nostril hair. Okay maybe not you, but you know other ladies who love the hunt.
Well, it's time for Eva and Gracie to love hunt, and their "targets" are rich men - the golden sperm. Such exciting escapades would provide the pair with entertaining discussions during their dull office hours - or so they thought. What they did not anticipate was the discovery of the "booby man"; humorous but very hard truths about wealth, themselves, power; and the RichIdiot.com phenomenon.
The question remains: can love really be hunted?
 
 Love Hunt II: The Love Game: Richidiot.com, Book 2 | Ruby Allure
The Love Hunt has returned. Gracie is back on the dating horse after a huge fall in her first tick-list-tastic love hunt.
Her new dating adventures take her and Eva into the depths of "the love game".
In the meantime, Eva, the ultimate Russian gold digger, has come to the conclusion that her poor "village idiot boyfriend" will never be enough. He will certainly not pay off her accumulating debts. She needs a rich man, and that means rich idiot dating.
In The Love Game, Eva and Gracie travel the journey of extreme love learning. On the way, they will discover their love and lust lists, their intrinsic issues, and experience some hilarious and jaw-dropping dates in pursuit of the wealthy ideal.
All of this in the pursuit of love.
The Love Hunt II is on!