Giving Indie Authors a Voice, One Excerpt at a Time

I recently put an invitation out on Instagram: send me a favourite line or short excerpt from your book, and I’d record it in my Scottish accent, free for you to use in your own promotions.

It was a simple idea. I’d get to discover some new writing, and the authors would have a little piece of audio to share in a reel, a TikTok or another post about their book. I’d share some of the recordings on my own socials too.

You can read the original invitation on Instagram.

I’ve had a lot of fun with the responses. There’s something quite personal about being handed a few lines someone has written and being trusted to read them aloud. Even a short passage gives you decisions to make: where to pause, how much to hold back, whether a line needs warmth, irritation or a bit of mischief.

And sometimes, of course, an author just wants to know what their character would sound like with a Scottish accent. I’m very happy to help with that.

Have a listen

I’ve put together a selection of the recordings in this Instagram collaboration reel, with the authors’ supplied book covers alongside their excerpts.

You can also listen to the individual excerpts below. These are short promotional readings, giving you a little of each author’s writing before you decide what to read next.

The books behind the recordings

Bed... & Breakfast — K. Iwancio

After discovering her fiancé has been cheating just days before their wedding, Chloe Grant takes her best friend on the Scottish honeymoon she’s already paid for. At a family-run bed and breakfast, she meets Alec Mackenzie, the owners’ charming son. His playboy reputation gives her every reason to be cautious, but getting to know him means deciding whether she’s ready to trust someone again. This is the first book in K. Iwancio’s Thistle Field Estate Bed & Breakfast series.

Explore K. Iwancio’s books.

A Rose in Time — Laura M. Baird

Rose has spent her later years finding escape in books, until a forgotten heirloom and magic of her own offer a rather more literal way out. Transported to seventeenth-century Scotland as a young woman, she discovers she can communicate with dragons and keeps encountering an intriguing Highlander. Laura M. Baird’s time-travel romance asks whether Rose will return to the safety of her familiar life or risk changing her future for love.

Visit Laura M. Baird’s website.

Ravensbane — Rochelle Hart

The first book in Rochelle Hart’s Lightning & Alchemy series brings together an assassin whose memories have been erased, a kitchen maid hiding a deadly secret, and a crown prince leading a dangerous double life. Their stories unfold in a court where keeping quiet can be a matter of survival. Elemental magic, concealed identities and rebellion sit alongside a romance shaped by forced proximity and morally grey characters.

Visit Rochelle Hart’s website.

All or Nothing — A. Kwarta

The final book in A. Kwarta’s Allegiance Trilogy finds its fighters trying to rebuild after the eastern battles, only for Scouts and tradesmen to threaten that fragile peace. With the Scouts gaining ground and the pressure growing at home, Knox and his crew must turn to friends and unfamiliar allies. It’s a conclusion built around conflict, damaged trust and the struggle to make a future worth fighting for.

Find A. Kwarta and the Allegiance Trilogy on Goodreads.

Throttle Up — Haley Cook

Haley Cook’s Throttle Up is part of her High Altitude series. The romance pairs a stunt pilot with a single mother, with an enemies-to-lovers relationship and a reformed playboy among its central ingredients. For readers drawn to aviation romance, it brings that world together with the friction of two people who don’t begin on the best of terms.

Explore Haley Cook’s books on Goodreads.

PPE Daddy — Anita Hardone

Penelope is an overworked receptionist who has spent a year talking to the safety mannequin at her manufacturing job. She doesn’t expect him to answer. Sebastian is a prince who has been trapped in that plastic body for more than three hundred years, and when Penelope saves him from being thrown away, his curse begins to change. Anita Hardone’s novella combines a very unusual workplace romance with the possibility of being seen and loved as you are.

Find PPE Daddy on Goodreads, or follow Anita Hardone on Instagram.

A mention for Brooke Luther

Brooke Luther’s debut, Killer Kidz, is a zombie novel set in Royal, Colorado, where an outbreak turns children into a threat to the people who love them. Parents face a terrible choice between protecting themselves and holding on to the hope of a cure.

Brooke’s submitted excerpt came from the sequel; the cover shown here belongs to the first book.

Find Brooke Luther’s books on Goodreads.

Short free promos and commercial narration

These recordings were made free as part of the Instagram invitation, for the authors to use in their own promotions. When I sent the clips back, I asked them to tag me wherever they shared them and invited them to add me as a collaborator on Instagram.

A full audiobook or a separate commissioned promotional recording is a different piece of work. For a commercial project, we’d agree the length, performance, editing, intended use, fee and schedule together. My rates page explains what shapes a narration quote, or you can get in touch about your book to discuss the details. These short readings don’t mean I’m the official audiobook narrator for the featured books.

I enjoy both kinds of work. A full book gives me time to settle into its world and characters. A short excerpt asks me to find something in just a few lines that makes you want to listen.

More to come

At the time of sharing the sample reel, I had more recordings already made and more requests still to work through. If you’ve sent me something and you’re waiting, thank you for your patience.

For the current state of the invitation, check the original post and my latest Instagram updates.

Thank you to everyone who trusted me with their words and sent over their artwork. Have a listen to the sample reel and see which book catches your interest. I’ve discovered some new authors through this, and I hope you will too.

* These recordings are short promotional excerpts only. I have not narrated the full audiobooks for any of the books featured here.