'Beautiful Secret' narrators have questions for Christina Lauren

The narrators of the audiobook of Christina Lauren's Beautiful Secret, Jonathan Cole and Charlotte Penfield, drill the author duo about their writing and other stuff. First up, Jonathan asks Christina and Lauren (aka CLo) some burning questions … (Oh, and after the interviews we have an audio excerpt for you from Beautiful Secret. Score!)

Jonathan: When planning your books do you ever take into consideration how the text will sound when it's read aloud? If so, how does that influence your writing?

CLo: We didn't at first, but we certainly do now. Beautiful Bastard sold in September 2012 and was released only five months later, so it was this wild blur of editorial deadlines and promo while we were also drafting Beautiful Stranger (which we had only two months to write). At one point in the middle of the insanity, we received an e-mail telling us that there was an audiobook for Bastard, and here are the preorder links and we were like ... "Pardon?" Because to us, that was the moment it really hit home that the ridiculous story we wrote was going to be a book.

Grace Grant killed it narrating both Chloe and Bennett in Beautiful Bastard, and we listened to the audio edition over and over. Her narration was perfect and it allowed us to find phrases we repeated, dialogue that was maybe a little awkward when read aloud, other things we wouldn't have noticed from just reading through over and over. When we discussed the audio for Beautiful Stranger, we were clear that we wanted an Englishman for Max. To our eternal delight, we got you, Jonathan, and nearly died over your perfect Max Stella (incidentally, Beautiful Stranger won Audible's Best Romance of 2013. Well done, sir). We've told this story a million times, but the first time we heard you read the line, "Oh, she was fantastic," when Max is absolutely tickled by Sara's flustered visit to his office, we became obsessed with the audio editions and how much new life narrators can spin into the stories we have had to read a hundred times for edits.

From that point on, we've considered the flow of our books as readers, but we also read parts aloud to each other, too (yes it's fun and funny) to make sure they'll work in audio.

Jonathan: Niall's outlook is very much shaped by a failed first marriage, and it takes a lot of work on Ruby's part to open him up to the possibility of risking his heart and falling in love again. What was your inspiration for this story of second chances?

CLo: In each book, we try to ensure the new leads are truly distinct from previous characters. We didn't want Niall to be anything like his brother Max, and hadn't yet written a story about someone coming out of a relationship quite like Niall's former marriage. Of course, in Beautiful Stranger, Sara had just left Andy, but she didn't angst as much over her role in it, whether she could have done things differently or better. Niall never trusted his emotional instincts to begin with, and then ended up marrying — when he was still very young — a relatively cold, selfish person. When he meets Ruby, it's a bit of a revelation to him that someone so open and hungry, patient and generous might also want someone more reserved, like him. It was incredibly fun to explore that. Most of the other men we've written know their own minds and lead much of the relationship development; Niall is a bit greener in some ways.

Jonathan: There have been a lot of great male protagonists in your writing — I've now been privileged to give voice to a few of them — and I'm sure each of your fans has a favorite, but do you?

CLo: Thank you! We adore them all, but our favorites always seem to be the ones most immediately on our minds. Right now, that means Niall Stella, Oliver Lore (Dark Wild Night) and Luke Sutter (Wicked Sexy Liar). Niall is bursting with a sexual side he's repressed, capable in nearly every realm of his life, but so cautious with feelings. It's hard not to love him.

We hope you know how thrilled we — and readers — are that you were able to come back to do the audio edition, Jonathan!

And now, Charlotte Penfield has some questions for our authors …

Charlotte: Once, damsels in distress were the key ingredient for a romance. In Beautiful Secret, Ruby is a smart and capable young woman. Advanced in many ways for her age and she knows what she wants and goes for it. Why did writing such a strong female character matter to you?

CLo: Writing strong female protagonists is our number one priority, but it isn't the case that strength always looks the same in every character. We love exploring what strength means in so many different situations: Chloe's strength is in her ambition, Hanna's strength is in her unapologetic curiosity, Harlow's strength is in her loyalty. In Beautiful Secret, Ruby holds Niall's hand through a lot of his bigger emotional epiphanies. She is, as you point out, wise for her age: Although she is younger than Niall, she has the resources to guide him when he needs it. Some of our other female characters might not have the patience for his emotional reticence, and that's what makes her a little different for us. She's ambitious, she's resilient, and she's also incredibly generous with her love in a way we haven't explored before.

Charlotte: The scene with Ruby in the hotel room when they DON'T have sex is incredibly erotic as is Niall's … recording. Where do you get inspiration for the passionate encounters in your writing and do you find them easier to write from the male or female perspective?

CLo: Thank you!! The sexiest scenes — at least to us as writers and readers/listeners — are ones where the relationship is altered during the sex somehow: Some intimacy is created, some hurt is unintentionally delivered, epiphanies are made or lost. Erotic scenes are best when writers successfully build that emotional tension. In that scene in particular, we really wanted to highlight Niall's restraint and care with Ruby, as well as his sense of having stepped into a completely different world when he's with her.

It is true that some of our favorite sexy scenes have been told from the male POV — the party scene in Beautiful Player, the club scene in Beautiful Stranger, the first hotel room scene you've mentioned in Beautiful Secret, but we also have some favorites told from the female POV as well: the hotel scene in San Diego between Mia and Ansel in Sweet Filthy Boy, the rope scene at Harlow's apartment in Dirty Rowdy Thing, the rooftop scene in Beautiful Stranger and, of course, La Perla in Beautiful Bastard. It's probably just a matter of really getting into the characters' heads — both his and hers — and once we do that, it flows; it won't matter whether it's told from the female or male POV.

Charlotte: The audio edition has an exclusive bonus epilogue — why did you decide to create that special content for this recording?

CLo: We know more and more readers are finding audiobooks and as audiobook listeners ourselves, we hope to encourage that. Reader-listeners develop a different relationship with a story through audio — it's more personal in a way — and the bonus epilogue is our way of thanking them for investing their time in us, and you.

This is the first book you've read for us, and listeners will absolutely adore you as Ruby! When we began discussing casting, we listened to many samples and were very clear that your voice captured her character perfectly. We also wanted Jonathan back for Niall. We love him, and it was no surprise that listeners were adamant that he was the only one they wanted reading the part of Niall. That level of investment still amazes us, and we are sincerely grateful. Beautiful Secret is the fourth book Jonathan has read for us, and listeners feel a deep connection to his voice as Max Stella — he has made Max theirs. It's been amazing for us to watch this develop on social media; he would probably be mobbed at a signing.

Charlotte: I want to know what everyone wants to know — will there be more Stella family stories? Can you give us ANY hints?

CLo: At the end of Beautiful Beloved, Max and Sara are so wonderfully situated that it's hard to imagine finding a way to infuse tension into their story without making it a bit painful for us to write. Likewise, Niall and Ruby get to a great place in Beautiful Secret, and it is fun to imagine how their lives look a year or two down the line ... but book-wise we'll just have to wait and see what story makes the most sense for us to tell and what readers want to see from us. We have ideas coming out of our ears, so there is no shortage of CLo to come!

Thank you both SO MUCH for doing this, it really was a lot of fun to connect like this!

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Check out this audio excerpt from Beautiful Secret …

Find out more about Christina Lauren and their books at christinalaurenbooks.com.