I got myself in the right frame of mind today to write SPLIT SCREEN, the 7th Eve Ronin novel, by listening to the excellent audio adaptation of FALLEN STAR, the 6th Ronin, narrated by Nicol Zanzarella and Eric Conger. Once again, they both did a kick-ass job!
Nicol is back as Eve Ronin… and voices two characters in surprise cameos from other books in my past….and Eric Conger returns as Sharpe & Walker, the characters he brilliantly portrayed in the audiobook versions of MALIBU BURNING, ASHES NEVER LIE, and HIDDEN IN SMOKE.
I can’t wait to hear what Eric does with MURDER BY DESIGN, the first novel in my new “Edison Bixby” series (which comes out in May 2026)… and what Nicol does with SPLIT SCREEN, which I just started writing today (and that will be out this time next year).
When I listen to the audiobooks based on my novels, it’s surprisingly easy for me to forget that I wrote them and I get caught up in the characters and story… even though I know what’s coming. The audiobooks arrive usually a year after I’ve finished the novel, so I have enough distance from the work encounter it fresh and to enjoy it. And it’s hard not to have a good time listening to Nicol and Eric.
I’m a big believer in consistency in audiobooks when you find just the right voice for your work. Nicol has really made Eve Ronin her own, but I also drafted her to read my novel CALICO and bring San Bernardino County Sheriff Detective Beth McDade to life. That was also the first time she teamed up with Eric Conger, who I loved from his reading of John Sandford’s “Virgil Flowers” novels and finally got to work with on the audiobook of MALIBU BURNING, which became the first of my “Sharpe & Walker” novels.
Since then, Nicol has reappeared as Eve Ronin in audiobook versions of the two “Sharpe & Walker” novels ASHES NEVER LIE and HIDDEN IN SMOKE… and now Eric is doing the same for his two characters in FALLEN STAR. And I hope they will reteam again in SPLIT SCREEN, the book I’m writing now (well, which I will be when I stop procrastinating by writing this blog post).