John Conroe’s Snake Eyes Audiobook Nominated For 2018 Audie Award
CHESTERTOWN, N.Y. – Author John Conroe was nominated for an Audio Publishers Association 2018 Audie Award in the fantasy category for his audiobook Snake Eyes. The urban fantasy novel—which finds frequent Conroe protagonist Chris Gordon fighting the forces of evil out in the Nevada desert—is the eleventh title in his extensive The Demon Accords series.
One finalist will be selected as the winner in each of 26 different 2018 Audie Awards categories. This year, Conroe will be competing against an esteemed group of fellow fantasy authors: Finalists also include Mark Lawrence (Red Sister), Brian Stavely (Skullsworn), Theodora Goss (The Strange Case of the Alchemist’s Daughter), Terry Mancour (Spellmonger: The Spellmonger Series, Book 1) and Catherynne M. Valente (The Refrigerator Monologues).
“I am extremely honored and humbled to be included as a finalist for the 2018 Audie Awards,” said Conroe. “I’m incredibly fortunate to have a great narrator like James Patrick Cronin and a wonderful publisher like Audible to produce the Snake Eyes audiobook. My fellow nominees are some of my favorite authors; it’s pretty exciting to be included among them.”
The Audie Awards is the premier awards program in the U.S. recognizing distinction in audiobooks and spoken-word entertainment. Publishers and rights holders enter titles in various categories for recognition of achievement. Finalists are selected, and from that group of finalists one winner is awarded.
Among the countless 2017 entries in the competition, it was Snake Eyes—part of Conroe’s popular The Demon Accords series—that caught the judges’ ears. Offering a fresh setting for the familiar Demon Accords characters, the book is primarily set in Las Vegas, a.k.a. “Sin City,” where protagonists Chris Gordon, Tanya Demidova and their team find themselves drawn to the high desert for a game with stakes so high, the fate of the world rests on them. Facing a death witch, her demon-werewolf offspring, zombie strippers and Tanya’s pregnancy cravings, Chris must depend on every team member if he’s going to have a shot at protecting the lives of every human on Earth, and score a spot in the best daycare for his unborn children.
“The book is a lot of fun, because it takes place in Vegas, which a fun town,” Conroe said. “Las Vegas is such an adult playground, it was exciting to take my characters on a rampage there, where they could wreak havoc on the Strip.”
Conroe will attend the Audie Awards Gala in New York City on May 31, presented at the New-York Historical Society museum and library on Central Park West.
About The Audie Awards
Audie Awards finalists are chosen after a rigorous three-stage judging process. It begins with the Publisher Submissions Round, a qualifying round in which experienced judges listen to samples of each audiobook submitted by publishers. Judges in this round determine which titles qualify to move further along in the competition. Judges listen to at least 30 minutes of the audiobook before recommending to move (or to not move) the title forward to the next round. The results of multiple judges are compiled and titles move on from there based on those responses.
Next comes the Judges Selections Round, where judges are required to listen to the complete audiobook and asked to rank their top titles. This is an opportunity to elevate the best the category has to offer. Last comes the Finalist Round, in which a third set of judges scores the titles in four areas: performance, direction, production, and content. Judges are selected from a wide variety of listeners, which includes audiobook fans and experienced evaluators, whose common enthusiasm for the format results in selecting the best productions that meet the criteria. Audies judges must keep their judging assignments confidential.
About John Conroe
John Conroe was raised in Saint Lawrence County, New York, a few heartbeats from the Canadian border. Influenced in his youth by the likes of Edgar Rice Burroughs, Robert Heinlein, JRR Tolkien, Jack London, Andre Norton, Robert E. Howard, H. Beam Piper and Anne McCaffrey, young Conroe was equally drawn to both the rugged Adirondack wilds and the Clarkson College bookstore. He is also a lifelong dabbler in Tae Kwon Do, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Krav Maga and Escrima.
Conroe attended SUNY Cortland, where he nearly flunked-out in his freshman year, choosing to play Dungeons & Dragons over attending class. Against all expectations, he graduated on schedule with a BS in Economics and Management Science and entered the world of banking, where he met his future wife, Robin, when he gave her a car loan. There is little doubt he got the better part of that deal. And after 30-something years of banking and financial planning, John feels vampires and werewolves are probably less dangerous than Wall Street.
Inspired by his daughters’ interest in the Twilight books and films, Conroe penned God Touched, the first book in The Demon Accords series, which proved vampires don’t need to be sparkly or male to totally rock. With 14 books now in the series, Conroe is currently writing number 15, while simultaneously starting a new science fiction series, Zone War.
Based in upstate New York, Conroe is wrapping up his financial career to pursue writing full time. Robin has even commissioned him a new writing desk, complete with leg chains.