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‘Heated Rivalry' Author Rachel Reid Announces New Book Sequel
If you’ve listened to an audiobook in the last 15 or so years, more than likely you’re familiar with Julia Whelan. Or, at the very least, her voice.
After all, best-selling novels from Gillian Flynn, Emily Henry, Taylor Jenkins Reid, Kristen Hannah, Freida McFadden and many more are among the roughly 700 books she’s narrated so far. And nearly two decades later, the former child actor has her routine down to a science.
“When I get an offer for an audiobook, I don't have time to read the book ahead of time to make the decision, and the publisher doesn't have time to wait for me, so I have to just kind of go on vibes,” Julia explained to E! News in an exclusive interview. “Is it an author that I either know or I've always wanted to work for? Does the synopsis sound interesting?”
She continued, “My decision-making process really boils down to the fact that I am a book nerd who, if I read a flap, and I would pay $27 for that book, that's enough of an indication for me that I want to do it.”
That’s when the real work can begin, as time in the booth is just a fraction of her process.
“I'm creating a character list of all of the speaking characters and any vocal notes that the author gives them, plus any word list of pronunciations that I need to find,” Julia noted. “And I'm really trying to get a sense of the tone of the book. What my approach is going to be, how I'm going to build out the cast of characters.”
Photo by Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Images for Netflix
Despite the lengthy prep process—"it's about four hours of work to one finished hour of audio”—that doesn’t actually factor into the overall package.
“The entire industry runs on finished runtime, so that's how everyone gets paid,” the 41-year-old revealed, later adding, “We talk about volume, but what we really should be talking about is finished hours, because that's the indication of how much work has gone into it.”
So, that can often make for a grueling schedule—in and out of the booth. In fact, at one point, Julia was recording a new audiobook every four days or so. And she kept up that pace while writing her debut novel My Oxford Year.
“Because audio books are notoriously ill paid, I would do 70 books a year to keep my head above water,” Julia, who is joining a slate of her fellow audiobook narrators at the L.A. Times Festival of Books on April 18, explained. “I wrote My Oxford Year under those conditions, almost had a breakdown and said I would not write another book until I had changed my work life.”
Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images
As a result, “I slowly started raising my rate and cutting back on the number of books I would do,” she continued, “and that's how that number very quickly gets up to 700.”
That number pales in comparison to come of her peers who’ve crossed over the quadruple digit mark. “There are a lot of narrators who have recorded way more books than I do because they're still doing it at that pace,” the Thank You for Listening author emphasized. “I'm not, I've cut way back.”
After all, trying to balance that narration schedule with her writing and other work ultimately led to a breaking point.
“I ran myself into the ground, and I had a doctor say, ‘If you don't give yourself a 30-day vocal rest, I can't guarantee you're going to get your voice back,’” Julia recalled. “That was the wake-up call that I needed to start prioritizing my vocal health and also mental health. It's not good to be like locked in that booth for eight hours a day—physically, mentally—in the intensity of telling these stories.”
But more than 15 years in the industry, narrating everything from Gone Girl to Laurie Forest’s sprawling Black Witch fantasy series, has given her a unique perspective—one she used “righteous rage” to channel into the platform Audiobrary. And her mission was to not only create a better compensation model for the narrators but also give authors a bigger role in the audio process.
“It was trying to reverse the structure that most creative industries function over, which is that the corporations benefit the most and the people who actually create the art don't,” Julia told E! of the company that launched in 2024. “I can't fix Hollywood, but I felt like I had enough standing in this one, and I knew enough about how it worked from both an author and a narrator perspective to at least give it a shot.”
And the timing was fitting as, these days, the audiobook community is larger than ever.
“The work that goes into it is so far beyond anything I've ever had to do on camera, and I've been working since I was nine on camera,” she quipped. “This job is not for the weak.”
Keep reading for a list of books coming out this spring worth checking out—in audio and print form…
Mariner Books
Whidbey by T Kira Madden
Release: March 10
T Kira Madden's book starts with Birdie setting out for the remote island of Whidbey, off the coast of Seattle, running away from her past. Namely, one man in particular: Calvin Boyer, who abused her as a child. However, news soon surfaces that Calvin has been murdered. As the murder mystery unfolds, the story follows three perspectives: Birdie, Linzie—another survivor of Calvin’s abuse who detailed her experience in a best-seller—and his still-devoted mom Mary-Beth.
The debut novel from the author of memoir Long Live the Tribe of Fatherless Girls, Whidbey is purposefully an, at times, difficult read. However, she handles this difficulty with such care, making it an insightful, commanding read.
G.P. Putnam's Sons
Judy Blume: A Life by Mark Oppenheimer
Release: March 10
For most readers, Judy Blume has been there every step of the journey—from children’s classics like Are You There God, It’s Me Margaret and Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing to her more mature reads like Wifey and Summer Sisters. But now, the iconic writer’s life itself is making way to TBR lists thanks to Mark Oppenheimer—and adding to the intrigue? An apparent falling out between the biographer and his subject over the course of the writing.
Viking
The Keeper by Tana French
Release: March 31
The Irish novelist has been a fan-favorite among thriller enthusiasts since In the Woods, and with good reason: they’re addictive and unpredictable. And years after ditching her Dublin-area settlings for the West of Ireland and the tales of Cal Hooper, Tana French is back with what purports to be her final outing for the retired American cop as he investigates the death of a young woman in his small town—and gets tangled in the long-simmering tensions that come to a boil as a result of this local tragedy.
Knopf
Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke
Release: April 7
To her millions of followers, influencer Natalie Heller Mills projects a life of traditional family perfection: a doting husband, a brood of perfect homeschooled children and a farm that doubles as a chic Instagram backdrop. However, her pioneer life masquerade is no match for the real thing as she awakens in the early 19th century with no idea how she got there—or how to get back to her reality. The dual timeline novel, tracking her rise to social media notoriety and navigating life in 1805, is a wild, twisty ride through the world of tradwife influencing.
Doubleday
London Falling by Patrick Radden Keefe
Release: April 7
When Patrick Radden Keefe published his 2024 New Yorker article about the death of British teen Zac Brettler—whose secret life posing as the son of a Russian oligarch ultimately ended in tragedy—it could have been easy to question what more there is to say. However, this is the author of Say Nothing and Empire of Pain we’re talking about. So, unsurprisingly, Keefe more than delivers with gripping, unflinching examination at the seedy world of money and power Zac became enmeshed in—and his family’s quest for the truth in the years following his 2019 death.
Berkley
The Name Game by Beth O’Leary
Release: April 7
Charlie Jones arrives at her new job managing in farm shop in a remote island only to meet Charlie Jones, who has turned up for his new job at the farm shop. Beyond their shared name, they’re each desperate for a fresh start far away from home. However, unable to work out which of the Charlie Joneses is actually meant to be running the shop, the owners have a proposition: they both take on the job for a few months and at the end, whoever is the best fit gets the job. But as they set out to prove they’re the one meant to last, they may find they have more in common than a name.
Ballantine Books
The Book Witch by Meg Shaffer
Release: April 7
Prepare to dive into your favorite books—quite literally. Rainy March is, as the title suggests, a book witch with the ability to journey into the worlds of beloved books to fix malicious changes. There’s just one rule: Book Witches can visit but never linger too long in a book. But after her grandfather—and a precious book—go missing, must risk it all by travelling through countless classic novels with the fictional detective Duke of Chicago to help find him. And in the process, she not only has to confront the unearthed family secrets but confront her feelings for the Duke.
Penguin Random House
American Fantasy by Emma Straub
Release: April 7
Prepare to set sail on a thoughtful examination of fandom in Emma Straub’s latest, which follows 50-year-old divorcée Annie on a cruise centered around the boy band of her youth, Boy Talk. Without ever looking down on upon Stan culture, the book is an honest portrayal of aging, celebrity and the culture that shaped our youth.
Although, what truly makes Straub’s book work so well—aside from its 360-degree examination of the cruise through the lens of Annie, Boy bander Keith and cruise employee Sarah—is that it doesn’t matter what boy band stole hearts as the reader came of age, as she captures that magical feeling in a timeless way.
William Morrow
Cherry Baby by Rainbow Rowell
Release: April 14
Imagine your ex has turned your life together into fodder for his semi-autobiographical graphic novel—which has become a massive sensation and parlayed him into internet fame. At least, that’s what Cherry is going through as she picks up the pieces of the dream life they were supposed to share. As she takes steps forward, she runs into someone from her past, Russ, who may just be the key to moving on from the heartbreak.
Atria Books
The Caretaker by Marcus Kliewer
Release: April 21
Sure fall is considered spooky season but there’s always room for a spring scare. And in The Caretaker, the We Used to Live Here author introduces readers to Macy, who desperate for a job agrees to a three-day stint as the caretaker of a property in the Pacific Northwest, despite the ominous signs that something is afoot. Indeed, it soon becomes clear that something is very, very wrong.
Flatiron Books
Last Night in Brooklyn by Xochitl Gonzalez
Release: April 21
Take a step back just a few years into 2007 Brooklyn, where Alicia Canales is back home in Fort Greene and looking ahead into the next chapter of her life. During this time, she becomes ensnared in the world of her mysterious artist neighbor, who throws legendary parties. Set amid a changing neighborhood landscape at a precarious time to be coming of age—after all, the financial crisis looms just ahead—Xochitl Gonzalez delivers yet another can’t-miss story.
Grove Press
John of John by Douglas Stuart
Release: May 5
After barely scraping by in Edinburgh, John-Calum returns home to his insular, deeply religious community in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland, of which his father John is a revered member and his Glasgow-born grandmother Ella is forever an outsider. Beyond trying to avoid cracking under the scrutiny that comes with being home—especially as a still-closeted queer person—Cal’s relationship with John is a complicated web of love, resentment and frustration, which occasionally turns violent.
However, at the root of this fractus dynamic is the similarities neither is willing to acknowledge. It’s a really moving, unflinching story about fathers and sons, legacy and homophobia in ‘90s Scotland—continuing to cement Douglas Stuart as a must-read.
Berkley
Our Perfect Storm by Carley Fortune
Release: May 5
The day before her wedding, Frankie wakes up to a note from her fiancé calling off the wedding. With the honeymoon already paid for, she decides to decamp the lush rainforests of Tofino, a quiet inlet on the coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia. She doesn’t go alone, however, as her childhood best friend George reluctantly tags along. And after years of distance growing between them, the week serves as an opportunity to rebuild their fading friendship—or let it blossom into something more.
Cardinal
Prestige Drama by Séamas O'Reilly
Release: May 5
American actress Monica Logue arrives in Derry to immerse herself in the community before filming on her new show about The Troubles commences—only to go missing. Naturally, the TV star’s disappearance is talk of the town, and everyone has an opinion or theory about where she is. And that’s where the heart of the story lies, as each chapter follows a different person untangling their relationship with the show and the events it is depicting, with the beleaguered screenwriter’s attempts to complete his scripts serving as a throughline.
It’s a heart-wrenching and at times deeply funny examination of The Troubles’ lasting imprint in the North of Ireland—and the complicated experience of seeing a painful moment in time become commodified for public consumption.
Forever
Score by Kennedy Ryan
Release: May 19
Five years after the first installment in her Hollywood Renaissance series, the beloved romance writer is back with a follow-up, this time centered around screenwriter Verity who must reunite with the composer behind her biggest heartbreak to collaborate on a Harlem Renaissance biopic that may make or break both of their careers. With stakes higher than ever, they set out to create a story and score that captures hearts—and possible Oscar glory. Although, in order to move forward Verity and Monk may just have to come to terms with their past.
Bold Type
My Bad by Hugh Ryan
Release: May 26
Years after breaking out with When Brooklyn Was Queer, the historian candidly details his own journey as a queer person in the ‘90s and early 2000s. Weaving through his own experiences with AOL chatrooms and navigating the nightclub scene as a broke student, Hugh Ryan examines the Queer experience in run up to Y2K and the internet boom. It’s compelling, unfiltered and takes a thoughtful approach to detailing the complicated time in a person’s coming of age.
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