I’ve just finished recording The Arithmetic of Happiness, and as always, reaching the end of a project comes with a strange mix of satisfaction and adjustment.

For days or weeks, a book becomes part of your routine. You spend hours inside its ideas, its rhythm, and its voice. Then suddenly, you record the final line, close the session, and that particular world goes quiet.

At least for a little while.

The good news is that I won’t be sitting still for long.

Next up is Book 2 in the Peter Adams series, which gives me the chance to return to a story and characters I already know.

There’s something different about coming back to a series.

The first book is about discovery. You’re learning the characters, finding the tone, figuring out how the world sounds, and making choices that will carry through the rest of the story.

A sequel is different.

You already have a foundation.

The voices aren’t strangers anymore. The tone has been established. The challenge becomes making sure everything feels familiar while still allowing the characters and story to move forward.

That continuity is one of the things I enjoy most about narrating a series.

And after Peter Adams, I’ll be heading back to another familiar place.

A sequel to Murder at Yucca Gulch is waiting after that.

That one has me especially excited because Westerns have their own rhythm. The characters, the setting, the pacing, even the silences feel different from the nonfiction and other genres I narrate.

Returning to a world you’ve already spent time in feels a little like walking back into a room you remember well.

You know where things are.

You recognize the people.

But you also know something new is about to happen.

That’s one of the things I’ve come to appreciate about audiobook narration: no two projects ask exactly the same thing from you.

One book may require precision and restraint.

Another asks for character work.

Another depends on pacing, atmosphere, or finding just the right conversational tone.

And sometimes, the next project gives you the chance to return to a voice you thought you had already said goodbye to.

So for now, The Arithmetic of Happiness is complete. Next comes Peter Adams.

After that, I’ll be following Vincent Ford into the next chapter of his story.

Not a bad way to keep the microphone busy.