Stepping Stone

By: Karin Kallmaker

Narrated by: Abby Craden

Motion picture producer Selena Ryan has the impossible: Fame and fortune and her integrity. Her reputation for playing fair in an industry rife with games has earned her respect from other producers, writers, and actors.

She's learned the lesson that plenty of people would like to use her to get what they want - a starring role or some other way into the movies. Burned badly by actress Jennifer Lamont, who used her and left her with a devastating aftermath, she's wary of everyone related to the industry.

When Gail Welles literally lands in Selena's lap, she suspects another ploy. Jennifer's sudden arrival back in her life is equally ill-timed and suspect. On the verge of producing her biggest film to date, Selena wants everyone to leave her alone, even if that means living without love.

©2009 Karin Kallmaker (P)2020 Tantor

Great journey

Loved the heat and build up of the lead characters
Plus the supportive people who helped along the way

“Stepping Stone” by Karin Kallmaker, Narrated by Abby Craden

This is a wonderful, super slow burn, beautiful novel! Selena and Gail are definitely worth the wait!

Abby Craden’s voice makes this awesome story even better!

Well done!

Another must listen ! Well written with great characters and a story line that flows well.

Great listen. Story worthy of attention.

Principles and passions collide. The characters respect the needs of each other. The sparks fly.

Great!

I loved Stepping Stone. I loved the story. Staying faithful to your dream, but dealing daily with the reality of your situation. Abby Craden, flawless as usual.

Terrific!

I should not have waited this long to listen to Stepping Stone. The story was great, I adore the MCs and the narration by Abby Craden, as always, was superb! Next up is the related book, Captain of Industry!

enjoyable read

This was very enjoyable story. Great narration .Wonderful chacscters. The narrator did a great job bringing the characters to life.

Hollywood!

Loved going behind the scenes, the grind, the angst, the competitions and jealousies. The waiting and wanting, the eng

Great Book

In a weird sense this book comes off as a prequel to "Captain of Industry" rather than it being a spinoff of Stepping Stone. Gayle Wells is the perfect "girl next door" lead and Jennifer Lamont is missing the redemptive qualities she possessed in COI and she makes an excellent mean girl all grown up. One of the more jarring factors is the difference in narrators Abby Craden and C C Sinclair, In Stepping Stones Selena Ryan is a child of SoCal and has the flat lack of accent indicative of news anchors, while in COI she had a soft, diluted Irish accent. Hyde Butler's accent is terrible in Stepping Stones, while in COI his accent was overdone but closer to authentic. I realize that this is supposed to be a review of Stepping Stone and not a dissertation on the differences of the two works I had a hard time separating the two; in essence they're both fives, so enjoy.

Nice Gals Don’t ALWAYS Finish Last! Highly recommend… for OTHER nice women! Mean girls- keep scrolling!

Yes, sometimes nice gals seal the deal AND get the girl (or each other) without selling their souls to the devil! If you’re a mean girl, keep scrolling! The author in THIS book makes sure that NICE girls get the first, middle, and very last word! Damn straight! Clearly, I’m excited about intelligent, talented, and resourceful women with integrity coming out on top! And also doing quite well with their careers and relationships! (drum snare symbol crash)

Abby, as usual, did more than narrate this book. She created believable voices and instead of just reading, she acted each character’s part! This book is filled with plot twists, behind-the-scenes intrigue, insider information, and maniacal manipulations that would make a political strategist blush! And all of it is done in Hollywood style! The media manipulations and industry misogyny are on full display, and real-life research fully and factually supports the author’s depictions of what many women experience in their working lives, especially if they are successful in their careers!

With any romance, the love story is only as memorable as the characters written, and Karin did an excellent job in creating people we would like to hang out with and get to know better! It takes such courage to be vulnerable, to risk your heart again, to replace rejection and loss with hope, love, and commitment, including a great HEA!