Do you suffer from seasonal blues that come from countless gray days? Escape into another world with an involving long audio that will help you survive those endless winter nights!

Lose yourself in Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana's story of the old West, Zeke and Ned (Recorded Books, $58.95, unabridged, 12 cassettes, 17.25 hours) Ezekiel Proctor and Ned Christie, two folk heroes and the last of the Cherokee warriors, take listeners back to the 1870s. An accidental shooting leads to a string of feuds and battles to defend home and family, all set against a background of proud, brave, skilled Indian warriors fighting in a new Indian Territory created after the Civil War in Okalahoma. Tom Stechschulte's gravely reading makes listeners feel as if they're hearing this rambling tale beside a campfire, warming themselves on a long cold night.

Tensions provide a dramatic listen in Tawni O'Dell's Coal Run (Penguin Audio, $44.95, unabridged, 10 Cds, 12 hours) Protaganist Ivan Zoschenko lost his father to a coal mining explosion when he was small, became a football hero as a teenager and was sidelined just as he was hitting his stride. He's been sidelined by life ever since and haunted by a terrible secret. Returning to his home to untangle his true feelings and piece together a new life, he is surrounded by the suffering of a small town depressed by failing industry and further confused by his childhood idol, a man broken by the Vietnam War. It's easy to draw parallels about the waste of war and the victims of poverty especially when O'Dell puts these issues in the context of her fictional characters and writes with restraint. Daniel Passer's even reading represents the ennui felt by the story's hero as well as moments of passionate dramatization that reflect the hero's longing to live vibrantly.

Janis Hallowell's book, The Annunciation of Francesca Dunn is read by the talented cast of Tyler Bunch, Kristin Kilian, Beth MacDonald and Mia Pitasi (HighBridge, $34.95, unabridged, eight CDs, eight hours). Take a young girl who's insecure and turn her into a modern-day Holy Virgin and you've got a situation fraught with conflict. The story is told in different voices including the homeless man who first discovers and recognizes Francesca's healing powers, Francesca's friend who capitalizes on the situation, and Anne, Francesca's mother. Differing viewpoints blend as well as the voices to describe the situation, its complexities, and the possibility of the mundane becoming the miracle.

John Case's The Murder Artist is read by the talented Dick Hill (Brilliance, $34.95, unabridged, 10 cassettes, 14 hours). Investigative reporter, Alex Callahan is uncomfortable in his role as separated father and reluctant when he takes his twins to a renaissance fair. Suddenly, the twins go missing and Alex's gifts as investigator and parent are called into play in a convoluted, confusing chase through worlds of magic, voodoo, and gambling as Alex searches Los Vegas, Los Angeles, Northern California, and Louisiana to find his sons. Dick Hill's voice variety is part of the attraction...he can do a voodoo guru just as well as he can do the panic-struck father.