Ever wonder what it takes to produce an audiobook? Benjamin Fife, narrator for my dragon books gives us a look into the process. A lot more goes on behind the scenes than I had ever realized!
I got into narrating because I love literature. I personally have listened to or read the complete works of Charles Dickens. I love Austen too. I was first introduced to Pride and Prejudice nearly 20 years ago about 3 months before I met my wife. I was spending time with a longtime friend who was getting over a bad breakup. Watch this movie with me. I didn’t realize it was a 6 hour production. As you might guess, I fell hard for her while we watched it over the next week, one installment at a time. She still thought of me as just a friend. She prophetically said that come 2 months later I’d meet some cute freshman & I’d be just as happy as Lizzy & Darcy at the end of it all. Now two decades down the road, she married the guy she had broken up with, I wed that adorable freshman, and both marriages now boast 6 kids apiece.
Starting when my oldest was about 6, we started taking turns picking what book to read as a family every night. With a handful of exceptions, I’ve been the voice for all the books ranging from Jane Eyre to Hank the Cowdog; from Lord of the Rings to Louis Lamour. I had often thought about turning my passion for reading aloud into more than that. February of 2018, I dove in. As I’ve looked for books to audition for and connected with authors, I’ve loved what I’ve learned from each book & each writer in the production process.
But there is no other book or series that has brought me as much satisfaction to voice than Maria Grace’s Jane Austen’s Dragons.
Earlier this year when I saw Pemberly up for audition, I had to try! I adore Austen & I adore dragons! What could be better? When I auditioned, I did 2 takes for Maria – one with a “strait read,” and one with “effects.” I’ve used a little bit of effects on my voice in previous books, but by volunteering to not only voice each dragon differently, but then alter the audio to a more ‘size appropriate’ voice, I was jumping in with both feet.
Let me give you a rundown of the whole Audiobook production process:
- Find a Title/Author you want to work with
- Read the audition material & plan your characterizations, accents etc
- Record the Audition
- Edit the Audition
- Get selected for the book
- Read the whole book & plan characterizations, accents, etc again.
- Communicate with the author about their wishes
- Record the whole thing, redoing any line you make any kind of error on. And sometimes that means 5 times. Not often but sometimes there’s a tongue twister (You try saying “the courtship twas by your world rules” in a thick Scottish accent complete with rolled r’s– not from Maria’s book)
- Listen to the whole thing and edit out any outtakes, errors, mouth noises, dog barking, wife scaring the *&% out of you in the middle of a chapter, etc…
- Master the file so it can pass muster for QC of an audio book
- Send it to the author/publisher to listen to.
- Fix any additional errrors, performance issues to the satisfaction of the author & yourself.
- Repeat the last 4 steps as many times as needed.
- Send it to Audible to sell
- Promote the heck out of it.
So it’s a bit of a production to begin with. You add in needing a different effect for a dozen different characters & you can imagine what that does. Still, I love it. Maria & I both hope you love what I’ve done to bring her world to life.
Midway through production on Pemberly, I messaged Maria to ask if she could send me the whole series so my family could read it too. My wife & 2 oldest daughters had it finished before I had a chance to finish recording Pemberly. Maria’s writing is superb. I love how true she is to the original characters, while changing it up enough to make it a delightfully new story. Some of my favorite moments in the series are when she takes Austen’s original dialogue, or sometimes back narration & gives it to a different character to say. In book 1 (Pemberly), she sticks pretty close to Austen’s original plot fairly closely up to Netherfield ball. In the remainder of the series, there are similarities to the original, but the plot veers off course considerably. I loved it.
Maria asked me to provide you with some of my favorite highlights from producing the series. So here goes –
When she got my initial recording of Pemberly’s voice at the end of book 1, Maria thought it sounded like Audrey II (Little Shop of Horrors). I wasn’t very sure about the voice I had selected either, so I had no problem redoing it for her. Now what we’re going for is a little closer to Littlefoot (Land Before Time).
When she initially released a preview of Pemberly on her website, one of her followers thought I was Richard Armitage (North & South, Thorin Oakenshield from Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit). As an Idahoan who has never even left North America, I was flattered. I guess I must be doing something right.
In the middle of recording Chapter 8 of Longbourn, I heard a vague tapping at the window of my recording booth. I was in the middle of a rather fraught with emotion section & I thought in the back of my head vaguely that I’ll push through to a good stopping place & see what it was. Then I glanced up. It was 9:30 at night, dark outside, and a pair of eyes were staring at me in the window. I uttered a cry of terror quite possibly unlike any other shriek I have ever uttered. Once my non-primal brain woke back up, I realized it was that adorable freshman I fell in love with peeking in at me & I started laughing in a breathy-recovering-from-terror kind of way. And now its recorded for posterity complete with my love’s delightful giggle as she entered my booth to make sure I wasn’t dead. I took a ten minute break with her, sprayed my throat with some magic stuff & finished the rest of the chapter. Never a dull moment.
In producing Longbourn, voicing a conversation of Fairy Dragons & getting their voices to pass muster with both myself & Maria is somewhat maddening. Senseless little bits of fluff.
Some of my other favorite things are reading the reviews left so far for Pemberly on Audible and finding out I’m now one of someones 3 favorite narrators. Aww, thanks.
My very favorite dragons to voice in the series are Walker, Longbourn (even though he’s a brat) Drew, Cait & Rosings, and Chudleigh. It also might interest listeners to know that for Lady Catherine, Rosings & Cait, I use the exact same voice & similar inflections & then speed them up or slow them down for the character.
In looking forward to more books in the Jane Austen’s Dragons series, I’m excited that Maria is branching out to Persuasion & Northanger Abbey. I can’t wait to see what she does! I’d still love it if she expanded the universe even more – you know, Victor Hugo’s Dragons… Jack London’s Dragons… But she can only write so fast. 🙁
I also love the idea that Pemberly is still alive & kicking today. My theory is that she runs the Westminster Dog show with whoever her current keeper is.
Thank you so much Maria for letting me be a part of this universe you’ve created, and thank you readers & listeners for all your feedback. I hope you love Jane Austen’s Dragons as much as I do!
2 comments
OMG! I love the blooper. I giggled for ages. I loved the book and will now have to buy the audio, just to hear that lovely mellow voice again.
I about split a gut at that blooper reel! Hysterical! Great interview. <3