Do you listen to audiobooks? While I still prefer actually reading a book, I’ve come to appreciate the convenience of audiobooks when I’m out walking or when I drive long distances. And the narrators amaze me, the way they come up with all those different voices!
So, to celebrate the release of Pendant as an audiobook (Yay!), I thought it would be fun to introduce you to my narrator, Jenny Hoops. I think you’ll find her quite interesting. And at the end, I’ll tell you how to register to win one of two free Pendant audiobooks.
Welcome, Jenny! Tell us a bit about yourself.
I am a full-time narrator, which I love because I can narrate all day in my studio, and then be a full-time mom (and chauffeur, and quartermaster, and…!) when the kids get home from school. We live in rural Alberta, Canada, in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, and we see all the big wildlife come through our yard: grizzly and black bears, moose, deer, coyotes and wolves. Our family is very active outdoors and we cross-country ski in the winter and hike and camp in the summers.
Wow! That sounds amazing. How did you get started narrating audiobooks?
I’ve always enjoyed performing (yes, I confess I was a motivational speaker in the 90’s!), and a few years ago, I was encouraged to take an audiobook narration class by a dear friend who is an actor. That class started a fire in my belly! There is nothing more magical than losing yourself for hours in a book, and immersing yourself in the characters and the narrative.
I agree with that! How long have you been doing this? And how many books have you done?
I started narrating professionally in 2015. I have narrated twelve unabridged audiobooks (#13 and #14 are being narrated as you read this!). In addition to my audiobook narration, I am the weekend voice of The Washington Post (which you can hear on Audible channels); believe me, there’s nothing like a strict deadline to help you sharpen your reading accuracy and pronunciation!
I can certainly believe that. What kind of writing makes a good audiobook? And do you have a preference for fiction or non-fiction?
Good writing makes a good audiobook! If the author has created a tight plot with believable characters, it doesn’t matter if you’re reading it in print or listening to it; a great story will capture the minds of both the reader and the listener. Even non-fiction books have to be able to lead the reader/listener to a place of new understanding and knowledge.
I think my favorite type of book is the one I’m narrating at any particular moment. I really do immerse myself in every book I narrate, and sometimes I think my family suffers for that: “Hey, kids, did you know they have FIRE ANTS in Texas? Let’s look those up on the internet so I get a mental picture of the nasty things while I’m narrating that scene in Pendant.”
Ha-ha! Sorry, kids! Jenny, give us an idea of the preparation that goes into finding the right voice for each character.
The very first job is to READ THE BOOK. As I read the manuscript, I’m filling in my spreadsheet that lists the characters and their traits, the plot twists, the mood of each chapter, etc. Then I try to find photos of the people that remind me of those characters. Those photos get pinned to my studio wall so that I have a visual reminder of the voice of the character. For instance, Elaine in Pendant felt similar to Jessica Fletcher from Murder She Wrote; Maxine reminded me of the cantankerous Sophie from Golden Girls. And along with the visuals, if the character has a distinctive accent (like many of the Pendant characters are Texan), then I make sure I’ve researched that accent and added it to my repertoire. If I’m doing a book series, then I also keep audio clips of each recurring character in a digital library, so that the voices stay consistent from book to book. The important thing is to make sure the character’s voice is the same throughout the whole book–you just can’t be winging it every day, or listeners would really notice.
That’s fascinating! You gave me a quick summary of the process of producing an audiobook. Would you do that for my readers?
Sure! First, I “prep” the book (see previous question). Then I record the first 15 minutes of the audiobook for the author’s approval, making sure that we are both on the same page, so to speak. After the author approves, I record the rest of the manuscript (it takes me about 2 hours of recording time for every “finished” hour of the audiobook). Then, I proof-listen and re-record edits and mistakes. And there are a LOT of bloopers and mis-reads and weird noises to edit out. No one wants to hear a stomach gurgle or my dog barking during a love scene.
After that editing pass, I “master” the audio files to bring them all into the correct specifications for loudness, background noise levels, and peaks. That’s so the listener doesn’t have to constantly adjust their volume controls. And then, I listen through the whole book again, to make sure it’s something I’d enjoy listening to. And I’m a pretty picky audiobook listener! Altogether, it takes 8-9 hours of work to produce one hour of a good audiobook.
Wow! That’s comparable to writing a book. What do you enjoy most about narrating audiobooks?
The variety! I am always amazed at the imaginations of authors and the unique ideas they bring to their stories.
In producing Pendant, what did you find most challenging or most fun about the story?
For me, the most challenging was creating distinctive voices for the women in the nursing home. Each woman had her own personality, and I needed to make sure that came through in their voices. I LOVED voicing the bad guy! It’s thrilling to put on my menacing voice–I even tested it out on my kids. Except they laughed when I did his voice for them.
Oh no! (ha-ha) Well, you did very well with all the voices, especially the ladies in the home. If listeners want to hear more stories you’ve produced, where can they find them?
All my audiobooks are available at audible.com, iTunes and Amazon. Just put my name in the search box and voila!, everything that I’ve recorded will come up. If you don’t want to scroll through thousands of Washington Post articles, set the filter to “audiobooks.”
Thanks so much, Jenny! I really appreciate all your work on Pendant and your willingness to answer all my questions.
And now, to celebrate the release of Pendant on audiobook, I have a couple of free codes that I’ll give to two readers who leave a comment. You can use these even if you don’t have an audible.com account. So let me hear from you!
