Introducing Alix... Legacy of Light’s Narrator!
Hi! I'm Alix, the narrator of C. D. Tavenor's excellent novella, Legacy of Light. I'm excited to talk a little bit about audiobook narration—and my process specifically with Legacy of Light.
So, audiobook narration. Sounds fun! I love reading, I do it all the time anyway, why not get paid while I'm at it? Plus, people always tell me how "listenable" my voice is... it'll be easy.
You can purchase Legacy of Light on Audible today, and hear Alix’s narration right now!
That's basically what I thought when I first considered delving into narration. Once I actually started, though, I realized it wasn't quite so simple. It is a lot of fun; I love coming up with different voices for character, bringing life to words, and providing a different perspective for an author’s precious story. But actually doing that isn't as easy as it might seem.
“The more achingly slow it felt like I was reading, the better.”
It's incredible how difficult talking can actually be. It seems crazy, right? We do it all day, every day. But when I listened to the first little segment of a book I was working on, I realized I had a lot of work and practice to do. I sounded so flat. I thought I was putting all sorts of inflection into my voice, but after listening to myself (that's another thing you have to get used to, hearing your own voice A LOT), I sounded boring. I wouldn't want to listen to me.
I also spoke way too fast and did not enunciate very clearly. I had to remember: the people who would be listening to me would not see the words or see my facial expressions and body language to help them understand what I was expressing. They would only have my voice. I wanted them to want to keep listening. I wanted them to hear every single word.
So I practiced. I would record myself reading my favorite books. I tried all sorts of different pitches, cadences, inflections, and combinations with my voice, and I soon realized that the sillier I felt, the more ridiculous I thought it would sound, the more exciting and compelling my narration was. Similarly, the more achingly slow it felt like I was reading, the better.
Once I felt more confident I would do an author's hard work justice, I headed to ACX to audition for some authors looking for narrators to produce their audiobooks. I came across Tavenor's Legacy of Light, and I was super excited and inspired. An epic fantasy? A strong female lead? Forgotten magic restored? The determination of an oppressed people? It was everything I loved in a story.
I sent in my audition. Tavenor soon wrote back saying he liked my take on the excerpt. However, he asked me to adjust some things. He asked me to change one of the character's voices, and the overall accent (the original audition called for an English accent, but Tavenor was curious to hear it in my native American accent). I implemented his critiques as best I could for round 2, and Tavenor ultimately chose me to bring his words to life! YAY! But what a responsibility!
Before I even recorded a single word, I read Legacy of Light from start to finish. I needed to know the journey the characters, especially the protagonist, take over the course of a story. I get to know them, and that affects how I narrate them. It's also super helpful to know what other characters may come up in the book because I have to do voices for them all. If I know them, their age, passions, energy, moral character, etc., then I get a good idea of how to characterize them via my voice.
I also find that if I visualize what the character looks like (how they move, their facial expressions, and so on), unique voices come much more naturally and consistently. Finally, on that initial read-through, I marked down any names or words I was unsure about and contacted Tavenor to ask how he wanted them pronounced.
Then, I was ready to go.
Once I had everything recorded, I had to edit. Naturally, when you're reading out loud, you make mistakes. You get tongue-tied or you get ahead of yourself and skip or mix up words. Or sometimes, you might just not like how you read a particular sentence, so you re-record it. You have to edit all of that out, and it can get tedious. But it's also kind of fun, like putting a puzzle together.
When I finished editing, I uploaded the audio files to ACX and submitted them to Tavenor for review. Two pairs of ears are better than one. Tavenor found a couple of mistakes in pronunciations or a glitch in the editing (remember how I said earlier you have to listen to yourself a ton? After a while, you stop hearing accurately), which he annotated and I fixed. Then, we submitted it to ACX to approve and put it into an audiobook format to share with you all!
All-in-all, producing an audiobook takes about 2-3 hours of work for every hour the audience hears. It takes a lot of prep-work, vocal stamina, and patience. But it is also creatively fulfilling and fun. And nothing feels better than when an author trusts you tor bring their creation to audible life. I'm honored Tavenor entrusted his baby to me.
And I love the story he tells in Legacy of Light and the relatable, inspiring characters he has created (Ermo is just the best). I know you will too. And if you chose to listen to it, I hope my voice leaves you eagerly anticipating the next installment in this beautiful saga.
Legacy of Light is available for purchase on Audible.
US Link
UK Link
DE Link
FR Link
Alix, originally from Denver, is currently a bit of a nomad, living wherever her career takes her. As an Army Brat, she got used to moving around a lot, and books became her constant companions. She later followed in her parents’ footsteps by graduating from West Point (where she studied Literature), and subsequently served as Field Artillery officer. When she got out of the Army, Alix decided to pursue her lifelong dream of being a musical theater performer. She attended the Royal Academy of Music in London and got her M.A. in musical theatre. While she loves to sing and perform live, Alix still adores reading, so she combined her hobby and her skill and now produces audiobooks alongside her stage performances. For more about Alix’s journey or to see what she’s up to now, visit her website www.alixefaw.com.