Come on in and get to know your favorite audiobook professionals over a couple of cocktails!
Episodes
Sunday Nov 03, 2019
Sunday Nov 03, 2019
My guest tonight is grammy-award winning audiobook producer John McElroy!
John talks about his start in the audiobook industry abridging books (back when that was far more common than it is today), how he founded the Gashouse Production Company, and how that morphed into Eljin Productions 10 years ago. John also describes a typical production at Eljin, and shares his vision for Erggo, a publicly accessible database of audiobook narrators. All this over a König Pilsener and a Barracuda!
You can find John on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-mcelroy-1417413, and you can reach him via email at support@erggo.us.
Tonight's Speakeasy chat brought to you by Squeaky Cheese Productions. They're on the cutting wedge, and you can find them at http://www.squeakycheeseproductions.com.
Sunday Oct 20, 2019
Sunday Oct 20, 2019
My guests tonight have performed many dual narrations together: Erin Mallon and Zachary Webber, romance narrators extraordinaire!
Erin and Zach share their stories about getting into audiobooks, and the romance genre specifically. They also describe their process for producing great dual narrations, and share their thoughts on what narrators can focus on when diving into this more and more common approach to audiobooks in the romance genre that shift POV between the main characters. All this and more over a glass of 19 Crimes Cabernet, a coconut water, and a Scotch and soda!
You can find Erin on Twitter at @ErinMallon and on Facebook at erinmallon.
You can find Zach on Twitter at @ZacharyWebber and on Facebook at zacharywebber.
Tonight's episode brought to you by Squeaky Cheese Productions, on the web at http://www.squeakycheeseproductions.com.
Sunday Oct 06, 2019
Sunday Oct 06, 2019
My guest tonight is this year's Audie winner for Best Female Narrator, Julia Whelan!
Julia talks about growing up as a child actor on television and learning how fast the acting landscape changes when you take four years off to get an education. Julia also describes her very serendipitous entry into the audiobook world, and how important it is to take risks. All this and more over a Last Word and a Monte Carlo!
You can find Julia on Twitter and Instagram at @justjuliawhelan.
This week's episode is brought to you by Squeaky Cheese Productions: http://www.squeakycheeseproductions.com.
Sunday Sep 22, 2019
Sunday Sep 22, 2019
My guest tonight is heading up the new Audio Division at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Tommy Harron!
After a brief discussion of beer and Lambrusco, Tommy describes how his musical career led him to a job at Talking Books, then Hachette, and finally HMH to lead the newly created Audio Division. Tommy and I then talk about the progress they've made at HMH Audio and how a typical production progresses. All this over a cup of tea and some Writer's Tears Irish Whiskey!
You can find Tommy on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/tommyharron/.
Sunday Aug 11, 2019
Sunday Aug 11, 2019
My guest tonight is the Studio Services Coordinator at Blackstone Audio, Jesse Bickford!
Jesse and I talk about how she wound up in Southern Oregon and eventually started working at Blackstone Audio. Jesse goes on to describe all of the different responsibilities she's had at Blackstone, including proofing, casting, and... just about everything else! All this and more, over a glass of Druid's Fluid and a Dirty Old Man!
You can find Jesse on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/jesse.bickford.7 and you can reach her via email at jesse.bickford@blackstoneaudio.com.
Sunday Jul 28, 2019
Sunday Jul 28, 2019
Tonight I'm joined by voice actor and audiobook narrator Sean Crisden!
Sean and I discuss his ten years of narrating audiobooks, primarily in the romance genre, and how audiobook narration fits into his voiceover business, which includes commercial, e-learning, and video game work. Sean also has lots of great advice for narrators who may want to branch out into other areas of VO work (spoiler alert: building relationships is important in other VO areas as well!), and describes his SPORTH method for keeping your business on track. All this over an enormous jug of water and a Death In The Gulf Stream!
You can find Sean at http://seancrisden.com, on Twitter at @seancrisden, and by email at crisden@seancrisden.com.
Sunday Jul 14, 2019
Sunday Jul 14, 2019
My guest tonight is prolific audiobook narrator and VO coach Khristine Hvam!
Khristine describes how she got into animation and later audiobooks, with some great stories that illustrate how important it is to always present yourself professionally. Khristine also tells me all about producing the first full-cast musical audiobook, and her approach to VO and audiobook coaching. All this over a lemon-lime club soda and a Tequila Cocktail!
You can find Khristine at https://hvamaudio.com, on Twitter at @KhristineHvam, and on Instagram at @hvamaudio.
Sunday Jun 30, 2019
Sunday Jun 30, 2019
My guest this evening is John Marshall Cheary, founder and CEO of John Marshall Media!
After John and I wax a bit poetic about gins and tonics, he tells me about his early years as an aspiring drummer and how his musical roots led him into audio engineering. John goes on to describe the role that John Marshall Media plays in an audiobook production and how a production goes from start to finish, then offers some very good advice for narrators -- and entrepreneurs of any stripe. All this over a Gin Rickey and a Diet Coke!
You can find John at https://www.johnmarshallmedia.com and on Twitter at @johnmarshallmed.
Sunday Jun 16, 2019
Sunday Jun 16, 2019
Tonight's guest is the founder of both Christian Audio and Verity Audio Productions, Cory Verner!
Cory talks about being the driving force behind Christian Audio from its inception in 2003 until very recently, and what role Verity Audio Productions played in his business plan. Cory and I also discuss several aspects of entrepreneurship that affect all entrepreneurs, including narrators. All this over a Tomac Collins and... the hope of a drink after a long work day.
You can find Cory on LinkedIn, and at both cory@verityproductions.com and coryverner@gmail.com.
Sunday May 19, 2019
Sunday May 19, 2019
My guest tonight is book blogger and audiobook power listener Brian Krespan!
Brian describes how he got into blogging about beer and books, and how R. C. Bray's narration of The Martian turned him into an audiobook lover (last year he listened to over 100 audiobooks!). Then Brian shares his thoughts about what works -- and what doesn't -- in the audiobooks he listens to. All this over a Dark 'n' Stormy and some Longbranch bourbon!
You can find Brian at https://briansbookblog.com, and on Twitter at @brians_books.