Today
it’s my pleasure to welcome audiobook producer Stevie Zimmerman to Lady
Scribes! I have been fortunate enough to have Stevie produce/narrate all of the
books in my Scandalous Series. (She’s currently hard at work on A Scandalous
Past as we speak.) And I could not be happier. Stevie has such a wonderful
voice and hearing her narrate my stories always brings a smile to my face. It’s
been so long ago that I wrote the Scandalous Series, and hearing her retell the
story reminds me how much I loved writing those books.
My
good friends Deb Marlowe and Rose Gordon have also worked with Stevie on some
audiobooks, and we thought it might be fun to have a little “chat” between the
four of us. So without further ado,
please welcome Stevie Zimmerman!
AVA: Hi, Stevie, thank you so
much for being with us today. I was hoping you could tell everyone how you
became a voice talent and how you started producing audiobooks.
STEVIE:
Hello everyone. Lovely to be here!
Well,
I got started quite by chance really. I took an evening class several years ago
that turned out to be a thinly disguised sales pitch for a company making
demos. I decided to ignore their expensive plans for me but was intrigued at
the idea that there might be a niche
for my accent in the US market. I found someone else to make a demo with and
then contacted some local studios (in Hartford, CT) and got a few radio ads. My
first job was doing 10 second ads for Hartford itself – promoting the things
there were to do in town that summer. I think they wanted me because the spots
were so short and my accent at least sounded different in the crowded radio
noise. That started getting me some attention and I was hired to do a lot of
e-learning narrations for companies that needed a voice that would work in lots
of different markets and countries. My natural accent is perceived as sort of
neutral by multi-national companies. I enjoyed the long-form much more than the
quick commercials and so I started trying to find audiobook work. Ava’s
“A Scandalous Wife” was my first ever book!
ROSE: What is your typical day like
recording?
STEVIE: I work
from home so a lot depends on what is going on with the rest of the world – it
needs to be quiet, undisturbed, focused time. Not always the easiest thing in
the world. I have an ancient cat who thinks she should be part of the action
quite often! But ordinarily I try to record several chapters at a go and then
return to edit them later. That way I get more of a flow to the narration and
consistency in the tone and feel of the story and characters.
DEB: Do you read the whole
book before you start recording or do you read them a chapter at a time as you
record?
STEVIE:
I read one chapter at a time. I like to get some sense of discovering the story
along with the reader. I don’t want to know ahead of time that at the end of
the story the bad guy turns out to be the hero and have that affect how I read
him earlier in the story. Going chapter to chapter allows me to be part of the
unfolding, the journey, not some omniscient presence. Perhaps I would have a
different approach with a different type of book, but the novels I have done so
far have all had an element of romantic suspense to them which I want to keep
immediate.
AVA: When I do a search for your name at
Amazon, Audible and iTunes, it seems you have become quite the star of Regency
Romance audiobooks. Was that by chance? Or was it a genre you were looking for?
(And since you ARE English, do you find it odd the number of American writers
who focus on that specific time period of British history?)
STEVIE: Thanks
for the ‘star’! When I started auditioning for audiobooks the authors looking specifically
for English accents were all Regency Romance authors. You were the first person to offer me an
opportunity and it grew from there. So yes,
quite by chance.
I do find it
amusing how popular the time period is over here – the popularity of Jane
Austen on TV and in movies has always amazed me. Not because I don’t absolutely
love Jane Austen – when I got married I made it a stipulation that my husband
read “Persuasion” on our honeymoon! But because it always seemed to me her
ironic commentary on England’s class structure and social rules and
restrictions would be lost on a country which so prides itself on inclusiveness
and the possibility of everyone ‘making it’. But the romance of that era is
undeniable, and I see in my daughter, who is all-American, that there is still
a real desire to be swept off your feet by a gallant hero. And there are nasty
gossipmongers and rakes and cads everywhere. Pretty Little Liars is Regency
Romance in modern clothes…
DEB: I adored how you gave
life to the different classes (from guttersnipes to dukes!) in The Love List,
as well as the different nationalities. Do you enjoy the different
accents? Or are they difficult?
STEVIE:
I love doing the accents. It’s one of my favourite parts of the job. And “The
Love List” has a great cast of characters to convey. I don’t have an endless
supply, but when it’s called for it’s a really fun thing to do. I wanted to be
an actress from the age of about 5 and, although I realized when I was in
college that I didn’t have “it”, I am still very involved in theatre as a
director in the DC area. The audiobooks allow me to still do a bit of acting!
ROSE: Be honest, did you imagine yourself as
the heroine as you read the book?
STEVIE: Honestly,
no! I identify with the longing the
women in all the books feel for romance, for independence within a strong and
protective relationship, for the feeling of being adored and longed for. But
since every heroine is absolutely drop-dead gorgeous, and I’m well into my
twentieth year of marriage, that’s about as far as it goes. I did recognize
some of the frustrations she feels (in “Her Reluctrant Groom”) dealing with
such a reluctant and recalcitrant hero, especially when their mutual attraction
is so obvious.
AVA: As romance authors, I
know I’ve gotten the “look” from people who find out what I write. Do you
experience the same thing when people find out you’re narrating romance?
STEVIE:
I think most people I work with in the theatre understand that all
story-telling is valid. It may not be their choice of genre, but ultimately
that’s what all actors and directors and designers are doing. Years ago I had
the privilege of meeting Patrick Stewart, a great Shakespearean actor who had
just taken on the reboot of Star Trek. He was being given a lot of grief about
that but his view was that had Shakespeare been alive, he’d have been writing
just the type of stories Star Trek told every week. Great story telling is
nothing to do with the snobbish values some people want to put on it. Having
said that, there are probably some people I actually haven’t told about this
aspect of my work because it would change how they perceive me!
DEB: So, how do you feel about
reading those sex scenes? :-)
STEVIE:
Well, I must admit I was a bit surprised when I came upon them in “A Scandalous
Wife” only because I hadn’t expected it. I am no prude but reading them out
loud took a little doing, and I had to make sure no one was eavesdropping! It’s kind of like eating chocolate though –
part of the fun is in the sinning…….
ROSE: Was there a part where you had to
record it more than once so you could keep a straight face and a steady tone?
STEVIE: So far
no. I have narrated one book that was so sexually focused - and different from
the rest of the books I have done - that
I decided to put it under a different name. I didn’t realize going in what kind
of book it was, and then I was committed. It wasn’t that I was embarrassed,
although I didn’t get it quite, but that I didn’t want to put listeners off
books such as “The Love List”, “Her Reluctant Groom”, and the Scandalous series
by association with something honestly rather kinky. I hope listeners enjoy my
narration enough to seek out other books I have done, but I also hope I can
stay out of the way enough to allow them to have their own fantasy moments
through those scenes.
AVA: Well, we
know you are busy working on several projects, Stevie, but we really appreciate
you taking the time to be here with us today and for answering our questions. And
we’d also like to thank you for doing such an excellent job producing our
books!
STEVIE: It’s
been great having this chance to talk about the work! It can feel a little
isolated sometimes, sitting reading into my microphone so it is great to have
this chance to connect with all of you, and your readers. Cheers!
Originally posted at Lady Scribes 9/30/2013
