I was the kid in school who LOVED being picked to read the textbook out loud for the class. Seriously, in my head it was the spotlight on me, as I read page 192 in World Civ, and please please when I get to the bottom of the page, have the teacher tell me to continue reading. I can remember feeling like I was performing for an audience. My speedy sight-reading came in handy for the various instruments I played, too, and it was something that I knew I was good at, but never thought it would amount to anything professionally.

Now I’ve really turned my voiceover focus toward narrating audiobooks. That is, I’m reconfiguring gear, and doing lots of practicing and marketing in order to make publishers and producers aware of me, and surely to get myself ready in all aspects to voice any books that I may be assigned. I have found the optimal outlet for that handy sight-reading skill. Reading the book in advance is ideal, but even a 10th time going through any script, you’re still performing it on the fly, in the moment, and you have to know the nuances and curves in the story as you go so you can choose a better performance. The ability to sight-read and see ahead without jumping ahead in the performance, or letting what is about to happen bleed through into your read leading up to it and ruin the moment – that’s the balancing act.

It’s reassuring to be able to look into my past and see the spark – reading aloud to my classmates – that over time and through much introspection, training with experts and practice on my own has become a huge flame for audiobook narration.