Before television became the king of all American living rooms, there was a time when radio held that title. Throughout some of the most important decades in our nation’s history, radio broadcasts represented the lifeblood of families for anything and everything from live sporting events and inaugurations to slapstick comedies and heart-pounding dramas (Photo above is Agnes Moorehead on “Suspense Radio—The Theater of Thrills”).
Today, the role of radio—other than political propaganda and sports talk—has been assumed by podcasts and audiobooks which, undoubtedly, is a sign of our fast-paced, ever-on-the-go culture. For a writer of books—those old-school, hardcover things with pages that don’t swipe—this is a bit of a distressing development.
So instead of fighting them, I decided to feed them.
After my dentist told me that he hadn’t read a book in 40 years, after one of my best friends said he had barely completed a book since college, and since a younger individual said that—although she liked to carry and collect books—she didn’t necessarily ever read them…well, I decided to begin creating audiobook versions of my stories. They all swear to me they will listen to them.
But this has led me into an infinitely more challenging project than I ever expected.
I decided to start with my “Tales of Suspense” Series. These are generally shorter in length than a feature novel, though there are 14 of them. Still in the midst of the project, the task has proven to be Herculean but thoroughly fascinating. In a subsequent post, I’ll go into some of the trials and tribulations—primarily the humorous ones—but for now, I’m interviewing voice talent from around the world to match up the right voice with the right story. Again, harder than I thought it would. To date, I’ve lined up the following voices:
- Sophisticated British Male Voice
- Folksy Southern Texas Male Voice
- Light and Airy Female Millennial Voice
- Gruff and Older Male Voice
- 1940’s Movie Star Female Voice
- All-American Housewife Voice
- 1960’s Young, Preppy Female Voice
- Middle-Aged, Professional Male Voice
It all feels like casting a movie which, at the moment, is both exhilarating and exhausting. Stay tuned…so far it’s all been a grand adventure. We’ll see if it continues to be.
