The audiobooks of both Memory Lane and Rocky Road (which released last week!!!) have two narrators. A female narrator reading the scenes I wrote from my female characters point of view. And a male narrator reading the scenes I wrote from my male characters point of view. Ryan Hudson was my male narrator for both novels and that was extremely fortunate for me because I’M A HUGE FAN of his. I was so pleased when he agreed to answer the below questions . . . .
BECKY: Can you tell us a little about the path that led you to narrating novels?
RYAN: I have always enjoyed reading. I’m eternally curious, so reading out loud was a very natural progression. It also didn’t hurt that I’m an actor and voice artist . . . so all of this lined up really nicely for me. I hardly think of narrating as work. Haha.
BECKY: What do you enjoy about narration work? Is any aspect of it challenging?
RYAN: What’s great about narration is the wide range of books I get to read. It’s also nice to get to read things that I might not necessarily seek out on my own. I also find the schedule to be relatively flexible so it melds into my schedule really well.
As far as difficulty goes . . . when narrating a book with lots of characters, I always try hard to walk the line between creating a voice that is too distracting (especially when voicing female characters) and not distinguishing them enough. The only other real difficulty is just vocal strain from long, long sessions of narration. We don’t often think about speaking in a performative way as vocally stressful, but when you are sensitive to the quality of your voice . . . after a few hours . . . there is definitely some degradation in quality. At least for me.
BECKY: What is your routine during an average recording session?
RYAN: My process is usually very simple and straightforward. I like shorter sessions, it keeps my energy up and my voice strong. So when time permits, I’ll try to knock out an hour at a time, or I’ll schedule time by chapter or by emotional arc in the story. Frequently I’ll have a cup of tea, take my time . . . do an entire read-through of a chapter, then go back and clean up any edits. The one thing I don’t often do that many narrators do is read the book ahead of time. I’ll do a general “once over” just so I can have a top-down view of the book as a whole. But I like to discover it in real time, the same way whatever character I am narrating would.
Here’s a link to Rocky Road on Spotify and here’s a link to Rocky Road on Audible. Both of those two sites offer audio samples of the novel. If you listen to audiobooks via other platforms, you should hopefully find Memory Lane and Rocky Road there, too. Here you’ll find a list of retailers that offer Rocky Road in paperback and ebook.
The moment when I get to launch a new book into the world is always a moment of celebration and gratitude to the Lord. Never has that been more true than with this book, which I wrote during my health struggles of 2023. I’m marveling at the Lord’s faithfulness and His ability to come through for us in strength when we are weakest.
Warmly, Becky p.s. If you’re an author interested in hiring Ryan, reach out to me and I’ll provide his email address.
Did anything about Ryan’s answers come as a surprise?
Becky Wade
Latest posts by Becky Wade (see all)
- Free to Amazon Prime Members + Rendezvous! - November 22, 2024
- Cover Reveal! - November 8, 2024
- Sheet Cake Reader Retreat - October 25, 2024
Great interview. I think it’s awesome that he doesn’t read the book first, but likes the process of discovery as a narrator as much as I like that process as a seat-of-the-pants writer. Congratulations on your new book, Becky!
Ditto what Deb said. I too write to discover what happens, so it was fun to know that he likes to discover what happens as he narrates. Plus, as a huge audiobook fan, I appreciate that he doesn’t want to create a voice that is too distracting. Oh my. I do come across what I call “over-acting” and really hate it.
Robin, YES. I’m also not a fan of over-acting narrators. When that’s the case, I have a difficult time getting lost in the story.
Right! I, too, love the process of discovery when reading so I completely relate to his approach to narration.
I loved his narration! Rocky Road has topped my list of favorite books, all the more after knowing it was written during difficult times. Great interview.
Thanks, Teresa!
Can I just send you that picture of “Ryan” every Monday to encourage a narrator hero? *happy sigh*
You’re more than welcome to! 😉
Wow! I’m really surprised that he doesn’t read the book ahead of time. I’m sure that lends itself to true inflection of his voice as he ‘discovers’ things as he goes along. I admit, I don’t listen to audio books and one of the reasons is that I dislike a woman or man narrating the opposite sex, since it doesn’t feel (sound) authentic, but knowing your books have both a male and female narrator has piqued my interest.
“I dislike a woman or man narrating the opposite sex” Exactly. I much prefer when a guy narrates the guy scenes in an audiobook. The guy still has to perform dialogue spoken by female characters in those scenes and vice versa (the female narrator has to perform dialogue spoken by male characters) but, for me, dual narration brings a romance alive more accurately than when a female narrates the entire novel.
So fun to get some behind the scenes scoops, Becky! Ryan sounds like a wonderful narrator. I’ve always like the idea of having two narrators, one for male POV and one for female POV. How do you handle dialog?Did Ryan read the female dialog that appeared in his POV chapters? Or did the female narrator jump in to voice the dialog for the female characters?
“Did Ryan read the female dialog that appeared in his POV chapters?” Yes. What you’re describing–a female reading all the female dialogue even in the male POV scenes–is called “duet” narration, I believe. That is an option, but it’s fairly rare. I listened to that once, but decided I prefer having one narrator read the entire scene. It feels more like the book to me, sticking with one perspective/voice for the whole scene.
Very interesting, Becky! I’m hoping to dip my toes into audiobook creation with my next indie project, so I’m trying to absorb all I can. 🙂
What an interesting interview!
I guess I never thought about caring for the voice before.
He is a blessing for listening readers!
I found the idea of caring for the voice interesting, too! It made sense when he mentioned it, the idea of degradation after extended time reading aloud.
What a fun interview! I don’t get a chance to listen to many audiobooks, but when I do, I enjoy the ones that have 2 narrators (male/female). It helps me engage more with the story.
I agree! In a romance, I feel that two narrators are able to better communicate the chemistry/sparks of the relationship.
I have listened/read all your books multiple times. You’re one of my fav’s! ☺️ And you mentioned somewhere that Ryan’s aversion to public photos made you want to write a book about a male voice actor with a similar aversion. I really hope you do!
Thank you for reading my books multiple times, Betsy! I appreciate that so much. My friend Joy is also lobbying for me to write a book about a photo-shy male narrator so that’s definitely been added to my idea file. 🙂
Love the book and love his voice! Thanks for sharing!
I just love the narration of Ryan’s in Rocky Road! I actually like the fact he doesn’t want his picture published, it keeps the narration fresh, and you can make up the characters looks in your own imagination!
I LOVED, loved, Loved this book!
❤️ ❤️ ❤️ ❤️ ❤️
🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟
“you can make up the characters looks in your own imagination!” YES! Exactly!
I found his comments very interesting. Not until I experienced “poor reading” had I even thought about it happening. In fact I’ve had three from your books….and I LOVE YOUR BOOKS! But a poor reader can do a lot of damage.
So thank you to Ryan Hudson for all the care and consideration he uses!
Yes, I’m grateful for the “care and consideration” he brings to my audiobooks.