This post is all about audio.
Maggie Audio
This Kingdom is getting an audio release, and we are being asked about our input. We R Excite!
If you have a favorite narrator who is suitable to voice a 25 year old woman and does great male voices, lay your suggestions on us in the comment section. We are looking for a new to us narrator, so not someone who has voiced a lot of our work.
Inheritance Audio
The Inheritance Audio is in the works. We are right now looking at a split narration for Ada and Elias. This adds additional hoops for us. Because of the scheduling issues, the ebook and print copy of The Inheritance will likely come out a lot earlier than the audio. It’s hard to book narrators on shorty notice. But have no fear, the audio will be released.
AI Audio
On May 13th, The Guardian published an article regarding Audible use of Ai voices.
“We are bringing new audiobooks to life through our own fully integrated, end-to-end AI production technology,” reads the announcement on Audible’s website. There are two options for publishers wishing to make use of the technology: “Audible-managed” production, or “self-service” whereby publishers produce their own audiobooks with the help of Audible’s AI technology.
Both options will allow publishers to choose from more than 100 AI-generated voices across English, Spanish, French and Italian to narrate their books. AI translation of audiobooks is expected to be available later in the year.
We will not be picking up that option. All of our narrators are human. This is why it takes so long for audio to come out sometimes.
Rogan POV audio
We are aware that Rogan POV didn’t make it into GA edition. No worries, we are working on it and hopefully you will be getting the extras with the next couple of releases.
I really like Moira Quirk. She did Gail Carriger Finishing school series.
And first?
Certified 🙂
I came here to recommend Moira Quirk and now I get to be close to the top because I’m agreeing with you 😂😂 She can sound young, old, male, female. She has a lovely British accent. And she nails wit and sarcasm. She makes every book 10x better for me.
another vote for Moira Quirk – she did Gideon the Ninth brilliantly
I also vote for Moira Quirk, I’ve found new authors simply because she did the narration. 2nd for me would be Cassandra Campbell (she reads the Miss Fortune series by Jana Deleon), followed by Rebecca Gibel (she reads the A.G. Howard books among others).
“The inheritance audio is in the works “
😊😊
Just a comment on AI narration, especially since I have three legally blind sisters.
For books I read for pleasure I want a real person (people) and some readers interpretations add to the value of the story. However, AI generation is perfect for textbooks, reference materials and anything that is not widely sold enough to justify paying a real person a living wage. It would have been invaluable for them in school.
House Andrews are addressing here AI as inadequate replacements for a human narrator as pertains to their books. Unfortunately for my academic career, they have yet to pen any textbooks. Incidentally, Ilona, any insight on An Introduction to International Tax Law, and how it may be improved by dragons? 🙂 Eagerly awaiting your response!
The issue of accessibility is very valid and of course, visually impaired people should be able to enjoy books as well. It is a case by case situation, to be sure. There is also the matter of how things like Virtual Voice were trained and if that process was ethical or stole intellectual property from audio artists etc.
A lot of nuance and very complex points to be made, but this blog post was intended as a mere reassurance that Ilona Andrews books will continue to be performed by a person, the best narrators House Andrews and team can find 🙂
Which I greatly appreciate and enjoy.
How could An Introduction to International Tax Law NOT b improved by adding dragons!? I mean, perhaps there r dragon scholars who could explain the fine points, or u could lounge on the dragons to study while they nap, or tempting on difficult days, they could ‘improve’ (incinerate) the book w their fire breath so it tortures u no more…
So many options! As an engineer in my first life, I’m pretty sure I’d vote option 3. International Tax Law-shudder. You’re a brave woman, Mod. R!
A coherent tax system exists, embodied in both the tax treaty network and in domestic laws, and it forms a significant part of international law. And then, the dragons came.
Yes! See! Made better by dragons!
U could get hands on experience by traveling internationally, adragonback. Or on warm days, study in the shade of a dragon wing. Also, I bet complicated international tax situations could b quickly simplified by bringing your dragon to the negotiations! If u forget to bring your book with u, send your dragon to fetch it for u (assuming u don’t mind a few toothmarks). Get quiet study time by having your dragon entertain the neighborhood kids w dragon rides. Although u might not want to let them feed the dragon-dragons can b messy eaters. Also, I expect the expenses of housing and feeding your dragon may b deductible-but the rules may vary by country.
Apparently, I can do this all day…
Then a dragon, who does not like the internation taxes he/she has to pay, would drown all the rules and people who made the rules in fire. Burn it all to ash.
Then everyone else wouldn’t have to pay the tax. Easy-peasy (or not).
“Adragonback” – Love This! I will be borrowing. In fact, I’m breathlessly wracking my brain for opportunities to use this!
I expect any explanation provided by a dragon of the reasons why both international and domestic tax laws have no application whatsoever to dragon hoards would be both *very* scholarly and also quite concise. I expect the dragon would get crisply to the point…
All of this. Disabled people need better access & 99% of the time that access benefits everyone. AI also needs to get off it’s rush rush profit only matters & be trained ethically. Massive fines need to cripple certain organizations that shall remain nameless cause we all know them already. Said fines could then cover the cost of property training the brand new tech that is AI to broaden access.
Thank You House Andrews for continuing to support artists in these very troubled times.
Mary Jane Wells, usually a romance narrator, apparently branched out to do a Salesforce book once upon a time. The business world was not pleased at her perky narration, according to Audible reviews.
How interesting! I never thought about how genre voice actors utilize different styles than non-fiction narrators.
Laura Burrows for female audio narration. She has a lot of “samples” on her Facebook page. Mostly little behind the scenes of being an audio narrator.
Seconded love her voice’s expression
+1 recommendation for Laura Horrowitz
I would love her for house Daniels!
She’s fantastic. Great suggestion.
+1
Alexandra Harris. She was the reader for Anne Bishops Other series. A lot of characters in those books!
Oh I love her voice and style (also loved the stories which helped surely) ! I wished she did more narrations for the books I tend to read! She is really on point with all the characters that are in these books! Would love a cooperation with her and House Andrews for sure !
+1. I so totally agree – the range is so remarkable.
+1000
Great suggestion!
I really enjoyed the narration of that series
Andi Arndt for sure! She’s great at male and female voices and has a lot of range in my experience. If not her then Moira Quirk maybe
+1 recommend!
I’m listening to the Others series right now (for the 5+ time). Love her character works!
There are a few funky pronunciations in the first book but then she’s pretty freaking great.
Thanks for the info! Looking forward to the audio of The Inheritance very much and don’t mind waiting awhile for it.
Sorry to say I don’t have any recommendations for narrators to offer for Maggie, tho. And thank you for NOT using AI. Never thought is become a Luddite, but AI is my sticking point.
Taylor Meskimen does an amazing job.
+1 for Taylor Meskimen
+1 for Taylor Meskimen
Thank you for that decision. I am happy to wait for the audiobook if it means a real book narrator will be voicing it.
I really like Lauren Fortgang – She did the Elemental Assassin series for Jenifer Estep ….. well really a lot for Estep but also she has done for Leigh Bardugo
Gabra Zackman is also a favorite for a lot of books series (a lot of Maria V Snyder) as well as Khristine Hvam (Chronicles of Elentra by Michelle Sagara, Jane Yellowrock by Faith Hunter)
I’m excited about about the audio for Inheritence. I really like Alex Knox if you are looking for a male suggestion for that.
Seconding Lauren Fortgang!
Absolutely Lauren Fortgang!! Her work on Leigh Bardugo’s books is absolutely perfection and the Ninth House series especially.
Her narration of Alex and co in the Ninth House/ Hell Bent books are mostly somewhat world-weary yet practical college age characters with a mix of gender and accents and the tone fits SO well for what we’ve seen of Maggie so far
The audio she did for Hell Bent came out in 2023 and the most recent main narration she did for The Familiar last April 2024 was also a female character in her early twenties.
I second the khristine Hvam. she was brilliant with Jane Yellowrock. would also add the lady who does the Mercy Thompson series. can’t remember her name off the top of my head but she also does an amazing job with both male and female voices.
I agree with both – Kristine Hvam is my absolute favorite narrator, hands down. Lorelei King is my second favorite. Both can do multiple voices for both male and female characters.
I almost exclusively listen to audiobooks now, but I used to go back and forth, and when I would re-read the Jane Yellowrock books , I heard all the characters in my head in Khristine Hvam’s character voices because to me, those WERE the characters voices! She can do “Southern” accents in different styles – North Carolina vs. New Orleans accents, and then layer in male vs. female. In the Jane Yellowrock series, she did several different French-accented characters and an English accent and all were unique. She is so very, very talented.
Lorelei King of the Mercedes Thompson series is fantastic as well. She is great with the subversive humor in that series, and does a great job differentiating the characters, which have included German, Russian and Spanish accents as well as aging her voice.
I agree with both
Note that each bring a different mood to their books. Lorelei has a bright cheerful mien. She can do dark, but cheerful is her forte. For Khristine, she has a darker voice, whiskey soft and beautifully southern. she can do bright and cheerful, but shines in the dark. I would add a middle voice to round out he suggestion, Christine Caroll who narrated the Walker Papers series. she has one of those firmly grounded voices.
along with all this for Khristine Hvam – chronicles of Elentra, though a very old series, the female lead is in her early 20s, plus she has done the spin series the academia chronicles where the mains are still in college-like setting. the next one comes out Tuesday so her voice is still really solid for that age range.
re: christine caroll and the walker papers acknowledged, older urban fantasty) – she only did he first one. Gabra Zackman took over the series because… well reasons not relevant to this blog space 😀
I was going to vote for Lorelei King, but here it is
Second Alex Knox – his range is on par with Alexandra Harris. She’s good on speaking the male parts as well as having a range of female voices. Alex Knox is a real pro with voicing all of the characters- even the females in the series I have listened to. Both or ether one has the skills to bring a wide range of characters to life. Imagine having both Alexandra Harris and Alex Knox on the same book – it would be mind/ear boggling.
I love Xe Sands for audiobooks! She’s done the female parts of Kevin Hearne’s Seven Kennings series, plus Deerskin by Robin McKinley and a lot of other things.
I love Travis Baldree as an audio book narrator! He has voiced both male and female characters well.
+1000
Baldree’s work on Yerin, Mercy, Malice…chef’s kiss.
I really enjoyed Anisha Dadia doing Naomi Novik’s Scholomance series
Moira Quirk also fun, but Dadia has a younger baseline voice.
Julia Whelan!
Seconded. One of the best in the business — but she’s very much in demand now, I think. She’s won 3 Audie Awards and been nominated for a dozen more.
She’s narrated two of my favorite series. Big fan.
Andi Arndt, Natalie Duke, Samara MacLaren, Xanthe Elbrick. Yep – I listen to a lot of audiobooks! 😂
Khristine Hvam
Hey all, thank you so much for your suggestions!
Just a reminder that we’re looking for a narrator for a female character who is in her early to mid 20s and the book will be recorded this year 🙂 . Artists who were recording young heroines on the classics of urban fantasy almost two decades ago would perhaps not be the best match.
Feel free to edit this out but I find your comment ageist. Good actors can portray people younger than they are just as they can portray people who are older.
Of course 🙂 , and it can absolutely be an artist older than mid-20s who is convincing, but this is a massive book with a first person narrator.
It’s not about distinguishing characters and doing “one of the voices”, Maggie’s POV is part of the believability of the performance.
I did some reading for the Blind textbooks in the early 90s. Reel to reel on my dining room table. It shocked me how difficult it was to find a block of time that would be quiet in my house so I could record. Shortly after that I went back to work…
Horowitz? Laura I think might be her first name. she narrates phantasma and does epic growly man voices!
I was going to suggest her – follow her in the ‘gram she is absolutely hilarious and a lovely narrator
+1 for Laura Horowitz
her tone and timbre is right in the correct range for 25. I also suggested her!
Not quite what you asked for, but I hear Collen Delany in my head for Ada. She did Delaney Reed in the Ordinary Magic series for GA. Not sure if GA narrarators do independently from them or not though. I’ve heard her do a few other characters as well and the vibe seems to fit with what I picture for Ada.
Thanks for the update! 🤗
for maggie, maybe January LaVoy? She’s narrated fantasy/scifi, mystery, and romance books and can successfully do a range of voices and accents, including voicing people of varying ages, so might be able to nail a 25 year old?
I think Yenni Ann would be really good for Maggie, but I’m not sure on her male voices as I prefer dual narration. She does that age range and has a really good variety of voices to differentiate the different characters.
https://www.yenniann.com/
I think Julia Whelan does male voices better than any narrator I’ve come across. (:
For a younger sounding voice Phillipa Soo has a wonderfully expressive voice. She is a Broadway actress and you can really tell!
I think either of these women would be amazing choices.
My suggestion is Rachel Dulude. She is older than 20s, but I loved her narration of Becky Chambers Long Way to a Small Angry planet. There were multiple age ranges, genders and species throughout the series, which I think she handled really well. I never got characters confused because they were distinct and had slight nuances for each character.
Good luck on the search!
scott brick was the voice actor for Janet evanovich’s FBI series, beginning with The Heist.
his acting made that series for me.
did an excellent job as a mid twenties female aong with dozens of other characters.
might consider him…
what ever you choose, im sure will be fabulous.
I agree with Andi Arndt and Julia Whelan who are tops at their narration of all characters.
Angela Dawe (narrates Nalini Singh’s psy series so you may have heard her), Emily Woo Zeller and Hillary Huber are all good at doing males.
+1 on Emily Woo Zeller
+++ for Angela Dawe for Inheritance
Bridget Bordeaux
Susan Erickson narrates all of the JD Robb In Death books.
I was going to suggest her too. She narrated Mercedes Lackey’s Obsidian Trilogy. I thought she did a good job of with the male mai characters voice.
Thank you for not going down the ai audio route.
AI has its place, but this feels like a way to out voice actors out of business and they are often undervalued.
Great! Thank you for not using AI option. I heard an AI voiced version of a AC/DC song. They took Bon Scott’s voice and placed it on a Brian Johnson song. Love both singers but it was just so wrong. Real live voices equal real emotion.
Natalie Naudus or Karissa Vacker would be my top votes for this choice. Especially Karissa, I love her voice modulations and ability to get different ages done so well.
I was going to suggest Natalie Naudus as well. She did an amazing job with the various different male voices in Mia Tsai’s Bitter Medicine, and the main character in that book FEELS like she’s in her 20s despite being older because demigods/fae/magical shenanigans
absolutely love Saskia Maarleveld – she does a very good range of ages for voices…..
+1 great for the Helen Harper books
So much Yayness, except for AI ripping off voice artists, but that’s already been thumbs downed, so more yay!
I really liked Bernadette Dunn’s voice for all characters in the “Protector of the Small” quartet. This was several years back, but I just thought I’d share.
Kevin R. Free does Martha Wells’ Murderbot books and I could see him doing a great job with Elias. I know you want new voices, but just wanted to mention I have a soft spot for Steve West though and would happily listen to him reading the phone book.
Kevin R. Free is amazing (such excellent snark) and I’m sad he’s not playing Murderbot in the TV series, because it’s just wrong without him.
yaaaaaaay audio!!! I’m so excited, I’m already haunting the Tor page.
I like Johanna Fairview but her natural timbre is on the lower end which tends to excellent male voices. super growly as needed. She can lift it to higher tones without sounding weird. She has a slight south-east inflection which may not work. she did Juliette Cross’ Stay A Spell series and gave each sister her own personality/tone.
Laura Horowitz, Amy Hall, Isabelle Turner, Felicity Munroe, Lucy Rivers, and Sophie Daniels are some others I like, a few have some decent alt accents as well!
Robert Petkoff is an amazing narrator. His work with the Immortals After Dark series is phenomenal. He can did all sorts of different voices.
I’d recommend Khaya Fraites who is the lead character for the Graphic Audio version of Patricia Briggs’ Mercy Thompson series! I think she’d do a terrific job as Maggie.
Forgot to add that Kevin R. Free does a phenomenal job on the Audible version of Martha Wells’ Murderbot Diaries, smoothly switching between characters.
Love her too!
I really like Thérèse Plummer, who does the Haven’s Rock books Kelley Armstrong.
I love Therese Plummer! I just speed read Kelley Armstrong’s Casey Duncan series and she’s fabulous.
Cassandra Campbell, she does all of the miss Fortune mysteries. She’s awesome!
Jennifer Ikeda is a very good narrator. She did the All Souls Trilogy and spoke with French, British, Italian, German and American accents to name a few. Her male voices were excellent.
oh, I agree! those audiobooks are amazing!
I love her
I like Vivienne Leheny, who records a lot of audiobooks for Lindsey Buroker. She does any number of voices, from teenager to middle-aged, women, men, talking dragons and tigers, free-thinking androids etc etc. She has a pleasant narrator voice, too.
Seconding Moria Quirk and I also really love Elizabeth Evans, though both may be difficult to book due to their popularity.
Lorelei King is wonderful!
From what I’ve listened to on Facebook, the AI voicing screws up pronunciation, emphasis, and language regularly. Very off-putting. Gods only know what kind of screwed up models they’re using to “train” the text to speech AI…
Thank you for sticking with real people and giving voice actors work!
No recommendations from me.
I finished listening Graphic Audio’s Burn for Me. It was great. I just need to get use to Rogan’s voice. When I hear Cornelius’ voice, I the actor who does him would be Rogan, and the actor who voices Rogan would be Cornelius. No upset about any of it. Just need to adjust.
Woo-hoo to Rogan’s POV later. They’re so funny. 😁🐉
Andrea Parsneau has an amazing range and ability to manage multiple voices. I often forget that it is one person narrating and voicing the story. I’m not sure of her availability but would love to hear her voice Inheritance.
+1
Absolutely amazing range!
She is absolutely amazing! I love her! I’m listening to The Wandering Inn, and it has so many characters, and she does them to perfection!
100% yes. She is amazing and is who I was going to recommend. I would not have made it through book one of The Wandering Inn if not for her exceptional narration.
+1
Agree. Andrea Parsneau has an amazing range–young, old, male, female, monster, you name it, she excels at it.
yay! I hope these books make it to Graphic Audio one day
First, I appreciate that you guys are giving us audio. I know it’s a lot and I for one am forever grateful.
Second, thank all the everythings, both holy and not, that y’all aren’t going to use AI narration. I’ve listened to books narrated by AI: 0/10 would not recommend. This is coming from someone who’s been listening to sythesized voices practically all my life. While I can listen to JAWS, NVDA, and VoiceOver speak (all text-to-speech software in case anyone isn’t aware), I absolutely cannot do AI narration. It is an affront to my mortal soul.
Narrator: Luke Daniels (He is a superb narrator!) Does amazing accents.
Nicole Poole is a great narrator who hasn’t been mentioned, as is Amanda Ronconi. Both do male voices well, too.
Eva Kaminsky who narrates Charlaine Harris’s Gunnie Rose series.
YES! i was just coming back here to add that – and Gunnie Rose is 19 at the beginning of the series
+1 for her! She does a great job with the accents, too!
Rebecca Soler is great!!! She has voiced several books I really enjoyed.
yay!
I am so excited that you support human narrators, even if it takes longer. 🙂
Ao much happy book news in this post has me giddy.
thanks for all you do.
BDH member for life!
Thank you for the info.. very exciting stuff coming. I just finished BFM on GA and it was chef’s kiss!
I recommend Nichole Poole she has really good range!
I absolutely love Veronica Guigere. First heard her narrate Secret World Chronicles and then found Terry Mixon’s Empire of Bones by looking for her work. Both are humongous worlds with lots of male and female characters and she has this uncanny ability to make every person different.
https://www.voicesbyveronica.com/
Nikki Massoud is amazing. She narrated M.A. Carrick’s Rook & Rose trilogy.
Laura Horowitz or Marguerite Shannon both do a great job.
I really enjoy listening to Elizabeth Evan’s from the Throne of Glass series by Sarah Maas
Gabrielle Baker, Suzy Jackson, and Julia Whalen are all awesome!
XE Sands was amazing in Bookburners podcast. So many accents, genders, and voices.
https://www.xesands.com/
Amber Benson narrated the YA series Zeros by Scott Westerfeld, Margo Lanagan, Deborah Biancotti.
Amazing vocal range and likely booked out because she’s awesome.
Samantha Desz or Christina Delaine would be my top two! Patricia Santomasso, Amara Jasper, Sophie Eastlake, and Justine Eyre are also pretty good.
if possible, for the Inheritance, try to get the guy who voices Jim for GA. he has a great voice.
To bad you can’t go straight to Graphic Audio
for Maggie, please consider Charlotte Kane. she is a great reader. she read a bunch of the Hot N Badger series by Shelley Laurenston.
she does male and female voices very well.
she brought the books to life for me
I love those audio books and couldn’t agree more.
Adding Nneka Okoye to the recommendations. Though her accent may not be what you want.
Josie Paolini might be an interesting choice. She narrated “Rihasi” by Rachel Neumeier, and has a pace and sound that is distinctly different to previous voice actors you have used.
I love Julia Whelan. She does great male voices and a lot of different accents!
Vanessa Moyen, Keira Grace, Renee Dorian, Yenni Anne, Brooke Daniel’s, imo have that early- mid 20s female voice.
Jesse Vilinsky, she did Swordheart by T Kingfisher, and was excellent. Great male voices, great timing for comedic dialogue.
As someone who has been involved in live theater work for 50+ years, I would like to say thank you for supporting voice actors!! 📚🎭
May your search for the perfect narrators be fruitful!!
I loved Anisha Dadia’s reading (schoolomance trilogy, mature YA). she’s British, but does American accents (and many others) for the book as well. there is no muscle bound hunk character in that series to report upon, but male voices are distinct.
what i really love is her wit, timing, and heart. there’s sass, tenderness, anger, righteousness, nonchalance, grief, joy, determination, or resignation just depending on where you are in the story or who is saying the line. the books are well-written and she enhances instead of distracting with her narration.
Anisha Dadia is my suggestion too! She is fantastic with the Scholomance trilogy. I think she would be really good for Maggie.
Andrea Parsneau- she just stopped doing wandering inn so she might be free
January lavoie
I accidentally bought an audiobook that has an AI reader. I would not have bought it if I’d remembered to check for that.
I have many reasons that I dislike the concept, but it was bought so I thought I’d listen and see how bad it is. (I do recognize that it can be a good accessibility feature when an author can’t afford to hire a narrator; and that is a mark in favor. I want improved accessibility, but I still have qualms about the technology)
The voice is pleasant. I am picky about narrator voices, so that is a real compliment to the AI. But then it. … Randomly ends a sentence mid-sentence, pauses for like 3 seconds, and then starts the middle of the sentence like it’s beginning of a new sentence. It reminds me of when I was a kid and we had to read aloud in class and some students would read each line of text like it was a sentence instead of following the punctuation. Also there are two names in the book (pets of the narrator and major players in the story) that it can’t decide how it wants to pronounce them. And then there are the heteronyms. Like, they put their pets on a lead (the metal) and when they are emotional, their eyes tear (as in rip).
So overall, I don’t plan to revisit listening to an AI narrator anytime soon.
Susan Erickson, Tavia Gilbert, Bernadette Quigley, January LaVoy
I won’t be buying AI voiced audiobooks. Books need emotion in the voice during the reading. They need to be ACTED. Thanks for using people.
So very glad Gordon is okay. So very happy to see the new series. I have been out of the electronic loop, due to taking care of my parents. They don’t believe in the internet. (the horror). I have worn out my physical copies of your books, reading them over and over again. You rank at the very top of my favorite author’s list. I love seeing the development of new series; just a quick question regarding Julie and Derek, Arabella and Leo, Hugh and his story. The possibilities are spinning in my mind and I am dying to see which way you go. Will Arabella end up with Michael or Misha, will Leo find love? ( It is gold mine of ideas). Julie and Derek need to have a reconing and save Kate. What about the new Pack, the black Volvo and a potential love interest. Maude and her special daughter and her Vampire?
I’m on pins and needles here. Forgive my ham handed typing. and spelling. Love, love, love you guys!!!!!!
I have the perfect candidate! I absolutely LOVE Elizabeth Evans’ narration in the Throne of Glass Series by Sarah J. Maas. She sounds like she’s in her early 20’s, but also has a broad range of character voices- males and females of different ages and accents. Of course, Renee Raudman will forever be my #1 pick for all things Ilona Andrews, Elizabeth definitely has a talent and again, would be a PERFECT narrator for this project.
+1, same!
I recommend Katherine Littrell at that age range if you want variations in the accents between Maggie and the world she’s in (she does lots of different accents and male voice well).
https://www.katherinelittrell.com/actor-and-voice-artist
Joy Nash is one of my favorite young female narrators who also does good guy voices. I *really* like her. She’s done several books for Penny Reid and I went “wow” the first book by her I listened to!
Saskia Maarleveld is a really good narrator. She does accents really well and it’s very easy to differentiate one character voice from the other in her audiobooks.
Vivienne Leheny – she did marvelous job on Death before Dragons series. She give each female and male characters something special. On top of human narraction, her narration for goblins was spectacular. 😀
I love how Lisa Flanagan does audiobooks. She did Spinning Silver from Naomi Novik and it was a really good job. Not only she does different accents really well, she also gave each character a really different personality, just incredible!
Paige Reisenfeld is fantastic (JA Vodvarka’s Blacksea Odyssey and Cara Blaine’s Luxe’s Lullaby Trilogy are some of hers). Add my vote to Julia Whelan as well.
I really enjoy Tavia Gilbert- Night huntress series by Jeaniene Frost. Really good at distinguishing different female and male characters, good American and English accent!
100% agree!
+1
+1 or 101% agree
Amy Landon has done several books and has a wide variety of voices. She does great male voices. You can easily tell which character is talking.
Christina Delaine:
She has done the Class 5 Series by Michelle Diener
Natasha Soudek – I love how she reads The Firebird Chronicles, there are so many emotions in her voice, especially when she reads sad parts and her voice sounds both, strong an volunarable.
Emily Woo Zeller – she narrated Polaris Rising and did a great Job voicing Loch, the male main character (a lot of growling😂)
+1. Natasha Soudek voices the “Firebird Chronicles” by T.A. White. She is just fun and voices her characters with intelligence and wit.
Perdita Weeks who did Circe by Madeleine Miller. Obsessed.
Can’t wait! I love audio books. Did you ever use Khristine Hvam? She did the Jane Yellowrock series. She’s been around, though, so I’m not sure she sounds like a kid.
As to a narrator suggestion for Inheritance Elias, Lorenzo Lamas. He is a great actor, singer, martial artist, pilot, and knows multiple languages. He raised 5 daughters and 1 son on his own. His daughter would be perfect for Ada voice. They’re all young adults now.
Kristin Watson Heintz – She voices Lexi Carmichael from Julie Moffatt’s brilliant Lexi Carmichael series, The character who is mid 20’s to early 30’s
Most of the female narrators I really like have already been mentioned.
Also for a male voice who are pretty good with accents – J F Harding, Kale Williams, Kevin T. Collins, Greg Tremblay, Gary Furlong or Michael Ferraiuolo.
Double “thumbs up” for Tremblay and Ferraiuolo.
Would the publisher consider a duet narration with a primary female narrator and a male narrator to provide all the male voices?
Lorelei King is a great narrator
Kirsten Potter and Jennifer Ikeda are probably my favorites for their acting ability as well as for range of voices in both age and accents. They are also probably the only narrators I’ve listened to that I search out and buy other books they’ve narrated. Xe Sands also stands out. (Honestly though, Kirsten is my favorite)
Mae Whitman Older than 25 but AMAZING.
Thank you a whole big wondrous kaboodle for this exciting missive of shinys!
Thank you for writing in such a way that I know everything you write (random blog posts included) will be worth my time! (I am in the midst of abandoning an audio book by another author (book 4 in a series) because I just can’t work up the emotional investment to finish) That hasn’t ever happened with any of your work (context: I have dead tree copies of everything you have in print and all the Graphic Audios) – You write it – You have my money. And am super excited Inheritance will be in print – Thank you!
Two questions – just when you have a minute (and apologies if my wee brain pan missed this)
(1) Will the 2 current Wilmington Years books be dead tree published in a single book when the third is released? (Just remembered I don’t have the first two in print yet cause I held off based on a post about a compilation)
(2) Can you please help remember me which only online short stories will make it into the second Small Magics?
Many thanks for your guidance!
PS. Missed this yesterday. Saw it this morning and am super duper caffeinated right now…..
Sending peace, health and safety to all!
My apologies for missing the direct ask on this post AND then post non-related questions in a ramble….
PS. Did plus 1 on a narrator listed above
(Skulks into corner in shame and promises (again) not to post in the morning)
Hey Joy,
Thanks for your questions 🙂. I will forward to Ilona, but I think the answer in both cases is that it’s a bit premature for official decisions to have been made.
Thank you, ModR, for being so gracious and for all that you do for House Andrews and the Horde!
We appreciate you!
If you want a younger sounding narrator who is great at male voices, Jesse Vilinsky is my favorite narrator.
Moira Quirk and Julia Whelan would both be amazing as well!
January LaVoy is one of the best narrators/voice actors I’ve listened to.
I second January LaVoy. She’s great with The Women’s Murder Club series.
Shooting my shot here…I’m an actress and would love to audition.
I have hearing issues, loss in the higher ranges (and yes I have hearing aids, good ones, but they all distort the higher range voices). Audio books by women with medium to higher voices are extremely difficult for me to follow. I finally figured out I can listen to a sample before I buy! So just asking that female voices be in the alto range.
+1
Have you tried slowing down playback speed to 0.9?
For the audible app if you select the title you are currently listening to, it’s the button with “speed” and 1.00x right above it. tap the 1.00x and change it to 0.90x or slower to reduce talking speed. I hope this helps you with some books you already have on hand!
I dont have hearing difficulties, and I know if you 100% can’t hear the pitches this won’t do a thing. I adjust my playback speed when I listen to a book in another language because at 80% I understand what’s going on and at 100% I dont. this is not the same as hearing loss. I know. but just in case that little bit of slow down lets you enjoy those soprano-voiced books you already purchased I thought I’d share. ❤️
Thank you for saying no to the AI recordings!!
Thank you for not taking the AI option!
I just went through a training with powerpoint video narrated by AI, it was excruciating…
To the point I had to relisten to parts of it as my brain was turning off…
Thank you for the Inheritance series, it’s awesome!
Heather Wilds is the greatest narrator! She got me hooked on audio books, but is still the only narrator I can listen to! Great range and accents!
Just listened Brittany Pressley narrate Drew Williams books (Sci-fi). Thought she was excellent.
Barbara Rosenblat is an absolutely phenomenal audiobook narrator. If you haven’t sat down with your yarn and listened to the Barbara Rosenblat performance of Elizabeth Peter’s “Crocodile on the Sandbank” you have missed one of life’s great pleasures!
I really enjoy Angela Dawe and Justine Eyre. They both do a lot of Nalini Singh’s books.
Adding another vote to Laura Horowitz.
I love your books on audio!
Julia Whelan is launching ‘Audiobrary’ which is a platform committed to making sure books are narrated by humans and that narrators make a proper income from their work. Maybe that would be another great resource finding a narrator.
Mary Robinette Kowal is great. She does all the October Daye novels.
Simply another huge thank you for using real people for narration of your works. All those wonderfully talented narrators (many specifically mentioned already) truly enhance the listening experience. Additionally, I appreciate your ethics and how you promote them with your writing.
Thank you for supporting humans narrators.
I love January Lavoy as a narrator
Love Callie Dalton: https://www.audible.com/pd/Running-Wild-Audiobook/B0BL4XBL1H?qid=1747924395&sr=1-11&ref_pageloadid=not_applicable&pf_rd_p=83218cca-c308-412f-bfcf-90198b687a2f&pf_rd_r=E98FQHWS0VWQ03XGHTJQ&plink=m9b8c9RzXyt6D7sg&pageLoadId=J7x0iqSuRlB57nRz&creativeId=0d6f6720-f41c-457e-a42b-8c8dceb62f2c&ref=a_search_c3_lProduct_1_11
Here are 3 narrators who can do men, women, children, lots of accents:
Barbara Rosenblat
James Fouhey
Simon Mattacks (British actor)
With each one, I thought I was listening to a full cast.
P.S. I love “Inheritance ” I didn’t think it could get any better than your blockbuster series, but wait, there’s More!
I’ve listened to several books by Emily Woo Zeller and Scott Brick and I don’t like their voices at all. I think these ( above) and Julia Whelan are wonderful!!!
Tavia Gilbert is my favorite narrator. Her voice work is impeccable. Every one of her characters is entirely distinguishable from the others (if you listen to her across the Night Huntress series even the lead female voices are different from each other). She has the most realistic male voices I’ve ever heard from a woman (and the fact she can do a black male voice without being offensive is some kind of superpower). She’s so good she directed one of the two best narrated books of 2024 (IMO; Josh Malerman’s Incudents Around the House).
I also think January Lavoy would be a great choice. She’s amazing in every genre. Great male voices and children’s voices. She narrated the other best narrated audiobook of 2024 (IMO; Nora Robert’s Mind Games).
the best narrator I’ve ever listen to when it comes to both male and female voices is ANDREA PARSNEAU. she has such a huge range when it comes to character voices. I do know from listening to author podcast in the past that there is always a waiting list to book her though. she is the first person that popped in my head.
good luck with the search. can’t wait to listen!
I doubt she truly counts for what you’re looking for, but AJ Winters is a live play Australian DM who would be able to do all sorts of voices and accents. I know she helped with one audio book before, but I’m not sure if she has other voice over work.
As I’m thinking about it more, she did the audio book with another DM, Robert Hartley, and he has a whole section of his Twitch/YouTube dedicated to him just reading things. They have work together on many projects and could probably do the InBEARitance with great synergy and ease.
I recommended looking at Carmen Seantel as the audio reader. She has an amazing vocal range with an impressive amount of masculine tones that sound completely different.
Oh my goodness I am passionate about audio! It is how I usually experience books since I listen on the way to and from work, every day. I encourage you to check out Kristine Kvam. I hope I got the spelling right. She narrated a series I love by Faith Hunter and is narrating a book I am currently reading in military scifi. She is wonderful. She does both female and male voices without the reader being intellectually interrupted. You never think, “ huh?” She keeps you with the action. I usually don’t do graphic audio. My own imagination is already full with seeing the action, faces, without over exaggerating the audio. But I will have to make an exception with your books. Smile. I hate Audibles AI crap!. Its the human voice for me all the way. I can tell. Always.
AI is horrible at narration. Someone at our church tried to use it for a litany, and “We beseech you to hear us, Good Lord” came out as “We beseech you to hear us. Good Lord!”
Hehehe.
Clutching our pearls!
A fantastic snarky southern narrator is Amanda Ronconi. Does the Half Moon Hollow books.
I love Amanda Ronconi. She has a beautiful southern accent and charm in her voice.
If you haven’t previously worked with him, I really like Fred Berman as a narrator. He does quite well at the female voices and has a nice deep timbre for the male characters. Another favourite reader of mine is Lorelei King (she reads the Mercy Thompson series for Patricia Briggs. I could also recommend Nicole Poole (she reads for K.F. Breen).
Justine Eyre and Andi Arndt are two of my favorite.
Mary Jane Wells is a good narrator. I’ve heard her do a variety of English and Scottish accents, but she may do others. She’s good at male voices, too. She’s narrated Eloisa James and Lisa Kleypas books.
Seconding Angela Dawe, Amber Benson, and January LaVoy.
Just want to congratulate you on your commitment to human narrators.
I would recommend for you to listen to Claudia Black. She has done a very limited number of audiobooks. Wonderful voice
Both Xe Sands and Erin Mallon do great male voices.
Xe Sands has narrated some books I really like and she can sing! But I feel like she only has one “character” that she reads, and that person is really tentative and quiet. Doesn’t sound like Maggie to me. Erin Mallon is great!
Not to sound like yet another echo of everyone else, but oh my gosh Moira Quirk’s voice work is superb!
Thank you for using humans for the audio. That’s what separates the amazing Graphic Audio full cast audio books from narrated audio books.
Lorelei King ( Mercy Thompson)or Nicole Poole (DDVN)
Thank you for not using the AI generated voices !!! We’re all struggling with determining boundaries for AI right now … thank you for sticking with the humans.
I do love Hillary Huber’s voice … she has a warm, wise, experienced, snarky, intelligent contralto voicing that somehow makes me think that no matter how f*d up things get, it’s all gonna work out and she’ll be cleaning her weapons and drinking margaritas at the close of the story. It’s much like Nora’s voice from GA.
I’ve been loving Inheritance … these serials are so fun …
I recommend consideration for : Jesse Vilinsky
https://jessevilinsky.com/
thank you for staying true to human narrators they bring something special that AI can not replicate. I guess I hold that real magic in writing and narrating comes from that spark we hold within.
Alexandra Harris is an excellent narrator for both female and male voices. She does the narration on Anne Bishop’s Other series.
MOD R, I am having problems posting a simple reply. All my fault.
I’m suggesting Laura Burrows as well….and I see she goes by Laura Burrows Horowitz as well. Maybe I do know how to post a reply after all. 🙂 Just in case–1 vote for Laura.
Hi, Folks! I honestly don’t know how you could get anyone better that Renee Raudman but my absolute favorite will always be the amazing Julia Whelan. I have a sticky note in my studio that says WWJD–What Would Julia Do? I am also an audiobook narrator and my goal is to someday get to create characters for you guys, because I AM A HUGE FAN! GO HORDE! Looking forward to these new worlds and characters. And while I’m here, ARABELLA! Just needed to be said. Best wishes!
https://youtu.be/VEjOmwB2xH8
Jessica Threet and Rozelyn Rader. Jessica can do young and old male and female. My main experience with Rozelyn is dual narration but she’s killing it in the Warlock series by Daniel Kensington where she’s voicing numerous witches from 18 to 2,800 (but looks early 30s)Both are respectful of the writing and have good instincts for character tone.
Will you be taking auditions like you did previously for Kate?
I love Emily Ellet! She narrated my second book, has a wide range, and was a joy to work with! (https://www.emilyellet.com/)
I’m a huge fan of Tess Irondale’s narration work.
I completely agree, Tess’s is one of my favorite sole female Narrators.
I love Andrea Parsneau narrations!
I like Callie Dalton. She does male voices well enough that when she co-narrated with Teddy Hamilton I had a hard time telling when it was him voicing the guy and when it was her doing it (both were true at different points in the book).
An audiobook narrator I recently loved was Dara Rosenburg, who voiced Beth Revis’s Chaotic Orbits series.
I commend you on only using human narrators. I was appalled to read that Audible was using AI for narration. I plan on only buying human narrated audio books.
So far your narrators have all had pleasing modulated voices and accents that are not “harsh” or “clipped.” Please choose someone who continues this tradition! I have favored authors who have used narrators with nasal toned voices and it makes the listening experience too uncomfortable.
I love Amanda Ronconi as a narrator. She does male voices well, and I have actually read books by unknown authors because she’s the narrator.
For Maggie Audio
Kelsey Navarro Foster, who did both the FMC and MMC in alternate chapters for RedFang Royal, Book 3 of Pack Darling by Lola Rock, via Podium Audio. 4 gang mafia characters, she did the Asian Rage character, the giant goldie with cuddle on his mind, the ultra rich boy who owns multi businesses, and the guy from the wrong side of the tracks. And you can tell from tone who’s talking of the five
Narrator: Amanda Ronconi
January LaVoy!!
My favorites are Andrea Parsneau and Angele Masters (Veronica Speedwell Mystery). Andrea Parsneau can do a vast range of voices and species!
Callie Dalton is amazing!
So much good news! I’m so glad Gordon is doing well, if behaving rather badly in recuperation. I also am not a fan of AI audio. Human performances please! It is a happiness that you prefer human storytelling as well. I’m off to purchase the new graphic audio for Kate and look forward to purchasing inheritance. After all that stress you should probably go for a massage😊
For a male reader I really love James Marsters. He did the narration and performances in the Dresden files. He also played spike in the Buffy the Vampire Slayer tv series.
Zehra Jane Naqvi, a Tasmanian narrator who recorded for W. R. Gingell’s completed City Between series and her ongoing Shattered Worlds series, does a great job with female characters in that demographic as well as pretty good male character voices.
A lot of good suggestions above. Just finished a book with a full cast but main narrator was Christine Lakin who was phenomenal. Thanks for asking for input!
Thank you for not using AI voice. They simply do not manage the emotional content of the words the way humans do! I would rather wait a while than have AI.
Thank you for staying with human narrators. AI just cannot handle the work pronunciation and the proper pronunciation for too many words, their use and. connotation. I have informed Audible that I won’t listen to virtual narrators even if it is free. Again Thank you.
It may be a recency bias, but having just been listing to Azarinth Healer (based on the HA recommendation) with Andrea Parsneau as the narrator, she seems like a great fit.
Andrea Parsneau, is really good at doing both Female and male voices in several age ranges.
I think it’s great you are looking for 2 narrators for The Inheritance. Sometimes just one person is not very distinctive when changing genders. The words differ, but not enough voice change.
it’s fantastic that you’re both supporting human only audio books. the AI impact is so bad. I hope that the inheritance might make it to Graphic audio too one day. bit I know we, as a hoard, Jane more chalant pestering for all of your other books to go first 🙂
Andrea Parsneau is one of the most talented narrators i’ve heard. She voices the Wandering Inn series by pirateaba… Please check her out!
Amy McFadden, she has a young voice with lots of character. Strong and yet can be vulnerable. Fun and sassy. I listen “Spotless” series by Camilla Monk. And it was one of the most fun listens I’ve had. I even got my sister and friends hooked. Just made me smile and giggle like a loon. It’s from a first person’s perspective too.
Stella Hunter is fabulous in everything she does. in her (extensive) library, she narrates the Merry Gentry series from Laurell K Hamilton and does all the male voices, each of which has a different accent and timbre. Someone to consider?
I love — LOVE — that you will not cave to AI audio. The nuance is all wrong in AI generated voices. Turns out AIs can’t effectively fake emotion. I appreciate that you are supporting artists and creators and it’s part of why the BDH supports you two – you’re amazing creators and we’re here for you.
Jesse Vilinsky was amazing in Swordheart by T. Kingfisher.
Thank you for not using the AI audio voice. First reason, I absolutely cannot listen to AI generated voices for book audio. You can tell it is not a human and I just cannot focus on the story. Looking forward to everything that is coming out!
That should have been, “for some reason…”
I recommend Amy Landon. I’ve loved her narration on a few of Drew Hayes books.
I am glad you will continue to use human vouces instead of AI.
Thank you! 🌷
Responding re the female narrator: You might try listening to Tia Rider — I just discovered her voicing The Amplifier Protocol, and Demons & DNA…. her voice is in the spectrum of Nora from GA, and Hillary Huber…. the cool, conscious, alert, intelligent female.
Also, Demons & DNA is a pretty good listen … The Amplifier Protocol preceeds it in book order… also a good enough listen to get me into book 2, which is even better.
Also, another voice to keep in your maybe need someday list is a Brit, but is THE most “saturated into the character” narrator I’ve ever experienced… and telling you about her leads me to telling you about the series by Vivian Shaw regarding Greta Helsing, the physician who inherited her father’s practice treating the non-human inhabitants (the whole darn spectrum, from mummies to ghouls etc) of London. The series finish, book 4, was just released, and it is exquisite, and made more so by the narrator’s absolute emotional presence in the story, she is Greta Helsing, she is her vampyre husband, she is the rich delightfully gay couple who help Greta keep the non-human inhabitants of London from being discovered or being preyed upon by stronger beings. The series is set all over the world, and it’s taken years for Vivian Shaw to craft it. Her work is complex and intellectually stimulating, as yours is. I think you’d love the series, and you’ll be enthralled by the narrator. It might even make you want to write a work based in Britain … smiles. The narrator is Catrin Walker-Booth.
I have two great narrators! Samantha Brentmoor is a literal goddess. And a fabulous narrator to boot. I just love her voice. I can listen to her talk all day. Rose Dioro is incredible as well. And a lovely human. (Not sure if I am allowed to link, so apologies in advance!) Here is a link to a podcast they did together, called the Rosemoor Roundtable. https://youtu.be/VyH0Qlkxwps?si=5Ye8AaQHJaDgTeas
thank you for not using ai audio. it’s like having a phone tree read you a book.
For Maggie audio: I agree with the above suggestion of Moira Quirk. Her narrations are delightful.
I’m also going to throw out some other female narrator names that I really enjoy for the enhancement that they give to my listening experience (great basic narrative, good range of voices and accents, expressive):
Kristine Hvam
Bernadette Dunne
Eileen Stevens
Kate Reading
carlotta brentan
anisha dadia
Susan Erikson..absolute favorite strong female lead voice (a little deep and gravely and badass) with many male and female variations.
Should have said she narrates Nora Robert’s (JD Robb) In Death series.
If you liked the narrator for Azarinth Healer, that was Andrea Parsneau. I love her also for her work with Wandering Inn. She does a fantastic variety of male and female voices, in my opinion.
Samantha Brentmoor is great in Shield of Sparrows – including her voices for the two main male characters
THANK YOU for not going the AI voice route.
I really like Moira Quirk but she recently narrated “Long Live Evil” which seems as if it is a similar story concept (young women transported inside the plot of a book) to “This Kingdom”
Other young female narrators:
1) Emily Woo Zeller – I think she does men the best of this list
2) Helen Laser
3) Isabella Star LaBlanc
4) Soneela Nankani
5) Cristin Milioti (actress)
For older (40 something) southern sounding female voices:
1) Kate Orsini
2) Joy Nash
Is Gunmetal Magic coming?
Sorry was not specific, I meant to GA.
Hi Nettie,
At the moment, we will have a break in the KD world until next year, when Nora will pick up the Wilmington Years series and Blood Heir.
Gunmetal Magic is not one of the works GA contracted for so far, unfortunately, but that may change.
In the meantime, we’ll have releases of Hidden Legacy 🤩
I’m listening to an audiobook narrated by Samantha Desz at the moment. She’s very good.
Nicole Poole is one of my favorite narrators!!! Her performances of the Leveling Up series by K F Breene has me rolling on the floor. Her different voices are AWESOME!!!
Therese Plummer is great! She has done the Casey Duncan series by Kelley Armstrong.
I love Patricia Santomasso’s voice acting. One of the best I have heard for accents, too.
👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
I am happy that you, my favourite authors, are not going with the AI audio.
I am forced to watch all sorts of educational materials made by or for the corporation I work in, and since last year they are all made with creepy AI “presenters” and voices. I hate it with a passion of 1000 suns – both the ick factor and even more the fact that the human lectors / actors are no longer able to earn a living.
Here’s to the anti-AI resistance movement!
Scott Brick is an amazing voice actor. He has done a lot of the Dirk Pitt audios.
Samantha Brentmoor does the best male voices I’ve heard. Just came across one of her audiobooks recently. The male voices are deep & rumbly (vocal fry).
Nicole Poole is my favorite narrator. She can do many voices. I have fallen in love with several authors and series that I gave a try only because she narrates the audiobooks.
Have you heard of Gail Shalan? I really like her voice. She is Danika in Crescent City House of Earth and Blood (Graphic Audio).
I know I’m late to the party, but Khristine Hvam is outstanding. I’m sure she would do a great job for you!
Jesse Vilinsky – she’s great with dialects and accents also. I really liked her reading of Swordheart by T Kingfisher and her reading of Jennifer Nielsen’s books
Julia Whelan. I love listening to her and she has a wonderful repertoire of female and male voices and accents.
I’m partial to Lorelei King, who does Patricia Briggs’s “Mercy Thompson” series, and does good male voices. She also does a really good distinction between speaking and “head” voice for the MC. She does this really neat pitch shift, without making the “head” voice sound like a different character. Altho, if I may – Renée Raudman will always be my favorite for voicing your books.
I’m a huge fan of T. Kingfisher’s (really Ursula Vernon’s) The World of the White Rat audio books. You might want to check out Joel Richards or Khristine Hvam as narrators.
Thank you for making that clear! The beauty of audio books is the connection with the human voice. AI could never.
For a new narrator-Natalie Naudus is my favorite! She isn’t new to you but she only did 1 book in the past. Her voice is so rich and melodic, I would love to hear her with your work again.
I’m not sure if anyone else has mentioned her, but Marguerite Gavin is excellent.
I first heard her reading Dana Stabenow’s Kate Shugak books and thought she did a great job across ages and genders, and did a particularly good job with the native voices.
I’m a little late to this post, but I’d like to recommend the narrator B. J. Harrison I’ve greatly enjoyed the books he’s done and am amazed by the range of voices he does (including some great female voices).
I support your choice of human narrators even if it means the book will be more expensive. It provides jobs, allow our economy to grow and frankly, AI is getting quite scary. I’m an elementary school teacher and they (school board) are trying to tell us that using AI and teaching AI to our students is ok. The 6-12yrs crowd can barely spell and write and compose proper answer sentences with a pencil. The powers that be want them to be lazier and not hard workers. IMO that’s where we are heading.
I have no idea who the voice actor is, but they voiced Klem, the trans mercenary in Iron Bull’s band, in Dragon Age Inquisition.