Talking with Erin, one of the voices behind Everblue

Hi Erin, thanks for stopping by my blog to today to talk about what it's like to be a narrator. It's always fun to meet the face behind the voice.

Tell us about yourself and your career path:

I am an actor and voice artist in New York City.  My happiest places to be are onstage and in the recording booth.  In my free time, I may be a little too obsessed with feng shui.  www.erinmallon.net

Awesome! I don't know how you do it. I get tongue twisted, cotton mouth, and never have the right inflection. Have you narrated other audio books?

Yes!  I record a lot of YA fiction and Adult romances, so I’m forever surrounded by teenaged vampires, werewolves, angels and demons, and folks involved in angsty love affairs.  It’s the best.  Everblue, however, was my first foray into the world of mermaids!     

You've also read for my BAFF, Kristie Cook which I'm listening to right now! I'm thrilled Everblue could be your first dive into the mer world. What was it like reading for Ash? 

I had a blast with Ash.  It was such fun for me to return to high school.  I myself went to an all-girls catholic high school, so I enjoyed getting to swim around in the world of co-ed public school, where your crush can brush past you in the hallway at any minute and the lunchroom is full of drama (not that we girls didn't have our own kind of drama at lunch).     

Could I ever agree. Personally, I went to a small private school, so there was no new Mr Fabulous walking down our 1 and only hall. Did you read Fin's chapters in between your chapters?  

And yes, I absolutely read all of Fin’s chapters between mine.  I think it’s really important to read the entire book, even if I’m only narrating a portion of it, as wonderful writers such as yourself weave rich character details throughout the story that help narrators make decisions.  I’d be missing key information if I skipped those sections.  Plus, as someone who was enjoying the story, I just didn't want to miss out on all the great stuff that was happening underwater!

Awe. Thanks. I'm glad their personalities are just as powerful for you as they are for me when writing them. Did you have difficulty with any scenes or characters?

Not really!  One thing I love about Everblue (there are many) is how you’ve created these two very distinct worlds for Ash and Fin. I think Chris, who co-narrated the book, had the tougher job in terms of discovering broader characters and dialects, as his was the more fantastical world.   Ash’s environment felt very natural and comfortable for me.  The characters felt like people I know and love, and I was right at home digging into the joys of awkward/exhilarating phone calls with boys and good ol’ fashioned sibling rivalry at the dinner table.

Often times Ash's world felt boring compared to Fin's fantastical world in Natatoria. You made her drab life sound way more exciting than in my head. Which was your favorite character?

I have to say Georgia.  That girl is completely hyped up on life!  I mean who else would get so jazzed by hair gum?  I found her enthusiasm to be contagious and great fun to play.   

Oh my gosh! You totally nailed Georgia :) Did you converse with Chris at all during the process as he read Fin's part? 

Would you believe it if I told you we’ve never actually met?  We just finished co-narrating another book together too!  I’ve started joking around that he’s my secret audio boyfriend.  While I didn’t speak with him directly during the recording, I did listen to some of his narration and got updates on his process from the directors and engineers. I wanted to get a sense of his take on Fin and weave it into my narration in a way that felt cohesive.

I was so jazzed you two wanted to co-narrate. It's funny you've never met. I think you need a work potluck! Any funny stories? 

Yes!  As you already know, instead of pronouncing mermatron as mer- MAY-truhn (like one would pronounce a “matron of honor”), somehow we lost our minds for a second and pronounced it Mer-muh-TRON.  Surely you knew you wrote a book with mermaid robots?  Don’t worry everyone, we fixed it. J

Yes... that was funny! And I'm forever saying mer-muh-trons in my head whenever I write it from now on! 

Thanks for stopping by, Erin! I love your name by the way... I have my own Aaron myself and we're quite fond of the name. 

You can get the audio of Everblue HERE, at audible.com.