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Interview with Meia Geddes.

Off the Shelf correspondent Meia Geddes, a former Somerville resident, is the author of The Little Queen, a whimsical and wise epic that received a starred Kirkus review and was included on their “Best Indie Books” list. Actor Rosie Jones recently narrated The Little Queen to create a beautiful audiobook, good company for these pandemic times. Below is an interview with narrator Rosie Jones on the craft of audio and acting.

Actor Rosie Jones

Rosie Jones is a British actor and director who trained at Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. She has appeared in television shows like Downton Abbey, Bodyguard and Call the Midwife. She was commissioned by The Royal Shakespeare Company to create six original mini plays. Her short film The Christmas Bull, which was internationally successful on the film festival circuit, can be watched now on Amazon Prime.

Meia Geddes: How did you get into narrating audiobooks? Could you share a bit about your acting background and how this aligns with audiobook narration?

Rosie Jones: As an actor, my work has tended towards classical theatre and period drama – shows like Downton Abbey, The Collection and Call the Midwife. Doing these wonderful large-scale shows alongside Shakespearian theatre, gives you an appetite for the epic, and recording an audiobook feels like it matches that size of expression. When you record, you take on these huge narratives and get to tell the whole story.

I’ve always loved audiobooks. As a kid I used to listen to stories on tape before bed. Two of my favorites were James and the Giant Peach read by Jeremy Irons, and the BBC’s The Selfish Giant. My Gran also used to borrow talking books from the library, so audio was always very present growing up. It felt right to combine my skills as an actor and my love of literature and start narrating books.

MG: For those who aren’t familiar with the process of making an audiobook, could you give a brief overview of the process from audition to post-production proofing?

RJ: When you are asked to audition for an audiobook, it will usually involve recording a short 1-2 page extract from the book. This could be on your phone or in a home studio. Once you’ve got the job, there is a lot of preparation to do. I read the whole book and marked up my script. Then it’s time to record. This might involve going into a studio where an engineer will record as you narrate, or recording yourself at home, where you have to do both at the same time. Once the book is recorded, it needs to be proofed. Someone will listen to the audio and make sure that there aren’t any mistakes. Sometimes pick-ups or re-takes are required. Then it’s time to edit it, remove distracting mouth clicks or extraneous sound, reducing the background noise (if there is any) and finally master the book, balancing out the volume levels and making the finished product.

MG: How do you choose what audiobooks to audition for?

RJ: On ACX the narrator can search for auditions according to set filters – voice type, accent, re-numeration. That reduces the number of books, and leaves only those that match the actor’s requirements and suitability. Then, you read the blurb and send auditions for books you are interested in. The Little Queen is actually the first book I auditioned for and have recorded using the ACX platform.

MG: What drew you to audition for The Little Queen?

RJ: I love fairytales – the combination of morality, fantasy, darkness and humor ­­– so the blurb for this book interested me, along with its rhythm and language. Also, it was a short record at just 2 hours, so a good first trial!

MG: How do you mark up a book for narrating?

RJ: I choose a different cooler for each character and highlight their dialogue accordingly. This makes it easier for me to jump into different voices when they come up. I also make notes on intention, and have my own dictionary of squiggles that mean various things like “stress that word” or “whisper here.”

MG: How else do you prepare for the act of narrating an audiobook? Do you have any regular practices when it comes to caring for your vocal cords? Breathing exercises?

RJ: I try to avoid dairy if I know I am going to record as that can clog up the chords! Before a long session, I will do some typical acting warm ups – sirening, scrunching my face, that sort of thing. One of the advantages of being behind the mic though is that you don’t have to project the way you do with theatre.

MG: While narrating, do you stand and/or sit? Are other people present? Do you record by chapter?

RJ: I always sit when I narrate because usually the recording sessions are long – up to three hours at a time. I do make sure I sit with good, straight posture so as not to squash my diaphragm and to make sure that the voice remains energized. When recording in a studio, there will be an engineer opposite you on the other side of the glass. Sometimes publishers or authors like to pop in and listen.

MG: You have so many wonderful and different ways of creating subtle changes in your voice for each character in The Little Queen. Apart from my input, how did you determine what voices to give each character?

RJ: Well in The Little Queen, every character has a very clear role or job, so many of the voices just popped straight into my head from their descriptions. It was fun to decide whether to play into stereotypes, or play against. With the sleep soother for example, it was very clear that she needed to make the listener want to fall asleep when you hear her speak, so it seemed only right to give her a yawning quality – we all know how catching a yawn is!

MG: Of the character voices, do you have a favorite one?

RJ: I love the book sniffer. I love her as a character and her voice. It’s fun for me to play deeper and slower vocally, as I tend to do a lot of young, high pitched voices.

MG: Do you have any advice for those interested in narrating audiobooks and acting?

RJ: Do it! With technology advancing so quickly and software becoming more user-friendly, it’s much easier now for anyone to have a go. But get practicing – narrating books requires huge stamina and an ability to sight-read to a high level.