These days, I am more likely to listen to a book than to read one. It's a matter of time, decreased eyesight (combined with a stubborn refusal to wear glasses), and overall general laziness. Books are my first great love, but audiobooks are just so full of life and added dimension. And on long freeway commutes they appear to be the better options :-)
I wanted Hidden in Paris to be turned into audiobook, so, armed with ignorance and a DIY mentality, I thought no big deal. I wrote the whole book, for heaven's sake: I'm pretty certain I can read it and record myself.
Hmm. Non.
I recorded myself and it was hilariously awful. My French accent --the one that I have, for years, believed to be light and discreet --is in fact thick as sauce béarnaise. And, to my surprise, I can't seem to say three words without saying heuu (French equivalent of hmm) or my throat emitting clicking noises like some alien species straight out of Star Trek.
My DIY ambitions were promptly abandoned.
It was such a fun process, and relief, working with a Pro! Phe Caplan is the voice actress and producer of the audiobook. Phe and I discussed the pronunciations of French words, how I envisioned the characters' voices and tones, and then she ran with it. She recorded, produced, and edited the audiofile, chapter by chapter, uploaded it to Audible.com. Her voices, without the slightest throat-clicking noise, flews through the characters' personalities, their accents, their genders. Phe was also lovely and easy to work with. If you read this and are thinking of hiring a voice actress, she is your person! She can do sultry. She can do naive. She can do a 50 year old French man as easily as she can do a 25 year old American woman. (I asked her about her process and will put our discussion into another post soon.)
Here is the Hidden in Paris audiobook trailer, please check it out and tell me what you think. PS: my son did the music to the trailer, I love it!
Happy reading listening!
Hidden in Paris audiobook on Amazon
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Corine Gantz is the Author of Hidden in Paris and an upcoming trilogy which title is still a secret for a few more weeks. Find out more about Corine and her books on her website.
