This week I helped pick the narrator for the audio download of Benny’s Angel. It will be offered as a bonus to buyers so that children can listen to the story as they follow along in the book. I had the opportunity, if I desired, to do the narration myself. I would have loved reading my story to all the children who potentially would hold Benny’s Angel in their little hands. However, time and logistics would not permit me to make that commitment.
I received links to four narrators. Two were men and two women. My task was to choose three potential narrators, list them on an on-line form, and put them in order of preference from one to three. It was a difficult choice, since each had appeal. I listened to them repeatedly in order to compare the strength of voice, expression, animation, and rate of speech. I also took into consideration whether a child might prefer to hear this particular story told in a male or female voice. The subject matter has a bearing on this, in my opinion. A tale of knights in shining armor might be more convincing in a man’s voice, while a story involving angels might be more appealing in a woman’s voice. My own thoughts about this were confirmed when I spoke with my 10-year-old granddaughter. Since she is an avid reader and a very wise little girl, her opinion about this carries a lot of weight with me. Of course, the final decision rests with the media department at Tate Publishing.
In addition to submitting my preference for a narrator, I was asked to list the names of the characters and any unusual words, along with their phonetic spellings. This will avoid their mispronunciation by the narrator.
My excitement continues to build as Benny's Angel moves closer to printing time. The next step will be to examine the hard-copy proof for errors and that will be the topic of my next update.
~ Laura Allen Nonemaker
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