Good Aural -The Audiobook Podcast
Jul 15, 2026 · 13 min · 10 segments
If you're in this industry long enough, you'll get THAT book. That one that challenges your tongue and breath control, the one that didn't get the full editor pass, or the one where the characters and…
They fall in love at the drop of a hat, or somebody suddenly betrays someone without enough setup, or a character does something so unexpected that you're sitting there thinking, "I don't know how to marry this with everything else I've learned about this person." These books happen, and they're actually some of the most interesting acting challenges we get.
One of the things I love about audiobook narration is that audio can elevate an author's words.
Our acting choices become part of the infrastructure that helps an audience understand a story.
Sometimes the page gives you everything you need, and sometimes it's our job to gently connect the dots in a way that feels honest and emotionally true.
The reality of our career is that not every book is going to be the connection of our dreams.
Sometimes your voice is exactly right for a story that just isn't your personal taste.
I do a lot of erotica, and there are absolutely kinks that are just not for me.
Those authors deserve the same level of professionalism as every other author I work with.
But there are definitely moments where I find myself in situations that I wouldn't naturally gravitate toward, and that's okay.
Our job is to understand them well enough that somebody else believes them, right? When I find a character that I'm having a hard time connecting with, like maybe they're not particularly redeemable, maybe their choices frustrate me, maybe I just can't quite get my footing in how they talk, I stop trying to force myself to understand every piece of them, and instead I find one thing, just one.
Maybe they remind me of somebody I knew years ago, and I latch onto that one detail, and then I connect that detail to a real emotional experience in my own life.
If it's the wink, there are plenty of Hollywood actors that could wink at me, and I'd melt into a puddle.
If they're from the South, maybe I think about someone I knew when I lived in Florida who always made me feel welcome.
They fall in love at the drop of a hat, or somebody suddenly betrays someone without enough setup, or a character does something so unexpected that you're sitting there thinking, "I don't know how to marry this with everything else I've learned about this person." These books happen, and they're actually some of the most interesting acting challenges we get.
One of the things I love about audiobook narration is that audio can elevate an author's words.
Our acting choices become part of the infrastructure that helps an audience understand a story.
Sometimes the page gives you everything you need, and sometimes it's our job to gently connect the dots in a way that feels honest and emotionally true.
The reality of our career is that not every book is going to be the connection of our dreams.
Sometimes your voice is exactly right for a story that just isn't your personal taste.
I do a lot of erotica, and there are absolutely kinks that are just not for me.
Those authors deserve the same level of professionalism as every other author I work with.
But there are definitely moments where I find myself in situations that I wouldn't naturally gravitate toward, and that's okay.
Our job is to understand them well enough that somebody else believes them, right? When I find a character that I'm having a hard time connecting with, like maybe they're not particularly redeemable, maybe their choices frustrate me, maybe I just can't quite get my footing in how they talk, I stop trying to force myself to understand every piece of them, and instead I find one thing, just one.
Maybe they remind me of somebody I knew years ago, and I latch onto that one detail, and then I connect that detail to a real emotional experience in my own life.
If it's the wink, there are plenty of Hollywood actors that could wink at me, and I'd melt into a puddle.
If they're from the South, maybe I think about someone I knew when I lived in Florida who always made me feel welcome.
The rest of this transcript — segmented and speaker-labeled, so you land on the exact moment something was said
Search every transcript — by keyword, by phrase, or by meaning, across every show Radar indexes
Trends — what is surging across podcasts, measured against its own baseline
Alerts — when a name you follow appears in a newly indexed episode
No account is needed to search Radar.