Interview with audiobook narrator, Stevie Zimmerman

I thought it might be fun to get to know the awesome narrators of my audiobooks. So today, I've intereviewed Stevie Zimmerman who narrated "Falling in Love Again".

1st review for audiobook:

"Romance par excellence"

All the elements of a complete romance. Pirates, spies, highwaymen, period detail. Fantastic.
The narration Stevie Zimmerman delivers is amazing. All the characters come to like - even the hero who is TWO people. Sexy and fun and enticing performance.

Click to purchase Audiobook

Me:
Briefly tell me about yourself. What makes Stevie Zimmerman tick?

Stevie:
Other than family (two almost grown kids and an almost grown husband) my first love is the theatre. I wanted to be an actor but didn’t have ‘it’, so I tried directing and loved it. That’s where I feel most at home. I direct whenever I’m asked pretty much, and have had some real successes in the DC area. I’m from England originally but have been living here for almost 23 years. Both my children were born here. But I must admit, my heart is still in England and I get back whenever I can, although I try to travel as widely as possible and have a bucket list of places way longer than I have years left to live.  My other great love is our perfect puppy Charlie who is reminding me it is past supper o’clock so I better get a move on!

Me:
Well, that's probably why you've done such a great job with the British accents in this story - you're from England!  So, what made you want to become a narrator?

Stevie:
I guess it is a bit of a return to acting in a way. A few years ago someone suggested that my British English accent might have a niche in the voiceover world and I started doing some local commercials. That developed into a little business doing some longer narrations for companies, e-learning and such. And then I thought I’d see if I could get into the audiobook world. The ebook self publishing boom has been a boon for narrators too as there are so many more books on the market.

Me:
I agree with you on the self-publishing boom. There are a lot of ebooks now. Do you always enjoy narrating stories? Was there ever a time when you became frustrated with this career?

Stevie:
I do really enjoy it, even when the book itself isn’t one I might pick up and read myself. I love finding different voices for different characters, and even though most of the books I have voiced have been period romances of one sort or another, it is always fascinating the way different authors develop the characters and spin the tales out.


Me: 
You are really good at what you do!  Tell me of a fun experience you had narrating a story.

Stevie:
Well, one of my earliest books was not quite as ‘romantic’ as I had thought when I took it on. It was rather more risqué than lovey dovey. I found myself a little shocked, and also shocked that I was shocked -  I’m not a prude! I ended up putting it out under a different name, not because I was embarrassed to have done it but I didn’t want it to damage any of my ‘cleaner’ authors’ sales by association.  But of all the books I’ve done, that’s the one my husband likes to tell people about!


Me:
That's funny about your husband! How do you create such compelling voices? What goes through your mind when you’re recording different characters?

Stevie:
Well, firstly – thank you! I try to have a picture in my mind, usually helped by the authors’ descriptions. And I try to imagine them on the stage, if I were directing. I don’t read the books ahead of time, so I have to hope that I’m not going to give them a voice that turns out to be inappropriate later. I did have a situation recently when an author didn’t give me any notes going into the narration and it wasn’t until the fourth chapter that she mentioned that the main male character was Australian, so I had to go back and get that accent in there. But generally, I don’t want to know if someone is going to turn out to be the bad guy, and give that away in my voice too early. I want to go on the same journey as the listeners.


Me:
That's a good way to do it, I think. Do you have a website where other writers can find you if they want to hire you as their narrator?

Stevie:
I do. Although I’ve been so busy narrating recently that I haven’t got it up to date. Which is a nice problem to have. You’re not on there yet for example.
Anyway it is:
http://steviezim.wix.com/stevie-zim-voice


Me: 
I really hope you get my book on there soon, though (winks), but I'm happy to know you are kept busy. You are very good at what you do, and I'm glad this has been successful for you!

Thanks so much letting me interview you, Stevie.  I know I told you this before, but "Falling in Love Again" is one of my personal favorites, and it was awesome listening to your voice make my characters come to life!

Unveiling new covers!

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ME!!!  Yeah, that's how I feel every time I get a new book cover.  Well...two of them aren't really new - at least the stories aren't - but I've given these books a face lift. I wanted all my stories in a series to resemble each other, so I asked my wonderful cover artist - Sheri McGathy - and this is what she came up with.  I am sooooo pleased!!

Book #1

Switching roles and the pursuit of freedom come together in the hunt to discover who can be trusted and who is really the traitor during the Colonial times. Mercedes Maxwell’s sister’s last wish was for Mercedes to find evidence against Kat’s husband, William Braxton, and have him hung as a traitor to the crown. Mercedes isn’t naïve when it comes to capturing traitors, because her own deceased husband had once been an agent for the King when they lived in England.

When she meets William Braxton for the first time, all is not as it seems. Portraying her twin, Mercedes knows this is the only way to get close enough to William to discover his secrets. What she finds along the way are little surprises she hadn’t counted on, especially when she begins to give her heart to a man who may be a spy against the crown.

Book #2

Seeking revenge from the man who betrayed him and had him almost hung for piracy, buccaneer turned highwayman Marcus Thorne kidnaps his enemy’s daughter. Although captivated by her enchanting beauty, he’s forced to let her go when he discovers Isabelle is a Navy spy with the power to endanger the lives of his men.

After her release, Isabelle can’t stop thinking about her masked abductor, Captain Hawk, the pirate who stole her heart but whose face she’s never seen. Affianced to a man who strangely reminds her of the man whose kisses set her ablaze, she marries him, only to discover he’s not who he seemed to be. But then…neither is she.
 

Book #3 (not yet published)

In a world where freedom is questioned and everything in in turmoil, Lady Sarah Emiline Townshend needs to hide her identity for fear mobs will kill her and her family after her uncle—a political leader—passed laws that the good citizens in Boston did not approve of.  Her father sends her to stay with some longtime friends of his in New Hampshire. Before she arrives, she decides to switch places with her maid. Now her name is Emmie, not Lady Sarah. This way she won’t have to look over her shoulder constantly, and she’ll be free of the restricting title of “Duke’s daughter”. But when she meets a handsome man, she suddenly wants him to look at her as a woman—not a servant. Protecting her life is more important.

 Gabriel Lawrence’s pirate ship is almost captured and this time it was too close. He and his crew need to hide for a few months in hopes of the Royal Navy forgetting about them. During his stay at his aunt and uncle’s in New Hampshire, he meets the niece of one of his enemies—Charles Townshend. Because she doesn’t know who Gabe is, he will become close to her to see if she knows any more of her uncle’s secrets. But the beauty of her maid, Emi, captures his attention, and her quirky personality keeps him wanting more. But her over-zealous nature for adventure places both of them in danger and he is forced to play the honorable rogue.

How can he protect them both when an unknown spy is always one step ahead…and wants Gabe dead?

Looking for Reviewers!

I'm going to try something new here... I'm looking for people to read one of my stories (or all) and give me a review on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or Goodreads. I'll give you the story for FREE as long as you can read it on a PDF file (Adobe). If you are interested, please leave me a comment with your name and email and which book you'd prefer to review. THANKS!!

Here are the stories I need reviews for:

(Colonial Romance)

Switching roles and the pursuit of freedom come together in the hunt to discover who can be trusted and who is really the traitor during the Colonial times. Mercedes Maxwell’s sister’s last wish was for Mercedes to find evidence against Kat’s husband, William Braxton, and have him hung as a traitor to the crown. Mercedes isn’t naïve when it comes to capturing traitors, because her own deceased husband had once been an agent for the King when they lived in England.

When she meets William Braxton for the first time, all is not as it seems. Portraying her twin, Mercedes knows this is the only way to get close enough to William to discover his secrets. What she finds along the way are little surprises she hadn’t counted on, especially when she begins to give her heart to a man who may be a spy against the crown.

(Colonial Romance)

Marcus Thorne, a notorious pirate who has taken land and become a highwayman, vows to uncover the secrets of the Royal Navy and exact revenge against the man who stole from him.  Instead, he captures the enemy’s daughter and keeps her as his prisoner to satisfy the debt.  Isabelle Stanhope sees her captor, this mysterious masked man, as a savior.  She’d much rather be in his company than participate in the marriage arranged by her father. 

Can keeping her prisoner set things right for Marcus, or is he about to suffer another theft—his heart?

 (Christian Historical Romance)

Joshua Grayson is not happy about his new sister-in-law’s visit and he uses the term ‘sister-in-law’ loosely as Careen Kennedy Grayson was a complete stranger. Joshua’s brother, Matthew, left the family ranch in the dead of night to run away and wed a woman he’d never met. The fact Matthew was killed moments after walking out of the church with his new bride merely adds insult to injury. Joshua struggles with resentment and trying not to blame Careen for his brother’s death. But it is difficult not to harbor ill feelings when he knows she’s keeping secrets. Despite his suspicions, Joshua slowly grows attracted to Careen and even starts to like her. Unfortunately, Joshua knows all too well the folly of loving a woman he cannot trust.

Careen Kennedy Grayson was married and widowed within minutes of the other. When her obsessive cousin, Luther, arrives minutes after Matthew’s death, she knows deep down he’s the one who killed Matthew. Luther is arrested and held for trial while Careen takes her husband’s body back to his family. Soon after arriving at the loving Grayson ranch, Careen learns of her mother-in-law’s heart condition. Unwilling to cause undue stress, Careen decides to wait until after Luther’s trial to speak the full truth of their son’s death. Soon Careen grows embedded in family and ranch life, getting closer to the Grayson’s with each passing day. She finds herself unnaturally drawn to Joshua and she knows their budding attraction will only complicate matters… Especially when the family discovers her cousin did indeed kill Matthew.

(Regency Romance)

Lord Trey Worthington isn’t about to give his heart to a woman. He does not want a marriage like his parents. But when his mother brings in a childhood acquaintance into the home to sponsor into society, Trey has to get Miss Faraday trained properly. The more he gets to know Judith, the more he yearns for something he doesn’t dare reach for. Judith is after a faithful husband—something Trey has been convinced most of his life he’ll never become.

Judith Faraday is only after one thing—to marry her Naval Officer and enjoy a life full of love. She’s doubtful her dream will ever come true while living as the ward to the dowager duchess. However, the longer Judith is with the dowager’s son, Trey, an attraction blossoms. Judith now wonders if God has different plans for her life, because Trey doesn’t believe in the sanctity of marriage . . . the very thing Judith cannot do without.