Tell us about
yourself. What else do you do besides
VO?
I originally grew up Farming/Ranching in
Central Washington State. I received my
Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree (with a performance emphasis) at Southern Oregon
University. Every summer I would return
home to farm so I could stay in school.
I am now one of the very few farm kids I know that is a classically
trained actor. I currently live outside
of Los Angeles with my fiancé.
I do all
kinds of theater in and around the Los Angeles area.
What made you decide to
become a voice actor?
In all honesty a friend turned me onto
it. She had been doing books for a
little while and I decided to give it a shot.
I immediately started getting “bites” from authors and thought it was
the right route to go. It’s another form
of expression that I really enjoy doing.
With every book it gets more fun.
And I love to read. So that’s a
great perk.
What is your favorite
type of story to which you lend your voice talents?
I love fiction. All kinds.
I love being transported to a new world (or in this case, a new
time). I love reading non-fiction for my
own personal knowledge. But when it
comes to narrating a book, I certainly prefer fiction. You can have so much more fun with the
characters and the story itself. It
seems more like playing than work.
Except editing. That always feels
like work. J
What drew you to
narrate this particular story?
That is another one where I got lucky. Peggy found me on this particular book. I tend to get a lot of Western Fiction. I believe, because I have a natural “twang”
in my voice that I’ve grown up with.
That being said, I was immediately drawn to the story from the first
page. I love dark, gruff characters like
Jake. It’s so easy to sink your teeth
into a character like that.
What was your favorite
part of narrating Come Home to Me?
My favorite part is definitely the lead
character, Jake. Throughout Westerns we
have seen the Evolution of the Cowboy.
We start with Roy Rogers “The Singing Cowboy.” Then John Wayne came and gave us the Cowboy
that always knows what’s right, and does just that. He is the example of what is good. But then Clint Eastwood came and gave us the
“Anti-Hero” in Westerns. That tends to
be my favorite kind of character. He’s
usually not the most “moral” of man. He
gets thrown into an extreme situation that he never likes, but where people
depend on him to lead. Just like in this
book, Come Home to Me, he gets a second chance.
You never really know if he’s going to see things through to the end, or
just walk away. And if he does get
there, if he doesn’t just go back to his old self. It just creates more layers and colors to
work with for a character. And as an
actor, I love it.
What do you hope the
listeners will take away from your delivery?
I know Peggy, at this point, has received
many loyal fans. As she should. I hope it’s another way for her fans to enjoy
her literature. Hopefully it will only
help transport the reader, even more so, into this fantastically rugged world
that she has created. And I am really
excited and humbled that I was able to be a part of that.
I've posted two audio samples at the bottom. I've posted the first sample before, but the second one definitely has a spoiler in it, so if you are not familiar with the story and don't wish to be "spoiled", only listen to the first sample.
