Behind the Audio: Bitter Paradise

While epidemic polio ravages Canadian neighbourhoods, a Syrian refugee barber, desperate to resume his career as a well-respected surgeon, tries to help, risking reprisals from investigator Dr. Zol Szabo and a murderous warlord.

 

What is the most challenging part of recording an audiobook? Conversely, what is the most enjoyable part?

The most challenging part of recording a book is being consistent. You record over several days, sometimes with days in between, so your voice and your characters have to stay consistent with itself over those days, as well as within the session of the day, so you don’t sound different at 1 pm, compared to 9 am when you started.

The most enjoyable part is when I manage to slot into a good groove, and the story starts to come alive in my mind. Generally, then, I’m making fewer slips (and therefore don’t have to go back and re-record sentences), and I’m immersed in the tale that I’m telling.  It really gets that “telling a tale around the campfire” feel.

How did you prepare to record this audiobook?

As with all books I narrate, I read the book first, noting all the words I didn’t know (and the words I was SURE I knew, but just wanted to check, anyway), as well as the names of people and places to confirm with the author. We had a call with the author, other narrators and director to cover the “feel” of the book, as well as check in with the other narrators in regards to how they were going to portray certain characters that we were all going to portray. For example, the protagonist Zol is in chapters narrated by all three of us, so we wanted some consistency there.

For me, I always want my characters to sound distinct. I dislike when narrators don’t give some difference to their voices, so I also plan ahead as to how my characters will sound. This includes marking up my script, and giving each character traits, so in the high-octane scenes where there are many characters, the listener will always know who’s speaking. Nothing worse than not knowing that!

What was your first audiobook, or the first audiobook you fell in love with?

When I was young, I listened to many audiobooks while in the car driving to see my family in different towns around Southern and Northern Ontario. I always preferred books narrated by George Guidall. His distinct, caramel-y voice struck a chord with me for some reason, and I still enjoy listening to him.

What was your favourite part of this book?

Like most of the thrillers I have narrated, I always enjoy the action sequences. The chapters where everything starts to move quickly is like riding a motorcycle on a curving road in a forest: you can see only so far ahead, you’ve got to stay focused, and – if you do it right – you’ll take your listeners for a good ride.

What did you learn while reading or recording this book?

There are always little things that you learn reading different books. This book involves people from Syria and Pakistan, among other places, so some of the cultural references, names and knowledge were new for me.  I also learned the various stages required to smoke pipe tobacco, and a recipe for Salmon Wellington.

Tell us a fun fact or anecdote about your experience recording this.

Without giving anything away, there’s some discussion of mosquitoes as disease vectors in the book, with some specifics of species.  When I was in university, my summer job for two summers was as a West Nile Virus Prevention … person. I don’t know if I had an actual title. Anyway, my tasks involved picking up dead birds, capturing live mosquitoes, and also mosquito larvae. I then had to identify the larva species. So I didn’t have to research pronunciations for most of those parts of the book, because I already knew them.

Who do you think this audiobook would appeal to?

This is a good thriller for those who like to pass the time with something engaging, not super heavy or dramatic, but interesting. I’m an audiobook listener while I cook, clean, and also while driving places, so I’d say anyone who cooks, cleans, or drives.

 

What is the most challenging part of recording an audiobook? Conversely, what is the most enjoyable part?

For me, the most challenging parts tend to be the unobvious tongue twisters that can come up and that take several tries to get right. The most enjoyable part for me is seeing a character grow and evolve as I narrate alongside their journey. That, and having fun with voicing some of the side characters.

What was your first audiobook, or the first audiobook you fell in love with?

I have several favourites, but I was very excited to be asked to narrate The Royals of Dharia, by Susan Kaye Quinn, a rollicking YA steampunk adventure romance trilogy set in a fantasy India-like world.

What was your favourite part of this book?

When Zol and Natasha are getting close to unravelling the mystery while at the same time each dealing with their high-stakes personal situations. Also, voicing Natasha’s overly wedding-focused mother were always fun interludes for me.

What did you learn while reading or recording this book?

I learned a lot about medical practices during a pandemic and the precision sleuthing required in tracking down viral sources. Quite on topic, considering this past year!

What advice would you give a new audiobook narrator?

Number one: you must love reading books! Given that, spend time listening to audiobooks by voice actors you admire, you can learn so much technique that way. And of course, practice reading aloud to keep those muscles honed. Yoga is also a great complimentary practice for voice-over.

Tell us a fun fact or anecdote about your experience recording this.

In our pre-recording meetings we had a fun, in-depth, cultural group discussion about how we would pronounce “Toronto” and came to the conclusion that generally native Torontonians tend to say “Tuh-ronno” whereas people in other areas of Canada tend to say “To-ron-to.”

What made you want to become an actor/voice actor?

I have always wanted to be an actor ever since I was little, and I had a particular habit of constantly practicing accents and impressions, which always fascinated me. It’s certainly nice to have been able to make it into a career!

 

What is the most challenging part of recording an audiobook? Conversely, what is the most enjoyable part?

The challenges for me are all technical, things like making sure you don’t smack your lips, staying hydrated, making sure you keep the right distance from the mic. I love to read in my personal life so just the simple act of reading out loud is extremely enjoyable.

What was your first audiobook, or the first audiobook you fell in love with?

Bitter Paradise is my first audiobook! The first audiobook I fell in love with was The Outsider by Stephen King, narrated by Will Patton. The story really draws you in and Will Patton’s voice and narration are amazing.

What was your favourite part of this book?

I like that it has a bittersweet ending - everything isn’t tied up in neat little bows. Like life!

What did you learn while reading or recording this book?

I learned a lot about Hamilton!(Omar is from Winnipeg.)

Tell us a fun fact or anecdote about your experience recording this.

The booth was very cold and by the end of my first session I was shivering, which is not optimal for performance of any kind! For the next session I brought layers. Very helpful.

What made you want to become an actor/voice actor?

I like to create and perform and I felt those impulses early in life. I want to act in as many scenarios and formats as possible. I’m also a musician, so I’m very comfortable in front of a mic.

Who do you think this audiobook would appeal to?

Fans of crime thrillers, medical dramas, and family dramas.