Dr John Reynolds

Uncommon Enemy  is an alternative history novel.  Nazi Germany has won WWII and New Zealand, a small democracy, is occupied. The result? Conflict between the occupiers and individual characters. Love, hate, betrayal, action, drama and  conflict all combine to make a fast paced story.

This was a challenge for me as author, and now narrator.  The characters had different accents. Some the Germans were fluent in English but I still had to have a Germanic accent in their speech. Others spoke English badly and their German accents had to be heavier. However I had to avoid a satirical German accent e.g. Sgt Schultz (Hogan's Heroes).

I had other accents, including South African, British, New Zealand, male and female, and various age groups. 

As well as accents, I had to depict the mood of each character in terms of the situation and context in which they ware speaking. 

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So, how would you narrate the following  lines? With admiration or sarcasm? 

"A charming story. The man's an example to us all." 

Total recording, editing, revising, re-recording time was about 20 hours. A  long haul, but for me, challenging and very enjoyable.

Listen to Chapter One audio sample:

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Find book details at:

  https://goo.gl/NyQbu5

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Low Flying is a crime novel, set in New Zeaand, Russia and Afghanistan. It is a story of espionage, cruelty, love, lust and betrayal, centred round drug smuggling using light aircraft. I based the novel on my brief flying experience and my two trips to Russia and other totalitarian countries.

Like Uncommon Enemy I had to narrate in a number of accents including Russian, British, South African and New Zealand.

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I particularly enjoyed writing and then reading the dialogue sequences. Dialogue is crucial in showing characters' moods and concerns, and advancing the plot. Interpreting the dialogue as the narrator,  was  an enjoyable a challenge.

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So,  how would you narrate these lines?

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"Are you going after him?"

"Yes. He has a car. But we have an aircraft."

"You're crazy, Matt."

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Check out an audio sample at:

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https://tinyurl.com/y3azfvkn

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https://tinyurl.com/2p8b2jac

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Victa Dima, a renowned commentator on audiobooks has created a post on my new audiobook, which I narrated, titled Low Flying  He will be providing a full review in February, but in the meantime, his post is worth checking out at: 

https://theaudiobookblog.com/spotlight-low-flying/

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