Interview with the Voice of Meghan

Hey everyone!


Today I have the huge privilege of featuring an interview with Khristine Hvam, the wonderful narrator for The Iron King audiobook and the voice of Meghan Chase. I actually got to chat with Khristine face-to-face at the Audible studios in New York City, and it was a total blast being in the studio with her.

Anyway, rather then thinking up an interview to send her, I thought it would be fun to give readers a chance to ask the questions. So I posed the question to Twitter: what would you ask the voice of Meghan, Ash, and Puck if you had the chance? And Twitter never disappoints. So here is Khristine, in her own words, on the voice of Meghan Chase.

1 1. 1. Was it hard getting into the character personalities? Or intimidating even, since we love them so much?

Absolutely intimidating at times BUT… when I was a little girl I played the part of Peter Pan in my 4^th grade play and while I was onstage I would mouth the lines of all the other characters. So I guess you could say, I’ve always wanted to play ALL the parts. This kind of work allows me to do just that. For as long as I can remember I’ve been making up voices and characters. In the early years to entertain my family and friends, and later on when I thought being a film or stage actor would be my path. But as the years went on and I found myself in so many different careers while I searched for my bliss, voice over kept popping up. One day when the universe was tired of all my milling around what it had been placed so clearly in front of me, it just sort of clicked that this was what I was supposed to do. And then I just did it. Lesson learned: listen to the universe… it always gifts you what you need.

2. Do you read the books for fun, as opposed to a job/audiobook?

I absolutely read books for fun as well. Working in audio books has opened my eyes to different genres that I would have normally passed by, and because of the work, I was able to discover beautiful new adventures that truly touched my life. This series is one of them.

3. Who are their favorite characters from the books?

This is such a hard one for me! There are so many well thought out and fun characters it’s impossible to choose one. I love Grimalkin and Leananshide because they are SO fey. I love Puck, because I have always loved the Puck character (way back in Mid Summer Night’s Dream). Ash… is just… well… you know. They’re all great!

4. What do you have in common with Meghan?

I’m not sure Meghan and I have a lot in common at all… (maybe her romantic side) and I’m sure that’s not really the answer you were looking for… BUT, if I found out that I was the half daughter “princess” of the Faerie King, my best friend was Puck, and I’d ride off into the sunset with the hot bad boy who pledged his undying love for me… I’d be WAY more ok with that.

5. What were their favorite moments of the audiobook? What was the most fun to record?

My favorite moment out of all three books is when Meghan kisses Puck in Leanansidhe’s “outcast place.” This is when things got really good for me. There was just so much happening between these three characters… love, friendship, desire, loyalty… just a great moment in the story and a big turning point.

6. Whenever they are given the voicing over job, do they get to know the characters first?

While I’m prepping the book I get to know all the characters. And sometimes if I’m lucky, I have the opportunity to chat with the author and get some of their input as well.

7. How's was it like to portray/read Puck/Ash/Meghan?

Each character is so different and so complex. They really have a lot going on inside them… this is a tough one to answer.

8. What scene did they have most difficulty narrating?

The most difficult scenes to narrate are the scenes with lots of different characters talking to each other. Since we record the book from beginning to end, and don’t separate the characters, its my job to switch back and forth…. And sometimes it can get a lil crazy.

9. Do they do any preparations before recording?

Before every book I record, I read the book. I find out about each character; Who they are, where they’re from, how they behave, does the author give them accents, what do other characters say about them, and how do they sound in my head… stuff like that. I try to tap into the eight year old girl and me… and just pretend.

10. If you were fey, would you be Seelie, Unseelie, or Iron?

I would definitely be Seelie. Chances are I would be the female version of Puck. Always cracking jokes, getting into trouble, and causing mischief… always looking out for the people I love, and risking it all to save them regardless of the consequences.

Thanks so much, Khristine! It was a such a pleasure talking with you.

Find Khristine here on her website. Or, check out a snippet of her work here at audible.com.


And check back soon for an interview with Josh Hurley, or, as you might know him, the voice of a certain redheaded prankster.