Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Interview with the Voice of Ash

Hi everyone!

Okay, so last week was the interview with the hilarious and charming Josh Hurley, the voice of Puck. The previous week we had the fabulous Khristine Hvam, the voice of Meghan. So for our last guest, it is my absolute pleasure to welcome MacLeod Andrews, the narrator of The Iron Knight and the voice of the ice prince himself.





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

I think with any book that isn’t a series you’ve already recorded it takes a chapter or two to solidify your narrator. This was the case for Ash although I came into it with a voice in mind. I modeled him after a young version of a highly regarded older actor. I don’t want to influence anyone’s listening though, so I’m not going to tell you who. Being an Ice Prince I knew Ash needed to command respect, carry himself with elegance, and a degree of emotional detachment. Puck’s playful snark came to me pretty quickly. The Big Bad Wolf was pretty much a constant struggle to growl deeper.


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

I enjoy many of the books I record. If you mean the Iron Fey Series, unfortunately no, I haven’t read any of the other books. Though after reading this one I may have to change that. On my own time I’ve mostly been reading historical nonfiction.



3. Who are their favorite characters from the books?

From Iron Knight I would have to say Ash, Puck, Grimalkin, BBW, Glitch.



4. What do you have in common with Ash/Puck?

Like Ash, I think I have a strong sense of responsibility and follow through. And am also looking forward to a son or daughter with the right woman some day.


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

The River of Dreams, the doppelganger fight, when they came back for the Big Bad Wolf, when Ash became human and still had some powers, and the third trial for Ash’s humanity. My favorite section to record was definitely the third trial where he experiences a potential version of his life as a human. I couldn’t keep myself from breaking down a little in that section.



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

Sure, I always read the book first and in this case I contacted the previous narrator Khristine Hvam to ask about the characters I encountered.



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

It was fun and emotional reading Ash. He’s practically a superhero. And his journey lays bare fundamental aspects of the human condition in a powerful way.



8. What scene did they have most difficulty narrating?

Nothing stands out. Maybe the town where the forgotten faery are sucking the life out of our heroes. I recall there being a number of minor characters to voice there.



9. Do they do any preparations before recording?

First I get the book in PDF format and load it onto my iPad using the app iAnnotate. As I read the book I bookmark new characters and start taking note of their attributes. I also assign a “stamp”, like a symbol, to each character. Every time the character has a line of dialogue I put their unique stamp next to it in the margin. If the book is part of a series like this one, I’ll contact the other narrators to check pronunciations and character voices. If there are no other narrators, I’ll often contact the author to ask for pronunciations and whether they hear their characters in a specific way. Sometimes I’ll look up samples of other books from similar genres to hear how other narrators have approached similar material.



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

Probably Seelie. I think I’m too emotionally present and cheerful to be Unseelie. But I do like to ski, so there’s that.








Thanks so much, MacLeod! And if you'd like to know more, check out his blog here. You can also listen to a snippet of The Iron Knight at audible.com. Or, if you'd just like to say hello, follow MacLeod on Twitter @MacLeodAndrews.

14 comments:

  1. Great interview! Previewed the audio version on itunes and it was what I imagined Ash to sound like! I think we have a new fey fan ;)

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  2. He gave Ash the same voice I heard in my head...not sure how he did that but it was total awesomesauce! <3!!

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  3. Yay! This means he's single. LOL. But kidding aside, it's a great interview. :)

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  4. He truly was the perfect voice for Ash, loved the interview!!

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  5. Yay! He did an awesome job with what I heard from the snippet of the audiobook, and sounded perfect. He was everything that I was envisioning Ash to talk like, and awesome interview!

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  6. His voice for Ash is almost exactly like what I heard in my head all this time. He did a fantastic job.

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  7. Oh my gods! That was awesome! I just finished a sample of the book a few seconds ago. He is so awesome!! Love his voice!! Btw, totally off-topic, but does anyone know what Josh Hurley looks like? Or where I can get a pic of him? I tried google, but I don't think it worked very well!
    P.S. TEAM PUCK FOREVER!!!!!

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  8. Oh.... My....Hackin'....Gosh!That seemed was so real!The voices were a million times better than the ones I had imagined for Ash and puck!
    Absolutley AMAZING Macleod!Incredible Job!
    P.S.TEAM ASH FOREVER!!!!!!!!!!
    P.S.S.That's right!I'm talking to YOU, Alexis!

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  9. Julie! I have a question! In the book trailer for the Iron Knight, Ash is wearing a ring when he shoots the ice ice daggers, first, WHY!? and is that the ring that used to be in the drawer in his room with Ariella's stuff!? PLEASE CLARIFY IT FOR ME!
    P.S. TEAM ASH FOREVER!!!!!!!!!!

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  10. @Anonynous: You just messed with the wrong girl. I will defend Puck with my life if I have to!! NO ONE KNOCKS PUCK!!!!!!...EVER!!!!!!!!!!
    P.S. TEAM PUCK FOREVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
    P.S.S. Bring. It. ON.

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  11. OH ITS ON, DON't MAKE ME SWEAR an OATH!
    P.S.TEAM ASH FOREVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
    P.S.S IT WAS ON THE MOMENT YOU SAID TEAM puck.
    P.S.S HAHA!

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    1. Bring it! I would give my life, soul, heart, and mortality for Puck!!!! I would do anything for him!!!! NO ONE MESSES WITH MY PUCK!!!! NO ONE!!!!!!!
      P.S. TEAM PUCK FOREVER!!!!!
      P.S.S. Just FYI, you don't mess with me when it comes to my Puck.

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  12. OMG!! I know I am WAY late but -Unseelie Forever- and TEAM ASH FOREVER # Ashallyn'darkmyr Tallyn FOREVER

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  13. P.S. I would say an oath for Ash anyday

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