Voicing Tobias...

...for Knots in the String.

My first audiobook, Tobias, Book One of the The Triptych Chronicle, is about to be released.

It’s been something I’ve always wanted to do. I wanted to ‘hear’ my characters speak, not just in my imagination but actually, as if the scenes of their lives played out in front of me, moment by moment.

It’s vastly different to seeing my characters on the printed page or as an e-book. Better – far more thrilling.

Of course, the first part of getting to audio is finding a narrator. Tobias is the story of a young man, a 12th century minstrel who is tipped into the most violent of times. Obviously the novel needed a male voice to tell the story. I knew I wanted a British voice, a gutsy voice, a voice that had a little something to set it apart from anyone-else’s and I spent an age listening to many men. With some I would stop their audition tapes after two words, knowing instinctively they weren’t right for me, or for Tobias.

But then I heard Greg Patmore. His portfolio reads well – a British actor and award-winner, and I liked his slight grittiness, a unique voice with an edge. I asked if he was available to do a short audition.

He was and I liked the end-result.

He then did a longer sample.

I liked it even more.

Then we chatted via Facetime which was a thrill – living so far from the recording studio, to be able to put a face to his voice made all the difference in the world.

Not only that, Greg is a boatsman. We had something in common, apart from Toby.

One of the things I decided early on, was that I needed to trust whomever I commissioned to do the narration of the book. They were the voice-professionals after all.

Sure, I might have had ideas of what (or whom) I think my characters sounded like, but I was employing a professional actor and narrator, not a mimic or impressionist.

I gave Greg a list of characters with a very short background on each and then, I left him to it. I’m not a producer, director or editor. I’m a writer who wants to ‘hear’ the voices of the folk she has created. ‘Leave it to the professional’ was my plan.

I did exactly that and Greg has produced a fine narration. We had one moment only where I was unsure about one character, but I went back twice and listened to it in context and decided to run with Greg’s vocalisation. Simply, it worked.

The audio file is now in post-production and hopefully will be available any minute, and thus in the meantime, I thought it might be an idea to hear about the art of narration from the horse’s mouth.

Greg Patmore, welcome…

1.     Narration. Why? Harder or easier than screen or theatre?

I was first asked to record an audiobook back in 2014 whilst I was appearing with Anne Archer at the Edinburgh Festival. At the time I didn’t really know much about audiobooks - I thought I’d rather read a book myself than be read to - and I’ve always been an avid reader. But I did a little research and found there was a lot more to it than just reading out a book. And the particular title I’d been asked to record was itself quite unique, a fantasy detective who was a wolf… anyhow, I enjoyed it so much playing all the different characters I decided then I’d do more. The next couple of years I mainly worked in theatre and a bit of TV, some audio drama, but in Early 2017 I began recording a series of audiobooks and one thing led to another. Its actually very hard work, a lot of preparation, a lot of time locked in a box talking to yourself… so its not for everyone. In 2018 and 2019 I was nominated for some major awards, winning an Audie in 2019, and then the next year Covid-19 hit the world. I can honestly say audiobooks saved us as I’d have been broke otherwise!! And since then, having reclaimed control over my time and my life in a way you never can as an actor, I’ve found I prefer it to touring or chasing acting jobs!!

2.     As an author of a number of books, looking at all my characters, I sometimes feel I’m walking into a crowded room but I’m damned if I can remember the detail of each one. As a narrator do you ever find yourself in that same crowded room, trying to not just create a really unique voice for each character you meet, but trying not to meet the same accent twice?

It's actually harder when you have several characters all with the SAME accent, as you need to find attitude and character traits clear enough to differentiate. But it’s all part of an actor’s toolkit, finding many ways to create instantly recognisable characters, bring them alive, make them respond to each other and really connect with them. And in really good writing, it’s always easier.

3.     How do you recall each separate voice in a chapter? Is there a lot of stopping and starting as you record?

I tend to record as fluidly as possible, reading dialogue in real time, jumping from character to character so they can actually interact with each other. If I fluff a word or just feel I’ve not nailed the emphasis or emotion, I’ll go again, but really I always pretend I’m reading the story out to someone, and keep it as ‘live’ as possible.

4.     We’re told that the voice is air and vibration. Is it physically exhausting controlling the voice to produce all those different characters?

Not really physically. Vocal control is just part of what you do as an actor, although it can be a challenge of focus, particularly if there is a lot of high emotion. We all know what it feels like to be emotionally flattened after seriously heartbreaking events, and if you are trying to convey the story but also the emotions of ALL participants, yes it can be tiring. Sometimes I’ll reach a point in a book where I know the next few chapters are going to require huge emotional energy, and need to be done all in one session for truthful continuity, and I have to just stop and prep to do it the next day.

5.     Is it mentally exhausting?

As I mentioned, focus can be difficult in long sessions. I frequently will work a 10 hour day in the booth, and it can be exhausting. But the moment I feel I’m not absolutely on it and zoned in, I stop. The writing deserves your very best.

6.     Your voice has a grittiness that I love, Greg, so how difficult have you found it to voice women?

Less difficult since I stopped trying to ‘sound female’. You’re in a three way relationship as a narrator, where you have to faithfully deliver the writing to the listener who is fully aware you are a male narrator. So finding the character’s uniqueness is the key.

7.     What is your favourite genre to read privately? Does that then make it hard to read a completely different genre?

As I mentioned earlier, I’ve always been an avid reader. Huge numbers of books, and my chosen genres have shifted over the years. I’ve had fantasy phases, classics (I read Homer from choice at 10 and 11 years old and most of Dostoevsky in my late teens) Hardy, Shakespeare, poetry, Mervyn Peake I adored, Douglas Adams!! I read all the Game of Thrones books, obviously Tolkien, vast amounts of SF, I was a huge Ian Banks fan AND Ian M Banks, read everything I could find by Paul Theroux who hardly ever wrote two books in the same mould, Ray Bradbury, Michael Moorcock, Heinlein… but I was also a huge James Herbert fan, the Stephen King… basically I love good stories and adore good writing. So I’m happy to read anything at all that fulfils those criteria.

8.     You voiced a 12th century action and adventure novel for me. How do you manage to remove the 21st century from your voice?

Did I? I read what you write, so maybe you should ask yourself the same question? I sometimes find contemporary references in historic fiction make it necessary to ‘contemporise’ vocal delivery, but in Tobias the writing is perfectly idiomatic for the period. I just read it faithfully.

9.     Do you narrate a number of novels simultaneously?

No. I will sometimes prep a couple at the same time, but only if I can’t avoid it. I much prefer to work on one book at a time until I’ve finished recording it. Then I’ll move onto the next project. They may overlap in pre and post-production phases, but never during recording. I’ve decided to deliberately limit how many and what kind of projects I take on to ensure each gets my absolute attention during production.

10.  Your voice is your trade. How much do you cosset it? No shouting at the dog across the fells?

I don’t do anything special. I warm up before recording and I’m careful if I make a character choice that is vocally difficult to ensure I warm up fully. I once had a series to record which in book 1 had one character who was a different species so I created a very spiky, insect-like voice for him that actually hurt to do if I didn’t get properly warmed up, but it was only one character. Then, later in the series, we visited his tribe and suddenly I had multiple versions of that voice to deal with!! It taught me to ALWAYS prep well ahead and ALWAYS consider the physical demands of a character voice before committing to it.

11.  Can I ask you (coyly) about Tobias? What did you think of the story?

I’ve said earlier I’m careful about what I take on these days, and that quality writing is important to me. I loved the book, the story, the characters, the world-building. It’s all beautifully crafted and a joy to read. I possibly wouldn’t have taken it on otherwise. Some books are a joy to narrate because you can just lose yourself in the story and this is one of them.

12.  What’s next for Greg Patmore, Narrator?

I’m currently beginning recording on an anthology of 19 short stories for Australian publisher Grimdark Publishing, for whom I’ve recorded two previous anthologies. Each is different, unique, a different writer, so every story is its own world. Narration in the first person is one of my favourite things to do, where the narrator is in fact an active participant in the story, and there are several in this project, as well as a less common second person narration. And I’ll be getting to grips with the first of a new series by Anna Belfrage for whom I’ve recorded so many books we’ve become good friends in the process.

Greg, thank you so much for taking on a newbie, for giving my story legs (well voice, actually). I look forward one day, to you narrating the remaining two of the trilogy of The Triptych Chronicle.

I very much hope we do that. I know I’d enjoy them, and it would be a pleasure to do.

And that’s Knots in the String for this week. Thanks everyone, for reading, sharing this with friends and friends of friends and see you all next week. Cheers!