The Big Day, and a peek behind the audiobook microphone
We are ONE PUNY DAY AWAY from publishing Lost in France and I’m pumped and terrified and wondering what I’ll wear, even though it’s not a day I meet the King or anything fancy like that, it’s a day I go to my neighbourhood bookstore to sign the pre-ordered books that have come in (and feel so happy people pre-ordered), and then go to dinner at a wonderful French restaurant in Toronto, Le Paradis, where I’ll be celebrating pub day with my family. In other words, I’ll be wearing my Blundstones and leggings the way I always do—but on the inside, I’ll be wearing that dress that Margot Robbie wears in Wuthering Heights (which is great and fantastically romantic and extraordinarily shot, by the way).
Otherwise, I’m busily firming things up with bookstores and events for a book tour. There is more to come on that front for later in the summer and into the Fall, but for now, here’s what’s planned. If you have time to join me at any of these events, I’d love to see you.
I’m also getting ready for the launch party on Tuesday, June 30 at Noonan’s pub. So here’s a reminder of that!
Come one, come all. I hope to see you there.
It’s exciting that the Lost in France audiobook will come out on the same day as the hard cover, soft cover, and eBook. Everything all at once.
Speaking of the audiobook, I thought it would be interesting for you to meet Kate Udall, the actor who narrates the audiobook.
Kate has appeared on stage, television and film. She trained as an actor at Yale, the University of California at San Diego, and London’s Central School of Speech and Drama. She has been recognized with two Earphone Awards and an Audie nomination. She has recorded over 150 audiobooks for Harper, Doubleday, Tantor, Macmillan, Brilliance, and Audible. Her base is in her professional home studio in New Mexico.
She has been a park ranger in Arizona, a college professor in West Virginia, a chef in Oregon, a whitewater kayak guide in California, and a paralegal in Manhattan. As an explorer of the wide, and wild, world, she has hiked and kayaked in Nepal, Italy, Spain, France, Corsica, Chile and beyond. Which of course I love, because it feels like she’s the perfect voice to capture the adventurous traipsing-through-France side of the book.
CRD: Can you tell us a bit about yourself?
KU: Well, let’s see. I currently live in New Mexico. I love the southwest—the landscape really speaks to me. I have 3 fantastic cats who always like to come into the recording booth with me and who are rarely quiet enough to stay for long. I also like to spend time outside—I just came back from doing a 5-day whitewater canoeing class in Canada. It was really hard!
CRD: How did you become a voice-over artist?
KU: Most actors need what we call a day job—something that can give you a steady source of income for all the times when you are not acting. If you are lucky, you find something that you like and also are good at. I have a long list of jobs behind me that did not fit that bill. Coat check girl. Deli counter help. Pet sitter. Gardener. Etc., etc., etc. I was very lucky in that during one of the many times when I was looking for a job I saw a class about learning to do audiobooks. The teacher was a working narrator and told me he would introduce me to some publishers. And I got a job narrating a book! It’s turned out to be much more than a day job for which I am so grateful.
CRD: Can you tell us three of your favourite audiobooks you’ve recorded, and why?
KU: I always enjoy whatever I am doing. I get an incredible range of books—love stories to very academic non-fiction. For example, I did a book about the economist Adam Smith. And one about travelling in Morocco! The love stories have some range as well. I have done Amish romances where the hottest event is baking a biscuit (not a metaphor) to full-on days-long erotic romps.
CRD: Can you tell us about the process? What’s the order of business?
KU: Step one: read the book! Then I spend some time to make sure I understand the story and the characters. Another thing that might be surprising and small but turns out to be important: make sure you are pronouncing tricky words right. There are some sneaky ones—like place names that are eccentric to a locale—for example Houston street in NYC is not pronounced like the city in Texas. Sometimes you don’t know what you don’t know but I always try to keep alert. I spend a lot of time doing searches on YouTube trying to find out how to pronounce the name of a small town somewhere or an obscure college professor in Denmark. There are also words that it turns out I have been confidently mispronouncing my entire life until the proofreader tells me! Always learning.
CRD: What’s your secret to a great audiobook recording?
KU: I think doing your best to really get inside the heart and soul of each of the characters. Focused concentration and imagination. Trying to be as truthful and simple as I can. Relaxation. Visualizing the story unfolding. There are so many elements, it’s hard to choose one. Sometimes I hire a coach for a session just to get feedback—it’s hard to do that for yourself.
CRD: Do you ever have direct contact with the author? What would you tell writers about the process that might help them understand it better? If you do work with the authors, how can they be the most helpful?
KU: I rarely work directly with authors, but this is not by choice. As it happens, I am usually hired by audiobook publishers who have the audiobook rights. They usually prefer you only to contact the author through them. I always think that is a little odd, but that’s the business standard. There are some narrators who usually work directly with authors, but I almost never do, so I can’t speak to that.
CRD: Do you work with a director?
KU: I love working with a director, but usually it’s not in the budget. Occasionally I have hired one myself because it is really helpful to have a second ear. I really enjoy collaborating and unfortunately recording an audiobook is very solitary.
CRD: How long does it take to record an audiobook (on average)?
KU: For every one hour of a finished book, it usually takes me 2 hours. Some books (the ones with big words, or with complicated interactions between characters) can take longer.
CRD: Lost in France has accents and French—how did you manage?
KU: A great deal of searching for pronunciations and listening to French people. I also daydreamed about buying a house in France. It seemed to turn out pretty well for our heroine!
CRD: What other kinds of performing do you do? Can you tell us about a couple of your favourite non-audiobook acting jobs?
KU: I just finished working on a play called POTUS – it’s a big bawdy farce with a cast of 7 women. We all had a great time together. I also recently worked on a play about Margaret Chase Smith who was the first female US Senator. That was very inspiring. I have done several one-person shows which is a huge challenge.
CRD: What do you do when you’re not performing? (I see you’re a big kayaker and traveller).
KU: I like any kind of outdoor adventure. I also enjoy learning anything: languages, music… I occasionally do some teaching—one of my former jobs was college professor. I taught in the theatre departments and my speciality was voice for the actor. I have been developing some workshops based on encouraging people to speak poetry aloud. It’s a lot of fun.
CRD: If you’ve been to France, can you recommend one place or even a couple of places you think people should visit? It can be a tourist destination, or a coffee shop or a hiking area – anything you like.
KU: I have done a few bike touring trips in France which was great. When you can slow down and really see things, I think it’s better. The back roads and byways! Carcassonne was very special as well some of the more rural parts of Provence. I dream of being fluent in French. I love speaking other languages—feels like I’m a different person.
CRD: Where can people find you online?
KU: My website is kateudallvoice.com.
And here is a snippet of Kate reading Lost in France:
In my next newsletter, I’ll be interviewing Tracey Sterrett, the owner of Stirling Book Company. Tracey and I have been planning a really fun “Evening in France” event at her bookstore on July 16, 6:30-8:30pm, and it got me thinking about how authors don’t often get a chance to hear about the bookstore side of the publishing industry—what bookstore owners wish authors knew about selling books, and other good secrets and tidbits. Stay tuned.
Other people’s smart newsletters:
A few posts/newsletters I read these past two weeks:
If you’re a structure nerd like me, read this Kindlepreneur article by Kevin J. Duncan that compares several different story structure systems.
If you are feeling a wee bit tired as a self-employed artist and need some validation, read Rebecca Green’s “Dear Producer” Substack newsletter from June 17, 2026.
Things I’m finding interesting:
There’s a Toronto Silent Book Club that looks fun. Here’s their pinned post on IG:
Their next meeting is Jun 23 at Left Field Brewery, and Jun 27 at Danu Social House. Check out their IG page for more info: @torontosilentbookclub.
Keep reading and writing, friends.
Claire