Special Episode: From Page to Performance: Recording Fourth Wing & Heart’s Gambit

🎙️ How Fourth Wing & Heart’s Gambit Were Recorded | Audiobook Narrator Tips, Auditions, PFH Rates & Multicast Secrets

The circus lights flare. The band swells. Two voices step forward to turn ink into electricity.

In this behind-the-scenes audiobook deep dive, we go inside the booth with Eric Lockley and Kyra Frates (narrator of Fourth Wing) to unpack how Heart’s Gambit became an immersive multicast audiobook — and what it really takes to record bestselling fantasy.

Yes, we talk about:

• 🎧 The recording process for Fourth Wing
• 🎙️ How Heart’s Gambit was brought to life in audio
• 📚 What publishers look for in audiobook narrators
• 💰 What “per finished hour” (PFH) really means
• 🎭 How to land auditions and record self-tapes
• 🎤 Voice protection, stamina, and vocal warmups
• 🔥 Recording intense, romantic, and emotionally heavy scenes
• 🎬 Working with directors and engineers
• 🎧 How narrators stay consistent when recording on different days

If you’ve ever wondered:

• How do you become an audiobook narrator?
• How did Khaya Frates record Fourth Wing?
• What does a fantasy audiobook recording session actually look like?
• How do multicast audiobooks stay aligned?
• How do you break into Macmillan’s narrator program?
• What does Atlas Talent do for voice actors?
• Is Ahab a real pathway into audiobook work?

We get into all of it.

Eric and Kyra share practical, actionable tips and resources for aspiring audiobook narrators — including workshops, agency routes, community platforms, and how to build a sustainable voice acting career. From audition sides (usually 2–3 pages) to author approvals, from breath control to emotional pacing, this episode breaks down the craft AND the business.

Genre fans will especially love the conversation on narrating fantasy, sci-fi, horror, and YA — from banter and intimacy to grief, catharsis, and recording “spicy” scenes safely in graphic audio formats.

We also talk about:
 ✨ Representation in audio
 ✨ Expanding identity through sound
 ✨ Pro

Transcript

SPEAKER_04 0:05

Welcome to Kraft Chat Chronicles, the go-to podcast for tips on crafting best-selling fiction. Here at Kraft Chat Chronicles, we bring you expert interviews, insights, and tips on writing, publishing, and marketing. Join the conversation and embark on a new chapter in your writing journey. For workshops, show notes, and more information, visit jdmyall.com. That's jdmyall.com.

SPEAKER_07 0:51

Hey, I'm Eric Lockley.

SPEAKER_05 0:52

And I'm Kyra Frats, and today we're in the studio recording Hard Scan. I think the benefits of a multicast book is that when you get to listen to it back, it's so much more immersive.

SPEAKER_07 1:05

Yeah.

Heart’s Gambit Teaser Readings

SPEAKER_05 1:06

I think it's definitely a lot more fun read, and it's cool as we're like preparing to record the book, just hearing your voice and all the characters and kind of putting them together. I'm currently in the studio recording Heart Scambit by J.D. Mile. Chapter 1. Emma Baldwin. Harlem, 1943. When the moonlight hits the circus tents, they bleed. Ruby drops turn to rose petals before raining down on the audience. A symbol. That's all anybody wants. Something that feels bigger than them. No matter the city, no matter the time. Mom always said this when we were fortifying the fabric together, using our hands to imbue the crimson silk with our gifts. Something magical. Something beautiful. And if we remind them that we're the best black circus on the circuit in the process, what's the harm? Ooos and ahs ripple as the crowd begins to file into the big top. They settle in their seats and prepare for the show as that bloody rain begins. Find Heart's Gambit wherever you get your audiobooks.

SPEAKER_02 2:13

Yeah, and also we get references of each other's voices. So hearing Kaya's voice and trying to find where in my body I can kind of match or you know, create that same sound is a really fun exercise. And like you mentioned, listening back to the full book is really cool because you get a different experience.

SPEAKER_00 2:33

Hey, I'm Eric Lockley, and I'm currently in the studio recording Heart's Gambit by JD Mile. The crowd moves in slow motion, almost frozen as their bodies wind to the beat. The drunken joy is stuck on their euphoric faces, smiles barely changing, mouths wide with excitement. It's like they forgot all their bills, their problems, and the hate they faced outside these walls. Part of me wants to hold that happiness forever. Stay lost in the music, in the fun of being one with the beat and each other. But that would be like trading sure for unsure. It wouldn't be right. If I use the power of my music on people for too long, it can create hypnotic delusions. Delusions that some would rather die than wake up from, that others would kill to have, like getting one last kiss from a dead lover. It may be beautiful, but it isn't real. Protecting their real joy is why I'm here. It's why I helped loot start this place to begin with.

Studio Process And Vocal Matching

SPEAKER_07 3:41

And it's why I gotta shut it down tonight. How are you doing?

SPEAKER_06 3:49

Doing well, doing well. You did an amazing job.

SPEAKER_02 3:53

Thank you. Oh, that means a lot. Thank you so much. I loved bringing this story to life and just having so much fun. It's it's yeah, it was a joy and an honor, honestly.

SPEAKER_06 4:05

Awesome.

SPEAKER_02 4:06

How did you get into acting? My whole life. Honestly, like I started out as a dancer as a kid, meaning like when I was three, four years old, I was dancing around the house, and my parents were like, We're putting you in classes. And then when I was about 12, that's when I started to be like, Oh, I enjoy acting. I like that more. So, but I've been pretty much a performer all my life.

SPEAKER_06 4:30

That's amazing. How did you get into audiobooks?

Acting Journey And Audiobook Breakthroughs

SPEAKER_02 4:33

That I've always enjoyed, like I enjoy reading, and I did a workshop with McMillan Audio that was a new narrator's workshop that gave me an opportunity to kind of get in the studio and work with people at McMillan. And and they thought I did a good job, which you know, for me, I was like, I think I'm gonna do a good job, but we'll see. And and then they kept calling me back to audition for things and I booked some things. So yeah, so that's and it's been building ever since. So I'm hopeful about you know 2026, starting with some new titles, because yeah, I enjoy doing this work.

How Audiobook Auditions Work

SPEAKER_06 5:10

What does the audition process look like? Like for somebody who's interested in doing it.

SPEAKER_02 5:16

Oh, what? So they reach out and say, hey, this is an audiobook that we think you might be a good fit for based on you know your voice or your experience. And they give you an excerpt of the book that might be usually it's between two and three pages for you to put yourself on tape. And so you'll record yourself. Usually they'll only have you do one take, but sometimes they'll say, Hey, if you if you would like to submit two takes, you can two submit two takes, and and then you submit that, and then they send it to the author. Usually they send it to the author, and then with amongst themselves as producers with the author's consultation, they decide. And if you're selected, you get to narrate the book.

SPEAKER_06 6:01

Yeah, they sent me three different people, and I liked you the best. But I didn't know if I decided or if they decided or if it was a group thing, but yeah, you yeah, well, thank you.

SPEAKER_02 6:10

I mean, I truly, I I really enjoyed this this story, and I'm excited for whatever's next with it because you know uh this this feels like a dun dun dun.

SPEAKER_06 6:22

Yeah, we're still working on book two. I got draft one of book two done, but it has to go through all the editorial revisions and all that good stuff.

SPEAKER_02 6:30

Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 6:30

What was the hardest scene in this?

SPEAKER_02 6:34

Oh, I got nervous. You were gonna ask me something. You know, I think towards the end, and I'm saying, I mean, you of course you'll know because you you wrote it, because it's not like a specific scene or it all takes place. I think the climax, I guess, where and then there's the emotional stakes of you know fighting against the love of your life while your family's watching for your family. Like, I think the emotional stakes and the in the literal physical exhaustion that the characters would be experiencing made kind of the climate, the climax kind of the most challenging because you want to make sure as a narrator that you are helping to tell the story with the pacing and the emotional stakes and all the all of those things, and trying to be aware of that for an extended amount of time, you know what I mean, you know, we're we're reading can be challenging. So I think that was probably yeah, the the most challenging scene and or section to to do, but it but it was fun also to be like I mean that I don't know that that noise shows up, but either way, just to have that amount of kind of catharsis and release in with all of the emotions that's that are built up in the story was both fun and challenging.

SPEAKER_06 8:02

I probably looked like a psychopath when I was listening to it, because on one hand, I'm like cheesing from ear to ear because it's just so cool to see you give life to the weird things that go on in my imagination.

SPEAKER_01 8:14

Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_06 8:15

Then on the other hand, like your internal editor, I'm like, ooh, I should have worded this differently.

SPEAKER_02 8:21

Um I'm sure just because I I also write in like you know, in terms of storytelling, it's so hard once you've created something and kind of put it out into the world to let go of the oh, that could have been maybe a different sentence or a different word choice or all that stuff. But yeah, so I I definitely understand and empathize with that that feeling, like, oh, I enjoy it.

SPEAKER_06 8:42

Oh, maybe I should have.

SPEAKER_01 8:44

Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 8:46

What was the recording process like? Do you record at home or did they bring you in studio? Do you record with Emma? Are you guys like she's not Emma, but you know what I mean?

Recording Logistics And Separately Synced Performances

SPEAKER_02 8:55

Yeah, yeah, yeah. So I was brought into the studio. They had a studio, so I didn't record at home, which I prefer to go into the studio just because there are things out of my hands. You know what I mean? I I enjoy being able being responsible for the performance, and that allows for me to just be responsible for the performance. But yeah, so went into the studio and I knew the sections that Kaya slash Emma would would read and then what I was responsible for. So so yeah, so we recorded that. We didn't we on, I think on our own accord, yeah, listed listened to samples of each other's characters so that you know if she embodied a character that then I would also have to embody. We knew where that was in our in each other's voices. So we sh exchanged that, and then we did happen to be recording on the same days, so it was nice to be recording the story, and then uh during lunch break, be like, Oh, how are you? Getting to know the real person behind the the the behind the recording, but behind you know the love of our lives. So it was it was fun, it was it was great being able to connect with her in person, but the recording was done completely separate.

SPEAKER_06 10:19

How many other audiobooks have you done so far?

SPEAKER_02 10:23

Oh this was my seventh. I think this was my seventh, lucky number seven. So that's really cool, and I'm I'm excited to continue racking them up. And the like, I just I really enjoy doing various genres, but thus far I've primarily done young adult novels that have ranged from fantasy to kind of contemporary drama to horror. So I really enjoy just like getting to have fantastical lives via audiobooks because it's really empowering for me as an individual and especially as a black man. I love being able to see the range of stories that are possible for us and being able to bring life to everything from time traveling to you know being responsible as the team captain on a basketball team to, you know, not listening to my sister and that causing drama in the family's life, you know, all the range of things. And I I really enjoy being able to bring that to life and and that reminder for me personally that all of this is possible, all of this exists, and we're not limited to the stereotypes or limited media that may make us feel stifled.

SPEAKER_06 11:50

Very true, very true. Do you have a specific genre that you most enjoy? I know you're gonna say all of them.

Building Character Voices And Community Roots

SPEAKER_02 12:00

I mean, all of them is true just because it's so fun to like jump in and out, you know what I mean, to be like, oh, you know, two weeks ago I did this and now I'm doing this completely different thing. But I I do I would say I think my favorite genre is well fiction in general, but fantasy slash horror, slash sci-fi. Oh gosh, that's kind of all of them, but it's not, but I I really like the expansiveness of the worlds that can exist when you're in sci-fi horror or fantasy. It it'll it unlocks something that feels really freeing to be like, all right, I'm time traveling, or okay, this this this demon just popped up. What am I gonna do? It's just so fun. So I really horror, fantasy, and sci-fi, I think are the things I love.

SPEAKER_06 12:57

You have a great voice for YA because well, you have a good range, like you did all the different characters justice, and you can go from like sounding like pop-pop, you know what I mean, or an older, more established character, but you're very believable as a teenage boy, too. That's pretty cool. Was that a talent that took a long time to cultivate? Was it just a natural gifting for voices?

SPEAKER_02 13:20

Oh, that's I I've always enjoyed I'll say silly voices, or you know, either imitating or mocking people. And I think part of it has been uh, or I'll say for me, I think the roots of it were in family gatherings and church and just being surrounded about uh surrounded by a range of voices in my community and loving how my aunts would tell stories and it could be here, you know, it could be all of that. And then my uncles would tell stories, and I think just imitating and recognizing the richness in both sounds and the range of the sounds really made me curious about how I can use my voice to embody those different peoples and the range of stories that they want to tell. So uh yeah, voice work and being expansive about what my voice can do has always been a part of who I am.

SPEAKER_06 14:25

How do you prepare for that for going into the studio and doing voice work? That's a what do you take with you when you go in the studio too?

Warm‑Ups, Booth Essentials, And Stamina

SPEAKER_02 14:32

Yeah. So to prepare, I always make sure I'm I've done some type of vocal warm-up. So, you know, this is where the acting training really helps, but having an awareness of my articulators and maybe making sure that I know when to punctuate and to do all those types of exercises to make sure that my mouth is flexible and prepared to be speaking for a long time and to hit consonants and go all the way to the end of the sentence. So there are ways that I'm like the day and even before I'm gonna go into the record, is that I'm making sure that my physically I'm ready and warmed up. And in terms of things I bring into the booth, I always have some tea. Typically, partially because sometimes the booth is cold, but also it keeps the the throat warm and it keeps me feeling like it keeps the body warm. So I think having tea, tea and just regular daggular water, and what water with lemon is nice. I'll I'll add with lemon is nice, and I'm trying to think if there's anything else that I make sure I bring. I think that's pretty much it. I mean, they other things that they sometimes have available are throat lodengers and things like that that help with the voice. But I think the things that I know that I need are tea and water. And and and I will say this because I there's a range of booths that I've worked in, but having some space, because when I embody a character or tell a story, I like to be able to move around a bit. So being able to have some space makes me feel more free to do that and to fully embody the character.

SPEAKER_06 16:29

What does the day look like? Like how long is it when you're in the booth and when you come in for a project like this?

A Day In Studio And Direction

SPEAKER_02 16:35

Um typically yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm pretty sure with this book, we did 10 to four. And with most books, it's like a range of in terms of one session, it would be no more than six or seven hours, with usually a lunch break built in. So yeah, once you arrive, typically speak with the engineerslash director. Sometimes on some projects, there's a very specific director, other projects, there's just an engineer who's making sure that you hit you read all the words and that it sounds good. Whereas the director would be kind of giving more specific direction. But yes, so to usually check in with the director and or the engineer, set any kind of expectations about how the ways in which you're gonna work together, and then go for it. And I think one thing that I try to be aware of is when you first start out, you might be kind of getting the cobwebs off and just mostly the cobwebs of maybe it's the beginning of the day, whatever. So sometimes at the after I finished recording a book, I'm like, can we listen to the first five pages or listen to you know the first page and see if that still feels like the energy that I ended up with at the end? And might I might re-record if I'm like, okay, it feels like I was still figuring it out for those first few pages. But generally, yeah, it's it's check in with the engineer or director and then start recording.

Advice For Aspiring Narrators

SPEAKER_06 18:12

That's super cool. What advice would you have to other people like my son who want to do this?

SPEAKER_02 18:19

Oh, that's so cool. I think reading, you know, obviously, I think number one is read books not just to be a narrator, but read them because you enjoy them, because that enjoyment comes through when you are asked to read aloud and to read for people. So I think just make sure that you're continuing to read and build up the titles that you enjoy and the type of books that you enjoy, because you'll learn a lot about yourself by knowing, oh wow, this really gets me excited, and you want to work on things you're excited about. So getting to know what you're excited about. And then I do think also listen to audiobooks because then you get a better sense of what you enjoy hearing, or narrators whose voice or whose choices you really enjoy. And then I think the two other pieces of advice are making sure that as you are reading, you are aware of what's effective. I think pacing uh and volume and dynamics. So whether it's you know, sing song y and being having that awareness of the different dynamics that voices can take, all of that helps within your performance. And then the final thing I'll say is that the narrator profession has many voices and has has many ways to get into it. And one of the things that I initially didn't recognize was that there are communities of narrators that are separate from voiceover or separate from general acting. And so, if you really want to get into audiobook narration, find those communities. Ahab, which is a website where narrators can list the books that they've done. It's a way to find new narrators. If you're a new narrator, get on Ahab. So there are resources where narrators can be showcased and where you all can where we can learn more. So getting to know those resources is also important.

SPEAKER_06 20:37

Love that. For audition tapes, what equipment do you use at home?

SPEAKER_02 20:41

So I have a few things. I mean, I I've heard, and I'm sure some people may feel differently about this, but from I guess I'll say I've heard from other narrators and from producers that a phone, most phones these days, if you use quality earphones or even if you kind of hold it up for an audition, that they that is fine, that they will accept that and that the biggest thing is as long as they hear your voice clearly, that using your phone can work. I do have a mic and a well, why can't I think of what it's called? I've got a mic and a setup at home that sometimes, depending on the audition, if I feel like I want the best sound quality that I will use. But oftentimes I'm using my laptop andor my phone for auditions.

SPEAKER_06 21:35

And I wasn't expecting you to sing, I was really impressed with that. Because I thought somebody was gonna read the lyrics. I was like, okay, come through voice, come through Google's. I did not know you could sing.

SPEAKER_02 21:46

Thank you. No, it's funny that I appreciate that, and I I really appreciate you both recognizing that and and being impressed because I from what you wrote, I was like, his voice is important. And so I asked in the studio, I said, can I sing this? And they were like, Oh, usually we just have people read it because I I'm pretty sure that if it were an established song, that you're not allowed to actually sing it in the tune or sing it at all. And so because this was your unique, you know, lyrics and there was no established tune, they were like, Well, let's do a take where you just say it, but also let's do a couple of takes where you sing it. And I said, Great. So I appreciate that opportunity. And yeah, I just felt like for me, once again, it was important in the story that his voice was showcased. So with the audiobook, I said, Well, this seems like a great time to do it, and I have the ability. So uh, so yeah, I was really happy to be able to do that.

Release Plans, Gratitude, And Future Work

SPEAKER_06 22:49

I was very impressed with that, and I don't write songs, so like I was like, Oh my god, my lyrics actually sound like a song. Yay! You know, like when you when you're not a songwriter, you're always afraid that it you know won't sound like it does in your head, it won't sound that way to other people's.

SPEAKER_01 23:07

Yeah, no, I understand, but it was great, it was great. I I had a lot of fun doing it.

SPEAKER_06 23:12

Yep, thank you. You did an amazing job. Like I said, I love the performance.

SPEAKER_01 23:17

Thank you.

SPEAKER_06 23:18

I was excited, smiling like a psychopath poll-time listening to forced my kids to listen to. We took an unnecessary road trip. I had nowhere to go. I just put them in the car so I could have a captive audience and play it so they could hear it. That's so fun.

SPEAKER_01 23:32

And how how old are your kids?

SPEAKER_06 23:34

Oh, I have 14-year-old twins. Oh, nice, and then I have one in college. Well, two in college, technically. One's in high school, but she's dual enrollment, so she's college and high school at the same time.

SPEAKER_02 23:44

Nice. Okay, oh, that's cool. I've never heard of that. That's yeah, nice.

SPEAKER_06 23:49

Yeah, I'm old.

SPEAKER_02 23:51

Well, you don't look it, and and a lot of yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_06 23:55

But again, I appreciate you, and I appreciate your time and talking to me about the process and all that good stuff. Is there anything you wanted to share with that you're working on next or that people can support?

SPEAKER_02 24:05

Oh, um, okay, let's see. Well, uh, yeah, I'll I'll I'll share a couple things, and you know, I I am a storyteller in many ways. So I have a uh play that I've been developing for a little bit called Sweet Chariot. So I've been working on that. I'm writing it. It is uh Afro-futuristic epic that takes place Yeah, it takes place on Earth, then it takes place on a spaceship, and then on a new planet destined for black folks. So I've been developing it for a while, and I have a reading coming up in 2026, but I'm hopeful that in 2027, so a little bit in the future, that there'll be a production that I can invite folks to. So listen out for sweet chariot, because that's my Afrofuturistic play. So that's one thing, and then besides that, I'll say I'm in Harlem, I live in Harlem, and I host trivia at this bar slash cafe called Solvana, and I really enjoy doing that. So that's usually Thursdays from seven to nine at Solvana. And besides that, I'm just love storytelling, so I'm looking forward to doing some more audiobooks, and and you might see me on a TV screen or you might hear me in your ear, but I'm gonna be somewhere performing. So look out for me, Eric Lockley.

SPEAKER_06 25:26

Love it, love it, love it. And can't wait to read your novel too, Eric. Oh, hey, there might be anybody else's audiobook. I want to hear you do yours.

SPEAKER_02 25:34

Well, thank you, thank you. Yeah, between podcasts, novels, I've got so much that I want to do, I'm gonna do. So I I appreciate you. And and yeah, I guess I mean I'll I'll you have my social media, but people can follow me at at I M I A M Eric Lockley. And Eric is E R-I-C. Lockley is L-O-C-K-L-E-Y. So at I am Eric Lockley, you can follow along and see the many, many things that I'm up to as a storyteller.

SPEAKER_06 26:04

Love it. Thank you again. And like I said, you did a brilliant job. I was so so happy, so, so proud.

SPEAKER_02 26:10

Thank you. Thank you, thank you. And now I'm like, when when will when are you back? February 3rd. February 3rd.

SPEAKER_06 26:16

February 3rd, the book will be in store, and the week the book launches when I'm gonna be airing these.

SPEAKER_02 26:20

Oh, okay, great, great, great. All right, well, you know, I will share, I will share, and I'm so excited for the success of this and for your work. Like, yeah, I'm excited for the next book, but you I really had so much fun and the mind, like what it must have taken to like imagine all this is is is is incredible. So thank you.

SPEAKER_06 26:42

Healthy amount of delusion.

SPEAKER_02 26:43

Yeah, right, right, right.

SPEAKER_01 26:44

But it's integrated, yeah, healthy amount of delusions, and it's necessary in this in this wild world. So thank you for it.

SPEAKER_06 26:52

Thank you again, and I'm excited to hear what you do for the next one. Maybe we'll talk again after that and see how that process went.

SPEAKER_01 26:57

Yes, yeah.

Kyra’s Path: From Theater To Voice Acting

SPEAKER_06 26:58

Okay, okay. So tell me again, I'm sorry, about your life before acting.

SPEAKER_05 27:04

Before before acting professionally, I went to theater school. I went to George Mason University for theater and then minored in English, and then I graduated in 2019 and moved from Virginia to New York to pursue acting. But the pandemic hit three months after I arrived. And so I just kind of got into voice acting from home. Just I got like a microphone and started just messing around, doing like voice impressions of like cartoons and things, watching a bunch of stuff during the pandemic, and yeah, kind of transitioned from like a theater background into doing voiceover.

SPEAKER_06 27:48

And what was your favorite, your first rather, what was your first voice acting role?

SPEAKER_05 27:54

My first voice acting role was for this fiction podcast called Meet Cute, where they do short rom-com stories. Sorry. So I actually worked with them on January 2nd, like 2020. And that was like my first ever voice acting job. And then once the pandemic happened, I transitioned to working with them still but remotely and like figuring out microphones and stuff. Yeah, it's been that's cool. Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 28:31

What is the process like generally when you get an audition? Like how do you find them? Or how actually, I'm getting ahead of myself. How did you get into voice acting? Where did you have to go? Was there like a website or any tools that you found helpful when you were getting started?

Landing Roles And Working With Agencies

SPEAKER_05 28:45

When I started, I just started using Backstage casting website that does like they post film and theater and stuff too. So I'd already had a subscription and just started like I think I just got lucky and started at a good time because of the pandemic that so many like commercial projects were transitioning into like needing voice actors because they couldn't shoot anything, so they had to animate stuff and then use voice actors. So I just started like self-submitting to stuff on there and and booking small student animation projects for animation students in New York. And then about a year-ish in to just, you know, finding work on my own, I signed with my agency at Atlas Talent, and I've been with them since 2021. I freelanced with them for a year, and then they officially signed me in like 2022, and then I've been with them since then, and they mostly focus on commercial and like promo live announcer and animation stuff. And then a couple years into that, I started getting into audiobooks again, just like self-submitting to stuff and submitting to publishers who have like listserves of voice actors that they keep on file and things like that, and just trying to, you know, put my samples out there and and get started in that. And yes, I've been doing audiobook narration for about three years now, and it's been so fun.

SPEAKER_06 30:15

I heard you as Violet Buffin Soringale. Fun fact, I listened to your audition and I chose my my pig for Emma. Thank you. Not to like, you know, down anybody else, but like I said, I I loved your audition. But I didn't know that you had done fourth wing at the time. And a fun fact, I was actually actively listening to Fourth Wing because I I'm an audiobook girl, so that was like my commute to work.

SPEAKER_05 30:43

Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 30:44

And I had no idea that was you. And now that I know that's you, I'm gonna have to make a spicy scene for I'm not in book two.

SPEAKER_05 30:50

Oh, yeah. You do them so thank you. I loved your book. I couldn't put it down. It's so, so good. Like it's so cool. I love like all the time travel and everything. It's just so fun. It's so much fun recording it.

SPEAKER_06 31:08

How did you find it? Like, how did you come across that audition or did they reach out to you?

Fourth Wing, Surprises, And Emotional Highs

SPEAKER_05 31:13

Yeah, McMillan reached out to me, and I was so grateful because I just was like, wow, this is so cool. Like, immediately was just so excited. Like, this is it exactly the type of book that like I would have, you know, gave up all my allowance for when I was in high school to read. So I'm just excited to be a part of it. And working with Eric Lockley, who does the other half of the narration was just like so cool. We had an amazing director, Ashley, and it was just it was so fun. I loved it.

SPEAKER_06 31:46

What was your most surprising role so far?

SPEAKER_05 31:50

Probably Violet Soringale. That was a huge surprise. I like knew the like I knew of the book when it had come out and when I was cast. What they didn't tell me what I was auditioning for originally. They were just like fantasy, you know, young character think catness everdeen type. And I was like, okay, cool. And so my audition was like the parapet scene at the beginning of book one. And I just I hadn't read it, but I'd seen it on TikTok, so I didn't know. And then after the fact found out that it was Fourth Wing and was like, no way, like this is crazy. And then was just immediately obsessed with it. I thought it was so good, and then I never could have imagined like how massive like this whole fandom has grown. And it's so cool to just be a part of it.

SPEAKER_06 32:41

I um binge them and did not know it was you, which is a testament to your acting ability because it wasn't like it didn't feel like the same person.

SPEAKER_05 32:50

Good, I'm glad. I'm glad. They're very different, Emma and Violet.

SPEAKER_06 32:59

What was the hardest scene in Fourth Wing to record?

SPEAKER_05 33:05

In Fourth Wing specifically, Liam's death for sure. But in Onyx Storm, I would say maybe when Andarna leaves and their connection, their bond is severed. I think that was like also really hard.

SPEAKER_06 33:21

What was the easiest?

Recording Together Remotely And Other Credits

SPEAKER_05 33:26

I don't know. Any of the like scenes where it's just like banter between Violet and Zaydan, it's so much fun. And me and Gabriel Michael, who voices Zaden, have like become good friends over the last couple years. And so it's always just fun to like get in the booth. We we get to record together remotely like this. So it's fun to kind of just like get into the booth and like play with him. He like I've done the the Rainbow High and Shadow High Dolls TV series. I did I did do one episode of Pokemon, Pauline Wins. And then like just video games like World of Warcraft, Diablo 4.

SPEAKER_06 34:05

That's cool. That's exciting. Where are you based now?

SPEAKER_05 34:09

I'm based in Brooklyn in New York.

SPEAKER_06 34:11

Do you still do physical acting as well?

SPEAKER_05 34:14

Yes.

SPEAKER_06 34:14

Or do you prefer audio?

SPEAKER_05 34:16

Yeah, definitely. I like I mean, I love it all. I love that voice acting gives me the flexibility to still do other products. Like I make my own short films and I did a play last year for the first time since the pandemic, so that was really cool. But yes, I do all kinds of acting wherever people want to cast me.

SPEAKER_06 34:36

Love it, love it. When you're going in the booth to record, what do you have with you? What are the must-haves?

SPEAKER_05 34:42

Must-haves. What do I have in here now? I guess usually I have a water. I don't have it's empty right now, but I have my little romanticy girly cup that I put my water in. Some voice drops. I have like these different ones. I have voice 37 and singer's soothing throat spray, just in case. And uh Yeah, I have some like little art in here from different projects. I have some fourth wing art. Oh.

SPEAKER_06 35:26

Very cool.

SPEAKER_05 35:27

That's pretty much it.

SPEAKER_06 35:30

What does a typical recording day look like?

SPEAKER_05 35:34

Depends on if I'm like recording from home or if I'm recording in studio. If I'm recording in studio, usually it's like four to five hours or four to six hours, I think. And we kind of just like take a little break in the middle for lunch. If I'm recording from home, I kinda get to be more flexible, especially if it's like a if I'm recording an audiobook from home. Sometimes I'll do like a couple hours in the morning and then I'll take a break and I'll go, you know, to a yoga class and then come back and like record a little bit more, or like, you know, go for a walk or work on a different recording project or go to a coffee shop and read the next book that I'm about to record. Um commercial days are my favorite because they're usually just like one or two hours, and I'm like, okay, and now I'm gonna go to a coffee shop and have a little admin day. So definitely they vary.

Tools, Rates, And Industry Realities

SPEAKER_06 36:26

Love it, love it. When you're recording in studio, you said you talked about the lunch break.

SPEAKER_05 36:30

Do they feed you or do you have to feed you? It's really nice. Most of most of the publishers, yeah. What's like a typical meal? Whatever I want, which is nice. They're like, Oh wow. Time to order. So what did you eat when you were recording heart scan? But a curious thing. I think we got Thai food. Yeah, we got Thai food one day, and then I think we did sushi another day. Oh yeah. Yeah. But I'm always like, I'm always a Chipotle girl. I love Chipotle bowl every day.

SPEAKER_06 37:05

Love it, love it. They're really good. So what is the range? Like if somebody was looking to get into voice acting, what is the range usually for like audiobooks and for like commercials and things like that? What could they expect from like high to low?

SPEAKER_05 37:22

What do you mean, like in terms of pay to be like the pay range?

SPEAKER_06 37:26

Like you know what I mean? Like from high to low, what with what could they expect?

SPEAKER_05 37:30

Yeah, I think like the standard non-union audiobooks are around 200 to 250 per finished hour. So however many hours the final audiobook ends up being, which usually takes you double the time to record. If it's a six-hour book, it usually takes twelve hours to record, but you get paid for the six finished hours. And I guess on the high end, I don't even know that I've gotten there yet. So I really I don't know what a frame of reference. I feel like I I kind of sit more around the 275. I would like to be around 300 per finished hour. But I know that people, you know, have gotten paid up to like 700 per finished hour or something. Um wow. Yeah. So it depends on, you know, how popular the talent is, I believe, and you know, how famous they are and how much they work and stuff.

SPEAKER_06 38:31

But is it similar for commercials or is it different for commercials?

SPEAKER_05 38:35

Commercials completely different. It's it's really like you have you have no idea like what the range is going to be because it's also you're getting paid for the amount of like days that they're airing it, and that varies by like, you know, so sometimes they'll give you a usage of like three months, and then maybe they'll extend it to, you know, you know, a couple months longer, or sometimes they'll give you a usage for a year, two years, like so you never really know. There's not really like a minimum thing for that.

SPEAKER_06 39:04

But there, I guess there are union rates on the SAG website. Now, if somebody was looking to get into voice acting, what would you steer them toward as far as like tools or helpful tips and things like that? What do you wish you knew when you started?

Beginner Resources And Training

SPEAKER_05 39:22

So I actually made a voice actor's beginner's guide. And it's linked, yes, it's linked on my link tree, on my Instagram bio, my TikTok bio. It's$25, but it has a like a vocab sheet of all of the terms and words that I did not know when I started and now I use every single day. And it has like a list of all the equipment that I use, a list of like free resources to look for jobs and training, a list of coaches that offer training, a list of organizations that do casting, and just like any like like open available list that you can submit your stuff to, all that stuff there is is on there if people are interested. But I would just say like the first step in general is to take an acting class. Because voice acting is acting, even though a lot of people think narration is just like talking, it is acting and it's very specific. And I think taking an acting class or even like taking an improv class will help you be a better voice actor in general. Love it, love it, love it.

SPEAKER_06 40:32

How long did it take you to record Heart Scambit?

SPEAKER_05 40:36

I think it took us two days, yeah. I think it took us about 12-ish hours.

SPEAKER_06 40:46

And what was the hardest part?

Heart’s Gambit Sessions And Favorite Moments

SPEAKER_05 40:49

Oh my gosh. No spoilers, right? Spoiler free ish. Okay, okay. The confrontation towards the end mean and I was like crying in the booth, like just sobbing.

SPEAKER_06 41:09

Love it, love it, love it. What was the the easiest part? Like if you had to pick one.

SPEAKER_05 41:19

One of my favorite parts, I will say, was like the letters that they write between each other, like narrating their her letters to him was just so like so sweet. I thought they were like so romantic, and I loved how she signed hers with timeless affection.

SPEAKER_06 41:35

Did you have a favorite character?

SPEAKER_05 41:38

Emma Baldwin. And and I also really like uh her grandmother, her girl mayor.

SPEAKER_06 41:49

I like the grandmother too. I have no idea why. She's she's kind of a great person.

SPEAKER_05 41:56

You know, she's yeah, she's she's a little she's I feel like she's a little bit morally gray because she's like but she's she cares so much, she loves so hard, and so she anything that she does, you know, is like to protect what she has.

SPEAKER_06 42:13

Very true, very true. Um Tell me about your web show. I know you had a web show for a while. Do you still do the web series?

SPEAKER_05 42:23

Oh no. I just did uh I made a web series pilot comedy with my best friend a couple years ago, and we just did like the festival route, and since then we've just been I've done a couple other short films. Most recently I did a comedy called Narrated By about audiobook narrators who are exes and they're recording a romance novel. Cool. Yeah. And it's been really fun, like going to festivals. I got to go to the Chicago International Film Fest and screen it there. And yeah, so that's just been like a fun way to kind of incorporate like what my day job is into my other passion.

SPEAKER_06 43:02

Love it, love it. We talked earlier about how you did so good on the spicy scenes for Fourth Wing. What's that like recording spicy scenes in the studio? Is it awkward?

Graphic Audio, Full Cast Work, And Growth

SPEAKER_05 43:13

Like, how does it not really awkward? At least like with Gabriel, like we're both very comfortable with each other. And we also have a great director who's on the call with us, Scott. So in the moment I feel like we're just like really in it, and then afterwards we're like, what the heck did we just say to each other? But it's always like a good time. And yeah, Scott makes us feel like you know, we're all very safe and like we can like explore since it's graphic audio, noises are made, and it's like kind of fun to be able to like play with that and like you know, figure out like what these scenes are to us.

SPEAKER_06 43:55

And I'm the girl that likes to walk around like with an audience. Book in my ear. So I'm in public. People are walking. And I'm like, oh, I hope that old lady is to not hear what's going on. And when I listened to you, your performance as Emma was fabulous. And when I listened to you, I forced my kids to go on an unnecessary road trip so they could listen to the audiobook with me.

SPEAKER_05 44:27

That's a good way to do it. Trap them.

SPEAKER_06 44:30

They couldn't escape. Have you gotten a conversation with a lot of the other authors you worked with or not really.

SPEAKER_05 44:39

A couple of them, but this is so cool to like get to meet you and like learn more about your work. It's so cool. And I'm so glad you trusted me with Emma. I I love it.

SPEAKER_06 44:48

And Eric is an incredible Malcolm. Yeah, he did. I really like that. And he surprised me. I wasn't expecting him to sing. So I was surprised that he could. I was like, okay.

SPEAKER_05 44:59

Yeah. I can't wait to hear, I can't wait to hear his half. Oh, you haven't heard it yet? No, I haven't heard anything yet.

SPEAKER_06 45:09

It sounds really good all weaved together. They sent me the link so I could hear it on Google Books. And I was so excited. I was trying to send it to my friends. I didn't realize it was like a one-time download. Yeah, we can't. It was like, oops. What other titles have you done so far?

SPEAKER_05 45:28

I've done a lot of fantasy contemporary romance. Like for fantasy, North is the night by Emily Rath. The Dividing Sky by Jill 2. That was one of my favorites.

SPEAKER_06 45:48

Jill the sweetheart, too.

SPEAKER_05 45:50

She's the best. I got to meet her in person, which is cool. Yay.

SPEAKER_06 45:54

Were you in Atlanta or was she in New York?

SPEAKER_05 45:56

She came to New York for vacation.

SPEAKER_06 45:58

Oh, cool.

Full‑Time VO Life And Business Challenges

SPEAKER_05 45:59

It's cool. One of my favorites that I got to do was called A Girl Within a Girl, but A Girl Within a Girl Within a Girl by Nanda Reddy. And she is Guyanese American author, and the book is set in the 80s literary fiction, coming of age, about this girl who basically gets sent to the states undocumented as a like 11-year-old to work for this family and send money back home. And so it's just like this like beautiful novel about identity and like growing up in this like time and like Caribbean culture, and it was it was so good.

SPEAKER_06 46:38

That was good.

Where To Find The Narrators And What’s Next

SPEAKER_05 46:39

Yeah, that one had me crying too. And then yeah, I just been doing like a lot of a lot of graphic audio stuff, Fourth Wing and the Blood and Ash series, the Crescent City series. I got to do The Girls Who Grew Big by Layla Motley. That was another fun one. Layla's really sweet too. I got to meet her. She also did that book Nightcrawler, I think it's called. But yeah, just kind of anything and everything. I do love doing middle grade too. They're super fun. I love kids' books. That's cool. How did you get with graphic audio? Again, on backstage, they had put out a casting call looking for their parent company is RB Media, and they were doing a full cast production of this horror novel, and they needed adults who could sound like children. Um and so I auditioned and I got a call back and I ended up getting cast as like a little boy that had like six lines or something like that. And from there they were like, we'll add you to our graphic audio roster because we do a lot of full cast stuff. And so before Fourth Wing came around, I was working with graphic audio for a little over a year, just doing like small parts here and there on different books. And I'd worked with Scott, our director, quite a quite a bit. So when he got the opportunity to direct Fourth Wing, he's like, I have an audition for you. Yeah, that's the first history. Yeah. Fourth Wing was the first one where I'm the narrator for graphic audio. Everything else before then was just like here and there little parts. And I was like, this is kind of fun because it's it almost feels like a theater company where we're all just like kind of putting on different hats and trying on different roles and playing all these different ages, and like I get to do so many fun accents and stuff with graphic audio. So definitely keeps it interesting.

SPEAKER_06 48:38

Pretty cool. Do you do this full time?

SPEAKER_05 48:40

Mm-hmm. Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 48:41

Oh, that's awesome.

SPEAKER_05 48:42

Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 48:43

Not a lot of people can do what they love full time.

SPEAKER_05 48:45

Yeah, I feel very lucky.

SPEAKER_06 48:49

Super cool, super cool. What are the challenges and drawbacks to working in audio for people who look at you and dream of doing what you did?

SPEAKER_05 49:01

I think time management is hard for me sometimes. Like even today, we had to reschedule. So thank you for being flexible and patient with me. And just like, you know, I think the thing is that you want to be an actor. I want to be an actor. But if you are freelancing full-time, you are also a business. And so that is like hard to be like, oh wow, I have to be an adult. Like I have to like sit down and I have to do paperwork and I have to like respond to emails. And like sometimes all of that like gets away from me just because I'm like so focused on the acting. But it's like, no, you have to do this or you're not gonna be able to do the fun stuff.

SPEAKER_06 49:46

I get it. Writing can be the same because I have a day job, but I also have like children. And then the writing stuff, and then they want you to do the publicity and the social media stuff, which is my least favorite part of all of it. And it becomes like it's like another job.

SPEAKER_05 50:03

Yeah, exactly. I feel that.

SPEAKER_06 50:06

I get it, I get it. But I wouldn't trade it. I love writing, and I know you love what you do. Yeah. Where can people find you?

Book Two Teases And Closing CTAs

SPEAKER_05 50:16

You can find me on Instagram and TikTok at Kaya Freights or at Kayafrates.com.

SPEAKER_06 50:22

Do you have anything coming up that you wanted to promote? Um anything you're doing?

SPEAKER_05 50:27

Yeah, sure. I'm I am recording a book next week. I'm trying to find the author's name so I don't mess it up. When I was death by Alexis Henderson. That sounds good. It's like a YA thriller about like a girl who meets a group of girls who work for Death Incarnate.

SPEAKER_06 51:09

That sounds really fun.

SPEAKER_05 51:10

Yeah, yeah, it's cool. I like it.

SPEAKER_06 51:13

How many audiobooks do you think you do a month?

SPEAKER_05 51:19

Between two and four, maybe five. But I would like for it to be like two because I like to like f take my time and focus on like each one. And at least right now, I had like so much time over the holiday break to be like, okay, I'm ready to hit the ground running in January. So pretty cool.

SPEAKER_06 51:44

Do you prefer to record from home or do you prefer to record out in studio?

SPEAKER_05 51:49

In studio, I think sometimes I forget to like leave my apartment for a couple of days when I'm working from home. And I'm like, oh, maybe I should go outside. And it's nice to to be able to work with other people on the project as opposed to just most of the time when I'm recording from home, it's just me and then I'm just sending in files. So I prefer working with the director. I love, I love a note, I love a critique and I love just like having human interaction.

SPEAKER_06 52:20

Love it, love it, love it. Can you hear my ADD and the questioning? Because like I had you thinking we were leaving, and then I go back to time. I'm so random. I'm sorry. No, you're good. But yeah, you did a fabulous job, and I greatly appreciate it. And I will continue to listen to all of your work. And I can't wait to hear what you do to book two. Thank you so much for gracing me with book one. You did fabulous.

SPEAKER_05 52:50

Thank you. Do you have like a timeline for book two out of curiosity?

SPEAKER_06 52:55

Well, I turned in the first strap, but you know they go through like a million revisions and stuff like that.

SPEAKER_05 53:01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 53:01

But I did put a love scene in for Emma's POV because I found out you did Fourth Wing, and then I was like, oh, she's so good with love scenes.

SPEAKER_07 53:10

Let me give her one.

SPEAKER_06 53:13

I'm so glad. Yay. And I'm nosy. So after I heard your audition and I really liked it, I went on Instagram. And that's when I saw it, and I was like, oh my god, I'm listening to her. I had no idea.

SPEAKER_05 53:26

That's so cool.

SPEAKER_06 53:27

I'm so glad that you like Fourth Wing and so people do monitor and look at the social media and stuff. So I guess that's why they make us do it. But it's a channel.

SPEAKER_05 53:36

That's what they tell me.

SPEAKER_06 53:41

But yeah, thanks again. It's been fun.

unknown 53:43

Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 53:44

And maybe we'll chat after book two and see how that went.

SPEAKER_03 53:47

That wraps up today's Crab Chat Chronicles with JD Myle. Thanks for joining us. If you like the episode, please comment, subscribe, and share. For show notes, writing workshops and tips, head to jdmyel.com. That's jdmyer.com. While you're there, join JD's mailing list for updates, giveaways, and more.