Talking with Coleen Marlo

It’s been a while since we welcomed a new Narrator Friend – something we intended to do on a fairly frequent basis. We’re renewing our effort to introduce those narrators we hold in high regard to our listeners. Welcome to Coleen – our 15th Narrator Friend.

I first learned of Coleen Marlo through author Jennifer Probst. Jennifer and I were participating in Tantor Audio’s All About Romance Webinar late last year and I heard high praise for Coleen’s narration of her book, The Marriage Bargain – an extremely popular title in print and audio. I discovered that Coleen has many romance titles sitting on her backlist. Under our Gal Friends tab, check out her AudioGals Narrator Friend Page to see her bio, romance titles, and links to her blog, Facebook page, and Twitter feed.

Lea: Welcome to AudioGals Coleen!

Coleen: Hello Lea! I am so excited to be here, paying homage to one of my favorite subjects…Romance!

Lea: Taking a look at your audio backlist at Audible, it appears that you began narrating in 2006 and I see Books on Tape as publisher on a number of those first titles. Can you share with us how you got your start in narrating audiobooks?

Coleen: My journey with audiobooks began in 2006 when my lovely friend Deborah Raffin, convinced me that with my acting background, I would be perfect for audiobooks, and that I should audition for Director of Studio Productions, Dan Musselman, at Random House, Books On Tape. Deborah, an actress in films and television movies, also started Dove Books-on-Tape in her garage in the mid-1980’s. She and her husband at the time, Michael Viner, turned it into a multimillion dollar business then sold it in 1997. Sadly, Deborah passed away last year, but her legacy as a pioneer in the industry, a respected actress, audiobook publisher and producer, lives on.

I began working for Books On Tape in 2006, and worked there exclusively for the first four years of my career. What an incredible time that was! Back then there was a much smaller group of us, and it felt very much like a family. It was an enchanting time and I had the wonderful opportunity of getting to know many of the top narrators in the business.Oh, what wonderful conversations we had on our breaks, and boy how we laughed! Audiobook narrators are some of the most interesting people you could ever meet. They are witty and literary and they are people of remarkable erudition! I am forever grateful to Dan and all of the wonderful directors at BOT, for giving me the best training that anyone could possibly ask for in this business. I also want to praise Deyan Audio for their outstanding training, with two of my favorite people in the world, Bob and Deborah Deyan.

In 2010, I also began recording from my home studio, which allowed my business to expand to many publishers and producers across the United States. It has also allowed me to record in my pajamas whenever I see fit! The business has really changed dramatically since I began, the biggest change being that as many of us now record from home, we’re not only the artist, but the director, the engineer, and occasionally the producer. As we become more independent, we are becoming increasingly responsible for the technical quality and excellence of the audiobook. Social media has also become an important player in the business of audiobooks.

Lea: Can you tell us about your background prior to narrating? I know it includes some impressive acting training and work as well.

Coleen: My training in acting began in childhood when my siblings and I would perform in front of our parents, and a multitude of cousins, aunts, uncles and my fabulous grandmother. It was idyllic because OF COURSE they thought we were fantastic! So, from an early age I had a dream. I suppose the sound of laughter and applause in my grandmother’s backyard is what eventually led me first to New York, then the University of California San Diego,and into the theatre and years of training at both the Actors Studio and Salome Jens Acting Studio. Besides being a consummate actress, Salome is the most gifted teacher I have had the honor of studying with. I have also been incredibly lucky to have access to some other master actors as mentors in my life, such as Martin Landau, Lee Grant, Harvey Keitel, the director Mark Rydel and many other illustrious actors who moderate at the Actors Studio. Lee Strasberg said, “ Art is longer than life.” Isn’t that what we do as artists, strive to leave behind a bit of beauty in this world?

I think actors trained in theatre make wonderful audiobook narrators. There is the ability to live moment to moment, to understand the subtext and dive into the deep waters of a characters life and thoughts. Stage actors also have a stamina and an energy which is essential to one’s performance as a narrator. Trained actors breathe soul into a book by honoring the authors words and intent. The written art form is the writers domain, the spoken art form is mine. As an actor I take the authors words and distill them through my own imagination creating a whole new art form. It is challenging enough to play one character, actors must seek out their character’s motivations, wants and desires, uncover their fears and their hopes. In a single voice audiobook production, you are playing all of the characters and have the responsibility to the author and the listeners, of developing each one fully. The challenge of realizing each of these characterizations consistently, as they interact with each other throughout the audiobook, can be quite daunting, but it’s also incredibly fun! That is why when asked how does one break into audiobook narration, my first recommendation is to take acting classes, start by studying your craft.

Lea: And we as listeners definitely appreciate your words of advice to those new to audiobook narration. Narrators are so much more than “readers” and listeners know the difference.

Your career certainly has not been without awards. In fact, I see you won an Audie in 2011. We’d love to hear more about your Audie and your other awards.

Coleen: The fact that I read books for a living, and get paid to do so, is a gift in and of itself. That I have been honored with awards for my work is phenomenal. I can not think of a more joyous career than that of being a story teller. There is a primal human need in all of us, going back about 150,000 years ago, when language comprehension and it’s connection to hearing first evolved. Cave men and women sitting around the campfire weaving stories, creating narratives. Onward to the oral traditions, whereby societies transmitted their oral histories, oral literature and other knowledges from generation to generation before the advent of writing.  Writing began only 5,000 to 7,000 years ago, and it wasn’t until 1450 that Gutenberg’s printing press was in operation, which allowed, for the first time the mass production of books. So listening to stories is really hard-wired into our brains. It’s no surprise that with easy access through new technologies, audiobooks have now become a billion dollar industry.

That I have been honored with the highest awards in my industry, is both exhilarative and humbling to me. In 2010, Publisher’s Weekly named me Audiobook Reader of the Year. I have won numerous Listen-Up Awards by Publishers Weekly along with many starred audio reviews from PW and The Library Journal. I am also an Earphones award winner. The Audio Publisher’s Association has nominated me twice for what we call the “Oscars” of the audiobook world, the prestigious Audie Award, and to my absolute delight, I won the Audie Award in 2011 in the category of Literary Fiction, for Snakewoman of Little Egypt, by Robert Hellenga.  I am forever grateful that listeners have embraced my work.

Lea: What was your first romance narration? Do you think narrating romance differs from other genres?

Coleen: My first romance narrations were for Sandra Brown’s series, Texas! The Tyler Family Saga. I remember how exciting it was to be able to fully explore both the male and female protagonist’s points of view, when it came to love and romance. In the end we all want the same thing, to really be seen by another person, in all of our glory and shame and still be loved and accepted by them, till death do us part. We certainly go about it in many different ways, don’t we? I love how prismatic romance novels are. They aren’t linear. The characters are presented with a myriad of obstacles, challenges, and confrontations, in the pursuit and discovery of what they want. How they go about getting it is what makes it so thrilling!

It’s akin to setting out on a journey with no sure destination in mind. You just know that you HAVE to go. How you get there, where you will end up, and with whom is unknowable. But a force bigger than yourself draws you toward your destiny. Of course, as a romantic, I love that the woman always gets her man! There is a passion in romance that suits my nature. I am a passionate person, and as long as the writing is good and I trust that the author has created a story of honesty and truth, then I can give myself over to the characters without the fear of it becoming melodramatic. In romance the stakes are always high which gives it an urgency. It feels like life and death, and as an actor you must always live in the moment, as if for the first time. He/she is always “the one,” so from the first page, you are walking a tightrope 100 feet up in the air. That’s why narrating romance is so electrifying.

Lea: What are some of your current or upcoming projects?

Coleen: I have several projects that have come out in the last month. I was very happy to record my second book for author Jennifer Probst. Our first collaboration was The Marriage Bargain, and her newest book, All The Way, was just released in audiobook format last week, both produced by Tantor Media Inc. What I love most about Jennifer’s writing is her ability to really get to the heart of her characters. They have incredible charm, wit and intelligence, but are struggling to find the tools to make a love relationship work. In the non-fiction realm, two new releases are The Drunken Botanist, by Amy Stewart, for Highbridge Audio, in which I had to voice 650 Latin names and phrases, not to mention words in five other languages! It was a wonderful challenge, and I made a great new friend at the Los Angeles Arboretum, the head botanist! For Penguin Audio, produced by Deyan Audio, Life At The Marmont, will provide listeners with many juicy stories of Hollywood celebrities, both past and present. Harper Audio will soon be releasing two intriguing mysteries I narrated, Into the Dark, by Alison Gaylin, and The Widows of Braxton County, by Jess McConkey. And last but not least I have a new romance series coming out for Tantor Media Inc. with a bright and exciting new romance writer, Elizabeth Reyes, called the 5th Street Series. The first three books in the series are called Noah, Gio and Hector. They will be released as audiobooks in June and July.

Lea: I know we are both involved in a very special event coming up in June – Going Public…In Shorts. Although we’ll be talking with Xe Sands about the event later this month, could you give our listeners some of the details now?

Coleen: Yes, Lea, this project is very dear to my heart.

It’s called, Going Public…In Shorts. The idea began in the creative mind of Xe Sands, our mutual narrator friend, and eventually became a collaboration of 38 narrators who want to give back to the community this June for “June is Audiobook Month.” Spoken Freely, is a group of professional narrators, that has teamed with Going Public and we’ll be offering a serialized audio story collection: Each narrator has recorded a short piece from the public domain,including my offering, The Gift of the Magi, by O. Henry. Throughout June, 1-2 stories will be released online each day via Going Public, as well as on various author and book blogs. As a “Thank you!” to listeners, stories will be available to listen to for free, for one week, and in collaboration with Blackstone Audio, stories will also be available for download purchase via Downpour, starting on their day of release, with the full compilation available beginning June 30th.” My piece, The Gift of the Magi, will be released on June 21, my Dad’s birthday, via Going Public, and also on The fabulous Literate Housewife’s blog. All proceeds will go to the Reach Out and Read literacy advocacy organization.

Lea: AudioGals will be joining up with Hillary Huber on June 15th, hosting her performance of The Necklace, by Guy de Maupassant. But more on that later…

Thank you Coleen for talking with us today and letting us take a closer look at your work and background. I hope we have the opportunity to work together in the future!

Coleen: Thank you so much AudioGals, for your wonderful contributions to the world of audiobooks!