KEY:
Julie Hinton’s Comments
My Comments
About this Work:
What brought you to working on this project? I’m a YA fan, and I really liked the idea of these special teenagers making a difference.
(Cool. Hope you get a chance to check out the whole series. I’m eager to see what you can do with book 4.)
What was the hardest part of bringing this story to life? Finding enough character voices that were distinct and identifiable. A lot of people run through this story!
Do you have a favorite character voice from the project? Why/ why not? Malia’s was my favorite voice to do. It was easy to find and she sounded so different from the rest. Having said that, her chapters were also the most frustrating to narrate because she speaks so slowly …
(She became one of my favorites to listen to.)
About your other works:
How many other works have you narrated? This is my seventh audiobook.
What was the most challenging other work you’ve voiced? Easiest? Most fun? What made it hard, easy, fun?? The easiest was my first production, Me Before You: A Summary and Analysis. It was basically a Cliffsnotes of JoJo Moyes; best-selling book. I didn’t have to do character voices and it was quite short. It is also the most popular of my narrations, so the best of all worlds!
My favorite moment was probably in More Fables & Fantasies. One of the stories there is a fractured fairy tale, and I got to voice a lot of fun fairy tale voices. I think that section is in the Amazon audio sample if you’d like to take a listen. As far as the most challenging, in most novels (like this one) I get the same feeling of panic towards the end when I worry that I’ve run out of distinct voices, and then I see another character pop up. The solution to each situation is slightly different, but it’s a great opportunity to stretch just a little more each time.
Can you recommend any of your other titles for us? What about the work is appealing? I don’t know that I can recommend just one as they’re all so different. The Me Before You summary is great for cheating in a book club and still hearing a fantastic love story. Heartless and Prestigium are both paranormal novels about women discovering new worlds they can make a difference in. More Fables & Fantasies is a fun collection of 5 very different short stories – a perfect length for many commuters. Glistens is a fairy story ideal for pre-teens, and The Dripping Wet Yellow Rubber Gloves (on iTunes) is a children’s story written by a good friend of mine perfect for the whole family. My favorite part of narration is bringing these characters to life.
About you/random ques:
What drew you to voice acting? I got a degree in acting. I love it, but not too many of us have the ability to do it full-time. I started doing voice acting on the side and now do it more regularly than “regular” acting. In audiobook narration, I get to play all the parts, not just one!
Is this the only acting you do? If you do other forms of acting, which is your favorite and why? Most of my early experience was on stage. I found myself starring in musicals and Shakespeare productions. Both of these genres prepared me for voice acting since the voice (both singing and speaking) is a tool needing to be worked out and shaped. In recent years, I’ve been doing more short films, and I anticipate feature films to be my next step down this road. You can see my resumes, production photos and some of the short films on my website, www.juliehinton.net.
Do you have a process when you approach a work? Please describe it for us. I start by reading the manuscript cover to cover just for the reading pleasure. I try to store my reactions and responses away so I can reclaim the fascination, joy, sorrow, and other emotional reactions to use in my performance. Then I decide on voices for the main characters and work with the author until they get just right. Finally, I get started in the narration process. I try to stay in contact with the author as I go so we can make any decisions together that arise, such as pacing changes, new voices, etc. I usually produce my own recordings at my home studio which has its pros and cons. It’s nice to be able to work at my own pace and schedule. It’s also nice to have a director to collaborate with as I make moment-to-moment decisions. Once I come to the end of a recording, I forward it to the author who makes any final decisions, and then send it to the publisher for production.
What’s one random thing people don’t really know about you? I don’t have a middle name.
If you could only leave 1 lasting impression on the world, what would it be? I think entertainment is so important. We all have crazy lives, and often it is best to be able to leave them aside for a few moments to refuel our reservoirs. I consider myself fortunate to contribute to some good entertainment that brightens people’s days and gives them those moments of escape.
Do you get to read for fun? Do you have a favorite genre to read for fun? I read all the time in a bunch of genres – thrillers, YAs, mysteries, fantasy, science fiction, and more. As long as it’s fiction and not too serious, I’m usually game.
Do you have other hobbies? What do you do to relax? Read! I watch a lot of TV and try to do various projects with my hands while I’m doing it so I feel productive. I’m also a screenwriter and musician.
What kind of movies do you enjoy? Those with happy endings 🙂
If you could meet one person from history or present time, who would it be and why. I don’t really have an answer for this one. I prefer to watch from afar, and worry that anytime I might actually meet someone I idolize I’ll just make a huge fool out of myself and never be able to look at them again …
Thanks for stopping by to answer some burning questions.
Malia’s Miracles is currently being offered for FREE on Audiobook Boom! Comment here or drop me a line at Devyaschildren @ gmail.com (you’ll need to remove the spaced to prove you’re human and let me know you’re interested in listening to the story. We’re looking for people willing to review but in line with amazon’s new TOS we’re not demanding feedback. A review is simply you telling the world what you think of a story. Of course, we’d love for you to enjoy the story, so if you enjoy it, please share your thoughts on Goodreads/amazon/your blog, etc
Links:
Julie’s facebook page.
Julie’s audiobook page from her website.
Link to Malia’s Miracles on Amazon.com.
***If you’re willing to review if you like the story, email with a link to your audible or amazon reviewing platforms. We have a limited number of free codes for this endeavor.
