An Interview With Mil Nicholson, Audio Producer

An Interview with Mil Nicholson, audio producer, is the second in the series of interviews with the professionals I have worked with who gave my books an audible existence. What I have loved about these interviews is that you gain an insight into what the producers are looking for and that highly experienced producers are out there looking for original new works to bring to release into the audio market place. Thank you Mil for the interview because it is so insightful.

An Interview with Mil Nicholson

 

How did you get into producing audio  books?

In 2005, my husband and I left Hollywood for North Carolina,  after fifteen years of working stage, screen and TV.  Missing acting work, I came across an item in a computer magazine, listing the best free sites, Librivox.org being one, and they were looking for narrators.  Everyone involved in the site is a volunteer, and their goal is to record all the literature in the public domain. After joining a team and performing some chapters in Anthony Trollope's works, I desired to try going solo, with my favorite author, Charles Dickens.  I've now completed seven of his works, each having about forty or more different character voices, over a period of several years, and so far there have been over a quarter million downloads, and lots of wonderful fan mail from all over the world. A fan in New York, after finding my Dickens recordings were voluntary, obtained work for me with Audible.com, and for them I recorded a fantasy series of eight books, by Dave Duncan, and a western saga series of nine books, by Janet Daily. Happily this was paid work at my professional union voice rate.

Then I found ACX, and some wonderful writers like Ruby, and have recorded about fifteen books, whilst continuing my quest to perform the complete works of Dickens. My husband, Gary Bullock and I, who have had the good fortune to work together as actors in several productions on stage, now work as a team for the audio books, he's my editor, sound person, and producer, and we really look forward to each recording session. Our site is Act2sc3.com where there are links to the free Charles Dickens recordings.

What do you look for when choosing to work on an audio book?

When I read the audition piece, I want to feel something, excitement, sadness, laughter, anger etc, and a compelling desire to read more. Interesting characters are always a draw, and good writing, comfortable to record, also comes into play.

What are some of your funniest/ weirdest and most awkward experiences within audio production?

When in Hollywood, I was auditioned to play Julie Andrews voice on the 'making of'' DVD of "Princess Diaries". The piece was a really fun 'Rap' poem, quite long, and in her voice, was a hoot.  The Disney people had put together a cartoon to go along with it, and we all laughed heartily. They left the studio all excited.......BUT, it never appeared on the DVD.  Perhaps someone didn't think it quite appropriate for Ms. Andrews to do Rap!  However on another casting, I was chosen to narrate the life story of JRR Tolkien on the "Lord of the Rings" DVD. I felt very proud of getting this job, as my agent informed me that actors from Los Angeles, Boston, Chicago and England had been auditioned. My Agency were thrilled.  They liked the check too!!!

A very awkward experience occurred when I had contracted with an ACX author to perform her book. When I got the whole script it was impossible to read, words missing, sentences incomplete, tenses changing in every paragraph and much more.  I had to contact the author  to say I could not perform the book in the condition it was in. 

Thankfully the author agreed it was a mess, and would take it off the listing and get it put right, but I felt sad, as it was a neat premise and story, but I would have gone insane trying to fix it myself. I never heard from the Author again.

What was it about Clan Destine  that appealed?

I thought the opening was terrific, and the whole idea of a band of women assassinating the miserable jerks who did what was described, stirred me. The whole story just whips along at a grand pace, and the twists and turns keep one guessing all the time. I enjoyed all the characters, what they had to say fit so well with the way they were described. 

What are your favourite bits of Clan Destine that the readers should listen out for?

There are so many. The opening, as mentioned, sets things up so well.  Eve's meetings with Madam and Sue, always left one feeling things were not quite as they seemed, and therefore intriguing.  When Alex explodes onto the scene, Eve's life is drastically changed, and not in ways she likes. Describing her inner thoughts was well done. The club scene, where the two murders occur, was terrific, there was no way to know this would happen, or how it would be resolved.  Eve's scenes with Mike were really lovely, you could feel how divided she was with herself, and how letting go could make her so vulnerable. I thought the prison scene was great, her little bit of Scottish accent livened it nicely. Finally, learning all about her real self, was a fascinating unfolding, she underwent such trauma during that scene.

I would like to add, that my husband and I were horrified at the statistics in the 'Truth' section, it really brought home how appalling the violence against women really is. Certainly these figures made Clan Destine seem a very real possibility and the actions believable.

In conclusion, I thoroughly enjoyed performing Ruby's book, from my experience I can tell she is a very talented writer and if she doesn't continue writing, the public will be missing out on some first class novels.

Thank you so much Mil and to those aspiring writers who are reading this - make sure your book is edited and proof-read to the highest level because the time involved in producing can be dramatically affected by having to have additional re-proofs done. I learned this one the hard way!  If you have any comments please share:)

To listen on audible: http://www.audible.com/pd?asin=B015YJ3P8K&action_code=AUDORWS0424159DCE

http://www.audible.com/pd?asin=B015YJ3P8K&action_code=AUDORWS0424159DCE

 

How would you feel if you knew there were women out there who worked to protect the innocent from the cruel, depraved, and vindictive people who walked Earth? The Feminas, an elite group of women trained to assassinate in calculated feminine ways, work for the CLAN. They don't use guns or their bodies as lures; instead they are calculated, precise, and not easily traced when removing their targets. They are the "grey women" who blend in, observe, and create perfect accidents.
Eve, one of the Feminas, excels at target eradication. However, her compulsion for perfection causes the CLAN concern. The more she attempts to conceal her tapping to the beat of 10, the more she feels she's breaking down. The problem is that when one suppresses emotions, then the trauma will rise in other ways. So how can Eve maintain her perfect targeting record and reconcile her denied self without facing a whitewash process?

REVIEWS
"Drama, Drama and more Drama....in a good way"

Any additional comments?

This was definitely a very good book. There are a lot of twists and turns in this book which adds a nice bit of suspense to the mystery of Eve's previous life and her current situation. The main character, Eve/Jane, was psychologically messed with so much that at times it seemed a bit much. While the premise is not that original and some aspects of the book were a bit out there, I still enjoyed it very much. The narration was excellent and I highly recommend this book to lovers of mystery, suspense and thriller novels. On a serious note, the statistics noted in the novel with regard to domestic violence and crimes against women was a real eye opener.

 

"Dead Women Have Books"

Clan Destine: Dead Women Have Vendettas by Ruby Allure is my third book by Ruby Allure. AND: Its the best! Money Farm and The Office Zoo are both funny and good. This is darker, and i like, no wait; I freaking love it! Yes this not the most funny one, no it does not have the lough out loud moments, but the humor works even where it is a thriller. I recommend all the books i read by Ruby, and i cant wait to see what she is going to do next.

Mil Nicholson is the perfect voice for this book, her british accent is just what this book need. It is read with love and i do feel that. 11 hrs and 17 mins never feels boring, uninteresting or just bad. It feels right!

Ruby Allure is maybe new to you, but i see all bright things in her future.