Hillary Huber
“Hillary Huber does an outstanding job narrating this dialogue-rich psychological thriller. Her confident performance adds chills to this serial murderer’s evil story.”
—Audiofile review of UNSUB by Meg Gardiner
Russian or Gaelic words: Yikes
DOSSIER: Regarding your process for delivering exceptional quality in your audiobook narration, how many times do you read through the book and how much book/author research do you do before you hit that record button?
HUBER: ONCE! I do a read thru to establish characters, any accents, the story arc, who the bad guy is, who the red herring is etc. Amount of research is directly dependent on how tricky the author makes the book! A lot of Russian or Gaelic words? I’m gonna do a deep dive on the interwebs. Or call an Embassy and talk to someone who speaks the language. Place your book in LA and you’ve made my job easy – I know how to pronounce Rodeo Drive! We strive for 100% authenticity and research is very important. If we are allowed access to the author that’s a huge help.
Doing twisted villains
DOSSIER: Although you skillfully craft your narration around your interpretation of each book character, do you have a particular style you save for certain kinds of books or specific authors you work with on a regular basis?
HUBER: I know that Lisa Gardner and Meg Gardiner will give me deeply disturbed, twisted villains and I’m going to have to (get to?) mine my dark side. A Cozy on the other hand will be populated with a panoply of colorful characters that will allow me to tap into a quirkier skillset. It’s like having multiple personalities!
By-name requests are encouraged!
DOSSIER: Can authors request that you narrate their book? How would that work?
HUBER: Oh HELL yes! They can ask their agent or audio producer to include me in the submissions/auditions. Or they can just say I want HH to narrate my book! We love an author request!
Reading the wrong draft
DOSSIER: What’s the biggest mistake you made in recording an audiobook and how did that work out with the author, producer, and/or audience?
HUBER: UGH don’t remind me! I produced an audiobook and mistakenly used the the wrong draft. Didn’t realize until the mastered files went to the author for QCing. Hundreds of edits! Surprised my editor and co-narrator didn’t kill me. Needless to say my profit margin evaporated! But we fixed it and it was ultimately great! Phew.
Who needs lunch?
DOSSIER: When are you at your best in the booth? Morning, afternoon, or night? Do you have a particular routine, requirement, or practice that helps you operate at the top of your game?
HUBER: I am at my peak between 10-4. This job is a marathon and you need to eat, sleep and (not) drink for it. Hydration is key. As is taking care of your instrument. I had to decline an invite to an amazing concert last weekend cuz I know there was no way I wasn’t going to sing along at the top of voice and wreck my cords for the next few days. Being well prepped in body and research is key.
Write it … speak it
DOSSIER: Bonus question: What’s the biggest message writers (or listeners) need to hear from audiobook narrators about the whole audiobook process that would help you produce the best possible rendition?
HUBER: Authors: Please read at least your dialogue out loud! We are tasked with reading exactly what is on the page. If you write “can not” we can not say “can’t”. Writing how people actually speak is very helpful. Also see above re: Gaelic
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