Audiobook Narration

I'm a storyteller! It's what I do - and for me it's imperative that I understand what I'm reading intellectually, but I can’t ‘act’ understanding. No matter how well I understand a work, no matter how much I intellectually appreciate the text, that intellectual understanding is 'unplayable'. As a narrator, I focus not just on what the words mean, but on the emotion and intention behind them.  It's my job to create an emotional connection with what I read, to engage fully with that text and bring it to life. My technique helps me do that, but if I have ONLY technique without any emotional connection, then no matter how slick, how competent and how technically perfect my read might be, there will be no integrity, no real connection between me and what I am reading - and the listener will know that. 

My aim is always I make the words my own and to be connected and committed in a read that appears effortless, spontaneous and totally natural. Day after day - hour after hour.  I love narrating - from the moment I open a new manuscript to begin my preparation, throughout the recording, from the first page to the last of every project.  Each new book is a voyage of discovery and a new challenge.​ It's also a huge responsibility.

There's so much more to it than simply reading aloud!

​I narrate audiobooks in all genres -  non-fiction and fiction; horror, fantasy, historical, thrillers, classics and literary fiction and romance.  I read for many major publishers in the UK, Australia and the US, sometimes recording remotely from my personal digital studio for a production house, sometimes recording away from home in a professional recording studio. 
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As an independent audiobook producer, I can produce and narrate audiobooks, working independently with with authors and rights holders via  Audiobook Creation Exchange (ACX) and other platforms. I am also a member of The Audio Publishers' Association in the US  and The Audiobook Creators Alliance in the UK. 
Authors live with their manuscript for many months before it is published and each book goes through numerous drafts, edits and re-writes. Each author has a voice in their head as they write, an aural picture of how the narrative should be read and of how each character should sound.  When they hand their manuscript over to me, a complete stranger, they trust me to stay faithful to their intent while bringing their words and those of their characters to life.  It is a huge responsibility and one that I take very seriously. I suspect that for the author, it feels a little like handing your new baby over to a child minder for the first time and wondering whether you'll recognise him when he is handed back to you!  

I hope I do their work justice. I share their laughter and their tears and always feel a sense of sadness when I finish a book and have to say goodbye to the people in it, many of whom make a lasting impression on me and feel like old friends. It is an enormous honour and privilege to be chosen by an author to read their work and I am immensely grateful to all the wonderful writers and publishers I have worked with for allowing me to share in their creations. 
Nominated for 2018 'One Voice Awards' for Best Audiobook Performance in Non Fiction for my narration of Jeannette Hyde's 'The Gut Makeover' for Audible US

Click on any of the images below to visit Audible and hear a short sound clip from each title

The vast majority of the audiobooks I've narrated are available as digital downloads from Audible.co.uk (Audible UK) 
​Many  (though not all) are also available from Audible.com (Audible US)
Most are also available on CD for purchase via Amazon.
Just click on one of these logos to visit Audible and Amazon websites

Comments and Reviews

Audiofile Magazine

'Meet Me At The Museum'  by Anne Youngson.  PRH UK / MacMillan Audio US

​'In this lovely audiobook an English farm wife, fascinated by the Tollund Man, an iron age Dane found uncannily preserved in a peat bog, begins a correspondence with a curator at the museum in Jutland that houses the remains. Helen Lloyd's Tina is warm, thoughtful, and seeking. The curator, Anders, who has been fairly recently widowed, is writing to her in his second language, so Lars Knudsen's Danish accent conveys the differences and distance between them, even as they come to trust and rely on each other through shared language as they acknowledge joys and face hard truths about their own lives. Meanwhile, they speculate about death, mourning, ritual, sacrifice, and how life happens to people, from Tollund Man to themselves, to deeply satisfying effect.'
​'Life in the Garden by Penelope Lively. Penguin Random House
I have no idea what Penelope Lively sounds like, but as far as I'm concerned Helen Lloyd channels the 84-year-old, esteemed author perfectly.  Her mellow educated tone is just right for the Booker Prize-winning author's newest book which combines  with gardening commentary. Lively has gardened since she was growing up in Egypt, and though she's now limited to a small London yard, she has formed opinions on everything horticultural: style, order, control, the admirable willfulness of plants, and why we keep planting our little plot. It's all here, as well as her thoughts on the gardens of the literary and the famous, including Virginia Woolf's inexplicable love of "nasty yellow bulbous spotty" calceolaria. These are audio essays for gardening enthusiasts to savor. 
​'Lady Osbaldestone's Christmas Goose' by Stephanie Laurens. Blackstone Audio
Helen Lloyd, British actor and narrator, simply enchants with her delivery of this charming story. Therese, Lady Osbaldestone, a grand dame of the British ton, has retired to the quiet village of Little Moseley.  Lloyd's portrayal of Lady O. is perfect, capturing her spine of steel and very soft heart. Her portrayals of the children, the young lords, and those working "below stairs" are also spot-on. This is a true Christmas gift. 
'An Affair With A Notorious Heiress' by Lorraine Heath. Harper Audio
​Narrator Helen Lloyd's tantalizingly breathy voice expertly showcases "Tilly" and just as effectively assumes a stronger volume and aristocratic accent for Rexton in this romantic story about learning to trust and risking all for love. Lloyd's portrayals of Gina, the younger sister, who is not as frivolous as she appears, and Rexton's younger brother, who is not as gregarious as he appears, are spot-on. 
​'The Viscount and the Vixen'  by Lorraine Heath.  Harper Audio

​'Helen Lloyd's skilful and charming narration does much to carry the listener through a problematic plot. Portia Gadstone answers an advert, expecting to marry the mad, old Marquess of Marsden, but his son, Locke, intervenes--leaving her no choice but to accept him in place of his father. There's a crackling sexual tension between Portia and Locke, which Lloyd seems to relish giving voice to. But even her skill cannot save the story from an opening that seems straight out of a bodice ripper'
​'The Duke and The Lady in Red' by Lorraine Heath. Harper Audio
'Helen Lloyd uses a smoky, steamy voice as she narrates this final installment of the Scandalous Gentlemen of St. James' series. Listeners are treated to the sultry tale of the seduction of the Duke of Avendale by the mysterious Lady in Red. Lloyd softens her tone as Rosalind and Avendale trade barbs, lies, and secrets throughout this sensual romance'.

Author Reviews

‘Helen Lloyd narrated my novel 'Owl Song At Dawn'. A challenging task since it includes an array of voices of various different accents and ages, including characters with different learning disabilities. I braced myself to listen to the recording, but as soon as I heard Helen's narration I knew that she was the perfect reader for my work. She captured the tone of the main character, Maeve, uncannily well, sounding just like the voice I'd heard in my head. Hearing all of my characters animated through Helen's sensitive and insightful reading was one of the highlights of my publishing experience. I can't recommend her highly enough.'
EMMA CLAIRE SWEENEY - Author ‘Owl Song At Dawn’. ​
'Not only does Helen have a hauntingly beautiful voice, rich and velvety, but her pacing and expression are perfect. Her reading brought my book to life and magically captured its atmosphere.' 
LOUISA TREGER - 'The Lodger'
I was very fortunate to have Helen Lloyd read my book 'Spero' for Audible books. Helen has a marvellous voice, rich and expressive and it conveyed the essence of my story. ​
URSULA WESTMACOTT - 'Spero'
‘The Bosnians come alive for me in a way I wasn’t fully able to imagine on the page. I am impressed by your fluency in shifting from one voice to the next, alternating with the narrator’s. It seems to be a very complex interweaving which makes your skills all the more evident, and admirable.’
ALEXANDRA MARSHALL 'Adopting Sarajevo'
​'Helen Lloyd brings to life my characters in 'A Patient Fury' and perfectly captures the evocative Derbyshire setting. Her nuanced narration was a delight to listen to.'
SARAH WARD - ​'A Patient Fury'

Director's Comments

​Helen Lloyd's narration is remarkable. The strength and warmth of her voice easily lifts stories from the page and into the listener's ears.  Her story telling is captivating; she is able to find the softest moments in a novel while turning on a dime to humor or anger.  She is equally talented with nonfiction titles and presents the work confidently from the author's perspective.  She is always an obvious choice for complex titles that require a range both broad and distinct.  Lloyd is intelligent, professional, and always prompt.  A delight to work with and asset to my roster.
JACKIE ROSENFELD - Casting Director 'BeeAudio Ltd.
'Helen Lloyd is one of White House Sound's favourite narrators. With her rich tone, intimate storytelling and strong characterisation, Helen brings our books to life. Her sense of timing, ability to deliver and sustain accents and crystal clear delivery enriches the experience even further. 
CHRIS  PERKS - White House Sound. ​​

Listener Reviews

'This was the first book in a longtime I didn't speed up the narrative ever!'
'The Duke and the Lady in Red'
'Money Farm' 'Really Great Narration - Brits and Aussies and Germans and more. Lovely voice to listen to and she even captured the rather robotic nature of the cult-like members of the Money Farm.'
 'The Earl Takes All'  'Helen is one of my favorite narrators! She nailed the narration for Edward and Julia--making them come alive. I love her pacing and emotions. I highly recommend listening to this one.  
'About Last Night'  'Loved it!  Loved it! Loved it!  It made me laugh out loud when I listened in the car, I even woke up at night and listened a bit more!

'The Duke and The Lady in Red'
​The story was great but the narrator's made the story telling even better. This was no light-weight regency love story. I couldn't stop listening. I have these really great water proof blue tooth buds so the only time I wasn't listening I was either sleeping or doing something else I found annoying because it interfered with my listening
​As you can see  -  I narrate all kinds of books, non-fiction and fiction; horror, fantasy, historical, thrillers, classics and literary fiction and romance.  I read for many major publishers in the UK, US and Australia, sometimes recording remotely from my personal studio for a production house, or recording away from home in a professional recording studio somewhere in the UK.   

​I am also an audiobook producer so am able to fully produce audiobooks independently for authors and publishers via ACX and other platforms.