"Thank you so much for this wonderful award - it seems that after a career spanning fifty years during which time I have undergone several re-incarnations - actor to TV continuity announcer to TV researcher to TV programme producer, to voiceover, to video director, to tutor, to director, to theatre producer,  and then full circle back to acting and voiceover - and finally I've found my way into audiobooks.  At last I've found my niche - Thank goodness! 

Being nominated for an award for something you love is amazing. Winning an award really is the icing on the cake! 

What makes this award particularly sweet for me, is that the audiobook submitted for consideration was one that I self-directed and recorded remotely from my personal studio, delivering chapters as clean audio to the publisher for final editing and mastering.  This is not the way audiobooks in the UK are generally produced as many of you will know. The vast majority of UK publications are recorded in a mainstream recording studio with a producer or engineer sitting on the other side of the glass. But for this book, I was flying solo!  This means that the tech stuff and the sound quality was down to me. My personal studio and I rose to the challenge successfully and though I had obviously discussed the overall feel of the book, the characters of the people within it with the author and publisher,  essentially, the choices I made about the overall tone of the read, the narrative voice, the ambiance, the pacing, the characters, their accents and their relationships and reactions, were my decisions.

I know that remote recording is a somewhat contentious issue, with some voicing concerns that it's impossible to achieve high quality audiobooks when narrators self-record.   Of course, not all 'home studios' are equal, but superb audiobooks with the highest possible production values can be, and are, regularly narrated by performers who are flying solo.   I, and many other UK based narrators work regularly and successfully with major publishers in the US (Brilliance, Blackstone, Harper, Tantor, Audible, Macmillan, Disney Audio and many more) as well as with a few pioneering publishers in the UK and these productions regularly get fantastic reviews in Audiofile Magazine and elsewhere, are awarded Earphone Awards and Audies - and now a One Voice Award - so are being acknowledged for their technical and creative quality.

I am not knocking mainstream studios. Many extraordinary audiobooks are created in the traditional way, and  it is a real treat when I am cast to record in a mainstream studio  - but working from home gives a flexibility which makes the whole process more relaxed - but believe me - I am much tougher on myself than any director or producer I have ever worked with. 

 I'd like to congratulate all the nominees and winners this evening, particularly all my audiobook colleagues. I know the quality of your work and how tough the competition for this award has been. I'd like to thank the One Voice Awards and Gravy for the Brain and their teams for pulling all this together, and to Penelope Rawlins for presenting this beautiful thing to me ... it will be in pride of place. I'd like to thank Equity - particularly the Audio Committee for the support they give to everyone working in this industry. And thank you to the publishers and producers of audiobooks who keep raising the bar; to the listeners who keep on listening; and to the authors who create the words and people - before bravely hand over their babies. And finally, I'd like to thank my long suffering husband. It can't be easy living with a woman who spends much of her life shut up in a small padded room talking to herself."

​

PS - and I was so flumoxed, I didn't have my celebratory photo taken at the end of the evening! 

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***NEWS FLASH***
​I am delighted to announce that Amanda Rose Smith will be giving tech advice and personal studio feedback to everyone taking the new Audiobook Specific Narrator Coaching Course from Helen Lloyd Audio.

Amanda is a 15 year audio industry veteran with notable projects in the audiobook, gaming, film, and television fields.  Amanda is something of an audiobook engineering legend having recorded, edited, and directed over 1000 audiobooks, including 7 Audie nominations. Bryan Cranston, George Takei, and Hillary Rodham Clinton are counted among those she's recorded throughout her career. ​

After earning a Master’s degree in Music Technology from New York University, she spent time working as a live sound engineer before turning to studio work. She served as ADR engineer for hit shows such as ‘Orange Is The New Black’ and ‘The Good Wife’, and recorded and edited dialogue on video games such as Telltale's ‘The Walking Dead’ as well as directing voice performances for animation.In addition to continuing her studio work, Amanda is audio producer for SerialBox.com and coaches voiceover actors in the NYC SAG-AFTRA voiceover lab.

I first met Amanda in New York when I attended her one of her audiobook technical workshops – she has since been my Audiobook editor of choice whenever I am producing independently, including for ‘But My Brain Had Other Ideas’ which is shortlisted for the best non-fiction audiobook performance in the 2019 One Voice Awards.

I am so exciting to have Amanda working with me and the narrators taking the course. I know her insight and feedback will be invaluable.

 

Don't let the-less-than-catchy title put you off reading (or listening to) this beautifully written, funny, brave, scary and ultimately uplifting  book.  Of obvious interest to anyone who has any kind of brain injury or disability - as well as to those helping and supporting people with brain injury, this book deserves a much wider audience.

Cavernous Angioma (in which abnormal clusters of blood vessels in the brain sometimes burst and bleed) and the three life saving surgeries that Deb has undergone, have had a profound effect on all aspects of her life. She has to deal with sometimes terrifyingly random symptoms: loss of taste, dizziness, seizures, memory loss, depression and a heightened sensitivity to smell, noise and light that cause her to 'zone out' in difficult situations and environments.. 

​Deb tells her story with humour, rage, pragmatism and hope and manages to find humour and courage amid the nightmare that is happening in her head which affects everything around her; her work, her life, her children, her relationships - even her belief in herself.  ​She tells her story of survival with searing honesty and self-knowledge and a complete lack of self-pity. Her conversations with herself carry you through her journey to survival with her and the whole memoir has a lightness of touch and sensitivity that engenders not only empathy, but admiration for her courage and determination - not to mention admiration for her skill as a writer. 

This is a book that made me thankful to be alive and healthy - and gave me a new perspective on my life, my family and friendships and all the things that I value the most.  I was so honoured that Deb chose me to 'get inside her head' and tell her story in Audiobook form - it was a privelige - and I am so grateful to her and 'She Writes Press' for giving me the opportunity.

Here's what Deb says about the audiobook:
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2018 was the year in which I was fortunate to get represenation from one of the UK's top voice agents, Suzy Wootton at Suzy Wootton voices. 

2018 was also the year I began my personal studio upgrade - purchasing a new mic and interface and investing in a Kube isolation booth. I also attended more coaching and audio related workshops than ever before and invested in new headshots and new voice reels. I am blogging more than ever and have joined Instagram and You Tube as well as being on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.  

A 'silver surfer' grasping the nettle with a vengeance! 

As far as audiobooks are concerned I have been so lucky and have performed some really wonderful titles in 2018 including several for publishers and producers I hadn't worked with previously. I am so grateful to them all  - existing colleagues as well as new ones -  for casting me and giving me such great books to read. 

Looking forward into 2019 - I have, as many of you may know, been considering offering audiobook narrator coaching for some time.  I spent several years running BeeAudio's highly acclaimed Audiobook Narration Studio Certification Course - and when that came to an end, the material I created for that course was sitting on my laptop doing nothing.  Several friends and colleagues approached me last year asking me to work with them, so using my existing material as a starting piont, I developed it into a comprehensive and detailed coaching package designed for trained actors wanting to get into audiobook narration and for narrators who want to raise their game and find out about working remotely.   

I'll be sharing more information about this exciting development shortly - and adding some coaching content to my website in due course - so watch this space.

I'm still going to be narrating of course - so am limiting the number of students I take on at any time to six - so will still have lots of time to collaborate on more wonderful books. 

In the meantime - I wish to thank all my blog and social media followers, my friends, coaches and mentors, my fellow narrators, actors and voiceover colleagues; all the people I have worked with and for - authors, collaborators, producers, proofers, audio engineers, directors, casting directors for their continued support - and wish you all A Very Happy, productive and creative year in 2019.

​

When I am out shopping in the real world and am tempted by an impulse buy, I take a break - I leave the store and have a walk around, get a coffee and talk to myself very severely! If I haven't convinced myself not to buy whatever it is within half an hour, I go back and take another look - a very critical look and I ask myself some questions:

• Can I afford it?

• 'Will this new thing be compatible/work well with what I have already?' 
• 'Does it suit me and my lifestyle?' 
• 'Will its value last and will I get good use from it for years to come?

If the answer to any of these questions is 'No', then it goes back on the shelf. 

If I can honestly answer 'YES' to those questions - then I ask myself

• 'Have I already got something that does more or less the same thing and is still working?
  

​ If the answer to this questions is 'NO' then I buy whatever it is, guilt free, because I know that I've made an informed decision rather than an impulse buy.  And of course ... I can go through a similar process when buying something  online:  I can pop it into my shopping cart - then walk away and think about it for half an hour before pressing the pay now button. 

But what about shopping online for stuff I need for my business, whether that be equipment, software, coaching, mentoring, support - or membership of an industry related organisation or group? 

​I know that on more than one occasion I have been swept along on a wave of optimism and have pressed the 'buy now' button without a second thought.  It's so easy to do - maybe I've succumbed because colleagues are posting on social media about joining this or that amazing organisation; signing up for this fantastic course; taking classes with this wonderful coach; or how simply doing X, Y and Z has transformed their career.

Sometimes it's a persuasive sales pitch or an hefty discount 'upgrade to the latest version of 'A' and save $100 dollars ... offer ends on Friday' that convinces me that my life and career can be transformed. Why am I tempted to buy a new mic, or the upgrade to the latest version of my editing software rather than sticking with the tried and tested version that I already have - and which works perfectly well? Why on earth do I find myself being tempted into signing up for this, that and the next thing? Why and how is usually-cautious-me being so easily seduced?  

And importantly - how to we ensure that we stay engaged and connected with the text so that the listener is drawn into the story and remains fully involved and connected throughout?
​

​Does time really go more quickly as you get older? It certainly seems that way. Pup Freddy has celebrated his first birthday and is still chewing shoes and after a gloriously sunny summer, the leaves are beginning to turn and I have already bought my first Christmas present!

You always knew I was super organised didn’t you?

Here is my latest quarterly update:

RECENT PUBLICATIONS:
‘Life in the Garden’ by Penelope Lively has been published in the US by Penguin Audio.

‘I have no idea what Penelope Lively sounds like, but as far as I am concerned, narrator Helen Lloyd channels the 84 year old esteemed author perfectly. Her mellow, educated tone is just right… ’ Audiofile Magazine Review

‘Meet Me at The Museum’ by Anne Youngson.  Published in the UK by Random House & by MacMillan Audio in the US :  Sometimes it takes a stranger to really know who you are. 

'Helen Lloyd’s Trina 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 as they acknowledge joys and face hard truths about their own lives … to deeply satisfying effect. ' Audiofile Magazine Review

‘Widow’s Wreath – A Martha’s Vineyard Mystery’ by Cynthia Riggs Published by Blackstone Audio.

‘The Allotment Girls’ by Kate Thompson. Published by Whole Story Audiobooks.

​
IN PRODUCTION:
‘Lady Osbaldestone and the Missing Christmas Carols’ by Stephanie Laurens  This is the second 'Little Moseley' Christmas adventure for the redoubtable Lady O and her grandchildren. Published by Blackstone. 

‘The Hour of Death– A Sister Agatha and Father Selwyn Murder Mystery’ by Jane Willan Published by Blackstone.


PREPPING:
‘But My Brain Had Other Ideas – A Memoir of Recovery from Brain Injury’ by Deb Brandon for Findaway.


AND IN OTHER NEWS:  The eagle-eyed among you may have noticed that I have a new headshot.  This is a major thing for me, I hate being photographed, but it was comparatively painless. I also have a new logo, and am getting some new voice reels recorded next month.  

And due to demand, I am also now offering audiobook narrator personal coaching and am working one to one with a few select narrators.

And finally … after many years as an unrepresented actor, I am delighted to be represented by one of the UK’s foremost voice agencies, Suzy Wootton Voices

Till next time! 

The first audiobooks I narrated were recorded in a pro studio in the early 1980s! Technology has brought about huge changes in recent years, so I feel that a thirty-year-old experience barely counts. Of the fifty plus audiobooks that I have recorded in recent years, only three have been recorded in a professional studio with another person on the other side of the glass - and frankly, I was a bag of nerves on each and every occasion.

Why?  Why is it so daunting to work in a pro studio for the first time - even when you have a shed load of audiobook experience?  What did I learn from the experience?  What is good etiquette in a pro studio?

Thinking back over podcasts and webinars I have tuned in to (and tuned out of) recently, I realise that in almost every case (though there are a few notable exceptions) the problem is that 'the host' is more interested in themselves than in their guests and spends too much time talking about their own agenda, even sometimes spending considerable time talking about their own careers, what they have achieved, as though they're actually in competition with their guests rather than being there to highlight their guest and their area of expertise. This leaves their poor guests - who are generally interesting people with something to say (and who are the reason that I,  and assume most of the listeners have tuned in) sitting there like lemons wondering why they have been invited!

This lightbulb moment happened recently as I listened to a fascinating podcast about audiobooks. The hosts were both voice actors - and both record audiobooks - yet throughout this long round table discussion with several luminaries of the audiobook world, narrators, coaches and producers - the hosts never once mentioned themselves, what they were doing or even what their connection was the industry.  They asked sensible and professional questions of those round the table, encouraged them without leading them and gave each of them a voice is what became a lively and varied discussion resulting in a thoroughly satisfactory and informative broadcast.

Only at the end of a podcast lasting for over an hour, did I find out that those doing the interview were actually in the same business as those they were interviewing.  Their names are Sean Daeley and Paul Stefano and their podcast series, about all things voiceover and audio related,  a series which I thoroughly recommend, is  called 'The VO Meter - Measuring your Voiceover Progress' 

Happy Listening!​

This is one of the best podcasts I have ever heard about audiobooks. Hosted by The VO Meter and progressing voice actors, Paul Stefano and Sean Daeley. 

If you're already a narrator - or would like to be, if you're already working on ACX and wondering how to make it work more successfully, if you're looking for a coach to work on audiobooks with you or if you're thinking of dipping your toe into the water, then this is something you need to listen to. 

It takes a while to get going, but has so many insights as to how things work in the US - where it seems that producers and publishers are much more open to being approached directly - and how narrators are increasingly taking control and creating their own opportunities. 

The discussion is between Andi Arndt, Scott Brick, Steven J Cohen, Sean Pratt and Debra Deyan.  I can't recommend it highly enough:  the interviewer asks the right questions of the right people and leaves them to answer in detail, rather than jumping in and taking over. This 'taking over' happens all too often in podcasts and webinars which many interviewers seem to think is about them rather than the people they're talking to. Those are the folk the listener is really interested in. 
 
Just click the link HERE and settle down for a fascinating discussion.  (NB. You might want to fast forward to around 17 minutes to get to the nitty-gritty.) 

I came across an article in The Independent - and it explains exactly why I love narrating (and listening) to audiobooks.

I actually narrate more than I listen ... I am very picky when it comes to listening and hypercritical - but when I love a narrator's voice and what he or she brings to a book - then I will look for other works they've read and the narrator often leads me to books that I would never have previously considered.  

Anyway back to the article ... Theatre of the Mind! Wow. 

Click on this link to read it 

February 2018 Update
 
Crikey it’s been cold here in Derbyshire! We’ve been in the grip of ‘The Beast from the East’ and storm Emma – and have had snow! Proper snow and -10C temperatures if you count in the wind chill factor.  Fortunately, I have heat and a cosy and toasty recording space.

​Here’s my latest news:

Published in February:

Fern Britton’s latest novel, ‘Coming Home’ – reached no 5 in the Sunday Times Best Seller list within four days of being published. The audiobook, read by me and produced in-house by the lovely folk at White House Sound for Harper Collins UK is now available on Audible.
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Coming Soon: 
Jung’s Psychology – An Introduction’ by Freda Fordham recorded for Ukemi Audiobooks. Something of a classic this one!

‘The Wicked Wit of Queen Elizabeth II’ by Karen Dolby recorded for W F Howes Ltd

In the Studio:
‘The Allotment Girls’ by Kate Thompson is a WW2 novel woven around the lives of the extraordinary women who worked at the iconic Bryant and May match factory in London’s East End. In production for Lamplight Audiobooks