This week’s post was supposed to be about the book two cover art, which is beautiful and got finalized yesterday. However, I didn’t want to distract from the even bigger news that Original Enchantment is now available on Audible. To mark the occasion, let me tell you a little about the voice actor, Alex Blake.

The Start of a Beautiful Thing

A little over two months ago, I posted a job listing on ACX, Audible’s platform for author/voice actor collaboration. I didn’t fully understand the contract options and ended up with a dozen auditions waiting in my inbox within the next 24 hours. Alex’s was one of the first and, as I listened to each one, I found myself comparing them to his.

What caught me off guard was that Alex’s profile on ACX was practically blank. No samples. No prior work. Maybe a risk, but who was I to judge? After all, Original Enchantment was my first published book. If he was a new artist, we were in the same boat. It felt right to take a chance on someone just as green as I was.

It was the right call. Alex may be new to the game, but who cares when he’s got enough talent to put many experienced pros to shame? For two months, I’ve been collaborating with him, listening to samples, sending my feedback, and feeling increasingly excited for the finished product. I mean it when I say he was a pleasure to work with; I had a blast.

Side Rant About Pronunciation

Okay, there may have been one exception: Alex turned out to be a dedicated researcher of proper pronunciations. This wasn’t a bad thing since I decided to use a bunch of old Irish/Scottish words like “aos sí” and “cù-sìth” that sound a lot different than they’re spelled. I didn’t know the word “chausses” was pronounced “shows,” but I hadn’t been sure how to pronounce that one anyway. Call it author’s privilege; we only need to know how to spell it, not how to say it. I did argue with him about the pronunciation of “breeches”, but after a little research, it turned out “britches” is actually correct. Okay, I can accept that.

All of those were fine, but then Alex took it upon himself to correct a mistake I’ve been making since I was nine years old. Apparently brigandine (a kind of armor) is pronounced with a soft “j” rather than a hard “g”. “Bridge-an-deen”!? Gah!!! I’ve been misreading every D&D manual since second edition!

The Voice of Ike

Seriously though, all radical disillusionment aside, I hope you’ll take a chance on Alex like I did. His vocal range is broad, his style is exciting, and his characterizations are spot on. He did such a great job that I’ve forgotten what the characters used to sound like in my own head. Now when I write, I hear Alex. He is the voice of Ike.

You can check out Original Enchantment on Audible, and be sure to check out Alex Blake on Twitch and Twitter.