Narrator Interview with Colin Darcy

Good morning Cafe!  This fine morning, we are joined by narrator Colin Darcy to discuss some of his newest projects, narcissism, and unicorn horns. We'll also be looking at what's on the books now, and giving away his latest, Rocking the Cowboy, by Skylar Cates. Enjoy!

FSC: Good morning!  First things first, what is your coffee house beverage of choice?

Colin: White chocolate raspberry mocha. Although, in the winter, a white chocolate peppermint mocha. I like my coffee tasting as little like coffee as possible.
FSC:  Can you talk a little about your professional background? What are some of your  favorite projects you've worked on?

Colin:  I have a background in music. I sing, and I play a few instruments. I also grew up doing community theater. Kind of combining the two, recording, and acting as been a lot of fun and has certainly helped me to grow in those areas individually as well. I really enjoyed working on the Waking the Dragons series, by Susi Hawke and Piper Scott. Victorious was my favorite for sure. Getting to narrate about unicorns getting ‘horn jobs’ has certainly been the highlight of this short career.
FSC: How did you get started as a narrator?

Colin: I was introduced by another narrator to the fine people at Falcon Sound Company and it’s been a wonderful crash course into this whole world that I knew nothing about a year ago. I learn so much from them constantly and am incredibly privileged to be able to bring a voice to these characters that people love so much.
FSC: One thing that surprises many audiobook listeners is how long it takes to create an audiobook. What's the longest day you have spent recording?

Colin: Recording, for me, isn’t even the longest part of the job. Because I am so new, I spend a lot of time cleaning up my mistakes. The actual recording part I enjoy a lot, but because it’s so important to be able to bring that same enthusiasm and energy and really commit to the voices in the beginning chapter as well as the last, I don’t think I have recorded for more than 5 hours at a time.
FSC: How long did your most recent project take you, and how long is the finished book?
Colin: Generally speaking, I’ve found that a 200 hundred page book is roughly 7 hours of finished audio. To record 7 hours, I would estimate takes at least twice that long, and then to clean it all up takes about three times as long again. A rough estimate would be 40 hours of work into a 7 hour finished product. Now that I’m really doing the math, I think I need to call my agent!
FSC: Uh, your agent says these are not the droids you're looking for and stop doing math. 
When you record, how do you break it up? Do you, for instance, read multiple chapters in one sitting?

Colin: Some authors like Susi Hawke, who I think is wonderful, writes these short under 10 pages chapters that read almost like scenes in a movie. As a narrator, I love this. I will do two chapter in a row generally, step out of the booth, drink some water, stretch, and then go back in for another two. When the chapters are 30 pages or so, that’s a lot for me to do it at one time and can sometimes be a struggle.
FSC: How do you decide what kind of tone to take with each new book? What is it like reading different characters' dialogue lines?
Colin: It’s absolutely fascinating how so many different people can read the same words and
interpret them, and the characters, so differently. That’s a lot of pressure as a narrator because you’re then deciding that for the listener. It’s no longer up to interpretation. I want all of my characters to be likeable, to a degree, even if they’re the antagonist, because I’m placing them inside the listener’s ear. Sometimes there will be some instruction from the author as to what they’re envisioning, but more often than not, I am attempting to articulate exactly what I liked about each character.
FSC: What do you enjoy the most about narrating?
Colin: My mentor told me that this is a narcissist’s dream, to be able to be play every character on stage. I couldn’t agree more. It’s a blast, but it’s also so much pressure. When I was acting, I loved being able to sit back and watch a scene I wasn’t in, and really be aware of the other actor’s choices. I don’t get that luxury here. Again, I see it as a privilege to give a voice to characters that the author undoubtedly grew a connection with, and then help translate that beautiful relationship so that so many others can grow a connection with the character as well.
FSC:  When can we expect to hear from you with a new book?
Colin:  I’m waist deep into the Team ALPHA series, by Susi Hawke and Crista Crown and it  has been incredibly challenging giving voice to so many great characters in these books.  The authors have done such a wonderful job creating these awesome back stories and really developing them individually, and I hope listeners enjoy me bringing them from the page to their ears.



Check out Colin's newest narration, Rocking the Cowboy, by Skylar Cates. Join us at Falcon Sound Company on Facebook for your chance to listen free!

Find more of Colin's narrations on Audible  Happy listening!