Austin Rehl
Austin Rehl asked Michael J. Sullivan:

Hello Michael! I am the author of a debut novel and I wanted to let you know how much you have inspired me. I have completed many of your audiobooks, which Mr. Reynolds narrates, and have loved them. My children enjoy them as well. I told my wife that I aspire to be an author like you someday! Thank you for all the many hours of delightful stories! How did you go about hiring a professional narrator?

Michael J. Sullivan Hey Austin,
First off, congratulations on finishing your first novel. Hopefully, it'll be the first of many. Tim Gerard Reynolds is a fabulous narrator. I'm going to be going to New York in a few days to take him out to dinner and sit in on the recording session for my next book, The Age of Legend. Doing that is always the highlight of my new release routine.

In my case, the narrator was picked by the audiobook producer and I had no say over that first pairing. But, after I fell in love with Tim's work, I made it a condition of future contracts to get him named specifically.

If you are self-producing your audio (and I warn you that can be quite expensive), you can go to ACX and listen to various narrator's samples and then contact them directly when you find someone you like. Or, if you hear someone you like from other audiobooks, then find their contact information and reach out to them. I should note, audiobook narrators are VERY busy these days so be sure your production time allows for being on their wait list for a long time.

I hope some of this helps.

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