UPDATE February 28, 2013: Our randomly selected winner of the audio book was Divis – congratulations! Thank you to everyone for stopping by and commenting! VS

It’s my pleasure to have actor and audio book narrator Michael Riffle as my guest today. Michael and I recently collaborated on the audio book of my 2013 SFR Galaxy Award winning Science Fiction novel WRECK OF THE NEBULA DREAM. Listening as Michael portrayed Sectors Special Forces Captain Nick Jameson, hero of the book, and brought all the characters and events to life was an amazing experience for me as the author. So much fun – on the days he had a new chapter uploaded, believe me I dashed home from the day job to listen!

Now that the audio book has been released, I thought it would be fun to interview Michael on some of the creative aspects of the whole process (and let you get to know him a little better too!). We’re also giving away one download copy of the audio book to a randomly selected commenter.

Welcome to the blog! Would you share some of your background with us? When did you know you wanted to act? What kind of training do you have?
I first found a love for acting when I was in 8th grade at Lake Ridge Academy in North Ridgeville, OH.  I took an improvisation class with Matt Vanek, and that lead to doing the fall play and the spring musical every year until college.  I went to the University of Rochester in upstate New York where I majored in Computer Science and minored in Theater, but spent a good deal more time in the theater than in the computer lab.  I worked with a lot of talented directors and actors, and took voice and acting classes.  After graduating in 2007 I moved back to Ohio for a couple years to regroup and did some community theater shows and a webseries called The Road to Sundance: On a Shoestring Budget.  Wanting more of a challenge I headed to Boston where I got involved with one of the local casting agencies.  After some commercial success I moved out here to LA, and after a workshop with David Lawrence on voice-over I bought myself a studio mic and got myself setup with a recording space, and that brings us up to today.

What are some of your favorite roles? My favorite role was Killer Joe Cooper in the Tracy Letts play Killer Joe, because it was a really intricate and challenging role.

What drew you to voicing audio books? I went on a road trip down to Florida with my family while I was in college.  I spent the bulk of the trip keeping them entertained by reading aloud from the latest Harry Potter book.  I think that was my first real interest in the idea of voicing books.

Did you have a favorite scene in the book? A scene that was especially challenging?
I think the most challenging scene was (SPOILERS!) in chapter seven when [Character X] didn’t survive.  I have a really close relationship with my mother, and when the Character thought Nick was her son at the end I visualized my mother saying that and I actually had to stop recording for a few minutes because I got choked up.  The dangers of making the work too personal, I guess!
VS: I remember when you were doing the recording you’d tweeted that Chapter made you a bit sad. I’m touched that the scene had such an effect.

What’s involved with narrating an audio book? How many hours of recording go into each finished hour?
When I first started I had this mindset that it would take me about an hour to read every forty-five minutes worth of text, and another hour to edit, and boy was I wrong.  I’ve learned that I can only read for about two hours in a day before my voice starts to change in quality, and that between the initial recording, pickups, and editing, one hour of finished book ends up being six or seven hours of work.
VS: Wow! I couldn’t begin to tell you how many hours I put into writing the book but at least I never had to worry about my voice.  Can you explain for our readers what a “pickup” is in this case? I know you said at one point there were 22 pickups to do in Chapter 7…
Sure, a pickup is when I have to record a section of text again for whatever reason. Sometimes I read the words wrong, other times I dislike how I read it.

As an actor, how do you prepare to “read” the book?
My process is usually to start by reading the whole book and making sure I understand each main characters arc.  In my experience that’s the best way to know how to pace each scene.  Then I do some vocal warmups, pour myself something like seven beverages of varying temperature, and start reading.  I always try to let my mind relax when I’m reading aloud (like I do when I read for pleasure) because I find it easier to talk about what’s happening if I’m seeing it in my mind’s eye.

I really enjoyed the way you brought each of the characters to life – not only Nick the hero but also wide variety of people he was trying to save from the wrecked ship. What goes on in your mind as you create each unique voice?
I think the biggest influence on what I try to do with my voice comes from your description of the characters.  Not just how their voice is described, but how they hold themselves, what sort of personality do they have, how they are feeling during the whole process.  I try to equate each character to someone I know, or a character I’ve seen in a movie or television, something to ground it in reality.  I might be a little selfish by giving my own voice to Nick.  It’s hard to NOT want to be the modest, able-bodied hero who gets the girl.
VS: I had a number of auditions submitted for the book and I have to say I knew you were Nick from the first word you said! It was amazing to “hear” my character and I was in no doubt who I HAD to have narrate the book LOL.

I came up with some unusual words and names, given that this is a science fiction novel. Was there anything or anyone you wished you could rename? (I promise it won’t hurt my feelings LOL)
Hahaha, I was so worried about mispronouncing things.  I said D’nvannae wrong so many times when I started this.  I think if I could change anything I’d change Mellure, and only because I had a terrible habit of adding a Y to it for no good reason.  My mouth always wanted to say Meh-lyoor.
VS: And even though we did some advance discussion about pronunciation, we never discussed the name of the alien pirate race, Shemdylann. You say it differently than I heard it in my head when I wrote the book but the first time I heard how you said it, I knew you had it right, not me!
MR: Haha, and I changed my mind about it halfway through the chapter and had to go back and rerecord a big section.

What was the best piece of advice you ever received?
My mom said to me (on more occasions than she should probably have had to) “You only truly fail if you don’t try.”  It’s a lesson I have a hard time learning, but it’s damn good advice.

A few quickfire questions:

Can’t live without: Technology – I’m a nerd to the bone.
Listening to on repeat: Thousandfold by Eluveitie
Best vacation: Green Mountains of New Hampshire with my girlfriend Mary
Would love to work with: Nathan Fillion VS sez: Wouldn’t we all 🙂
Show I can’t miss: I’ve got Netflix, HuluPlus, and Crackle.  I binge watch whole seasons of anything.
Best dinner I ever ate: Went outside of my price range to Cube on La Brea.  Good lord. Delicious.

Nick drinks interstellar brandy and ice planet vodka (not in the same glass) – what’s your favorite drink?
I learned this one at the Irish Village in Brighton, Mass.
1 part Powers Irish Whiskey, 1 lemon wedge with cloves, 1 barspoon full of raw sugar, splash of Sandeman port
muddle in glass
add 4 parts boiling water
You have yourself a Hot Whiskey (or Hot Toddy) – Cures all ills, improves ailing throats, and is basically magical.

What kind of film projects or audio books will you be working on in the near future?
Lately I’ve been working on honing my improvisation skill at the UCB Theater in LA.  A film I starred in called “Fallen Prodigy” took home a prize at the Valjean film festival, so I’ll be helping to promote that. As for audiobooks, there’s nothing on my plate right now, but I’ve been giving my full attention to WRECK so I’ll be auditioning for more now that it’s winding down.

VS: And I know Michael just started working on another SF book, not mine sadly but I’m happy for him!

Where can the Readers find you online? My personal website is a work in progress, but people can find me on twitter @Rifflock, or on imdb at http://www.imdb.com/name/nm4446582/

Michael has agreed to do a followup post with me, if there are questions, so please feel free to leave us your questions or comments below – which we’d love – and we’ll post the answers. Leaving a question or comment will also enter you in the random drawing for one download copy of the audio book. I’ll choose the winner on February 27, 2013 and announce the name here and on Facebook and twitter.

Michael said: I’d love to do a followup if people are interested in knowing more.  I really enjoyed working on this project with you, and I’m sad it’s almost over, but hopefully we’ll work together again soon!

VS sez: I really enjoyed our collaboration on this audio book (I’ll be doing a sequel so I’m going to hope our schedules mesh to record that one at some point) and thanks for doing the interview today!

Buy Link for the book  for the kindle, in paperback or as an audio book download: Amazon

If you stop by my blog often, you know I love finding new magazine quizzes and answering them! (I’m sure the celebrity answers are more glamorous but hey, I have fun.)

There’s a scene in the 1989 movie “Shag,” which always reminds me of this habit of mine – the four girls on a holiday in the 1960’s South are answering the quiz in a Cosmo-like magazine and the question is some long, complicated thing about how the captain of the football team finally asks you to the prom but then he breaks his leg so do you (a) sit home with him and let your pretty new dress go to waste (which Veronica sez if he’s the captain of the football team, he’ll have SOME fun ideas even with a broken leg)…(b) go to the prom with his best friend but don’t dance (and so do what??!!)…(c) go by yourself but don’t dance?  I forget what they pick – I think the ‘bad girl Melaina” gives them some totally other outrageous answer and off we go. There’s a whole recurring theme of answering ridiculous magazine quizzes during the movie, just part of the fun. I guess some things never change.

(And the shag being referred to is the dance BTW)

So, the new quiz I found:

What’s your guilty pleasure? The one I’ll tell you about is French vanilla creamy yogurt with a spoonful of nutella. (Don’t judge!)

When did you last google yourself? Today, actually! I’m normally googling a lot of other things, mostly about Ancient Egypt.

What did you have for breakfast today? Old fashioned oatmeal with a sliced up banana and three little boxes of raisins. Hot tea with milk and three teaspoons of sugar in a reproduction Titanic tea cup.

What movie have you re-watched the most?  “Aliens”. Although last night I did watch the best cgi parts of “2012”, where LA basically slides into the Pacific Ocean, and my three favorite parts of “Wedding Date” and…oh, is this answer getting long? Watching “Argo” tonight after Project Runway.

What’s your favorite reality show? Well, I think I just gave away that it’s Project Runway. The reality show I watch in fascinated horror: “Hoarders.” (Followed by a LOT of housecleaning action.) LOVE “Say Yes To The Dress” marathons!

What’s your porn star name? (First pet + childhood street): Meadow Northcliffe.

What’s your go-to karaoke song? I’ve never done karaoke but the song that comes to mind first is Backstreet Boys  “I Want It That Way”. Preferably with them singing backup, ok?

Well, that’s it for this quiz. Of course I left out a few questions, like five words to describe me without clothes (I’ll leave that to your imagination) and when I had my first hot romantic encounter and the last celebrity I texted because unfortunately for me I don’t know a whole bunch of celebrities TO text…now on twitter – that’s another story LOL! (The quiz doesn’t ask if they tweet back.)

And I would stay home with that hot, hunky football team captain! How about you?

Welcome to the blog today, Sasha James (and her author Cathy Pegau)! Before we get to the interview – which is so revealing, folks, even the Author sez she learned some new things about our Heroine LOL – here’s the book blurb:

Recently out of rehab, Sasha James is determined to keep her head down, complete her parole, and never touch amber again. The chip in her neck controls her cravings for the highly addictive drug, but also tracks her every move. Not that she goes anywhere other than work and the halfway house she calls home—a far cry from her luxurious former life as lover of the mining colony’s top drug dealer, Guy Christiansen.

Agent Nathan Sterling has no desire to see Sasha fall back into amber, but his sister has become Guy’s latest conquest and the unexpectedly attractive Sasha is the key to getting her back. So in exchange for an introduction, he offers Sasha the one thing she can’t refuse—her freedom. From the chip, her parole, and even the planet if she wants. Though he would be sorry to see her go…

Torn between her growing attraction to Nathan, fear of Guy and the allure of amber, Sasha accepts. But who will save her if Guy refuses to let her go a second time?

And now the questions:

What was your life like growing up? Better than I realized. As a kid and young teen, I thought my parents were too strict, the town we lived in too boring and my life headed nowhere. Being the oldest daughter of mercantile owners in a tiny mining town, I was expected to help at the store and eventually marry another business owner’s kid. So twentieth century! Instead, I ran away to the big city, Pandalus, with my friend Jess when I was sixteen. After a couple of years of nowhere jobs and frequent parties, we became friends with some people who knew Guy Christiansen. I lost track of Jess. I hope she’s okay.

Yeah, looking back, running away wasn’t such a good idea.

Before the action in the book, what were your plans/hopes for the future? Ha! Plans and hopes? Before the story started, I just wanted to get out from under the Corrections Department’s thumb and forget I’d ever met Guy Christiansen. Staying sober, finding a decent job and keeping my head down were all I cared about. I couldn’t see much beyond finishing parole. Whatever happened after that had to be better, right?

What changed that? Nathan Sterling. He asked me to do something for him that I never thought I’d have the guts to do. But he needed my help. How could I turn down a man trying to keep his kid sister from becoming what I became? Okay, the offer of getting that damn ID chip deactivated was a huge incentive too. I’m not a goody-goody who will put herself in danger for nothing.

How would you describe your personality? Guarded optimism. I think good things can happen, but I’ve learned that you have to be ready for the not so good things.

Do you have a motto or code you live by? When I was partying in Pandalus with Guy, it was “Live life to the fullest.” In rehab it became “One day at a time.” Now, I’m back to “Live life to the fullest,” but I have a better sense of what that means.

What one thing would you take to a desert island? When I was at the NCRC (Nevarro Correctional Rehabilitation Center) I read a lot, if there wasn’t some sort of “life skills” class or work program to attend. Reading let me forget where I was. It gave me a chance to escape reality for a little while. So I’d take my comm and as many book sticks as I could carry.

Where would you go on vacation? Nevarro is such a cold place, I’d really like to find a warmer planet. Pacifica has great beaches. Weaver is nice and hot, though maybe too hot. I’d go for the beach.

What is your most distinguishing characteristic? Physically, I don’t think I’m all that distiguishable from a thousand other redheads. Otherwise, my determination may be my most distinguishable characteristic.

What is your major skill or talent? *laughs* I went from tending the till at my parents’ store to partying to rehab to tending the till at a Revivalist market. I can make change for a one-hundred credit chit in my head. Does that count as a skill or talent? At the NCRC I took some cooking and business classes. I can make a mean beef stew without using the Compu-Chef.

What’s your favorite color? Favorite food? I can tell you my LEAST favorite color is amber *winks* I’m partial to blues and greens. Very soothing. Food-wise, I prefer things that can be made by hand, particularly mac and cheese. The Compu-Chef is convenient, but working in the fresh foods-only Revivalist market gave me an appreciation for preparing meals from scratch.

If you had to pick another career, what would it be? Since I never really had a career to begin with, I should probably pick one. Owning my own shop, maybe. *laughs and shakes head* The very thing I ran away from.

What’s on your bucket list? Reconciliation with my family. They pretty much disowned me when I hooked up with Guy. But I miss them. Nathan has reminded me how important family is, but they have to want to reconcile. I don’t know if that’ll ever happen.

Which actor or actress would you want to play you in the movie? According to Cathy, I look a lot like Amber Heard. She’s prettier than I think I am.

Who are your closest friends? Jules, another parolee and a dancer at a club I like to go to. They serve killer empanadas. She and I roomed together at the halfway house. We had a lot in common and talking to her is like being with Jess again.

Who do you love? Nathan. And myself more than I used to. That sort of sounds conceited, doesn’t it? It’s not that I think I’m wonderful and perfect. Far from it. But Nathan has taught me that I’m worth loving, which is the best gift anyone can give another.

What are your future plans? I’ll be taking classes while staying with Nathan. Maybe we’ll get married? Maybe more? I don’t know. Right now, I’m happy and loved and love him back. I can see us together forever, but I need to make up for lost time. I want to become the me I always thought I could be.

Question for you, Dear Readers: what kind of heroines do you most enjoy in your science fiction?

If the interview has intrigued you, here are the Buy Links!

Carina Amazon Barnes & Noble Audible