We're so happy that super talented audiobook narrator,
Katherine Littrell, took some time to answer our questions!!
Katherine Littrell, took some time to answer our questions!!
FYA:
I had a colleague once point out to me how important YA audiobooks with LGBTQ+ characters are. Sadly some LGBTQ+ teens and young adults aren’t in a safe environment where they can openly read a physical book with LGBTQ+ characters; that the privacy an audiobook affords gives those listeners a safe way to read about characters they can identify with. As a pro LGBTQ+ ally, it’s one of the reasons I like publishing audio versions of these stories. Are there reasons you would choose to narrate a YA book with LGBTQ+ characters?
KL:
I attended high school in a coastal area in Australia, where people were often openly hostile to LGBT students and it wasn’t a safe place to explore non-heterosexual identity. The great thing about an audiobook like The Brightsiders, is that it shows that there are spaces in the world where LGBT youth can grow, explore and succeed. As an LGBT person myself, I wish I had listened to this audiobook when I was in high school!
FYA:
How do you capture that teenage “voice”/mindset that makes your characters believable?
KL:
I think the major difference between being a teenager and being an adult in your twenties, is that when you’re a teenager, everything feels life or death. Hormones make emotions just that little touch more extreme. And while maybe as an adult you have the experience to realise that not everything is a disaster, while narrating YA, I take the emotions and life changes as seriously as they do.
FYA:
Do you think about the characters after you’ve finished narrating a book? Is there a character from THE BRIGHTSIDERS that pops into your head every now and then?
KL:
I think about Charlie all the time! I loved her simultaneously dramatic and down-to-earth relationship advice. I also occasionally find myself humming the music...
FYA:
Do you know before you begin recording what each character is going to “sound” like? What is your process and how do you prepare?
KL:
Before recording, I make notes on the physical and emotional characteristics of each character. For the major characters, I think about what their major vocal characteristic might be, and how the reader will relate to them: Charlie’s Brooklyn accent, or Jessie’s slight whine. I don’t pre-plan the voices too much, but I do keep a voice reel of the characters I create as I go.
FYA:
You did some singing in this book! How was that for you? Any plans to start a band?
KL:
That was a first for me! I really enjoyed it. So much of the book was about the band’s musical journey, and it was a lot of fun to imagine what their sound might be. It was different to sing in character, versus singing as myself; I tried to give Emmy, Alfie and Ryan different singing styles, which was definitely a challenge. Because Alfie is non-binary, I liked that he could hit the high notes.
FYA:
One of the things I like about young adult books is that characters may experience intensely emotional and perilous situations but in general often end up okay or better off. I’m a big fan of a happy ending! But, do you think writers have a responsibility to teen and young adult readers/listeners to show not every story has a happy ending?
KL:
In my own reading, I do prefer happy endings because reading is often a way to escape. Not everything needs to be doom and gloom. That said, I am a fan of a bittersweet ending, where not everything goes the hero’s way or is wrapped up neatly.
FYA:
What do you think is different about the experience of listening to a book versus reading one?
KL:
When you listen to an audiobook, you’re listening to someone else’s interpretation of that book. When you read a book, you’re imagining it through your own interpretation. They’re different experiences, but equally valid and entertaining.
FYA:
What inspired you to become an audiobook narrator?
KL:
When I was small, I read chapter books to my sister. I should thank her for my early audiobook training! I love working in audiobooks because it lets me combine my two major passions: reading and acting.
FYA:
What’s next for you?
KL:
In my audiobook world, I have a couple exciting projects coming out soon. The first is Little White Lies by Jennifer Lynn Barnes which releases this November. It’s a funny YA novel with a sarcastic Southern heroine, a mechanic from the wrong side of the tracks who is forced to enter the wild world of debutante balls to discover her true parentage. I also just wrapped recording on The Nowhere Child by Christian White, a mystery-thriller about an Australian woman who is approached by a stranger who thinks she is Sammy Went - a child kidnapped 25 years earlier from her home in Kentucky.