Just did a bit of voiceover for a short animated film. Drew Radley, the guy who animated this project is so clever. I love it! I voiced the part of the old lady, Mrs. Odeski.

Cheers….


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Tea plantation in the mountains of India

 
Autumn is here…my favourite time of year. So much to do…voiceover gigs, looking for voiceover gigs, finding gigs, and creating gigs. It’s all go!

I recently produced and recorded an animated Sing-Along kiddie’s YouTube vid for the small ones. I think it’s really important that the tiniest ones don’t get frustrated, so I put lots of space between the verses so they can keep up too! So, here it is!

Here is an interesting article published in Success Magazine that came in my email the other day. It’s practical, inspirational and adaptable to anyone’s circumstances, I believe.

Legends

Harvey Mackay knows nurturing your network is the No. 1 habit for creating and sustaining success.

Liz Davis September 30, 2009
When speaker, author and CEO Harvey Mackay walks onto a stage to deliver one of his trademark talks, people sit up and pay attention. His good-humored interest in the topics at hand—and, more important, in the audience—comes across loud and clear. Within the first five minutes, everyone in the room is buying whatever Harvey Mackay is selling because he demonstrates one of his own most fundamental sales maxims: “People buy from other people because of likeability.” It’s no wonder Toastmasters International has named him one of the top five speakers in the world.

Never mind that Mackay isn’t really selling his audience anything. Instead, he gives them a lifetime of organized, practical business wisdom, targeted to the group’s specific needs. And his wisdom has resonated with readers, too, with five best sellers and more than 10 million books sold. Two of his books, Swim with the Sharks Without Being Eaten Alive and Beware the Naked Man Who Offers You His Shirt, were New York Times No. 1 Best- Sellers and listed by the Times among the top-15 inspirational business books of all time.

Preparing to Win
Harvey Mackay was born and raised in Minnesota’s Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, where he still makes his home with wife Carol Ann. His father was head of the Associated Press in the Twin Cities for 35 years and was partial to aphorisms related to happiness and success, which he posted on the refrigerator. Mackay continues that tradition in his weekly syndicated column, which runs in 52 newspapers nationwide. Each motivational article ends with Mackay’s Moral, a compact, thought-provoking statement about some aspect of success.

Mackay attended the University of Minnesota, with no inkling that he would one day head up a multimillion-dollar company or write best-selling business books. “At the time, I thought I was going to be Ben Hogan,” he tells SUCCESS. When he found himself up against the nation’s best young golfers at an NCAA golf championship his sophomore year, Mackay realized that he was in way over his head.

The competitors from warm states like Florida, for example, had been playing golf year-round for much of their lives, while Mackay could only play golf for about four months out of the year in Minnesota’s colder climate. So even though he’d been playing golf for as many years as some of the other players, they had about three-times more cumulative experience. Those players were simply better prepared. “So I gave up that dream and became an entrepreneur,” Mackay says. In his 1997 book, Dig Your Well Before You’re Thirsty, he wrote that preparation is “a way of life for anyone who wants to succeed in any activity.” The lesson he learned as a 19-year-old golfer about the importance of extensive preparation and practice was one he never forgot.

After graduating from the University of Minnesota, Mackay had a slow start as an envelope salesman for Quality Park. But he was still an excellent golfer—good enough to convince the Oak Ridge Country Club in Minneapolis to admit him without the steep initiation fee (after a protracted sales pitch). In return, he would help the club get out of last place in the Minneapolis City Golf League. Mackay made so many business contacts playing golf at the club that he would later write in Dig Your Well Before You’re Thirsty, “There’s no question that this was the one single act that most helped me launch my career.”

“People don’t care how much you know, once they know how much you care.”

Over the next few years, Mackay’s fledgling network became the lever that lifted him to the No. 1 sales position at Quality Park. In 1959, at the age of 26, he felt ready to strike out on his own, so he bought a small, floundering envelope company and went into business for himself. Today, Mackay Mitchell Envelope Company (formerly Mackay Envelope Company for 46 years) does $100 million in sales annually and has the capacity to produce 25 million envelopes a day.

Humanize Your Selling Strategy
The power of a robust network was evident to Mackay from the beginning of his career. He built his foundation as a salesman by playing golf and developing relationships with people. To implement this vital practice of networking at an organizational level, Mackay developed a 66-question customer profile, known by his employees and devoted readers as “The Mackay 66.” Salespeople at Mackay Mitchell (and plenty of professionals who have read his books) fill out this 66-question dossier on every customer, prospective customer and supplier.

The Mackay 66 starts with the basics: name, age, hometown, etc. Then the profile gets more detailed, with questions about the customer’s favorite restaurants, preferred topics of conversation, professional goals, attitudes and concerns. The 66 questions provide a highly detailed portrait of the customer as a human being, which gives anyone at MackayMitchell a serious advantage when it comes to approaching that person. As Mackay puts it in Swim with the Sharks: “The sweetest sound in the world to you, and to your customer, is the sound of your own name on someone else’s lips.” Each profile is constantly updated, with every contact recorded and the next contact scheduled. If a salesperson takes the customer to lunch for his or her birthday or sends a link to an interesting article about the customer’s university, it goes in the profile.

So why all this research? Because, quite simply, it works. “Every time I talk to someone, I’m scanning them, finding out what’s important to them. I’m demonstrating that I understand that person as a human being,” Mackay says. No one would argue that successful salespeople should know as much as possible about their company’s products and services. But Mackay would tell you it’s far more important to know about the people involved. “People don’t care how much you know once they know how much you care. So find a creative way to stay in touch.”

An easy way to begin networking is to focus on the other person. Mackay’s best advice for developing your network is simple, and it calls to mind his customer-centered 66 questions. “When you meet an interesting new person you want to stay in touch with, always ask yourself first, ‘What can I do for this person?’ And don’t expect anything in return.”

Believe in Yourself, Because Your Network Does
In 1988, Mackay completed his first book, the business classic Swim with the Sharks Without Being Eaten Alive. He was an unknown, first-time author. In general, new authors’ books are published in small print runs of 10,000 copies. This makes it much easier for publishers to recoup their losses if books don’t sell well. But Mackay knew these customarily small print runs are part of the reason so many new authors never get the chance to prove themselves and publish more books.

Mackay made a bold move when he met with his publisher—he requested a print run of 100,000 copies. When the executives in the room responded incredulously, he pulled out his Rolodex, which at that time had more than 6,000 contacts. Some of these contacts were from enormous corporations where, Mackay reasoned, the book would surely be recommended to his contacts’ co-workers. In an unprecedented leap of faith, the publisher agreed to 100,000 copies, and Swim with the Sharks was a New York Times No. 1 Best- Seller for 54 weeks. Mackay went on to write several more books and will release yet another book next year.

Don’t Be Boring
Mackay cites enthusiasm and creativity as major cornerstones of his success. “There is no substitute for passion. I’m looking for three qualities in a salesperson: a hungry fighter, a hungry fighter and a hungry fighter. Once I’ve established that I can trust someone, the main thing I’m looking for is a deep-down burning desire to succeed.”

Mackay tells the story of a New York City cab driver to illustrate creativity in meeting a customer’s needs. When he got into a taxi one day, the driver presented Mackay with a printed mission statement that said he intended to get his passengers to their destinations “safely, courteously and on time.” He offered Mackay an array of CDs to choose from and the use of a cell phone. When the cab came to a stop, the driver presented Mackay with a brown-bagged snack. The taxi driver’s innovative approach and pride in his business garnered him thousands of extra dollars in tips every year. That cab driver, in effect, had the same motto as Mackay Mitchell Envelope Company: “Do what you love, love what you do, and deliver more than you promise.”

The idea behind Swim with the Sharks Without Being Eaten Alive, and at the very heart of Mackay’s philosophy, is that in order to stay competitive and successful you don’t have to become a shark yourself.

In fact, the opposite is true: If you demonstrate that you care about others, they’ll want to do business with you. You don’t have to be cutthroat to survive in a cutthroat marketplace. Mackay’s lifetime of achievement is proof that if you combine genuine caring about your network of people with a genuine love for what you do, success is inevitable.

Mackay’s Moral: People don’t care how much you know about them, once they realize how much you care about them.

There’s a Link to Success Magazine on the right hand side of this page under the “Miscellaneous” heading.

“Happiness is a perfume you cannot pour on others without getting a few drops on yourself.” Ralph Waldo Emerson

Cheers!

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Many hands make light work! Move ahead faster with helpful friends!

“The only factor separating success from failure is the determination to work hard, and the willingness to engage with prospects.” Mark Hunter-The Sales Hunter

Just learned via my email that James and Penny over at the VoiceActing Academy, are holding another FREE Tele-seminar titled “No Mater What You’ve Heard…Voiceover is a Business” — The Nuts & bolts of Voiceover with James Alburger & Penny Abshire.

It’s going to be on Monday, October 5, 2009 for about 60 to 90 minutes.

Here’s a little bit of blurb from the email:

“In these changing economic times, being an excellent person has become every bit as important as being a good performer. On this call, James and Penny will discuss the “Nuts and Bolts” of the voiceover business – the things you must know and do in addition to mastering your performing skills.

Here are just a few of the things that will be discussed on this call:

• How to find clients, make them happy and get them to love you forever!
• Why social networking can help you find work
  
• How to set up a functioning office and keep efficient records
• Why keeping your name “front of mind” with producers and agents is critical
  
• How to discover the right branding for your talent
• How to know when you have a good demo, or if it needs some re-working
• How to target your best marketing strategies
  
• How to discover your uniqueness and use it to your best advantage
• How to prepare for your first website, or improve the one you have”

If you can’t make the phone call, registered peeps can get access to a recording of the call for one week after the date of the call. I used this method for their last tele-seminar and the info was most illuminating.

You can get more info at their website: http://www.voiceacting.com

This week I got my mitts on two videos for which I did voiceovers. One is an animation, and the other is a corporate promo piece. I’ll have to post them here soon. A cut from the animated wacky Christmas one is on YouTube (YouTube channel: animedolphin).

So, what’s your favourite voiceover gadget that you find really helpful, and couldn’t imaging being without? Mine is my Olympus Digital Voice Recorder. It’s pocket-sized. I can record on it and then transfer it to my computer. The quality is quite good, and it’s handy enough to take anywhere and catch all kinds of different voices of interesting people around me; or if I get an idea for a project or a voice, I can record it before I forget. I have a couple of other gadgets on my wish list, which I hope to acquire in time as well.

Another thing that I find helpful is a site called MediaFire. You can store and transfer files there. I chose the paid option, which lets me transfer files without adverts. If I am travelling, or away from the office, and something comes up [peeps want a file, they don't want to go to the website; or for an audition demo]– I can just nip over to MediaFire and send a file from there. I also use it for sending large files to clients. I send them a link and they can download it.

It’s time for show and tell. Have you got any gadgets, tips, hot sites that you want to share? We’re all ears!

By the way, anybody got any suggestions on good recording applications for the ipodTouch?

Cheers…


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AUTUMN MOON is a time of prosperity and reaping what you have sown, both literally and spiritually.

The Chinese symbols in the red box are: happiness, good fortune, and abundance. Original Art by Dina Dargo

The above lovely piccie was found in an email newsletter which I received from Inspiration Line.

My voiceover life is coming along, bit by bit, eyes ahead…keep busy. Was recently cast as the Vampire queen in an internet drama, and am waiting to hear of any revisions on a corporate video project that I’m voicing. Both of them require me to use my British dialect. Hows about that. It’s all good. I’m quite comfortable moving between an American and British dialect — as required. I’m also very grateful that referrals and nibbles are coming to me from my fellow voiceover colleagues.

I found this lovely article on the Inspiration Line Forum Board, and I reprint it here. You can find a permanent link to Inspiration Line else on this page!

Improve Your Mood in 5 Minutes

You’re in a lousy mood and want to feel better fast. What you need is a happiness fix—right now! Try one of these spirit-boosting tips to jump-start joy in 5 minutes or less.

1. Take it all in. “Little things in life that inspire joy are often subtle and don’t always grab your attention,” says Barbara Fredrickson, PhD, author of Positivity. So be on the lookout for small wonders: butterflies in your garden, an amazingly bright full moon.

2. Make up a ridiculous story. If someone is fueling your sour mood, create a goofy character in your head based on that person. “Imagine an outrageous comic calamity befalling him,” says Amy Riley, a life balance consultant for Tiara Coaching in Chicago. You’ll get a good chuckle out of it.

3. Put yourself in the movies. Think of your favorite film scene, one that makes you feel great every time you see it—like Bridget Jones kissing Mark Darcy in the snow. Now picture yourself as the main character. “Embracing that moment triggers optimism,” says John Ryder, PhD, author of Positive Directions.

4. Soak up the sun. Go outside or stand beside a bright window and bask in the warming rays for a few minutes. Sunlight ups the level of vitamin D in your body, which in turn keeps serotonin (a feel-good hormone) high, explains Mehmet Oz, MD, coauthor of You: Being Beautiful.

5. Touch your toes. “It opens up your hip joints, which is where most people store tension,” says Dr. Oz. Hold the position for a minute, then slowly roll up. As you lift, so will your mood.

6. Start a blog. Like journaling, it gives you an outlet for your feelings. “But it may be even better for triggering happiness because people can leave you positive comments,” says Caroline Adams Miller, coauthor of Creating Your Best Life. Begin one at www.Blogger.com/start.

7. Turn on the tunes. Listen to your favorite upbeat song and you’ll be happier in seconds. “Music has a powerful influence over state of mind,” says Alice Domar, PhD, director of the Domar Center for Mind/Body Health in Waltham, Massachusetts. That’s because music—especially songs that make you boogie—activates the part of our brain that’s hardwired for pleasure.

8. Show off your moves. Speaking of boogying, that’s another quick way to break into a smile. Got two left feet? It doesn’t matter. “Any form of movement will release endorphins and elevate your mood,” explains Dr. Domar. So while you’re listening to that favorite song, get up and dance.

9. Put photos on the fridge. We look at our refrigerator about 27 times a day, so make the most of it. “Research shows that the happiest people have many joyful family photos displayed in their homes,” says Adams Miller.

10. Get plant-happy. Deadhead the spent flowers on your gardenia or buy a bunch of tulips at the market. Studies show that being around foliage or colorful blooms relieves stress, soothes sadness and increases calmness.

11. Create a new code. Change one of your passwords (e-mail, voice mail, ATM) to a word that primes you to think in an optimistic way—the name of your much-loved pet, the funny nickname you call your husband, or even the word love.

12. Break out of the box. Do one small thing that’s new and unexpected. Put a temporary tattoo on your ankle. Top off your morning coffee with some whipped cream. “Novelty makes people feel good,” says Adams Miller.

13. Mark your calendar. Make a note of an upcoming event that you’re looking forward to—a weekend getaway with your best friend, an outdoor concert with your husband. The sheer anticipation you feel every time you see it penciled in is almost as good as the special event itself.

14. Be generous. A recent study found that when people spent as little as $5 on others, they reported greater feelings of joy. Shopping at the grocery store? Pick up a few staples for your neighbor. Just bought a cup of coffee? Give the barista an extra $5 to pay for the customer behind you.

15. Turn the negative positive. List five to 10 things that went wrong today, then read them out loud, says Riley. It may sound counterintuitive but it works: When you hear all of it together—you dropped your morning bagel on the floor, noticed a new gray hair, discovered that your teen used the last of the shampoo—you’ll see how minor it all is. And a little perspective goes a long way.

16. Send out good vibes. “Text three friends and tell each of them one thing you like about her,” says Sonja Lyubomirsky, PhD, author of The How of Happiness. Your kind words will make them (and you) feel terrific.

17. Lend a hand. Call a local nursing home, shelter, church or charitable organization and ask how you can help. Those few minutes on the phone are all it takes to kick your spirits into high gear. Knowing that you’ll soon be helping others—and then following through—makes you feel good about yourself, says Susan Ouellette, a health care educator in Baltimore, Maryland.

18. Think of the good stuff. Spend a couple of minutes reflecting on your accomplishments over the past five, 10, 15 years, recommends Dan Baker, PhD, author of What Happy Women Know. Maybe you’re a more skilled cook now than you were then, or perhaps you have developed a lifelong hobby into a successful part-time business. Recognizing and acknowledging your growth will provide an immediate sense of gratification. You’ll be cheered instantly.

By Jennifer Matlack Woman’s Day www.womansday.com

Over the Bank Holiday, I took a litle trip to the Scot’s Grotto in the town of Ware. It was great. The whole house inside and out is made of stones, shells and bits of coloured glass. Here are a few piccies.

Now it’s back to working on another prospect list and then shoot off a few more email demos!

Cheers…

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I’ve been spending a lot of time lately refreshing and improving my knowledge on the technical aspects of voiceover recording. Here are two links that I found to be most helpful.

Dynamics Processing Explained, A Tutorial

and
Click Removal in Sound Forge 5.0 Even though this is an old edition of sound Forge, the technique is probably still valid.

Here according to one of Pat Fraley’s (one of my fave VO tutors) voices.com podcast lecture are the

9 Critical Skills to Voiceover :

Acting
Reading & Voice
Relaxation
Character and Accents
Energy
Microphone Technique
Business
Sense of scene and Text analysis
Improvision

Ok, got that? Now here’s Susan Berkeley’s interpretation, which I found in Susan’s e-book -

The 7 core voiceover-competencies:

Voice Quality
Diction
Reading skills
Acting Skills
Relationship/Networking skills
Technical skills
Marketing skills

One of my favourite tools for keeping my faith and energy in a positive place are ‘Oracle Cards.’ I discovered them on a couple of my trips to Glastonbury [England].

To me they are quite good for inspiration or guidance, and for focus.

I usually shuffle them while thinking of my question or a statement about some aspect of my voiceover career. Then I pick three — turn them over, and have a read and a think.

The artwork on them is quite beautiful – so that’s a creative, uplifting blast right there.

I’m drawn to the card sets that express the ideas in practical, easy-to-understand language. These cards are brilliant, easy to understand and quick to use, as I often don’t have time to go through a whole drawn out ritual. I like to pick out three at the start of a day — sometimes plucking a few cards from one deck and a few from another deck — and then get on with the business of the day.

The cards that I currently use are “Magical Mermaids and Dolphins” by Doreen Virtue [because I've been very fond of dolphins for years], and “Cosmic Ordering Oracle Cards” by Barbel Mohr.

The “Angelic Abundance” cards by Angela McGerr are really cool as well. They’re divided into various categories for different aspects of the user’s [the person using the cards] life.

Of course Oracle Cards don’t replace the marketing, learning, networking, etc. that one needs to do to keep any type of career on track, but the cards are darn good little helpers and good friends.

How do you keep yourself focused and moving in the right direction?

Cheers!

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Decided that my voiceover booth (or as VO champ Rodney Saulsberry puts it — “The Money Box”) needed a little upgrading. I don’t know how I decided, the thought just came to me. My little miccie needed its very own home.

So, I ordered some accoustical foam from a brilliant vendor on ebay and set to work to make a Hogan-style Porta booth, but one that was bigger and sturdier since I’ll be working with  it everyday.

I made it with a sturdy surround and covered the outside and floor with thick curtain-quality fabric; the inside is lined with the wonderful accoustical foam.

What a difference in the sound. It enhances the quality, and certainly “pumps up the volume” a few notches. I was so surprised and pleased!

view 2 doing the business with the pop shield:

view 3 miccie’s very own new wee huttie — side view

Met up with my new friend Mike Rhys – a British voiceover artist who lives in Japan, his brother, cute little daughter and his colleague Nicky Faint. Nicky’s a VO now based here in England, but she lived and worked in Japan for 5 years. It was brilliant! And so good to talk with them about their VO lives in Japan.

Will be producing and voicing a serialised version of a mystery audiobook soon. I’ll keep you posted on the progress. You might even want to have a listen…might even get hooked on the plot and come back for more, to see what happens in subsequent and future episodes!  It’s going to be a long one. 

“Those who are fired with an enthusiastic idea and who allow it to take hold and dominate their thoughts find that new worlds open for them. As long as enthusiasm holds out, so will new opportunities.”

Cheers all…

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Sometimes we are quite busy, with auditions, marketing, networking, checking our life timetables to see if we’re where we want to be yet. Maybe it’s ok once in a while to just say –’everything’s cool right now!I’m happy.’

Today’s big thought comes from the Inner Space center in Covent Garden London:

“Give yourself the permission to be happy right here, right now. Be satisfied with what you have when you are in pursuit of what you want.” Yeah!

Thanks to all my wonderful Voice Over mates for their friendship and encouragement. It’s truly most appreciated. And, I’m grateful for my family and friends as well!

Ok, enough musing and sharing…back to work!

Cheers…..

<

A little bit of Voiceover/Life Advice which turned up in my

email in-box the other day.

“Turn your dream into a vision, then into a goal, then into a plan and then into reality! After all, a goal is nothing more than a dream with a deadline!

Had a chance to take a little break recently in the form of a 6-mile walk along the South West Coastal Path, along the cliffs from a place in Devon called Budleigh-Salterton to Exmouth. I thought it might be too much, but it was great fun. Good exercise. Devon is a lovely area of England. What is it, I wonder, about open spaces that makes one burst into song while hiking? Rather than rabbit on further, I’ll just show you the piccies…

The Starting point

Stop and smell the flowers along the way!

Clowning around with hubby.

Looks like we’re in good company here!

Seagulls getting a free lunch by following the potato farmer

as he turns over the soil.

This made me feel like we were walking through

a secret fairy garden!

The end of the hike at Exmouth. Done! Where’s the pub?!

After our little sojourn, it was back to work. Finished off and uploaded an e-learning video last week focusing on improving listening comprehension skills for beginning/intermediate learners of English as a Second Language. (Please see “Voice Over Videos -3″ page.) Ready to roll now on the next voiceover project. Where are you? Bring it on!

Cheers…

This Alison bush was covered with these beautiful yellow and black butterflies, but they move so fast! Managed to catch one in the piccie!

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY for Voiceover and Life Success:

“All frustration is due to unfulfilled desires. If you dwell on obstacles, delays, and difficulties, your subconscious mind responds accordingly, and you are blocking your own good.”

Dr. Joseph Murphy
The Power of Your Subconscious Mind
www.dr-joseph-murphy.com

I went to the Animation Convention with my friend the other week-end. It was brilliant. Hope to see myself there one year as a guest voiceover speaker. In the meantime, I enjoyed what was on tap on the day.

Technology is really surging ahead. There was a fantastic demonstration of a game that is controlled by the voice. Using the microphone, you must first gather up your breath (as we VO’s know only too well how to do) and then let out a long cry — this powers up the energy bar. Then you let out your voice in a series of short bursts which set off the weapons and send the cannon balls flying. (See the piccie below.) It was great fun. But maybe not the game to play before a heavy voiceover session!

Just compiled a list of video producers, so now it’s time to put the head down and get to work marketing. I’ve set myself some VO financial targets for the next month, so I’d best get cracking if I’m gonna make them. Sunday or not, sunny day or not…I’d best focus and get busy!

“Winners make big things happen, a little bit at a time!”

 (another quote that came across my desk this week!)

Cheers all…

Bob Soeur, myself, Deidre Cooper, and Philip Banks

Attending VOX2009 was fantastic. It was so good to meet some voiceover peeps whom I’d only known through the VO-BB (see sidebar for a link to this forum) and to hook with some vo colleagues based here in London. Above are some of my mates from the VO-BB.

Trish Bertram and Anthony Richardson

London-based voiceovers – Trish and Anthony

David, and Mike Cooper

More London peeps — David (not sure of surname)
[just found out! David Vickery],

and Mike Cooper

Meeting the various producers was a wonderful opportunity to present my voiceover services to people whom I don’t ordinarily have a chance to interact. Speed networking is something else! 15 seconds for producers to tell about themselves,and then 1-minute for me to present myself, then the whistle blows and it’s move along swiftly to the next chair and producer. Wow! It was very exhilarating experience. But if you’re clear on your purpose, know your services and where you’re coming from, and listen carefully to the producer’s intro… it’s very do-able.

Now all the excitement is over and it’s back to gigging, marketing myself and everyday life. I’ve just received a script for a Dr. Who internet radio drama. My character wasn’t ravaged by the monsters…she’s back. Hooray! I love acting. I love voice acting.

I’ve also produced two real estate/travel oriented video tour narration demos. They’re in the videos section of this blog. Just did an audition for what looks like a fun project — so fingers crossed on that one!

Keep smiling, keep positive, keep voicing!

Cheers