Phil Thron interview
How did you become a narrator, and was it a planned choice or did it happen by chance?
It was definitely planned. I’ve always loved audiobooks and decided I wanted to commit to learning the business. I took a few months to research as much as I could and, after building a recording booth with my brother, put together some demos. I was fortunate enough to get work pretty quickly (Space Team was my first) and I’ve not looked back.
Any advice for readers/actors wanting to become narrators?
The first thing I’d say is to listen, listen, listen to as many audiobooks as possible by the best narrators. So many of the questions you’ll have later can be answered now by listening with an ear toward creating. Another essential bit of advice is to get coaching. Many aspects of performing are transferable to other types of performing, and if you’re an actor you have a leg up, I believe, because you’re a storyteller already. But there is a specific skill set necessary for every medium, and audiobooks are no different. Learning long-form consistency and mic-technique, for example, are things that will come with practice, but can be helped immeasurably with good coaching. Invest in yourself and your skills as early as you can and it will pay off sooner than you think.
I'm a massive fan of Barry J Hutchison books Space Team and Benjamin Wallace, Tales of the Apocalypse A Duck & Cover Collection, how did you get in involved with the projects?
As I said, the Space Team was my first project. On literally the second day I was looking for auditions, I came across this fun copy that I instantly connected with. I remember telling my wife after I sent out the audition that I really enjoyed it. A day later I heard from Barry and was ecstatic that I’d gotten my first book. When he sent the manuscript and I read it, I was through the roof because I absolutely loved it and connected with everything in it.
With Ben’s work, I’d actually auditioned for another book that he was casting for. He wrote back to me after I sent the audition, telling me he really liked it but had already cast the book; however, would I be interested in reading for another one he was preparing to do? I did and ended up getting “Tortugas Rising”, which I loved doing. From there he gave me the Duck & Cover series, which has been a blast. In fact, he’s finishing up the 5th book now and I’ll likely be doing that before the year is up. We also have another one that’s about to hit Audible called, “Dads vs Zombies” that is an absolute hoot. I had a great time doing that one…very funny and very suspenseful.
Do you listen to audiobooks yourself?
I absolutely do listen to audiobooks, all the time actually. Right now I’m listening to “Expeditionary Force”, read by the amazing R.C. Bray. I would also highly recommend listening to “Miles” the autobiography of Miles Davis, masterfully read by Dion Graham. To this day it remains my favorite listen.
Who is your favorite Author and what books are looking forward to reading over the Christmas holidays?
I love Walter Mosley and hopeful there will be another Easy Rawlins or Leonid McGill book arriving by the holidays.
What are you reading at the moment?
At the moment, I'm still working my way through Nabokov’s books and am hoping to make a bit more of a dent in them.
Phil Thron can be found on audible in his new hit books
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