Guest Focus
Christopher Rain
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Narrator
Q. How long have you been narrating books?
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A. I started narrating in 2015 when I was informed by a good friend that Audio books were starting to make a big presence in the book world. Sales were skyrocketing for audio books. He said, "You already have a degree in Audio Production and Engineering, as well as the equipment to record your voice. Why not try recording yourself narrating audio books?" At the time I was instructing guitar lessons and slowly realizing I did not want to continue to teach lessons for the rest of my life for a career. I instantly took my closet apart, started putting studio foam in it to make a booth in my apartment, and began sending in auditions to ACX. The rest was history.
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Q. Did you begin with the MM genre? How did you fall into it?
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A. Essentially, yes I did. I did a couple of short stories and very quickly I started getting feedback from essentially MM Romance authors asking to work on their books.
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Q. What is the most challenging thing about doing narration?
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A. Getting over feeling like an impostor. I had to force myself to just record, and do my best to improve my audio quality, as well as my acting skills.
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Q. What do you enjoy most about it?
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A. I think what I truly enjoy the most is when I lose myself in a story, or even lose myself in the acting/narration to the point where I lose track of time. It doesn't always happen, but when it does, I can look at the clock at 8am and then look at the clock again, and it's noon.
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Q. Where have you set up your studio?
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A. In 2015 when I started narrating, I had a closet in an apartment with a roommate and we both had significant others. Making my ability to record good quality audio so much harder. That is the biggest reason I took a break from narrating and started again in 2019. I currently live in a home where there are no more distractions or audio issues than most home recording studios would have. So I feel very comfortable now recording the best audio I can.
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Q: Is there a certain time of day you find best to work?
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A. Normal work hours from 8am to 5pm is fine. Currently it does not matter too much when I record. If I want to record at dinnertime I could, and if I want to record at midnight, it's not really any better or worse than if I record at noon. As long as there is not a lawn mower going around at the moment. (Luckily does not happen often.)
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Q:. How do you feel narrating sex scenes? Do you find it awkward? How do you get in the mindset for that type of scene or for other emotional scenes?
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A. I used to feel a little weird about narrating sex scenes, and when I first started I thought I would narrate very slow, but I realized that just like a real life sex situation, it's not all slow and mellow, and it's not all fast and chaotic. It's all of that and in between and is more like a roller coaster. So now it's more comfortable to record a sex scene.
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Q. In The Ballerino and the Biker, did you feel closer to Morgan’s character or Zeke’s?
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A. In my opinion, most POV books I have read, there is usually a character that I feel has more of a presence in the story, or the story is based on maybe 60-40% between the two characters. And I think the younger character or the one that is portrayed as the one in trouble or not a physically masculine, will be the one I usually either relate to or feel is the 60% of the story.
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Q. You are currently narrating book two of my Hedonist series. How is it different from your experience with book one?
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A. I believe book one and book two have different vibes. Explanation: Book one, there was this angst that was always lingering about Morgan being in trouble physically. And Zeke not knowing why he was attracted to a man when he had not been before Morgan. Book two, Swish has a past that is tragic, so I feel that he has seen the worst, and I don't think that there is that angst during the story (but) before the story. And Dante's past is wild because he knows his future is nothing but drab.