NON-FICTION

FICTION

Me and words. It's always been words for me.
First, it was just the words themselves. I loved puzzling them out when I was learning to read.
But over time, it became more about the power they have to teach, inspire, even change us.  

It started with stories. I was a kid who loved to read. And give me a chance to read out loud in school, at church…you name it, I grabbed it. I didn’t think of it as a skill. It was just something I liked to do. But then there was this added funny thing about me — my voice.  People would comment on it all the time. Strangers even. Cause see, my voice was pretty much like what you hear now, even when I was just a kid. Some people went as far as suggesting my parents take me to a doctor about it. So my mother did. She took me to an ENT. And he told her that doing anything to change my voice would be a mistake. I remember he made some reference to Demi Moore, and my mother and I never talked about it again. 

Years later, I left Wisconsin for college in Worcester, Massachusetts, where I studied words as a Classics major. I parlayed that love of words into a publishing job in Boston. And it was there this voice thing came up again. 

My company at the time employed a lot of actors who did freelance editing as a side gig. And when one of them commented on my voice, I didn’t think much of it. But this guy went further with a suggestion about something I could do with it. He told me there was this thing called “voiceovers” and that I should get into a class. I was intrigued enough to sign up.  

And darned if I didn’t hear angels singing my first time in that booth. It wasn't long after that when I felt the pull to New York City. And that one voiceover class in Boston grew into a two-decade intensive study. Along the way, I became an actor and writer, both of which have helped me become a more effective and successful voiceover artist. More recently, I was drawn to the space and pace of the West Coast. My studio is here in Portland, Oregon, where I do my part to keep it weird. I still get back to the Midwest and the East Coast regularly since my roots and so many of my people are there.

I'm incredibly grateful to this funny business. And to all of you who give me opportunities for doing this work that I love over and over again. I'm also grateful to that doctor, who knew way back when that the thing that made people think something was wrong with me was actually my secret asset. 

Thanks for reading. I look forward to reading what you've written. Out loud. Hopefully recorded. Over a microphone.