I’ve been a book lover since I learned to read. When I was 11, I accidentally kickstarted a lifelong obsession with Stephen King after pulling Salem’s Lot off the shelf while my parents weren’t paying attention. I met him once, right out of college, but I stood there, totally starstruck with my mouth open, until he said, “WHAT?!” So far, he has not written about me.
I was introduced to audiobooks at 12, when my father lost his eyesight to diabetes and started getting “Books on Tape” from the Library for the Blind. Between then and coming full circle to working in narration myself, I:
- had a newspaper route (was I 13? Yes. Was I better at the job than all the boys? Also yes.)
- worked at a bowling alley in high school
- sold shoes briefly (stinky feet — do not recommend)
- got a journalism degree
- developed a coffee obsession
- taught myself HTML web design
- worked at more than one video store — ask me how I still know every word to every Disney movie.
- learned how to make candles
- started and quit smoking
- worked as a news reporter
- worked as a radio personality
- found out I was a pizza snob
- won the Academy of Country Music (ACM) award for Personality of the Year
- became a shoe fanatic
- worked as a music industry trade journalist
- married and subsequently divorced the kind of man you see on Dateline
- survived an eating disorder
- helped raise nearly $2 million for the kids fighting cancer at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital
- became an accidental plumbing goddess, along with learning other important homeowner DIY skills
- moved 28 times across 8 states and 18 cities
- rescued several dogs and cats
- became an advocate for pit bulls and other bully breeds
I work from my home studio in Nashville, TN, which is where I landed in 2013 after growing up in upstate NY and moving all over the country for most of my life. Being from NY doesn’t give me the New York accent you might expect (we don’t tawk like that in our neck of the woods), but I can do a decent one from the city, and my time in Texas and Tennessee has resulted in a pretty good southern accent, too.
When I’m not working, I’m snuggling with two of the cutest pit bulls you’ve ever seen (ask me for pics – I have a million of ’em), raising money for good causes (see my St. Jude link below), or watching true crime, dating reality, and other mind-rotting trash on TV.
Education
BS in Communications – Ithaca College
Acting For Audio – Joel Froomkin
The Home Audio Project – audiobook mastering – Ryan Mey