I was working yesterday, uploading some files and listening to my colleague Hillary Huber reading Glynn Stewart’s new Duchy of Terra novel (It’s really good btw) and I got thinking about the web of connections that happens in life.
(It’s one of those things like thinking about the stars out there, and how every one of them might have planets, etc)
I thought about all of the authors who’ve written books I’ve been lucky enough to work on. Every reader who has read them, and everyone who has listened. I thought about the moments of your lives… those weird, mundane, poignant, beautiful, terrible and exquisite moments of your lives.
Some of you listen in cars, while you cook, while you work on the car. Some while you exercise (I know at least some of you listen in the pool… and I’m sorry for the couple of near-drowning moments when you got to a funny part… tho, again. I didn’t write it!) I think about those meals, and those cars, those chores, those laps in the pool. The places you go, the people you care about. The meals you eat, the music you hear.
It blows my freakin mind, man. Talk about connected! We are all so ASTONISHINGLY connected. The “Kevin Bacon” game is like a garish distillation of the reality of how much the webs and tendrils of our lives touch each other. I mean, seriously: if we ever needed a reminder of how vital it is to be decent to each other, there’s your niggle yeah?
I suppose it’s not surprising that a professional storyteller thinks about the stories that happen where he can’t see or hear them. That is after all, my worldview. Stories impacting stories and making new stories in their turn. The same story? Yes, a bit. But always, ALWAYS new and unique.
Friday comes soon, and I will wake in the dark hours of the morning to fly to Charlotte NC… a city I’ve never visited, in a state I’ve not seen in 30 years. There will be new friends, old friends, and many an opportunity to learn and grow. There will (is it hoped) be amazing food, good music, and hopefully? Yes, drinks to be sipped.
I’m off to “FaffCon” number 9… a voiceover un-conference inspired by the un-conferences of the IT world, when people realized that the REAL connections at any con were in the lobby, the bar and the elevator and decided to forego the keynote speeches, carefully crafted dog and pony shows and sales pitches in favor of real, spontaneous interaction.
It’s a blending of VO professionals from all over the US and Canada, a few from the Americas and abroad. It is loud, it is enthusiastic, and it is ever so rewarding.
This year I hope to talk to some colleagues who work in the Animation field, and get a sense of where I can put my energies to do a bit of that work in the future. (I have to be honest: commercial and promo VO are not my cup of tea) Hopefully I can fan the spark of someone’s audiobook career and inspire them in turn. We shall see.
I leave the studio at a perfect moment between principal work on 2 projects… I’m nearly done recording Arshad Ahsanuddin’s “Sunset, Pact Arcanum book 1” which is off with Ashley my stalwart proof editor this weekend. When I return, I dive in to Meghan Maslow’s absurd and delightful romp “By Fairy Means or Foul” … which, seriously people? There’s something wrong with that woman. In the best way.
And then it’s a VERY… VERY short couple of weeks before I head to Denver for GRL2017. Which should be a wild whirlwind of a time! Watch my social media for where you can find me at the retreat, and please stop by if you’re there!
So, for now… I’m off to record, pack, and prep for my trip. I hope you have an amazing weekend, and that you are all safe from weather, earthquake, and turmoil.
In the mean time, keep reading. Keep WRITING. Keep listening, and keep sharing your stories.
Cheers and Bisous!
-G
Greg Tremblay / Greg Boudreaux Audiobook Narrator 