Narrated by Antonio Amato & Ava Lucas

Full Cast Narration by Sebastian York, Penelope Rose, Zachary Johnson, Winston James, Royce St. Cloud, AM Elizabeth Kay, Victor Quixabas, Aryann Michele, & Robert Hachet

SFN: What inspired you to record audiobooks?

AL: I was a young actor that had veered away from the business to develop a bath and body care company. During that time, I was fortunate enough to acquire a spa and salon that I operated for 5 years. When the building was sold it was made clear that as soon as the lease was up, they wanted the business to vacate. After a long lunch and some tough love, a friend of mine at that time asked the question, "What would you do if you couldn't fail?" My answer was immediate. Voice over work. What's funny is that now, as a narrator, I've returned to my roots and I now have a new company called Ava's Apothecary. I got obsessed with making these lotion bars and they are quite fabulous. It's been a real joy to be able to do two things I love.

SFN: What is your least favorite word to pronounce in a narration?

AL: I had to learn a lot of words like–dais, ogle, waft, familiar–to name a few. I get tongue tied on words like totalitarian, or apocalypse. Mostly because of how they look spelled out on a page. I've done a million and one takes on those two words in books before. Ugh! It's very frustrating, because the more I mess up, the more I mess up, and it sometimes takes forever.

SFN: What's the biggest challenge you face as an audiobook narrator?

AL: A challenge I think all female narrators face, especially in romance, is the idea that the men we co-narrate books with "count" more or hold more value. They are fawned over and adored, yet often do less work (work like collaboration on character tone, returning emails, sharing name pronunciations, or just sharing in general with their female co-narrators). They are also often paid more–in romance especially. The pure fact of the matter is, it doesn't affect their job in the least. They are still hired and still loved by fans. However, listeners wouldn't have A LOT of audiobooks if it weren't for hard working women who do a lot of the heavy lifting. Very few folks understand this dynamic, though, because they aren't in the recording trenches with us. You have women that are killing it in audiobooks, don't get me wrong, but it is rare that they are as adored or awarded or PAID the way males in our industry are. It's also been shocking to me, at times, how little some of my male counterparts care. I feel like I need to follow this with "Don't come after me in the comments." LOL. As someone who is a fan of all the men I've worked with, it breaks my heart to have these types of conversations with men, and have them say things like they are so booked out they don't have time, or they're just "bad at emails." This is not every man I've worked with (some insist on pay equality and share a lot), but a good number of those who are the most beloved, don't think collaborating is important. It's a big challenge.

SFN: Thank you for sharing that, Ava. We appreciate your willingness to share what's often going on behind the scenes.

SFN: Do you remember your first? (audiobook, that is!)

AA: As a listener, it was The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy when I was a kid. O.M.G!!! As a narrator it was a Non-Fiction book that I wrote for young opera singers So You Wanna Sing in Germany? I was an opera singer for a decade in the US and Europe and going to the German countries is a common stepping-stone for young singers.

SFN: What's your favorite part of the narrating process?

AA: When I get to disappear into a long monologue or narrative passage and just feel what the character feels, be it tears, deep reflection of the soul, or bursting with laughter and love. I leave the tissue box outside the booth to keep the performance real and not be tempted to stop until the scene is done.

SFN: It's the last day on earth, money is no object, where are you going, what are you doing and who are you with?

AA: Paris with my wife - sleep in and snuggle in bed with my wife, real french bread and croissants, visit Les Bouqanistes along the Seine, Angelina's Cafe near the Louvre, then on the the Musee de Carnevalet, the Alphonse Mucha room (always happy to tell you how and when I proposed to my wife...which involves that...) maybe a quick flight to Florence, Venice or Ischia for dinner.

Be sure to check out Ava and Antonio's most recent collaboration, our featured new release The Immortal Falls. And say hi on Instagram at @iamavalucas or @antonioreadsromance!

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