Click the picture and I'll read you a story! Or TWO!

First of all, there are a few new places you can hear me this month. There are two short fiction pieces up at Cambridge University Press’s site, showcasing work from their excellent Paper Series. Patrick O’Duffy gave some wonderful feedback on the work I did for Cambridge:

Kevin Powe went above and beyond our requirements when he recorded and developed these audio files. His readings are fantastic and the sound quality impeccable. Kevin is one of the best voice actors I’ve worked with, and we’re looking forward to working with him again.

You can hear me read Jamieson’s Hill by Michelle Mogensen and The Return by Marjory Lambe over at the Cambridge University Press site.

Also, as part of the Emerging Writer’s Festival which is unfolding at the moment in glorious Melbourne, you can hear me giving voice to the Melbourne Room over at broadcastr (the audio was recorded by Paul Callaghan on a digital recorder in the city to get the right ambience, so there’s a bit of popping at the start)

Games Games Games

The thing that’s kept me really busy this month is working with Mary Kurek who is a professional networker in the games industry to get some informed advice on getting work in video games. That’s resulted in some spit and polish on the website, meaning you can now see a fantastic recommendation from the most awesome Scott Burns over on the home page, along with the shiny updated banner that’s adorning this newsletter. There’s also been some work done over on LinkedIn, but most importantly, there have been some great doors opening as a result of working with Mary. While I don’t want to pre-empt anything, I should have some really exciting news next month about a project that’s mostly done from my end already.

Working with Mary has been a fantastic experience, and I cannot recommend her enough if you’re looking to talk to the right people in the games industry, regardless of your profession. I’m really excited about the fruits of some ongoing conversations being sprinkled over the rest of the newsleters for this year. You can’t see it right now, but I’m crossing things lots of things.

But That’s Not All…

Other than that, there’s been two new audio dramas for The Drama Pod which should be up next month, so hopefully I can provide links to them. Two more units voiced for a video game project that I’ll hopefully have some sample audio for next month, and lining up some coaching with Kevin Delaney, which I’m VERY excited about. So excited, I’m going to be on Skype at 3AM on a Sunday morning for three weeks in June.

You can hear Kevin as the voice of Captain Marvel here:

Kevin Delaney as Captain Marvel in “Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe” from Kevin Delaney on Vimeo.

That’s what’s been happening with me. You can drop me a line with any feedback or questions, or to let me know what’s been happening with you.

The Keeper

Click to go to Springbrook Audio!

The most exciting development over the last few months was definitely The Keeper, an audiobook I voiced for Perfect Voices, written by the supremely talented S.L Armstrong and K. Piet. Their feedback certainly put a smile on my face:

We worked with Perfect Voices, who matched us with the amazing voice talent of Kevin Powe. He read a small excerpt from the novella, and Saundra and I just fell in love with his narration style. Not only was he able to develop different voices for each character, but he gave them depth and just the intonation we were looking for.

The final product was 3 hours 18 minutes of audio. It’s definitely the largest project I’ve done so far and a fantastic learning experience. The subject matter may not be for everyone, given the supernatural themes mixed in with a gay love story, but I had a great time recording it, and it was a real challenge to give the characters the complexity and vulnerability they had on paper. If you get a chance to have a listen I’d love to hear your feedback.

I’m keen to do more audiobooks, and I’m already lining up the next couple of audiobook projects!

(by the way – you can click the image above to go straight to the Springbrook Audio page for The Keeper, just in case your email client isn’t letting you know!)

…And Lots Else Besides

Most recently I hosted an April Fool’s podcast for The Drama Pod, which counted down a Top 20 of April Fool’s pranks. It’s definitely a fun listen. I’m already talking with The Drama Pod about a couple of interesting follow-up projects, which I’m looking forward to.

There’s been a steady stream of IVR work in there, meaning there are now more businesses where you’ll hear me apologise for you being on hold. I mean what I say: your call is always important to me. I also did a fun spot of commercial work for a US client looking very specifically for an Aussie accent, which ended up being wonderfully over the top. That was definitely a first, given that I’m used to tucking my Aussie-ness away inconspicuously.

There are some very interesting projects which haven’t gone live yet that I’m rather excited about – I’ve now done 481 lines of character audio for a video game project, and a couple of short fiction pieces for Cambridge University Press. I’ve voiced a meaty role in a new audio drama by Spirit Blade Productions, and there’s one particular project I’m DYING to tell you about. More on that in time, I promise…

Agent Recommendations?

I’ve started shopping around for an agent based in Melbourne, Australia. I’m in order to shift things up to the next gear, so if you have any recommendations on people I should be talking to, I’d love to hear them.

So that’s it for me for this month. What’s been happening with you?