I don’t believe the song “Meet Me in St. Louis” included anything in the lyrics about Denny’s but that’s where I met my first class voice-over talent friend and popular audiobook narrator Donna Postel. And my friend has been very busy with her audiobooks!

She just got back from the schmoozing and learning at the AudioBook Publishers Association Conference in NYC. And she’s about to start another book…all in addition to the commercials and other corporate narration work she does.

Hopefully she’ll also make it to FaffCon 5! It was great to see her again!

Tags: audio books, commentary, voice talent, voiceover, voiceover meet-ups by peter k. o'connell, your friendly, neighborhood voice-over talent
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You know you’ve got a true voice-over friend when he’ll drive two hours to come have dinner with you.

Voice talent and video producer extraordinaire Todd Ellis did that this evening in St. Louis and we had an awesome time as it had been about three years since we last visited. He took me over to Pat’s Bar and Grill in the Irish part of town (because I speak the language) and just laughed the whole night.

We must have been a fun pair because the waitress said we were her best and funniest table.

Thanks Todd!

Tags: commentary, voice talent, voiceover, voiceover meet-ups by peter k. o'connell, your friendly, neighborhood voice-over talent
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So this winter, I’m having lunch in Miami with Doug Turkel and we’re talking about voice over and also about the half dozen or so supermodels who are walking behind me and our sidewalk lunch table. I first realize there is this parade of supermodels because Doug was looking right past me as we spoke and his head was repeatedly turning slowly from left to right with his eyes bugging WAY out and some spit drooling off the side of his mouth.

I thought it might be a small stroke of some kind. Or maybe he’d seen Santa Claus, the reindeer AND the sleigh.

But no, it was just Miami supermodels.

So our conversation continued.

We talked about the blog posts I’d just started, 5 Questions for a Professional Voice Talent, which people in the voiceover world seemed to be enjoying. I asked him where HIS submission was and he said, “Funny you should ask…” wherein he went on to tell me about a free e-book he was writing which was similar and yet not so much to 5Q:VO.

That book, released today, is titled: Voices of Experience – Pro Voiceover Talent Share the Wisdom of Their Success.

There are two amazing things about the book (which really isn’t similar to 5Q:VO because both are as unique as their shared voices)

1. Doug took the time to connect with the all these amazing voice talents and garner really great stories and insights unlike anything I’ve ever read before. The e-book weaves this wonderful voice over painting that will easily impact readers new to VO as well as those of us who are a little longer in the voice-over tooth (as it were). The content is amazing, the format is lovely and the affect on readers active in our industry will be long lasting.

2. There is no truly good business reason for Doug to do this book and certainly no logical reason to make it free. But he did it anyway. The talents featured were handled professionally so they knew their stories would be in good hands and because of that, readers are taken on a magic ride through the professional experiences of the voices most voice-over talents strive to be but cannot. We can learn from them, though.

Wednesday night, I grabbed the mane of the social media merry-go-round and opined: “Something very big is about to be unleashed on the VO world (and not by me). #voiceover talents will LOVE it. Stay tuned.”

Voice of Experience IS that big thing. No get rich quick schemes, no train to be a voice over in a weekend, just insights to allow the reader to interpret the stories however they like.

And I think they will like it quite a lot.

I’ve added it to my free e-book section on this blog and I will direct anyone who asks about getting started to read it as well.

Thank you, my friend (“the author”), for lunch and the supermodels but mostly for the book.

Tags: commentary, voice talent, voiceover, voiceover advice, voiceover meet-ups by peter k. o'connell, your friendly, neighborhood voice-over talent
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There are many great things about FaffCon (as I often remind myself) and one that immediately comes to mind was getting to meet North Carolina Voice Talent Vance Elderkin at FaffCon 3.

Another great gift for me at that particular FaffCon was getting directed in a voice-over session by my long time friend (feels like forever, in a good way) the Imaginator, Rowell Gorman.

Well on this trip to lovely Raleigh, NC, I got to enjoy dinner with both of my friends and catch up on news of their great voice-over lives. They both offer to me, each in quiet, unassuming way, so much insight into how to be a better VO professional (and I can ALWAYS use the help).

Plus they are fun to be around. Thanks to both Vance and Rowell for coming out to visit with me.

Tags: commentary, voiceover meet-ups by peter k. o'connell, your friendly, neighborhood voice-over talent
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You would think with the lack of “audio’connell in….” posts in the past few months that I hadn’t been traveling or hadn’t spent a moment with some of my VO friends on my travels. Well as my frequently flyer miles will attest, you would be wrong in that assumption.

The truth is I forgot my camera or left it in the car. I rectified that tonight.

I got to have dinner with Charleston, West Virginia’s top voice talent Amie Breedlove tonight, enjoying time with her, her husband Bobby and their two dogs. I got to see her studio, discuss some renovations she’s planning there and listen to parts of her new commercial demo she’s producing (which is going to sound awesome).

The nice thing I learned about the Breedloves is how passionate they are about the city of Charleston, WV when it seems in many ways the city has given up on itself by most outward appearances. It’s a state capitol that, based on it immediate urban blight and poor city planning has very much given up on itself in spite of its many positive attributes.

But Amie and Bobby haven’t given up on Charleston and are quick to point out the many great things the city has to offer. They are true ambassadors of this area and the Chamber of Commerce would be wise to take note of their insights.

A great time had by all. Thanks so very much.

Tags: voice talent, voiceover, voiceover meet-ups by peter k. o'connell, your friendly, neighborhood voice-over talent
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If you are in voiceover and were hoping to attend VOICE 2012, I’ve received about a dozen emails in the past week advising me that the earlybird deadline is Wednesday, February 15th. Click here for details.

As I am not presenting this year, I will not be attending but lots of people from newbies to pros will be there and you get to go to Disneyland. Not sure yet if there will be a session on talking like Mickey but one assumes you’ll likely hear some auditions throughout the event…especially at the bar.

Tags: voice 2012, voice talent, voiceover, voiceover meet-ups by peter k. o'connell, your friendly, neighborhood voice-over talent
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