Rhea Hawke (Vali Gurgu)

Because of Dawn Harvey. It’s that simple.

If you haven’t listened to a book narration by voice actor Dawn Harvey before, you’re in for a treat. When I first embarked on this audiobook project, I had no idea what to expect. I give full credit to the original audiobook publisher, Iambik, who have since closed their doors (my books are currently carried and produced by Audible). Iambik introduced me to Dawn Harvey. She was one of three narrators they’d short-listed for me to audition. I had a short bio of each narrator along with a sample of their reading.

You can listen to samples from all three books on Audible:

I knew nothing about the process of narration or turning my print book into an audiobook. But, I did know what I needed in the voice of my book:

1. The story is told in the first person by Galactic Guardian Rhea Hawke, a cynical angry human in a world of aliens; Rhea hates the colleagues she works with. They consider her puny and incompetent and rash and they continually remind her of some of her earlier disastrous mistakes. Rhea’s voice had to reflect a gritty hardness and sarcasm, while betraying a hidden compassion and kindness. Dawn’s voice nailed it. Dark and rich like a good cup of coffee, Dawn captured Rhea completely. The grit. The hardness. The irony. The vulnerability lurking beneath it all.
2. The story takes place throughout the galaxy and Rhea encounters over twenty different alien species—all of which needed a distinct voice when conversing with her. Dawn showed incredible versatility in capturing their voices according to the alien’s morphology and culture, which I provided. One of the aliens has five mouths and speaks in a multi-timbral voice; Dawn successfully portrayed it.

I was so impressed when I listened to the final recording of Outer Diverse (the first book in the trilogy). It was as though I was experiencing the story for the first time—as if I hadn’t written it myself—I was right there, exploring with Rhea Hawke, journeying to the outer planets of the galaxy. Dawn had breathed life into my character and my story. I was totally unprepared for my reaction. Voice artists would explain her techniques: her prepared pauses, tone, speed, inflections, etc. I knew they were there. But that didn’t seem to matter; what mattered was that she’d embraced both my main character and the story and it all came out in her voice.

So, give The Splintered Universe Audiobook trilogy a listen and treat yourself to the entertaining narration of Dawn Harvey. Check out the fawn-like Fauche, raptor-like Khonsus, Azorians, burly Badowins, the amoeba-like Ngu and chameleon-like Xhix. Tell me what you think.

The audiobook trilogy consists of Outer Diverse, Inner Diverse, and Metaverse. The Splintered Universe Trilogy is also available in ALL THREE FORMATS: print, ebook, and audiobook. You can listen to a sample recording of all three audiobooks through Audible.

An addictive start to the trilogy!—Book Addict

A feast for the senses; glorious worlds with complex inhabitants hurtle towards our unprepared ears—QuirkyMezzo23

I want to grow up to be Rhea Hawke—DabOfDarkness

Detective Rhea Hawke (Vali Gurgu)

Nina Munteanu is a Canadian ecologist / limnologist and novelist. She is co-editor of Europa SF and currently teaches writing courses at George Brown College and the University of Toronto. Visit www.ninamunteanu.ca for the latest on her books. Nina’s bilingual “La natura dell’acqua / The Way of Water” was published by Mincione Edizioni in Rome. Her non-fiction book “Water Is…” by Pixl Press (Vancouver) was selected by Margaret Atwood in the New York Times ‘Year in Reading’ and was chosen as the 2017 Summer Read by Water Canada. Her novel “A Diary in the Age of Water” will be released by Inanna Publications (Toronto) in 2020.