Narrator Interview: Marie Hoffman #LoveAudiobooks

Meet Marie Hoffman

Narrator: Marie Hoffman

Marie Hoffman brings a wealth of diversity and experience to audiobook with a background of singing in supper clubs, to working for Fortune 500 companies, to teaching in elementary school. Her vocal attributes — educated, articulate, engaging, believable and trustworthy — create an air of warmth and wisdom.Marie graduated Magna Cum Laude from Montclair State University with a BS in Finance. She is well-versed in business jargon, having worked for more than 25 years in various businesses, from publishing to banking to pharmaceuticals.

Marie is devoted to volunteering at the JBI Library (established in 1931 as the Jewish Braille Institute). She sets aside time to record books so that those who are visually impaired can also enjoy published works of art. She is also an active member of The Online Stage, a volunteer collective of narrators and actors who create high quality productions of classic dramatic works in audio format.

 

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An Interview with Marie Hoffman

1. How did you get involved in recording audiobooks?

I got involved recording audiobooks about 8 years ago. However, I’ve been reading out loud for over 50 years – to my daughter, to my students, to myself.

2. What type of prepwork do you do before recording a new book? Do you prepare differently if the book is standalone or first in a series versus later books in a series?

Prep work I do before recording a book – read the book first and mark it up with any questionable pronunciations, whether it’s vocab or people’s names. I research the author to see how many other books they’re written or if this is their first one. I research the author on YouTube and try to get a feel for them as a person. When I’m narrating a series, I usually read through the series. If I’m just narrating say, Book 2 of a Trilogy, then I read Book 1 and also listen to the audiobook as well.

3. Do you narrate every book that comes your way or have you ever turned one down. And if you have what made you decide not to go forward with this project?

I don’t narrate every book that comes my way. I was offered a book a while back and asked for the manuscript before accepting the offer. The author was nice enough to send it and, after reading through a few chapters, I realized the content was not something I believed in, so I turned it down.

4. What is the element of narration that you find comes easiest (accents, age, emotion, rhythm of the story)?

The element of narration that I find comes easiest is interpreting the age of someone.

5. What is your favorite thing about performing audiobooks?

The favorite thing about narrating audiobooks is knowing a story was told and someone will (hopefully) listen – whether it’s a child, a grandmother or a young teen searching for something, and perhaps finding it in the story I told.

6. What was your most challenging read? What made it so difficult?

My most challenging read was a memoir I did about a pediatrician and her stories over 30 years of practicing medicine; heart-wrenching and sad.

7. Which famous person, living or dead, would you most like to meet and why?

I would like to meet Anne Frank. Just about everyone knows her story about her diary; I’d like to know how she was able to maintain a positive outlook on life in the face of all the hate and destruction at such a young age.

Marie Hoffman Audiobooks

Restless Spirits Cozy Ghost Mysteries series by Angela Pepper
Mail-Order Kid: An Orphan Train Rider’s Story by Marilyn June Coffey
Attending Children: A Doctor’s Education by Margaret E. Mohrmann MD
My Bear-y Interesting Night: A Children’s Educational Story Book about Bears by Sammy Dean

See Marie Hoffman’s entire audiobook collection

Enter our Audiobook Month Giveway!

Open to all over 13 years-old. Winner will be announced July 2, 2018.