Author: Nick Sullivan

Narrator: Nick Sullivan

Length: 7 hours 11 minutes

Publisher: Wild Yonder Press⎮2018

Genre: Action-Adventure

Series: The Deep, Book 3

Release date: May 12, 2020

Synopsis: In the mangroves of Belize, something ancient lies hidden beneath the roots. And when it surfaces, so too will one of man’s baser inclinations. The root of all evil: greed.

Boone Fischer and Emily Durand have enjoyed months of quiet on the tiny island of Caye Caulker. After surviving Hurricane Irma and a mountaintop madman, the two divemasters have finally begun to relax. Big mistake.

Following on the fins of the best-selling thrillers Deep Shadow and Deep Cut, this third Caribbean action-adventure thriller in The Deep Series takes the listener on a whirlwind tour of Belize. From the offshore cayes to distant lagoons, from tropical rivers to jungle ruins lost in time, Boone and Emily race to untangle themselves from a deadly plot that threatens to shatter their lives.

 

Born in East Tennessee, NICK SULLIVAN has spent most of his adult life as an actor in New York City, working in theater, television, film, and audiobooks. After narrating hundreds of books over the last twenty years, he decided to write his own. Nick has been an avid scuba diver for many years and his travels to numerous Caribbean islands have inspired this series. His first novel, “Zombie Bigfoot”, hit #1 in Horror Comedy on Amazon.

NICK SULLIVAN has been narrating audiobooks for over twenty years, recording over four hundred titles and receiving numerous AudioFile Earphones and Audie nominations and awards. He has worked extensively on Broadway and at many U.S. theaters. His TV credits include The Good Wife, The Affair, Divorce, Younger, Bull, Madam Secretary, Boardwalk Empire, 30 Rock, Elementary, and all three Law and Order series. Film credits include Our Idiot Brother and Private Life. Proud member of SAG-AFTRA.

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Q & A with Author/Narrator Nick Sullivan

How did you wind up narrating audiobooks? Was it always your goal or was it something you stumbled into by chance?

It was a random stroke of luck. I was doing a film shoot and the woman playing my wife had been narrating for Talking Books in New York City. And just a few days before, I happened to have taken an ad from a bulletin board: the Jewish Braille Institute was looking for actors to narrate books for the blind for free. I called them… set up a time… then called Talking Books and let them know I had experience recording books (or would, by the time I showed up!)

A lot of narrators seem to have a background in theatre. Is that something you think is essential to a successful narration career?

I used to think so… but there are some truly excellent narrators who don’t have an acting background, so I stand corrected. In general, I DO think a person who has made their living as an actor is going to be better suited to delivering dialogue… but that doesn’t mean they will always be a better storyteller!

What type of training have you undergone?

I studied theater in undergrad and grad school and went to London to train at the British American Dramatic Academy. I had the good fortune to work with a number of teachers who specialized in dialects.

What are your favorite and least favorite parts of narrating an audiobook?

Favorite: high octane dialogue scenes where I can have a ball with the pacing and emotional content. Least favorite: Saying the word “sixths”.

What would you say are your strongest narration abilities?

I pride myself on dialogue and character distinction. I’m good with a number of accents and have a decent ear for picking up new ones. Not like P.J. Ochlan, though… his dialect work is off the charts!

Is there a particular genre you feel unsuited for? Have you ever declined a project because you didn’t think you were right for it?

I’m actually quite comfortable in all genres… and I’ve recorded titles across the board. I have turned jobs down where I disagreed in the choice to use a male narrator, when a book seemed better suited to a female voice. And I turned down a few books that were first-person narrative from Chicagoans and Bostonians… wasn’t comfortable laying on an accent that isn’t in my comfort zone for an entire book.

How does audiobook narration differ from other types of voiceover work you’ve done? Long form narration requires an entirely different skill-set.

The peaks and valleys in pacing and intensity are something you spread out over minutes or hours, instead of the short bursts you’ll find in commercials, animation, or video games.

Do you read reviews for your audiobooks? If so, which ones stand out to you most, positive or negative? What type of the review comments do you find most constructive?

Amusingly enough, I read a self-help book on mindfulness and meditation. It quoted a study that a negative event will carry about four times the weight as an equivalent positive event. Makes sense, in my experience. Yes, I read reviews. A lot of negative reviews are “trolly”, and most narrators know to dismiss those, but some will have some little nugget that you read and go “Oh… um… yeah. I see that.” For instance, I based my Emily character on an actual Brit I met and decided to pump her up to a full South London accent. Well, after reading some reviews from some Brits, I decided to pull her back a bit in Deep Cut. She’s still a bit more “street” than your usual Thames dialect, but I figured I might’ve picked an overly strong dialect for her.

Who is your “dream author” that you would like to record for?

I was fortunate enough to narrate an early version of Sick Puppy for Carl Hiaasen. I still consider it to be one of my favorite experiences of all time. I’d love to do another. His characters are so wonderfully “out there”, that there’s literally a feast of possibilities laid out before the narrator.

What bits of advice would you give to aspiring audiobook narrators?

Okay, here’s a freebie trick. Are you good at impressions? Yes? Well, then sorry, can’t help you. But if you’re like most folks, and you’ve got maybe one or two in you, but most of your impressions are terrible… great!! Because, if you want to craft a unique voice for a character… do an impression that you’re no good at, that doesn’t really sound like the famous person you are failing to impersonate. What you get instead is… a unique voice. One that you’ll be able to repeat over and over in the book… by simply firing up your miserable attempt at that impression.

 

 

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