Native New Yorker Laura Hicks turned her acting talents to audiobooks when the demands of a young family diverted her from her stage career. Laura says that her work in classical theater was great training for the vocal variety of audiobook narration. We talked to Laura at the Gizmo Studio in Manhattan where she often records. That day she was coaching a new audiobook reader: “Paint this for the listener. That’s the narrator’s job. If you paint it for the listener, then the listener’s imagination takes over.” Nicely put. Laura likes to keep her “painting” a subtle art: “I want to strike a balance between making characters memorable and not getting in the way,” she says. Laura’s performances of two novels by Cassandra King, THE SUNDAY WIFE and THE SAME SWEET GIRLS, testify to her ability to get that right, and both are Earphones Award winners. Also look for Laura’s AHAB'S WIFE by Sena Jeter Naslund and A GOOD FIGHT by Sarah Brady. Upcoming for Laura—the Chandleresque 1940s dame-detective of THIS DAME FOR HIRE by Sandra Scoppettone.

Laura Hicks