Narrators

Todd Haberkorn tells us, "I've been using my voice since I was born . . . and I've been talking ever since." Though a new voice in the audiobook world, Haberkorn is no stranger to the microphone. He's been doing voice work for video games and for the popular anime cartoons for quite awhile. "Being in the voice industry, I'd been hearing about audiobooks for years. I wanted to diversify as much as possible." After taking a workshop held by Dan Musselman at Random House, he knew that audiobooks were the next step for him. "I was inspired. I put together an audiobook demo and began sending it out to companies, and Brilliance responded. It kind of took off from there."

Indeed it has. In 2012, AudioFile reviewed six of his performances and three of them received Earphones Awards--a very impressive beginning for the young actor who tells us that doing audiobooks harkens back to hours spent in his room as a kid doing different voices from the movies he loved. These days he feels blessed to be doing the work he loves and notes the differences between recording cartoons and audiobooks. "In cartoons, you pop in for one or two lines. It's very quick. With audiobooks, the stamina level involves eight or more hours of recording. I stand when I record, so it's physically taxing. And it's mentally taxing because you have to be focused and prepared for that journey." Frequently juggling several recording projects at once, he credits his mother with instilling his strong work ethic. "I feel I owe it to her not to waste the time I've been given here." He's also grateful for the many excellent directors he's had. "They were always gracious and open to me, offering advice and tips on how to improve."

Haberkorn found recording FINAL PRICE by J. Gregory Smith a bit tricky because it's the first book in the series.

"I had to go back and listen to try to match the voices I'd already done for the sequel, LEGACY OF THE DRAGON." He's just finished recording Deadly Straits by R.E. McDermott and is currently working on the sequel, DEADLY COAST. He'll soon begin working on FABRIZIO'S RETURN and MESSAGE FOR THE EMPEROR, both by Mark Frutkin, as well as ALIENS IN DISGUISE by Clete Barrett Smith. He expresses admiration for the authors whose work he records. "They enhance my vocabulary and increase my knowledge. It's like a multivitamin for my brain." Haberkorn, who also records YA and children's books, says, "I like all the genres I get to work on. I'm so happy to be a part of this audio world. I hope I get to do it for years to come." So do we.--S.J. Henschel