So happy and excited to have one of my favorite narrators, Zachary Webber as our guest!
Hi Zachary and Welcome to Audiobook Lovin’. Thank you very much for being our guest!
Thank you for having me! Been a long time coming.
For those that may not know you, why don’t we start by having you tell us a little bit about yourself and how you became a narrator?
I’m an actor from Fort Worth, Texas. As a lot of people already know, my mom is an author, and my very first intro to the audio world was when she showed my adorable 23-year-old self’s headshot to a bunch of author friends, and Colleen Hoover pretty soon thereafter asked me to make a trailer for her book This Girl. The whole trailer was essentially voiceover, and then after that Jamie McGuire asked me to narrate Red Hill, and the rest is kinda history. Here a link for This Girl :)
How many audiobooks have you recorded in total so far? (Audible is stating 87)
I have no idea. Far more than that if you consider pseudonyms and whatever isn’t published on Audible. I truly do not know.
Do you narrator full time? Are there other voice over jobs you’ve done (still doing)?
It’s my job for now! Other voiceover work is kinda hard to come by, but we’ll see. Mainly making my own work otherwise.
What do you love/like about audiobooks?
I’ve always loved reading, and as a kid I think a lot of people read performatively to themselves. We lose that eventually, for whatever socialized reasons, whether we’re told to be quiet or that it’s uncouth to read aloud in public. Historically, humans have a lust for communicative and performative art - after all, there used to be little to no literacy, almost everyone sought actors and storytellers to get their fill. Audiobooks fulfill that need to be read to, or to read aloud. I like being the orator.
How do you prep for a new book?
I generally don’t, at all. Winging it (with basic information like dialects and character affects) proves to be better for me when approaching the text, because I’m surprised by what I’m reading.
How do you select how the characters are going to sound/their tones?
I do exactly what the author says with their text, unless they haven’t specified, in which case I just do whatever the hell I want.
How do you manage or what is your process of remember what the character from a previous book sounds like when they reappear in a new book (or if not part of a series, but standalone, characters as they pop in and out of the story)?
Typically this is the job of the engineer, because they have files saved for character samples, whether it be from my own voice or the other narrator.
What is your favorite sub-genre of Romance to perform?
Anything set in New York City or on a farm.
Is there a genre that you have yet to narrate in that you’d like to?
I’ve dabbled in fantasy and would really, really like to do more. And somebody for the love of god write medieval/renaissance/victorian period pieces so I can do some accents. I’m begging you, authors.
Many of us are a sucker for accents! What is your favorite accent to perform? Which accent is the hardest for you to perform?
Irish is easiest for me and my favorite, and the hardest are typically only when I have to switch back and forth between a bunch of accents in a given scene. I can usually pick any accent up with ease.
LOVED your performance in “Getting Schooled” By Emma Chase, “The Theory of Second Best” and “Fiercely Emma” by J. Bengtsson, and everything you’ve done for Lauren Blakely. You were the main reason I picked up “Mercy” by Debra Anastasia, who was a ‘new to me author”! When discussing your performance or recommending your work to listeners or authors looking to cast a narrator, I’ve said you have this funny but vulnerable. Sexy but emotional. Smart and accessible (Thank you Lauren Blakely for the wording exactly what I was trying to convey!) voice and your performance is spot on!!
Thank you very, very much. That is so kind.
You have a voice that is unique and distinct, have you’ve been recognized by your voice as “Zachary Webber the narrator” when you’ve out and about? If so, can you tell us a little about the encounter?
Literally one time, after Grey, and it was a girl at a bar and I got her number but didn’t do anything about it. I also dated someone who had heard a bunch of my books prior figuring out we had mutual friends, but I won’t delve into that for privacy’s sake ;)
You are many people’s favorite male narrator and an “autobuy” of the books you narrate. There are several FB groups dedicated to the love of audiobooks and when your name is mentioned/comes up, lets say they are a fan! :) Are you aware of the large number of adoring fans you have and how does that make you feel?
I do now after joining and participating in some Facebook groups. They are all so kind and so rabid and it’s the best.
Have you ever narrated anything that made you blush and if so, what was it? Or have you narrated so many at this point that it doesn’t affect you?
I don’t really blush when reading as much as I guffaw in disbelief at… some phrases. I need to start really recording those exact moments that I’m just amazed someone wrote something so preposterously dirty.
Are you still performing sketch comedy with Sasquatch Comedy? If so, how did that start? What are you / the group working on now? Where can people find your info?
Sasquatch is going well! We’re not putting out as many videos, but we have a working relationship with Comedy Central, we shot a sketch for the dang internet you can check out here! And we do shows at the Comedy Central Stage in Hollywood, while writing all kinds of other stuff.
When you’re not working… what do you do for fun?
Write, exercise, shoot dumb videos, happy hour. I have arguably too many friends so I’m at someone’s birthday every weekend.
What are you working on next?
Not much on the docket to be honest! I’m in need of a clear schedule soon.
Let’s have a little fun before we go and get to know you a little better…. ready?
Vanilla or Chocolate? Chocolate.
Coffee or Tea? Both, depends on whether I need to do something.
Winter or Summer? Winter.
West Coast or East Coast? West to live, East to visit.
Pie or Cake? Pie, duh.
Texting or Talking? What the hell?!?!?! This is the craziest question. Talking to a person, I choose talking to a person.
Marvel or DC? I only care about Christopher Nolan/Christian Bale’s Batman. Everything else is just fun.
TV or Movies? They’re both pretty intertwined now aren’t they? There’s a lot of cinematic TV. Either.
Facebook or Twitter? Facebook. Twitter is so fucking stressful
Paperbooks or Digital? Paper
Classic Rock or Old School Hip Hop? Hmmm these are not two genres I would compare? I love both.
Cats or Dogs? Both, but I grew up with cats.
Thank you Zachary for joining us today and being part of the Audiobook Lovin Series! Looking forward to your upcoming releases!!!
Thank you!!! You guys are the sweetest and I appreciate it!!
Audiobook Samples
Available for purchase at Audible | Kindle | Amazon Paperback
Purchase at Audible | Kindle | Amazon Paperback | iTunes | Kobo | Barnes & Noble
Available for purchase at Audible | Kindle | Amazon Paperback
The Real Deal: A Novel
by Lauren Blakely
Narrated by Erin Mallon & Zachary Webber
Release Date:
July 10, 2018
Available for pre-order at
About The Narrator
Zachary Webber is an actor and writer from Fort Worth, Texas, who studied at The Experimental Theatre Wing and The Classical Studio at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, where he earned his BFA. As an actor he has appeared in multiple films and shorts, including Ithaca, directed by Meg Ryan, in which he appeared onscreen with Sam Shepard. Other films include Shut Up and Drive, Running Wild, In a Relationship, and Maple Leaves.He is a member of the sketch comedy group Sasquatch Comedy alongside Jack Quaid, Danny Jolles, and Nick Williams. Sasquatch performs regularly at the Comedy Central Stage in Hollywood, and has worked with Comedy Central, Fusion Network, Funny Or Die, and Above Average, and have over 70 sketches on their YouTube channel.
Zach is a prolific audiobook narrator, having narrated over 100 titles for Audible, Simon and Schuster, and Penguin Random House, just to name a few. Zach is the voice of Christian Grey in EL James' Grey and Darker, and has won multiple awards for his work in audiobook narration. Zach lives in Silver Lake, Los Angeles and makes a mean egg scramble.
You can find Zachary at
Now visit Kelly!
No comments:
Post a Comment