AB 08 | Narrating Over 300 Books with Patrick Lawlor

This week on the Audiobooks.Com Podcast, Brian and Addy are joined by Patrick Lawlor, an audiobooks narrator with over 300 recordings to his name spreading across multiple genres. We had a phenomenal discussion with Patrick on everything from what he is currently working on, to his process of choosing gigs and recording an audiobook, to the highs and lows of his career.

NEWS

We don’t spend a lot of time in the news section of the podcast this week, because there is so much goodness to share from our interview with Patrick, but there is one exciting thing worth sharing. Michael Crichton’s Terminal Man was made into an audiobook! Released at the beginning of this month, the 1972 novel is 6 and a half hours long and is read by Luke Daniels. Check out our website for more details!

INTERVIEW

The past few weeks we’ve been discussing the books we’ve been listening to and talking about the saturated book market, in terms of just how many choices there are for audiobooks these days. Chances are that newly published books will also be getting an accompanying audiobook. At the end of episode five of this podcast, our guest host, Mark, told us he’d spend a credit based on a narrator, rather than a specific book. We hope that through interviews, such as the one in this episode with Patrick Lawlor, we’re able to provide you with the voice of a narrator that will help you narrow down your next audiobook choice.  

Through Patrick’s chat with us, we hope you can get a great feel for his presence in an audio drama setting. Even though he is not the author, he is telling a story, and it lends a great deal of credibility, we believe, to hear about the narrator’s approach to reading a specific book. He has great, clear pronunciation and rhythm that lends nicely to a conversation about his craft. 

It is clear that Patrick takes his job very seriously, both on the mic and off. We had the opportunity to ask him about how he stays healthy and prevents his voice from becoming hoarse and mangled after all that talking (he says he’s on a kick, churning out a book a week!). Patrick has some great tips for how he keeps his voice sounding and feeling good, some of the changes he’s had to make personally in order to achieve those ends, and then goes into foods and drinks and supplements to avoid that are particularly damaging to the throat and vocal chords.

Throughout the podcast, Patrick mentions several books and authors of which he is a fan, either through the enjoyment of recording the book himself or enjoying the audiobook as a fan. Patrick calls himself a mystery fan, cop dramas specifically, but also a romance fan. He mentions The Troubleshooters by Suzanne Brockman, a series about Navy Seals, private security, and the women who love them. He also mentions the Detective Jones series from author L. J. Sellers. 

And though he’s not currently listening to any audiobooks, Patrick is interested in getting his hands on Go Set a Watchman, the follow up, and sequel, to To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. This book is narrated by Reese Witherspoon and the book itself rocked the New York Times best-seller list the week of its release this summer, selling 1.1 million copies.

It was a pleasure to speak with Patrick and chat about his experiences in the audiobook narration realm. We certainly learned some unique aspects to the side of a business we don’t often hear about. One comment he made in particular that resonated with us was pertaining to the question of whether he reads the books before he begins to record them. Patrick says he does for a couple reasons, but one big reason is this: “In order to get some place successfully, you need to kind of know where you are going.” And, he says, it helps to read the book ahead of time.

The full list of audiobooks that Patrick has read can be found at Audiobooks.Com!

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Books & Resources Mentioned

Connect with Patrick Lawlor on Twitter

Elvis and The Underdogs

Merles Door: Lessons from a Freethinking Dog by Ted Kerasote

Warriors by George R.R. Martin

Go Set a Watchman

Carl Hiaasen Books

L.J. Sellers

Suzanne Brockmann

The Troubleshooters Series

The Brave Ones

Life in a Jar