Welcome back to the Mike Lenz VO Podcast! Today, we’re thrilled to have Samantha Boyer with us, an inspiring artist and content creator who brings a touch of storytelling magic and nostalgia to her work. Samantha’s journey began with childhood influences like Mr. Rogers and Bob Ross, sparking her passion for creating inviting, imaginative worlds.

Over the years, she has transformed this passion into a full-time creative career and built Haven Hollow—a fictional, cozy escape designed to re-energize the soul and rest the heart, offering others a place to find peace and inspiration.

In this episode, Samantha invites us into her creative process and shares how she balances the soulful, artistic side of her work with the realities of running a creative business. From finding inspiration to managing the demands of content creation, Samantha’s story is both motivating and heartwarming.

So grab a cup of tea, settle in, and join us for a cozy, inspiring conversation with Samantha Boyer as we step into Haven Hollow together.

 

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Marisa Blake is a Latina Actor, Voiceover Artist and Musician. You can find her on screen in Netflix’s Florida Man, DC’s Swamp Thing and Spectrums Original Long Slow Exhale.

She haswon multiple awards for her audiobook narrations, including a 2023 Audible’s Best of for Dykesto Watch out For, featuring Jane Lynch ,Carrie Brownstein, and Roberta Colindrez, an AudioFile’s Best Audiobooks of The Year 2020 for We Are Not From Here by Jenny Torres Sanchez and an Earphones Award for Arianna Davis’ What Would Frida Do. Marisa was recently nominated for a 2023 Audie Award for her work in Across A Hundred Mountains by Reyna Grande. She takes pride in, and has immense gratitude for the opportunity to voice Latine Literature.

She is currently the Spanish Voice for Kohls in the US, and one of the regularSpanish voices for Sherwin Williams in the US and recently did a bilingual campaign for Frito-Lay. Marisa voices everything from promos to E-learning, commercials to IVR, and even somevideo games and animation! She voices the promos for her local new station and you can alsofind her performing with local bands behind the microphone, the cajon or the drum kit. She isa proud Mama to three of the coolest dudes on the planet.

To read the full transcriot of this episode and to listen to other episodes, head over to miklenzvopodcast.com, and please leave a rating and review wherever you listen to this podcast! 

A graduate of Johns Hopkins University, Cris Dukehart is an Audie Nominee and Earphones Award Winner, and has recorded over 300 audiobooks across multiple genres.

On this episode we talk about Cris's journey into the VO and audiobook world, and her amazing journey from a little cottage in Pennsylvania to her mountaintop house in the Caribbean. 

https://www.crisdukehart.com/

 

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Jamie Muffett is a voice actor, podcast producer, audio engineer and educator who divides his time between New York City and Philadelphia, PA. 

He's worked with some of the worlds biggest companies, production studios, and games developers. He work primarily from his own studio in Bucks County, PA, and studios in NYC and Philly.  Past and current clients include: Google, Starbucks, Warner Brothers, Lucas Film, LEGO, Porsche, Mercedes, Ubisoft, Samsung, McDonald's, NBC, EA Sports, ESPN, Marriott Hotels, Amazon, Etihad Airways, FIFA, Disney, IKEA, National Geographic Channel... Jamie has lectured on voiceover at Syracuse University, He's a Backstage Magazine 'Expert',  he hosts the 'VO School Podcast' and he holds a monthly VO workshop at his studio in Philadelphia. He is also co-chair of VOcation Conference held in New York City every September.

Jamie's website is https://www.jamiemuffett.com/

 

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Chris Johnson is a professional Voice Actor, based in Los Angeles.  He has voiced a wide range of projects over the years including commercials, corporate videos, eLearning modules, video games, audiobooks, narration and many more.  

Chris has also been the lead singer and songwriter for many projects including the band Starch Monkey, Between the Sun and the upcoming project entitled Pharaoh's Kitchen.  He is the recipient of the 2020 "Male Emerging Artist" award from ISSA (Independent Singer-Songwriters Association). 

You can learn more about Chris and contact him through his website at:  http://www.vocalcj.com

 

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On this episode I take a deep dive into the voiceover industry and the impact artificial intelligence (AI) is having on our industry, with VO veteran Tom Dheere. 

As a New York-based voice actor with over 20 years of experience, Tom Dheere has narrated thousands of projects for hundreds of clients in over a dozen countries. Tom's experience as a corporate trainer as well as a voice talent makes him uniquely qualified to help both aspiring and veteran voice talents navigate the voiceover industry. He specializes in marketing and business consultations as well as diagnostics, strategy sessions, and mentorships.

As a classically trained theater actor, Tom received his Bachelor of Fine arts in Acting/Directing from Montclair State University. His training continued at the National Shakespeare Conservatory where I studied Shakespeare, Chekov, ballet, and more.

​After NSC Tom was trained as a voice actor by Hope Noah, Dan Duckworth of Voiceovers Unlimited, and has taken numerous voiceover classes at many conferences.

​Tom started coaching in 2011 with Edge Studio as the Business and Money 201 and Marketing 201 instructor. In 2012 he began private coaching as The VO Strategist. Since then Tom has worked with hundreds of students in both one-on-one sessions and public speaking engagements.

 

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Based in Richmond, Virginia, Paige Reisenfeld is a classically trained soprano and stage actor turned SAG-AFTRA audiobook narrator. Perhaps she should have paid attention to the signs, as she was voted “Best Reader” in kindergarten, a clear portent of things to come.

Her voice has been described as deep, full, melodic, and sensual. She has been complimented on her “great tone and inflection”, as well as her ability to perform male and female voices and various accents. This allows her to switch between genres easily and she has narrated thrillers, romance, historical fiction, fantasy, literary fiction, and nonfiction.

On the rare occasion she is not in her soundbooth, she plays cooperative board games (competitive ones are not allowed in the house), gardens, lifts weights, and spends time with her three cats and partner, fueled by all things cheese and coffee.

https://paigevoice.com/

 

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On this episode, I talk with award-winning author Landon Beach about his career, and about his recent book Narrator, which is narrated by the amazing Scott Brick. 

Landon was born and raised in Michigan but now lives in the Sunshine State with his wife, two children, and their golden retriever. He previously served as a Naval Officer and was an educator for fifteen years before becoming a full-time writer.  He is also the award-winning author of Huron Breeze, which was named Mystery of the Year for 2022 by bestthrillers.com.

 

Here's a brief synopsis of Narrator:

By the time playwright and actor Shawn Frost had won 2 Tony Awards by his late twenties, he was seen as a theater prodigy—a meteoric rise that the performing arts community had not witnessed in almost a hundred years. His work? Shakespearean in scope, character, and popularity—boundless and beautiful. His own character? Flawed.

And in a place like New York City, where failings get magnified, Shawn Frost finds that, even from the heights of artistic sublimity, no one is insulated from the demons that have caused the best of entertainers to fall from grace.

After surviving an accident that almost costs him his life, Shawn leaves NYC and the theater for the quiet, picturesque Pacific cliffs of Carmel-by-the-Sea and starts a new life as an audiobook narrator. As he rises through the ranks, narrating bestseller after bestseller, Shawn Frost once again flirts with artistic immortality.

But. As his limitless skills emerge in the exploding arena of voice arts, so do his flaws.

Then, he experiences every audiobook narrator’s worst fear: He is kidnapped by two obsessed fans, determined to make Shawn perform their novel…

Or was he?

Don’t miss this one-of-a-kind psychological thriller from #1 Bestselling Author Landon Beach.

https://landonbeachbooks.com/

Mike Cooper is a British voice talent who swapped big city life in London for log cabin life in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina.

Mike is recognisable from his many years on air with the BBC World Service, and as the narrator of countless television documentaries and a growing library of audiobooks.

A disruptive influence in school, Mike's first break in narration came at age six, when his teacher realised he could tell the afternoon story better than her (and she could get a nap by way of a bonus!)

When he's not in his home studio, you'll find him enjoying hobby farm life and tending to some charming pet goats, three horses - including a delightful mini horse called Annie - and a growing hobby farm menagerie...

https://www.mikecoopervoiceover.com/

To check out other episodes, head over to mikelenzvopodcast.com! 

Danielle Harris is a voice actor from Atlanta, Ga. Originally born and raised in Indiana, she has had an interest and intrigue with voiceover since her early teenage years. It wasn't until she was in her early twenties that she sought out to attempt to get voice acting training around 2012, then again in 2018, both times unfortunately being sidetracked by life and her work in government. Danielle worked as a 911 dispatcher, radio operator for 8 years then was promoted to  Supervisor and Training coordinator over Emergency Communications for the last 5 years before she ultimately made up her mind to end her 13 year career to pursue her passion in voiceover full time. She has since worked with brand names such as Canva, Microsoft, Walmart, Sonos, Michelob Ultra, Dollar General and more.   In between vo life and work, she spends all her time with her 2 year old daughter Arrow, husband Adam and their dog Knuckles and cat Loki.