Silken: An Interview and Giveaway with Author Isobel Starling and Narrator Gomez Pugh

We’re accustomed to giving lots of love to books and authors here at The Novel Approach, but it’s rare that we get the opportunity to sing the praises of the multi-talented audiobook narrators who bring our books to life. We’re so pleased to have one such voice actor joining us today, Gomez Pugh, in an interview conducted by Isobel Starling, author of Silken.

Please join us in welcoming them both today, and be sure to check out the Rafflecopter widget below to see how you can enter to win a free audio copy of the book!

The Interview

One of my goals for 2017 was to invest in audiobook productions of as many of my titles as I could afford.  I’m an audiobook addict, so it means the world to hear my words performed by talented narrators.  So far, the first three Shatterproof Bond books are on Audible, with novel four “Counterblow” and short story “Top Hat” currently in production.

Gomez Pugh is one of my favorite M/M narrators.  I fell in love with his dulcet tones listening to the books of Jordan Castillo Price – “Channelling Morpheus for Scary Mary” and of course the “Psycop” series, where he embodies the character of psychic Victor Bayne.  Gomez is a classically trained actor, and with his narration has also worked with authors Josh Lanyon, Z.A Maxfield, Aleksandr Voinov and Amy Lane, among many others.  It was a distant dream of mine that I could persuade him to narrate for me.  And so, the fact that Gomez has performed possibly my kinkiest story to date, “Silken”, is pretty damn amazing.

I admit I did squeal in a most unbecoming way when I got the production files for approval. There is so much to love about this production.  I love the pacing, the accents, and the quality of performance.  He nails my Dom character “Austin,” and does a fabulous British accent for sub “Silken”. It’s a delight to share this with you at last.

Gomez comes across as rather mysterious and there are very few interviews online.  I had the pleasure of interviewing him to find out his thoughts on audio narration, and a little about what makes him tick.  Enjoy!

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Hello Gomez. Can you tell us a bit about your background? What inspired you to become an audiobook narrator?

I have always loved books and reading and have many fond memories of being read to by my grandmother as a child.  A former lover used to ask me to read to them at bedtime as a way of helping them get to sleep.  I began to realize I had a knack for empathizing with characters and finding their voices.

How many audio books have you narrated? 

I think I am somewhere over 40 titles at this point.

What was the most difficult or challenging aspect of narrating SILKEN? 

It was actually a pleasant, smooth experience.

Out of all of the audiobooks you’ve produced, who has been your favorite character?

You know, I do have a couple of favorites, but I think I have been lucky to find aspects of all my characters that I love. That said, I think Vic (from the PsyCop series) and I have kind of become the same person.  We know each other inside and out at this point.

Which character has given you the most grief? 

When creating the voice for one character, I created a raspy older man’s voice.  I saw this guy in my head, and that was how I heard him.  Unfortunately, I didn’t realize he would become a major character in the series.  Eight books in it is sometimes a struggle to voice him properly without killing my voice.

How do you deal with reading erotic scenes aloud? 

Haha!  I am fine with it when I am working alone.  It is easy to be in the moment.  It is only when I am working with a director that I get a little shy.

How would you compare narrating an audiobook to acting? 

It is all acting!  I think because I was an actor long before I was a narrator, I approached narration from that perspective.  Which is probably why first person narration is my favorite.  It is like a long monologue by my character!  When I am acting on stage or on camera, I have the benefit of being able to react off of what my partner does.  But narrating, I am my own scene partner!  So I have to be really clear who these people are before I start the job, not only for their voices but to maintain their point of view and their integrity.

What is the best piece of advice you ever received from another narrator?

Holding a pillow over your tummy can help keep your stomach rumbling from being heard by the mic!

What’s the most satisfying or rewarding part of narrating/producing an audio book? 

When the author listens to the audiobook and is excited.

How do you feel about authors that choose to narrate their own audiobooks?  Any advice for them? 

If the book is a memoir or on some non-fiction topic that they are passionate about, I think that is great.  But if it is narrative with multiple characters, I think it can be challenging, both for the author and the listener.  If the author has acting training, that might be helpful.

You are hosting a dinner party and must invite three famous people (real or fictional).  Who would you choose and why? 

Oscar Wilde, Noel Coward, and Freddie Mercury.

I think the conversation would be amazing and then maybe we could get Noel and Freddie to do some songs!

Sounds like a perfect dinner party to me!

Thank you.

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You can find books narrated by Gomez Pugh here: Audible, and follow him on Twitter: @GomezPugh

About the Book

Matthew Fisher loved being a dancer, but his ten-year ballet career came to an abrupt end with a knee injury.  He had to find a new way to make a living, and luckily, his sister was friends with Annabelle Ramsay-Aiken, only daughter of property magnate Sir James Aiken.  She arranged an interview, and six months on the job training saw Matthew stepping out as a real estate agent for Aiken Luxury Lettings.  Now, instead of stretching at the barre, Matthew spends his days inspecting the vacant London homes of their rich and famous clients.

Losing his dance career had left a huge hole in Matthew’s heart, and to fill it Matthew began a Tumblr blog dedicated to his fetish for wearing lingerie.  He wanted to give his followers the impression he lived a charmed life, so decided to use A.L.L properties as locations for erotic photo shoots.

One of his online followers presses all of Matthew’s buttons, and a long distance, online Dom/sub relationship develops between them.  But when the relationship suddenly moves from online fantasy to real life…  Can Matthew really submit?

Buy the Audio: Audible || iTunes || Amazon

Born in Germany, Isobel Starling spent most of her twenty-year professional career making art in Ireland.  She relocated to the UK and, faced with the dreaded artist’s creative block, Isobel started to write and found she loved writing more than making art.

The Shatterproof Bond thriller series consists of four novels and will be six.  It is an Amazon Gay Romance bestseller.  Isobel is currently working on her fourteenth book and signed French, German, and Italian translation and publishing rights deals for the whole Shatterproof Bond series.

“As You Wish” is out in French and German.  The Italian translation will follow in October 2017.  Isobel’s books are available as e-books on Kindle Unlimited, in paperback and as audiobooks.

Please sign up to my newsletter at https://isobelstarling.wix.com/books. Follow on Twitter and Amazon.

The Giveaway

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