If you’ve ever wondered what audiobook narration involves, it’s likely more complicated than you might think. Good narrators do research into the proper pronunciation of names, places, and streets. They bring characters to life and differentiate them from each other only by sound – tone, pitch and accent, among other things. And as with any other acting role, they may have to audition to see if they’re the right fit.

Seasoned Los Angeles theater director Daniel Henning was no stranger to auditions when he decided to go into audiobook narration – and it was an early sample reading for T.J. Klune’s 2020 bestseller “The House in the Cerulean Sea” that would spark one of the most rewarding partnerships in his career.

RELATED: TJ Klune says ‘Calvin & Hobbes’ inspired a ‘Somewhere Beyond the Sea’ character

“I was asked to audition by reading the entire first chapter of the book,” Henning said. “When I read the first page, it absolutely got into my soul – it just sang out to me.”

The audition tape itself would become the first chapter for the published audiobook. And Henning would go on to collaborate with Klune on more books, including the next in the “Cerulean Sea” chronicles: “Somewhere Beyond the Sea,” out Sept. 10 from Tor Books (audiobook from MacMillan Publishers). 

“I really do believe that audio narrators are the unsung heroes of the publishing industry,” said Klune, who found Henning “was absolutely perfect,” as the narrator for the “Cerulean Sea” books. 

“Once I heard his voice for (the character of) Chauncey, that’s the only voice I’ve ever heard for Chauncey,” Klune said. “He understands the theatricality of the characters and just adds so much more to the whole experience.” 

SEE ALSO: Sign up for our free Book Pages newsletter about bestsellers, authors and more

Henning recently spoke with the Southern California News Group about his work in LA theater, his pivot to audiobooks and what he wishes everyone knew about the craft of narration. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Q. Can you talk a bit about your pivot from theater to audio narration? What was easy, and what was unexpectedly challenging?

I founded The Blank theater in Los Angeles. I spent a long time in that world and was thrilled to be in it. Eventually, I felt like I had achieved what I could, so I started to look for the next thing – and audiobooks came along after I connected with an old casting director I used to work with, who now works in this space. 

Adapting my storytelling skills actually came quite easily for me. But after having spent decades in theater and kind of knowing everybody, here I was in this new industry, where I knew almost nobody, and was trying something new – it was like I had to start all over again. I think that was probably the biggest challenge of all. 

Luckily, even though there was a lot of hard work and learning ahead, the audiobook community is so welcoming and loving that meeting new people was easy. When you meet a casting director or a producer who casts audiobooks, they very much want to know who you are. They might give you their card and say, “Please email me” – that’s something that would never happen with a Hollywood casting director. 

Q. What it was like to read and work on the “Cerulean Sea” books?

TJ Klune and I – our heads are in the exact same place about the world we want to see. He knows how to write stories that can talk about that world. His characters are this family that found each other and want to stay together, which is what everyone wants, right? It’s a story about a found family, and there happens to be magic in it.  The fantasy elements are part of how you see the humanity of the characters, and how they want to make a version of their world that accepts them.

As a queer man and activist who has spent a portion of my life making sure that my community could stay alive and tell their stories – that’s what these books are about, how you don’t have to live in the world that everyone else tells you you have to live in. You could make your own version of your world.

Q. Was there anything interesting that came up for you in returning for the sequel, “Somewhere Beyond the Sea”?

“The House in the Cerulean Sea” was maybe my 30th audiobook. Since its release, I’ve sometimes gotten notes from people who tell me, “This is my comfort read. When I’m feeling nervous or sad, I’ll just put on a chapter of this, and it’ll make me feel better.” That’s lovely, right?

Now after seven years of work, I’ve done 250 audiobooks and I finally feel like maybe I know what I’m doing (laughs). It’s my job to connect with every character, even the ones who are evil or have bad motives. These characters still need to have a humanity to them, because that’s how TJ wrote them. Certainly what I’m trying to do is deliver the voice that he put on the page. 

I hope readers might be able to hear my evolution as a narrator, and I think this book has allowed for that to come out, if that makes sense. 

Q. What do you wish everybody knew about the craft of audio narration?

How complete our commitment is to the work. In general, most of us take being an audiobook narrator very seriously. A significant amount of what I do is just hours of research into making sure every word is pronounced correctly, even if it’s for a 31-hour book on the history of the Soviet Union and Russia. Every single one of those names – people names, street names, everything – has to be properly researched. We’re not just picking up a book and reading it.

And something wonderful has just happened for me. After Audio File Magazine, the kind of paper of record for the audiobook community, reviewed my reading of “Somewhere Beyond the Sea,” they gave me an Earphone Award for my performance.

I can’t believe that I got the opportunity in my lifetime to meet a collaborator that I resonate with as deeply as I do TJ. I must have done something right in a previous life, because I feel like the luckiest man in the world to get to interpret his writing. 

Daniel Henning and “Somewhere Beyond the Sea” author T.J. Klune will be in conversation organized by the Mysterious Galaxy Bookstore in San Diego on Sept. 12, 2024. Visit mystgalaxy.com for event information, address and tickets.

Related Articles