Please allow me to introduce Erin Bennett! New Narrator of the Wandering Inn! *long version*
Estimated read time: 1:20
Learn to use AI like a Pro
Get the latest AI workflows to boost your productivity and business performance, delivered weekly by expert consultants. Enjoy step-by-step guides, weekly Q&A sessions, and full access to our AI workflow archive.
Summary
In this heartfelt introduction video, Andrea Parsneau welcomes Erin Bennett as the new narrator of "The Wandering Inn." Andrea discusses the transition and collaboration process, highlighting their mutual admiration and shared passion for storytelling. Erin expresses her excitement and the honor of working on a series she deeply admires. The video covers the behind-the-scenes of the audition process, Erin's preparation, and the joyful anticipation for the series' future.
Highlights
Andrea Parsneau introduces Erin Bennett, expressing excitement for her to take over narrating duties. 🎙️
Erin Bennett shares her admiration for Andrea and her eagerness to immerse in "The Wandering Inn" universe. 🌌
Both narrators discuss their love for character voices and storytelling, especially in a fantasy setting. 🎶
The video reveals the meticulous audition process and Erin's dedication to capturing the essence of the series. 🎬
A strong message of continuity and respect for the series and its fans is emphasized by Andrea. 💬
Key Takeaways
Andrea Parsneau welcomes Erin Bennett as the new narrator for "The Wandering Inn." 📚
Erin Bennett is thrilled to join the series, bringing her passion for storytelling and unique vocal style. 🎭
The handoff process was intensive and filled with admiration and respect between Andrea and Erin. 🤝
Both narrators share a deep love for fantasy, storytelling, and the expansive world of "The Wandering Inn." 🌍
Listeners can expect the same depth and vibrancy in narration from Erin as they have enjoyed from Andrea. 🎧
Overview
Andrea Parsneau kicks off the video by warmly welcoming Erin Bennett as the upcoming voice of "The Wandering Inn." The conversation is filled with excitement and nostalgia as they discuss the journey and transformation within the series. Andrea praises Erin's vocal talents and shares the detailed process of selecting a new narrator to maintain the series' high standards.
Erin Bennett, expressing her joyous nerves and honor, discusses her preparation process. She highlights her methods of character immersion, including vibrant fan art and meticulous script coloring to ensure every nuance of the tale is captured. This approach echoes Andrea's dedication to bringing depth and personality to each character within the sprawling universe of "The Wandering Inn."
In a spirited dialogue, both narrators bond over their shared love for fantasy and storytelling. They reflect on icons like "Lord of the Rings" and Arthurian legends, which inform their creative processes. As the baton is passed, Andrea assures fans of Erin's skillful hands in continuing the beloved series, while Erin invites listeners to embark on this continuing adventure with her.
Chapters
00:00 - 03:00: Introduction to Erin Bennett This chapter introduces Erin Bennett, the new narrator of The Wandering In, with Andrea Farseno hosting the conversation. They briefly mention the existence of a prior video for context and offer a warm welcome to new viewers. The main focus is on discussing the joys and aspects of the narration craft with Erin.
03:00 - 07:00: Andrea and Erin's Fan Moments The chapter captures an informal discussion led by the hosts about potential queries or interesting facets regarding TWWI. It sets a platform for audience interaction, where participants can voice questions, share excitement, or discuss perplexing elements related to the topic. Additionally, a heartfelt fan moment is shared, with Erin expressing her admiration towards Andrea after an online meeting, accentuating the personal connection fostered through virtual interactions.
07:00 - 13:00: The Handoff Process The chapter titled 'The Handoff Process' opens with an expressive declaration by someone who has spent an extensive amount of time immersed in the world of 'The Wandering In', specifically appreciating the voice, characters, and performer involved. The speaker conveys their deep familiarity and admiration for the work and particularly mentions being a fan of both 'The Wandering In' and Andrea, expressing difficulty in articulating their profound connection and appreciation.
13:00 - 21:00: Erin's Discovery of The Wandering Inn In this chapter, Erin experiences a significant moment of realization or discovery regarding 'The Wandering Inn'. It seems to be an emotional and pivotal moment for her as she reflects on her connection to the journey and characters. The narrative expresses a deep reverence and attachment to the original creator or voice that provides an enduring sense of identity for the story and its inception. Erin acknowledges this bond and the impact it has had on her, hinting at a transformative or meaningful experience as she navigates her own path within the framework of 'The Wandering Inn'.
21:00 - 29:00: Character Voice Challenges The chapter titled 'Character Voice Challenges' discusses the importance of energy and imagination tied to one's voice in narration. The narrator shares a personal experience of staying in the car in the driveway to finish a chapter or reach a page break, highlighting the engagement and commitment to listening. It also touches upon a collaborative effort, symbolized by passing the baton, and emphasizes teamwork in narration.
29:00 - 47:00: Final Thoughts and Farewells The final chapter, 'Final Thoughts and Farewells,' emphasizes the theme of teamwork and the passing of responsibilities. The speaker reflects on the collaborative effort involved and the meticulous selection of Aaron for a critical role, emphasizing her qualifications and the intentional choice rather than a random selection. The chapter underscores the collective effort behind the project and the thoughtful transition of duties.
Please allow me to introduce Erin Bennett! New Narrator of the Wandering Inn! *long version* Transcription
00:00 - 00:30 Hello everyone. My name is Andrea Farseno. With me, I have Aaron Bennett. And if you came here from the prior video, uh you know what this is. If you came to this one first, welcome. We are introducing Miss Aaron Bennett, the new narrator of The Wandering In. If you do, if you want to catch up on where we are in this story, if you want to catch up where we are with this video, the first video will be linked down below. We'll have it ready for you guys. But now I wanted to take some time to talk to Aaron about just the joy of this craft,
00:30 - 01:00 the brass tax, maybe some stuff about TWWI. If you have any questions about TWWI, this is a more in kind of informal just discussion about. Is there anything you wondered? Is there anything that's weird? Is there anything you're looking forward to that you want to know more about or anything like that? This is kind of our question, our chance to talk and commiserate a little bit. Oh my gosh. I will I'm still I'm still fanirling over meeting you Andrea in sort of in person online you know that the magic of Zoom um because I'm such a fan of yours and I
01:00 - 01:30 think to this day I have spent more time with your with your voice and your characters and your world of the wandering in than I have with any other voice actor any other actor any other performer in the entire entire universe. Um, I know your voice. I mean, I'm a fan first. Thank you. of The Wandering In and of and of Andrea. So, I kind of can't I'm I'm just
01:30 - 02:00 like kind of I don't know, shaking a little bit. I'm excited. I'm I can't I can't I can't say that I I I am that, you know, that I am that and that you are not that anymore because you always are. You are the original. You know, every who begins the journey and takes the journey for so long in the wandering in is it's wet. It's wedded to your voice and your imprint and your characters and
02:00 - 02:30 your energy and and everyone's imagination is is tied into your voice. I mean, I can't how many times I sit in the, you know, in the car in my driveway, even though I've been driving on the freeway for for two forever, just because I want to get to the end of the chapter or or the end of the page break. So, um, you know, I'm we may be passing the baton between us, but we're on the same team. It really is. That's something we've been trying to
02:30 - 03:00 get across through this whole thing is that it's been a handoff. We're trying to make this a handoff. This is a teamwork thing. That's I you know you can you can talk me up all day long but I we didn't even know I don't think people understand how much went into this because it was it was so much and we picked Aaron personally pirate and I picked Aaron. This this woman was selected for this role because she's amazing. This was not a random pick off the internet. We're going to do a lottery poll for who gets to narrate the
03:00 - 03:30 wandering in. No, this woman's got shots and I am so I'm so excited for you guys to meet her. I think we did like it was like six rounds of auditions maybe. Um and and I was going I was like what you know and I said to my to my husband I said do you know what what's happening here? And I'm like, these are and and and what got me what what made me think, oh, you know what? Maybe I'm a match. Maybe I'm a match for this world is the the the character descriptions
03:30 - 04:00 that were given for the voice matching auditions were the every almost every reference I got as a cultural touchstone in my life. So you tell me to do Gimly from you know from Lord of the Rings or you shall not pass you know or or or whatever it is or the world has changed any character that are sort of my cultural touchston my the things that I'm already a fan of that light a fire
04:00 - 04:30 in my imagination and I was like oh yeah okay all right all right here these character and this character and this character I'm like I've got to listen to this series so I started I started listening and my mouth was just my jaw was just on the floor. Um, and you know is a nailbiter. Every time I was like like I'd be like pacing the floor going like is this good enough to send? Is this are these character samples good enough to
04:30 - 05:00 send? And not knowing. And at some point, you know, as a as an actor, you just go you release it into the universe and you cross your fingers and you hope and you try not to dream about it. You try not to and sometimes, you know, you get a you get a message from the universe. Um I I had never heard I I got to tell you, Andrea, before you I had never heard a woman anchoring a world like this
05:00 - 05:30 before. Thank you. I thought it was and I remember as a little girl, you know, especially because like I'm a huge I'm a huge Hobbit fan. I'm a huge like Lord of the Rings fan. Uh um in case you can't tell, Arthurian Legends, stuff like that, you know, I I'm I'm really steeped in that world. And I always thought thought thought as a as a kid like why can't the you know why does the why are the girls like why are they why is there only like one or two
05:30 - 06:00 that gets to shoot a bow and arrow right and everybody else is is pretty um or there's you know there's like a you know a sprite or or something but but every but like where's the where's the gutsy heroine you know like who's just trying to get along in this world. Yeah. And why can't I do all the voices? You know, I I I was that kid. So So when I heard you and I heard the wandering in and I I
06:00 - 06:30 just went, "Where have you been all my life? I'm so glad we met." I I get the biggest kick out of it because I don't think uh I don't think I can describe how fulfilling that sentence is or that sentiment is because there I was the same girl. I was the same kid. I wanted the bow and arrow. I wanted to be the superhero. I wanted to tell the story. And I I've joked and but in a very serious fashion about the fact
06:30 - 07:00 that many like people who love audiobook narration, who love storytelling, there's really nothing like it. Like there's really nothing like it. People are like, "Oh, what have you done? You're a voice actor. Do you video games or animation or anything like that?" It's like I I don't there's many who do. I don't particularly, but that's just an exposure thing. It's just getting into that realm, but I will always be a narrative because I love the story. I want to do all the voices just like you do. It's like I want to tell the story. I want to be the one to do it. So I knowing that we're kindred
07:00 - 07:30 spirits on that is is just h that makes me feel so good. That makes me feel so good because it's the truth. There are not a lot of there's not a lot of examples for us out there especially of you don't need to sound pretty. You don't need to always not every voice has to be beautiful. There's a place for beautiful voices and there's a place for freaking floss. So, it's a like you I love that that's the sentiment you're entering because that just makes me feel
07:30 - 08:00 so good because I already knew that you were going to do I I already knew how you were going to treat the world. You love it and and I'm so excited about that. But knowing that we share that that makes me feel so good about it. Thank you. I'm I am I am trying to I want you to be the focus of this because I I have had my time my time with the wandering in my my tenure with the wandering in has been my pages I I said this in my video who I
08:00 - 08:30 am as a narrator so much of who I am as a narrator can be found in the pages of the wandering. It is a it is such a catalyst for growth and change and progression as as skills as a narrator and I am so excited somebody else gets to do it now because it is like it is an injection of adrenaline directly to your system where it's just I get to do all of this. There's a huge world and people and life and there's not an invisible amount of singing in the wandering in.
08:30 - 09:00 Can you sing, Erin? I love it. I can. I so can. I'm a I'm like a music I'm an OG musical theater kid, you know? I did a hundred musicals at That's amazing. I was I was so excited when I found out you could sing cuz I'm like, "Oh, thank God." Because there's all these songs. There's not It's not that bad. Like it's just there's there are there are like original songs that are kind of they're they're throughout the series like the uh there's oh my gosh, Brothers of Serendipitous Meetings
09:00 - 09:30 and stuff. They have like the an intro song that they do and stuff. that kind of thing. So, it's there's little tid like there's little tidbits bird singing or I love bird. I'm I'm Yes. Yes. I love I love his you know I just picture like skipping down the road. I mean I I god I adore our bird. Bird is the best. See, you guys knew Aaron was going to be awesome. She loves bird. By the way, let us address the probably most satisfying yet also most beautifully confusing part
09:30 - 10:00 about all of this. Your name is Aaron. Oh god. I swear I didn't do it on purpose. I promised you I didn't I didn't do it on purpose. My my you know I was going to be a boy, I was going to be Aaron. If I was going to be a girl, it was going to be Aaron. That's that's how that came official to be. And uh I can't help it if Pirate chose the the the coolest name in the world for for their protagonist. I mean, you know, I just you you will now be the third Aaron in the wandering and and I love that so
10:00 - 10:30 much because there is a aon Aaron, there is the main character Aaron, and now there is the storyteller Aaron in the best. You're like, you know what? Genesis Aaron. You're the top level Aaron. You're the arbiter. When you look at the the wonderful script of the the type face of the wandering in there is in wandering is is Aaron. It's it's so perfect. Pirate, did you plan it that
10:30 - 11:00 way? Are you kidding me? I never noticed that. Now I've got to look at that after we're done because I've never noticed it. Does it say it? It I mean it's right there. That's beautiful. Oh my gosh. It's right there. You know, give to an actor to searching for their own dick all the time. That is the joy. We all You know what? We all saw sex in the Lion King sparkles. Okay, those little like dust particles that that ran up from the Lion King. I don't care how many of y'all special effects people
11:00 - 11:30 tell me that that was just a product of some sort of nonsense or something. It said sex. There's nothing you can say. That is what it did. That was That was You heard it here first, tiny brain. And last, the the last word, the definitive the definitive word for sure. Definitely was we all knew, especially to like an eight or nine year old where you're just like, what that say? So anyway, it's naughty. So, okay. So, that is that is a beautiful inspiration. Carol Bernett is an incredible choice. I
11:30 - 12:00 freaking love that. Okay. This job has a lot of aspects to it. This job has a lot of weird stuff that we need to do sometimes. There's a lot of there's even boring bits and really exciting bits and really stressful bits. What is your favorite part of the process of doing this? Is it the prep work? Is it the performance? Is it getting to interact with the characters? Is it learning them? Is it late series, early series? What's your favorite bit if you had to pick a part or like part you enjoy the most? I
12:00 - 12:30 Well, I mean, I'm gonna find out. I'm gonna find out as I as I go, you know, what my what my favorite part is. But right now, I'm a big I'm a big do big prep so that you can fly on the day on recording day. I'm Yeah, I'm big on preparing, pre-ereading, makeing, making sure I have everything, pronunciations, tags. Um I I've copied a lot of the fan art um to make sort of character references. Um, so I've so I have the characters in
12:30 - 13:00 my head and I'm going to be putting them, you know, in various places where I can see them. Um, so and I color code my script. So when I have my my iPad, I've got, you know, it looks it looks like a rainbow because there's so many different colors. Um, I have different highlights, underlines, etc., etc. So I do I do a lot of that so that I can let go and perform when you know when that recording button is is gone because I don't want to be thinking. I just want to be reacting and
13:00 - 13:30 and going. Oh yeah, that's going to be a huge asset. Like that's going to be a huge asset because I don't do that in advance. I I've always I get bored halfway through the book with the highlighting and then I just end up reading it anyway without highlighting anymore. It's a terrible thing. uh that everybody's for anybody who doesn't know and narrators are all individual on how we prep. We all do things slightly differently than each other and we all have this works for me, it doesn't work for them, this works for them, it doesn't work for me kind of things. So I've tried to highlight my script. I'm entirely too ADHD for that and I lose my mind. However, there are other people who are ADHD and it helps them
13:30 - 14:00 immensely. But that is going to be a huge asset because if there is one thing that we all know about pirate who are watching this video who found their way to the wandering in or know the wandering in, pirate does hate tags. Ty pirate does hate attribution tags. So there is a lot of very and one of it is it is one of those things that's a bane for the narrator but it is so good for the listener because it's so good to like hear people back and forth and you can just hear this clippy conversation. It feels very natural, very loose. Like
14:00 - 14:30 it feels like an actual living conversation. Behind that living conversation is the madness of trying to figure out who the hell is talking right now. So color coding in advance. Excellent idea. Excellent idea here. That is amazing. Like pirates words just they, you know, I don't even want to say they leap off the page because I'm not reading it. I'm always reading it for audio. And um P pirate sensibility in that way is
14:30 - 15:00 great for the dialogue because it just I the movie starts in my mind. I can see it and you can feel it. The characters feel different. like the characters are written differently. I can tell when it's bird talking. I can tell when it's Syria talking. You know, the only time I'll get in trouble is if it's like a bunch of like a like a council in Manis or something where I've never dealt with those people before. I don't know them. Then I'll lose track to for who the heck's talking. But if it's Syria, kiss him for Pisces, all of our main dudes and dudetss that are all kind of talking
15:00 - 15:30 back and forth. I can tell when it's Elon. Like it's all it's very you you know pirate has an amazing way with words. It's just very it's very clear. It's very, you know, who's speaking. Every person has a personality and an individuality that's absolutely beautiful. That is such an asset as a performer. And I'm super excited for you to get tucked in because it's going to be awesome. How did you How did you choose the I I'm I'm curious. uh your the accents and and the worlds are um are are so distinct like the Nolles and
15:30 - 16:00 um you know and the Drakes and were these characters that you that you just you read off the page and you and you had an inspiration or did you talk to pirate about them? Like how did they come about because they are iconic to me. Um, and you know, like I know I know I have sort of like an oral map of where I am in the world and it's a huge world, you know, based on based on just how the
16:00 - 16:30 little vocal changes. So, I was just wondering if you could like talk a little bit about the vocal changes between the between the species between the the groups. Oh, that makes me so happy that you hear that. Oh, thank you so much because that's I live for this stuff. Yeah. My one of my biggest fears is like that's that with it when it comes to TW TWWI is everything muddying and getting too confusing. Like admittedly, Gelqua is a selfie. There is no viable reason she has a Scottish accent. There is no real reason that
16:30 - 17:00 that woman has a Scottish accent. I have head cannon that Jelqua's first body was a dwarf. So, she just has a dwarven accent. But in reality, why does Gelqua have a Scottish accent? Because she sounded like she had one when I read Gelqua. And it wasn't until we had more sell bids and things that I was like, "Oh, okay. Well, that's not going to work." But as as the world grew and we uh it it was more limited at first. So, there's a little more loosey goosey with some of the accents right at the very beginning, but everything kind of
17:00 - 17:30 solidified as the world grew because I realized, okay, I'm going to have to make sure these people are from Salem, these people are from the north, these people are from Israel, you know, yada yada yada, these people are from Boleros. And I wanted to make sure that that was keeping separate. But as far as like the big ones like the nullles, no one I've never spoken to pirate directly regarding like what they would like for the character voices. Um when I spoke to Pirate at the very beginning of the series, they said I didn't really write it for audio. It wasn't wasn't how I was writing it. So
17:30 - 18:00 whatever you feel is best to bring it to life, do it. And the NLES, it's pirates writing because the NLES have very unique speech patterns. When they are speaking, they speak with an upward inflection. Yes. They almost always have a confirmation at the ending. Yes. That that is it. They almost they always do this upward thing and they were kind of gruff in the text like they had said that they were a little bit gruff when they were speaking. So I did this kind of grally thing and then they always did this upward and it just kind of came out
18:00 - 18:30 that overpronounced nullish accent and it fit really well. many many character choices are because this fits this feels right for the character to me from what I know of the character what I'm what I see of them in the story I think this is going to work for them and I there there are a lot of like go with my heart moments and there are moments that that has backfired but it is it I think that for the most part it works out Russa sounds like a scholary maid and that's probably a problem but other than that
18:30 - 19:00 Russa is supposed to be a very high class maid and I feel bad because she started out as just like an attendant kind of thing. So Raa sounds like this when in actuality she's very very proper. So it's a bit weird to have Ressa sound like an Essex girl a little bit. So it's weird. Ressa has almost like a like a Cockney Essex thing going on that I I probably should not have done, but it's now like that's who she is now. So I don't know. Where do I get
19:00 - 19:30 the stuff? The writing. It it informs how I feel about it. Unless it's the Fron strakes, because the Fron drakes are Montipython. That is 100% MontiPython. But the voices, they they're all made up. Like the drakes, I knew they needed to have a hissing tone to them because their anatomy was different. Same thing with the antennium. I didn't want to make the antennium too different, so I gave them that clicking tone. But the nles have a different because their growls and howls are how they communicate with each other. So, I wanted to have just enough
19:30 - 20:00 of the base species for these like very nonhuman species that they would have this base base element of them that is kind of this inherently non-human, but then they've all assimilated. This is a globalized world in a lot of ways. So, they've they've they all kind of deal with each other. There's not just drakes, but especially in lore, you have the NLES, the drakes, the antennium, you have lots there's even humans now. you know, you have more people there. So,
20:00 - 20:30 they've learned to talk with each other. They've learned to deal with each other. They they have created a communal voice by being together. So, even though they are of a racial like of a b of event, they have a species that they ca they started out as, they're also from Lysore. So there's some of the like Palassian Garudas that they have kind of a Garuda accent, but it's also a palace accent at the same time because they're a Garuda, but they were raised in palace, so it's the both of them. In reality, it's Andy having a mental
20:30 - 21:00 breakdown trying to come up with another character voice that so this one is going to be mixed. Uh because a lot of times there's a very small introduction. Like a lot of times it's just a very small character that becomes much bigger later on in like five books. So those those are usually the ones that you end up in trouble with because those are the ones that realize that's that that that is the that is every I feel like every audiobook narrator has has that situation. I go great great you know so got this you
21:00 - 21:30 know this series going. We're on book four. Oh here's the fourth guy over in the locker room. We'll give him an interesting accent or dialect and then boom is the love interest of the next book. You got to sustain it over 340 pages. Good luck to you. Good day, sir. Good day. Um, and you just go, I did it to myself. I did it to myself. I threw the dart at the metaphorical character dart board and that's where it landed. And And you know what? You're committed
21:30 - 22:00 now. So, congratulations. Congratulations. It's a mess. the it's uh the screen froze again, but your voice was coming through. So, I think that'll work out still. If you uh if you if you the editors can just like Oh, god. Just let her let just let the voice happen. Just let the voice happen because I like what you said. I feel so bad because I love editing. I'm sorry. No, I I want um I want I want everyone to hear I feel so horrible
22:00 - 22:30 interrupting you to tell you to restart, but I want everyone to hear what you said and then I feel horrible telling you to restart it because I can tell I know when I get stopped like that it's like oh good god I have to get back to where I was in my head. Oh no, like I that's really tough for me. So I feel horrible doing it to someone else. So I'm No, no, no. It's okay. I'm happy I'm happy to roll with it. I'm happy to roll with this is the the the problem with travel. It it's the difficulty. Yep. Right there. But I think I think
22:30 - 23:00 everyone has those choices where they've they've made that, oh no, why did I do that? Do you have uh do you have one from your from your past? You don't have to specify the book or anything like that so people don't go hunting it down, but do you uh do you have one from your past that you know you're like, "Oh man, that was uh I know why I did it. I know why. It doesn't mean that I don't regret it a tiny bit. In my defense, in your defense, like I don't know what the author's going to write next. I have to like I have to
23:00 - 23:30 give to give it my all. And like what what you were saying, Andrea, the like with your gut, you know? You with your gut, you read, you're like, "Oh, yeah. Okay. I see what's happening here." Boom, boom, boom. Watch me making the connection. And then before you know it, um you know uh that that's uh when when I when I teach, which is very occasional, very occasional and only under duress. Uh and people say, "Do you read that? Do you read the book first?" And I go,
23:30 - 24:00 "Absolutely, because it'll be just your luck if you don't read it that do you get on, you know, the the 11th hour at the critical moment she said in her light Irish brogue because she was angry. It came out and you go, "What? What if you haven't if you if you weren't a good little student and did and did your homework?" So, this is the this is the do your homework part, people, because guess who's guess whose ass is hanging out, you know, like it it's guess whose name and and body of
24:00 - 24:30 work is at stake if you don't do your homework. Oh my gosh. So, this is why we do it. However, there are some things we cannot predict. You can't you can't I have I have uh I have messaged authors before and gone just so you know this is going to directly conflict with something from a prior book. Is this a really important feature? Because it's I know my authors and stuff and I have that relationship with them fortunately. So I'll just Is this something really important to them? Because there is a big difference between that accent and
24:30 - 25:00 this accent and I did not know that was going to be the accent. So I can mutate. I can try to start moving it in that direction or something or is this something that isn't going to really matter and we can we can just work with it being what it is. That's you just have to roll with it. You have to roll with it. That was that was like one of the biggest uh one of the biggest things when I was when I was handing off or writing up like the document and stuff for like handing everything over and like making sure I put because I have a there's like a we called it the brain dump document which is basically all
25:00 - 25:30 this stuff that I've collated in my head from TWWI stuff and uh which is a terrifying thought but there was there was one of the things was whatever you do because there's the the dirty little secret in the narrator world is occasionally people won't pre-eread. They'll read like a couple chapters ahead and then they'll perform because admittedly a lot of us are turning books around super fast. So, it's very difficult to get through it. It is hard. But, but I put in there like in giant caps, do not skip the pre-eread. Do not
25:30 - 26:00 because it will burn you. Do not. You need to know like that is there have been reveals halfway through the book before of like an accent or something. So, whatever you do, don't. Very rarely. I think there's been two accents in all of TWWI. Like as far as mentioned verbatim in the story, but I'm the one who did all the rest. I'm so sorry. I No, I love it. Your your notes are amazing. I I I saw those all caps and I I I like the the fear of nar like the
26:00 - 26:30 narrator's fear of God. Like it was in me. I was like, "Yep, yep, yep. I know. I know that feeling." I will tell you all caps and you know, oh my god. I know. And um it might have been also itallic and bolded as well. I'm hoping was I I could feel the little lines, the little heat heat rays off of them. Oh. Oh, this comes from her soul deep deep inside. Um Yes, it does. I I I do I do have like just here's a fun funny little ane thing that that happened to me as a
26:30 - 27:00 once that that I think to this day was uh it might have been a mistake. It it might have started out as a mistake but ended up being something ran with. I I I am the ner series that that the main character is this is about a 60ish um man from from Mississippi and the author has a very feminine sounding name. It is a it is a cozy mystery series and I think I might have been
27:00 - 27:30 cast, you know, assumed that it was a female protagonist, but it's it's it's a man and his cat and and he's a librarian and it's one of the most beloved um cozy mystery series ever. I think I'm book we're on book 17. Oh, that's amazing. And and and after I remember the the first comments, you know, were kind of like why is there why is a woman, you know, narrating this? just out of curiosity and then but book two ah she's pretty good all right you
27:30 - 28:00 know and then I didn't notice it so much but and then and then they just kept asking and asking you know and come along and I and I know the characters and I love the characters and I I thought I thought why did I like why do we doubt ourselves like maybe it was meant to be and we can play everybody and that's just and that's just great it's about creating this world and you know Harley Harris stuck down here and he has his cat Nasel and that's the way
28:00 - 28:30 the that's the way it goes and know you know and we sustain it through 16 books and and I love it and and I we all have that those parts of ourselves that are reflected in our characters. So that is so incredible. I love that so much. That is I love that the uh in our in our other video you brought up the uh the rounds of auditions that happened for the TWWI process and
28:30 - 29:00 it made me laugh. I I wanted I didn't want to say it then because I didn't want to say anything in that video but I'll say it now where it made me giggle so hard when that the when you said the descriptions were so good. So for anybody who doesn't know this was like Marvel level secrecy. We had to keep this very quiet for the last few months because we didn't want this getting out beforehand because we wanted to have everything organized. We wanted to have you ready. We wanted to know you were protected and ready to go. We had a new nar like all of the things needed to be in place before anything got said. So everything has been like Marvel level
29:00 - 29:30 security. And one of the one of the things was they knew that they needed to give samples in the audition, but they couldn't give like they they couldn't say French breaks or like French lizard people because French lizard people are not the most common thing in the world. And if you're talking about a massive like an epic fantasy lit RPG series, the second you hear French lizards, it's going to be if you know, you know. So they had to blender everything. So there
29:30 - 30:00 was like a French accent for a dog person or like a person who was a cannid or something and then it was like uh an English accent for an old witch like there was like everything had gotten blendered basically to get the the the stuff to come out. Did you what did what was it like seeing the evolution of each of those scripts come through? Did you have a moment where you were like oh I see what they did? Like did you have a moment where I was like, "Oh, I get it. I get it." Because that's floss. Got it.
30:00 - 30:30 Okay. I, you know, I didn't have I didn't have that sophistication thought about this. It was mostly, oh my gosh. Okay, I've got to get the clicks right. I've got to get the R rolls for the antennium. I or it wasn't listed as the antennium. Um, but in insect, you know, so some of the stuff that I've done for video games, um, like like Guild Wars 2 that Fate, you know, those kinds of I I was a
30:30 - 31:00 littleish familiar. Um, from, you know, some like games and stuff. I, you know, I was I was like, "Oh, I okay, I I think I could hook into this character." But I did not make the connection at first. Um, also because it was not revealed to me, you know, I I was I was curious, but I as an actor, if I if I Google stuff, if I look stuff up, if I'm like, what's changing, you know, what could be
31:00 - 31:30 recast, I will I will lose my mind. I will lose my ever living mind. It And also, that's not meant for me. That that level of information is not my it's not my job. My job is to look at the character description to see what they want to see if it lights a fire in my brain and and give it and give a sample and see if it works. Yes. Okay. I loved your antennium so much. Your antennium the the sample in there is you're g when
31:30 - 32:00 uh Pver Pver the flying antennium is exactly that character. So I was like that's just Pver. I said it while listening to the audition on like voice on Zoom with podium. I was like, "Oh my gosh, that's perver that's perver that the like very like it's this that that like oh guy was so perfect. That guy's a little I tell you like he's such a little douchebag." Like
32:00 - 32:30 I hate that dude. I can't wait. You know, I was like touching part. You know, we do certain things to find resonance and and and and you know, uh I mean, I was I was working with it. I was uh I was um I was racking my brain and I was going, "Okay, all right. Who Who's this?" But but my um but it just lights my imagination on fire. Uh the the descriptions, but it nothing nothing said The Wandering Inn, nothing said And Andrea Parsno. I So I did not know. I
32:30 - 33:00 was in the dark. Um like I so I was just as surprised. Um it was not until the last the acceptance email um that I that I knew and finally found out what what it was for for the last round um where they were like would you like like cut out at the worst can I pull what? Yes. Yes. Hold on. Hold on. Then it cut
33:00 - 33:30 out really bad. Oh Oh, wait. You're back. You're back. You're back. I didn't know until the end. Also, I'm so sorry. I didn't That wasn't That wasn't intended as a gotcha. I asked that question terribly. I apologize that uh that was not meant to be as a No, no, no. I got it. I didn't know it was TWWI. I just meant like the uh blendering aspect of it. I'm so sorry. Continue, please. Oh, no, no, no. Don't apologize. I got you. We're clappity clapping. Yes. I did not know until it was until it was the final the final round like until you get
33:30 - 34:00 to the final. It feels like I was like am I on like the voice or you know it was you know yeah the file count when you were like refreshing your inbox to it's because all of this is email. Oh my god all of this is email. You remember like once upon a time it was waiting for your cell phone to ring or you know it's email. So it's like when you see that email in your in your inbox and you go you know like it just yes you know like
34:00 - 34:30 you will pass to the final round or now we can reveal to you what this what the series is. It is the beloved The Wandering In by Pirate Aba, voiced by or performed by Andrea Parsnau. A and I just went no. I don't know why mo certain moments of my life start with no. Almost like I can't believe it. Um but I I was like, "No, no, it's not. It's not." Is it? It is.
34:30 - 35:00 No, it is. I'm so moment. I'm so happy. And it's true, man. It's true. I can't I haven't had to do what you did. I haven't had to do that. And I don't I I I probably would have cracked. You are so much stronger than I am because I would have cracked. I You are You are insanely strong to go through all the rounds and all the auditions. And guys, it was so much. It was exhaustive and it's it was so much. And you were so
35:00 - 35:30 good in all of them. I'm so I I just I was so blown away. You did such a great job and I was so scared about the whole process and I've been so scared all this time. Like I'm just a nervous wreck all the time about all of this. And there was this huge weight that came off when I heard you because it was like, "Oh, it's going to be good. It's going to be good. Okay. Everything's going to be okay. Everything's going to be fine. She's killing it. It's going to be awesome. I'm so excited." So I I was I was thrilled that when I heard you and I
35:30 - 36:00 can't I can't imagine the stress of of just waiting each and every time. I have purposefully avoided those situations. So you are like you're a hero, man. You are you are so much stronger than all the props. All the props. like I can't you know what should the the next the next doctor suppose you know so-called doctor the next baton catcher you know um we should be put through our paces it
36:00 - 36:30 it's just the job you know I read once someone said you know if we could think of a better way than than auditioning we would y but but there is no better way you know you just have to put You have to put yourself out there. You have to hope. You have to hope for acceptance. Hope that this is checks all the boxes. Hope that, you know, I haven't done anything to disqualify myself in some way in in people's minds. All all it is
36:30 - 37:00 is about the work. You know, we're just actors doing, you know, doing a great job entering a world. And, you know, the the the best the best part is getting to play. But it but until we get to play, it is a lot of it's a lot of preparation and it's a lot of um yeah, it's a lot of not knowing. I don't I don't know if people know like how much uncertainty and rejection we we go through as actors um before we get to
37:00 - 37:30 the point. You know, it's not like someone goes, you know, it's you've ascended to this level and um you know, it's like no, no, how how does how does anyone level up in in voice acting? How does anyone get here years of years? No, no, no. Or maybe or maybe someday. Yes, exactly. It's um it's humbling. We're It is. It's humbling. It's I I know your or
37:30 - 38:00 so much of your origin story because I've fang girlled and watched your videos like a crazy person. Um I don't want to say like a stalker because uh I I'm not talking to you. I promise. Um I promise. I promise. Um but but you know, but the first thing I was like I was like where did she come from and what how did she get here? And then you go, "Oh, you know, there there are things about us that are similar trying for trying for it." And you know, sometimes
38:00 - 38:30 feeling like you're of just a voice alone and then other people other people come and join you and you know, and you get to you get to take this ride. I I would ask you I know this is you interviewing me, but I would I would beg to ask Dr. Andrea. Um, yes. Mage mage Andrea. Um, sorceress empress Andrea. You know, you're you're it's like your your children are,
38:30 - 39:00 you know, you're you're off to you're off to the next you're off to the next adventure. And I, you know, I wonder what are you concerned about leaving it in in good good hands? Um, I know the story is in good hands. My the the only real reticence or fear or nervousness that I have moving forward
39:00 - 39:30 is you guys is the fans. That's that's it for me. I'm I have awesome projects on my horizon. I'm I'm still booked out. I'm busy. People were like, "Oh, do you have big gaps?" you know, they the two people to know in my life, but uh like the team members and stuff are like, "Do you have big gaps in your schedule?" "No, everything just kind of melted like ice cream into fill the spaces." It's like, "No, I'm still booked out solid." But so I'm very very fortunate on that front. So I'm kind of I'm kind of taken care of on in that aspect. So, I my
39:30 - 40:00 biggest fear has been making sure that I know how big this series is and I know how many resources it's taken me and I know how many things that I need to keep it running and like to keep the the audio part of it running and stuff and I needed to make sure you had all of that. You had the support you needed. You had all the character voices. Everything was updated. you had notes on the stuff like bronze coins are actually copper coins and stuff like that like that just I
40:00 - 40:30 wanted to make sure that you had all that you needed and so I to the best ability that I that I had to the best of my ability we've prepared everything mechanically you have the skill you have the chops you're raring to go you're going to freaking kill it so I know it's in good hands I know we've put out like the videos and the announcements and done everything we can to try to tell you guys what this is and why it's happening and and who this amazing
40:30 - 41:00 person above me is and I I know all of this has happened. So, all that's left in the unknown at this point is kind of how people are going to receive it. And you can't control that. But I do I do know that the fans of the Wandering In are incredible. And and I say that non-ironically, non-hyperbolically, nothing. The fans of the of The Wandering In are incredible. They are loyal. They are sweet. They love this series to the very bottom of their soul.
41:00 - 41:30 And I'm so excited for you guys to get to hear Aaron because she's amazing. And I just that's been my biggest fear is making sure that you are taken care of, that you are safe, that you are protected. This is this process is not there's no precedent for this. Normally narrator handoffs you know this Eron sorry I'm saying this for the camera not for you. The the you know narrator handoffs are usually just kind of hot potato like you just there may be
41:30 - 42:00 a press statement that goes out maybe like it's just a this is just what happens because usually it's like contract stuff in the background or like there's a bazillion reasons that they happen. Everyone always thinks it's like money. Everyone always assumes it's money. It's not usually money. It's usually scheduling and stuff like it's usually other things than money. But the the narrator switches are usually very hot potato. You just hand it off. It's done. And from the very beginning, none of us wanted that. I I I never wanted
42:00 - 42:30 that for any of this. And I pushed really hard that we have these videos, these meetings, that I could give you tutorials that for the for the weird voices like the antennium and stuff that that you had everything you needed because I didn't I wanted I wanted to prove that there's a right way to do this that honors the work that honors the people involved that shows that there is love and compassion and and so much joy and loyalty to the series and no one's upset or angry or anything like that. It's just a It's just time for a
42:30 - 43:00 new doctor. That's it. Because some stories are just bigger than one person can tell on their own. So, I'm tagging Aaron in. That's it. It's Aaron's turn. And I'm so excited for that. Aaron, thank you for spending time with us tonight. I think we've we have we have talked and goofed around and laughed and had a great time and I I just from the bottom of my heart, thank you. Thank you for Oh, I'm
43:00 - 43:30 kidding. Don't don't do it. I made it through the whole video. I made it through the whole thing. Um, from the very bottom of my heart, thank you. Thank you for approaching this with love. Thank you for for caring for for it mattering as much to you as it matters to me and to everybody else who loves this series. So, it just means a lot that that you are willing to do this, that you were willing to come
43:30 - 44:00 along with this because this was a huge ask. I'm asking a lot of you to put your face out there. I know that. I'm asking a lot of you to make videos and stuff like this where people are going to be able to comment and gripe and say things. And I just wanted to say thank you for being available, for being here, and being the incredible asset you're going to be to the wandering in. H I made it the whole video, guys. Sorry. I cried in the other video. This one's not supposed to be crying. But yeah, Andrea, I mean, we're we're
44:00 - 44:30 all we all just are so lucky are so lucky to have been in your world for so long. And um I for one am your biggest fan and everything that I'm going to do is is in the spirit of that and and honoring pirates work and this wonderful collection of of humans and and fans and listeners and artists
44:30 - 45:00 that we all are. So, thank you. Thank you. And I can't wait to see where your next adventure takes you. Thank you for for anybody who's watching this uh book, book 15 will not be the last you hear of me in the wandering in because ghost song, the third book in Singer of Tandrea is coming out in May. May is when I believe you are will be recording, right? So sometime later this
45:00 - 45:30 year the there will be book 16 of The Wandering in and I I am so thrilled. So this is this has been incredible. You can hear more from me on uh Andrea I will say it is andreapars.com is my email or is my uh my website but discord.gg/andrea parsaro anytime you want to come by and listen anyone out there that is where I host my Discord server. I record all day on there. That's my that's like I record my workday. or I stream my workday on
45:30 - 46:00 Discord. Um, but other than that, you can hear where you can find what I'm up to. There will al also be the FAQ and everything. All of this will be posted there. We will have a channel for Aaron over there that has kind of her credits and her stuff that she's done and some information about her. And we'll have things available for you guys so you know who everyone is and what's going on and everything. So, from I I have said my goodbyes. I I have said enough goodbyes. It's your turn to say hello. Goodbye.
46:00 - 46:30 Do you have Where can people check you your stuff out? Where where can people find you? I am I am reaching into the world of social media. Um please be patient. I'm a work in progress. Um I am on Instagram at Aaron Bennett. Um, and and please don't go to my website because it sure as heck needs an overhaul, especially with all the wonderful stuff that's happening with Wandering In. So, when I have when I
46:30 - 47:00 have some website info, I'll I'll let you know for sure. Eric, thank you so much for being here today. You are incredible. And uh I'm sorry for my this is the first time I've done the interview, so this is kind of intense for me. I hope that this wasn't a hot mess for your side. You were amazing. Thank you for being available, for being here, for be for loving this as much as I do and just being along for the ride. Welcome, Dr. Aaron. Welcome to the wandering in. Hi, everybody. I love you.