How I Got Started as a Voice Actor

I've always loved reading aloud. I started off reading to my dad in my early teens. He's an audio learner and I'd read his textbooks out to him. I was a little discouraged in that he fell asleep EVERY single time, but he did ace the tests, so I guess the message was able to reach him subconsciously. I'm hoping it was just the long hours at work that caused him to nod off, not my monotonous voice.

I remember, as a newly wed, reading the Lord of the Rings Trilogy to my husband as we drove across Canada. I had all the voices pretty much nailed, I thought, since when the movies came out the characters were well matched to my ideas. Well, all except Gimli. I had given him a voice more along the lines of Pinocchio and so, yeah, that one was a miss.

However, I kept reading aloud, recording CDs for my nieces of books like Anne of Green Gables and Little House in the Big Woods. I continued reading to my husband and when my kids were born, I read to them too. Then I got the idea to get them to listen to audiobooks when we went on long drives. They whined and complained. "Those readers are boring! They aren't as good as you!" An idea started to sprout in my mind.

I'd planned to go back to work once my kids started school. However, life had other plans and I ended up homeschooling instead. I love homeschooling but the pay is the pits. I wanted to find a way to make a little income on a flexible schedule, preferrably working from home. Doing voice over work seemed to be the perfect fit!