An Interview With Zara Ramm

The much-loved narrator of Jodi Taylor's audiobooks

Zara Ramm is a professional British actress who hails from Gloucester. She is now the chosen voice for all Jodi’s audio books (except the Frogmorton Farm series).

• You receive a manuscript - how do you set about preparing your narration?

  I will read the manuscript with a pen and paper by my side, marking up the script on my ipad as I go with any helpful notes reminding me of character decisions I make as I go along.

  (I believe some readers use different colours for different characters but I tend to just make a note of the choice I've made ....low, slight London....gruff chocolate....high friendly...etc. These obviously wouldn't mean anything to anyone else but hopefully I'll remember what I meant!)

• How do you allocate an accent if the author doesn't specifically say?

  If the Author hasn't allocated an accent for a character I'll just make a decision fairly swiftly based on how they talk and whether I've used that accent already in the book! I won't necessarily give an accent, depends on the feel of the book and how many characters there are. 

• What's the longest period you can record for without becoming tired or hoarse?

  I usually record from 9am to 5pm with a small break in the morning and afternoon and a short lunch break ( When I have a quick walk up and down the lane if I'm recording at home)

  I try not to record for longer than 2 hours without getting up and having a good stretch even if I don't have a break .... you have to keep incredibly still when recording as the microphone picks up even the tiniest noise..

• What happens if you make a mistake? Can you edit?

  If I am recording in my home studio and I make a mistake, I press stop, find the mistake on the time line (!) delete it and carry on, If I'm recording in a studio with a producer, I stop, go back to the beginning of the sentence, carry on reading and let the editor deal with the technical side.

• What's the most enjoyable part of the process?

  The most enjoyable part of the process? Reading a good yarn and putting on silly voices.

• Do you have a favourite character?

  Favourite character....someone Russian.

• How involved do you get in the story? Do you cry at the sad bits?

  I may or may not have a box of tissues on my desk.

• Is there any accent you dislike performing?

  Liverpool and Birmingham accents are a bit of a push for me to sustain.... just saying Jodi!!

• What did you do before taking up narrating books?

  I trained as an actor and about 15 years ago got into recording Audio Books

• Are you surprised at how popular audio books have become?

  I am surprised and delighted at how popular Audio Books have become... please keep listening people!

• Have you ever taken a real dislike to a character?

  Sometimes I record really grisly murder mystery books... there have been  characters in those that I would not want to meet down a dark alley ... or anywhere for that matter...

• How many accents can you do?

  Quite  a few pretty well , some not so well and lots really badly

• What's next for you?

  Next up after the Jodi Taylor I'm currently recording is a grim Scandi Noir

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