Live with Squacky - Season 6 - Episode 126 - Anne Flosnik

[Music] Hi, and thanks for tuning in to another episode of Viva Squacky. I'm your host Val Kelly, otherwise known as Squacky Voice. Four months guys were just about four months away from Mavvo 2026 now. Can you believe how fast this year is going? It's absolutely crazy how fast time flies. I'm so excited about our special guest today. I'll be chatting with Anne Faustneck and will be a guest speaker at Mavvo 2026 on November 13 through 15 and she'll be covering the audiobook genre. Anne is an accomplished, trusted, and award-winning British actress specializing in audiobook narration. Her parents came from the South of Ireland and she grew up in Newcastle, Pontine, in the Northeast of England. She's been narrating audiobooks professionally since 1996. When she began her career as a studio narrator for the Library of Congress, Epitome McTocking Books in Bethesda, Maryland. She's known for her range of proficiency with accents from all around the world and the clarity nuanced and emotional depth she brings to her work. At Mavvo 2026, Anne will present a general session, breakout session, master session, and she'll be on a panel. Thanks so much for joining me on the show today Anne. Hi Val, it's an honor and a pleasure to be here. Oh thanks. Well I read a bit about your background and how you got started in acting on your website. But can you give our listeners a brief synopsis of your story? Sure. I didn't come to the world of acting with an acting background. I was a nurse and a midwife and once I had my two children that they're two years minus two days apart. I decided that I'd like to look at other career possibilities and I'd always wanted to act and that was just something that in England was really more out of my realm when I was living in America since 1985. Now it's were in the 90s. So I started investigating there was no internet, there were no computers, it was a completely different time, started investigating how I could maybe do some acting part time and hopefully grow that along. I worked night shifts, I worked three 12 hour night shifts a week, and then my husband worked nights as well and we've got these two babies, Toddler and a newborn. And I decided to find myself, but I did. At the time I was listening to Tony Robbins or Awakened the Giant Within. His message about kind of now is the time and you can change your life in a minute and it's sort of true or it was true for me in that you make a decision and then you you find the way to make that happen and it really does. I know it takes years but the decision and the will to do it, they come in a minute and that was what I did. I made my mind up to it. I took voice over lessons, that was my first step and my voice teacher John Burr gave me great confidence in myself and then at the time I belonged to the actor centre which is a wonderful organisation. They at the time had a telephone hotline and you could call into the hotline every week and hear the different auditions and they were for every facet of acting so be it voice overs, industrial films, student films, whatever it was. And there were also advertisements from various professionals and one of them was my voice teacher so I arranged for a consultation with him and evaluation and then I just went on and had lessons with him and I said I'd only give myself six months because you know there we are with the two small children and my husband's working nights as well and we didn't have any child care, we just did all that ourselves on our days off which were opposing each other. I could still be taking the lessons and whatnot but I gave myself a limit of six months and this is either going to work or it isn't. And he got, yeah he helped me get a demo tape together and I started doing that and then I built three full resumes for on camera acting, voice acting and then I got a job in 1996 with Potomac talking books and I became a studio narrator and I went there I don't know maybe two or three times a week and I would have to get up at five o'clock in the morning and I got there at eight and I narrated with breaks until four o'clock then I came home and that'd be like six or seven o'clock when I got home there were long days but I did that I did that for 13 years until I maybe around year 11 or 12 there were starting to be commercial opportunities for books in the real world in the commercial marketplace and I did a couple of those I did maybe a book a year and right from the very beginning my first one of my big books was with Catherine Colter and I have worked with her with historical romances and mysteries that she does for since 2000 by 2008-ish I was working with Tanto and I had one big book that's one three awards and then I just got so busy that I couldn't go back so then I was on my own just doing audiobooks full-time yeah wow that's pretty much it well I didn't have any real training in that because there wasn't any training in that at that time and there were voiceover people yes and I had a wonderful voice coach but there were no audiobook coaches and there was just no community that I knew of anyway that there was the the workgroup of wonderful DC audiobook narrators and that's I'm kind of in the metro area but I just had to figure it out on my own and so that was what I did I just did what I did which looking back isn't a nice thing because there was nobody really to influence my art so I became what I became and then you know as the years go by and there are coaches and I've coached with pretty much everybody that's out there for everything but yeah it was nice to be able to develop my own style yeah wow that's a great start what a great story I didn't know that you were a midwife and a nurse and all of that before yet that's very cool yep yeah you even got into it that's that's a great story well I saw that you've done a lot of on camera and theater work can you tell us a little bit about that that's so long ago which which bit of it do you want do you want the full length films or the oh anything you want to tell us we'll be happy to hear okay well it was one film that was really really interesting and it took the whole other summer and it was called the Vultures Eye and I think that one actually did get distribution somewhere along the line but anyway what it was was it was a retelling of bram stoker's Dracula and it was called the Vultures Eye and so instead of bats vultures were the baddies oh wow and we never saw any vultures in it but people were you know being attacked and so forth and and I was Lucy not wasn't Lucy I was Mina Murray who is kind of narrating the story and or maybe she isn't like I want to say forget but um she is in love with Quincy so I think he's actually telling the whole story as it going back in his memory and then you know the whole that that's the the traditional book and it kind of followed that a little bit except that we were very upscale people that lived in Virginia and you know we were horse riding and and it was all a wonderful life until we got bitten by the the Vulture and just unraveled yeah yeah that's crazy it was it was it was a lot of fun it there was one scene we did have a special effects guy and he mixed up a wonderful concoction of I think it was like cherry jello and chocolate pudding and this was supposed to be blood and there was some kind of a device where he poured that and funneled down my throat and yes and because it was I think sometimes we had two cameras usually it was just one but we there weren't too many that I just knew myself there was only so much of this going into into my body I could take of this mixture so I kind of lay there and because it looked I said you know I don't know whatever way it looked but I didn't want to spoil the shot so I lay there being pumped full of this stuff for as long as I could take it and then I just had to very slowly sit up so that it didn't make the the shot unusable and then I remember that there was one little drop of this mixture was running down the middle of my back and it's you know it's not the the million anything it's always the one you know the one and then that made a wonderful shot so I was so pleased that I hadn't messed it up or said something that I shouldn't have said or whatever the thing yeah there were so many memories but anyway and the other thing about that day was that my hair was very blunt and it it was got coloured pink by this mixture oh and I was so wet and sticky and everything else that I they had luckily they had some trash bags on the set and I had to go home kind of wrapped up in one of those otherwise I would have destroyed my car oh yeah such a hard thing to get out right oh my gosh that's crazy yeah yeah that sounds like fun yeah do you still do any on camera or theater work or are you mostly just in doing audiobooks now it's really just audio books because I say it's not a job it's a lifestyle because you know narrating a book is a long it takes days yeah no matter how good you are it's going to take you the number of hours that are in that book also the preparation of it so kind of if you're not doing the narration then you're doing the prep work and and I also usually do my own research and the better you are at research that you know oftentimes that the heart of the bookstube can be cast for. There's no language, whether I know it or not. I've done books about Russian history, Chinese history, you name it. I don't know any of those languages, but I have researched all myself. It's just a wonderful thing, and the Library of Congress taught me how to do all of that. Wow, that's really cool. I didn't know all of that about audiobooks, like how much research goes into it and all of that. Well, it's interesting on the book, but really even in the most straightforward book, he would think it's amazing what can be just in there. Right. Yeah. I suppose it's similar to any type of audition that you're doing where you have to do a certain degree of research. If you're doing animation, it's more researching, like does the show already exist? And what is this character? What are the specs on this character and things like that? And I guess there's a lot of similarities there. It's just in book format versus show format. Exactly. Even commercial articles, you know, here's the one. I had a marry at one one time, and you know, you need to know it's married and not marry art. Things like that, you might take for granted, be better looking up. Yes, you'll find that on that. I think one of the family members is actually talking about that. There's a YouTube clip. So have a look at that. Yeah. Wow. Yes. Yes. I'm pretty sure I've been saying marry up forever. So that's probably wrong. Most people do because that's more the American way that she would would take it. An English person would say marry it. It's not an English company. So, and I just looked up just to be sure. And then I thought, oh, my goodness, I'm so glad I looked that up. Never taken it for granted. Wow. Oh, good to know. That's really good to know. Was there something in particular that made you decide to choose audio books as the genre, or was it just you the way that you fell into acting, right, with the Library of Congress and all of that? Like, was it just a natural progression for you to be doing audio books? Or was it something that you chose because you love to read and you love to perform or it was all of those things, but there was never any falling into Val. Nobody for anything in audio books or or right, or stuff or any kind of acting at any point. And even in those dark ages, he didn't fall into anything. As a performer, for me, it was and I have Irish parents, which you mentioned, the service, a storytelling thing might back there. I think it's just in my genes that I loved to tell stories and have a burning desire to do that. I did then and I do now. And there would a satisfying on a different level as voiceovers are, there isn't that coming back and living with characters for days on end or months if you have a long lead up time to it and and the prep time that you're doing and all of that. You can be living with a book for quite a long time and some of them really never leave you, never leave you or whoever. But it was more satisfying to me to be invested in a project for a longer spell than going to a studio or sitting in my booth because it was more going, it was always going to a studio even to do the audio books, you know, back then, back at the beginning. Yeah. Just more satisfying to be invested in a project for longer and to grow with it because you do. You're not the same person at the end of a book that you are at the beginning of it. And I don't know that I could say the same thing would be true for a 60-minute commercial or 30 seconds or whatever it is. Right. Yeah. Oh, I understand what you're saying. Yeah. That makes sense. Well, we're so excited to have you as guest speaker at Mavo2026 coming up in November. Can you tell our listeners a little bit about the topics generally speaking that you'll be covering and why they should attend your sessions? So in the general session, I'm going to be talking about the audiobook landscape today, which is the very rich and colorful one and comprises many different threads. So as I mentioned before, there's getting the job. How do you get the job? Where do you look for to get the job? But the job, how do you do the job? How do you prep your book? The various tools that and resources that there are for that. Finding work that's outside of the usual channels. So there are the publishing houses to contact. We don't have audio file magazine anymore, but we have focus reviews now. Has an audiobook section. So that's the new arm for that. And there are various new audiobook things along those lines coming along. The landscape, social media, kind of it's important to get the word out about who you are and what you do, the genres that you like. Also, we tend to be interfacing more and more with independent authors who will hire us to narrate their books and how to make that happen. So getting started in audiobooks, soups, nuts, that's kind of the dub tells into all of that. Many people get their start on ACX, the audiobook creation exchange, which is an arm of Amazon and audible. And for people that would be interested, it would be if they don't already know how to set up a profile. And even if they have a profile, how to maximize that, how to do auditions using your samples, website, setup, that it's important to have all your contact information upfront and your samples should be right up there all on the front page. It's best if the viewer of your website isn't being directed off onto another platform. There's just a million things about soups because it's so many, many subjects. Well, that would be a great, that will be a great class for everyone who wants to kind of really dig into the audiobook world and kind of learn more about it. So those, both of those sessions will be really great. So people should definitely sign up for those. And yeah, and there are also, it's kind of no man is an island, particularly when they're an audiobook narrator, and it truly does take a village. And I'd be happy to share, mention various professionals that it would be wonderful to know, you know, such as engineers, social media experts that can save you a lot of time and just it's a, you know, faster way. None of these things existed once upon a time, but they do exist now. And so it's easier to travel a road where you know where you're going. There's another narrator that has a wonderful website that I won't say to you because we want people to come, come to my class. There's, there's so many, many things to help you and guide you that you won't be on your own. And it's kind of, there's no need to do it on your own. And it doesn't make sense as things go along, nobody's going to have the time to do it all on their own to their editing and various things. So we'll talk about all about that. That sounds great. I'm really looking for a tear classes. That's going to be wonderful. Thank you. I'm so honored and excited to be doing this. I know. I'm so excited. It's like four months away and it's, it's really coming fast. So yeah, I hope that people get their tickets soon. Yes, yes, and you have such a wonderful glittering lineup of so many different wonderful people. Yeah, we really do have a great lineup this year. I think it's going to be a great event. So I know it's going to be a great event. So oh, yes, absolutely. And you even got casting directors, four of them. Yeah, it's, that's, I think the most casting directors we've ever had at one event. So that's really great because they can actually hire you. So yes, those are great people to know. Absolutely. Yeah, that's where it's at. So beyond acting, what do you like to do in your free time if you have any free time? I listened to some of your podcasts, things and how you like different television programs. And I do. I get very heavily invested. But that's also research oftentimes for accents and things and to keep me sounding English. I honestly now I've lived in America longer than I lived in England. So wow. Yeah, that's something. But I think it's watching so many British TV shows. So I do spend a lot of time watching TV. I listen to audiobooks. I always have an audiobook on the go. Right now, in fact, I'm listening to one that's not looking Irish writer. Tanner French. It's called The Searcher and it's the beginning of a trilogy of books. She writes these wonderful present day mystery stories. But I listened to anything. I also listened to the correspondent. That was a fabulous one recently. That's a multi cast multi cast one. So I love listening to audiobooks. I love shopping. And I particularly love the, I think why I like researching so much. I love thrift shopping where I can just go, you know, nosing along through things. I love that. Oh, fun. My kids love doing them. Yes. It's amazing. There's so many thrift shops. It's so much fun to go and see. I feel like it's more fun in Europe to go thrift shopping than it is in the US. But I guess it's okay here too. It depends where you live. There are an awful lot where I live. So many. And it's amazing what people part with, you know? Yeah. And with clothes, it's often the brand new with their tags still on. It's like flabbergasting what what people are throwing in a vertical is away. They're giving away. History. I love, so I love travel. But a gardening. I mean, yeah, there's just not enough hours in the day. Really? There you are there. I know. Really? There's not. All right. If you could spend the day with one person celebrity or not and still alive or not? Who would it be and why? And what would you talk about? Well, I'd love to have my mother back. I really would. Yeah, celebrity. I've often thought of Henry VIII. Oh, it's very interesting. And a very safe distance. Yeah. And this D, what he was all about. Right. Yeah, yeah, that would be he would be a fascinating person that I kind of love and love at the same time. Right. That's a great answer. There's so many people. I know. Yeah, it's tough. I think I probably want one of my parents back. Both of them maybe, you know, just for a day forever, you know, but like if you could only have one day, I think it would be interesting to have them back and ask all the questions that you think of after they're gone, you know. Tell them how much you miss them. Yeah, absolutely. That's though. I think that's the hardest part is how much you miss them. For sure. Yeah, I would spend hours talking to my mother on the phone and I so miss that. And I even dream of it. I dream of doing it because I miss it so much. Me too. I did. I spent so many hours on the phone with my mom and my dad when he was alive. And it's really hard when that is gone and you don't have, you're like, oh, I'm going to call my mom. No, I'm not. Like, oh, yeah. Just getting that was I think the hardest thing for me in losing my mom was just not being able to call and, yeah, you know, be like, this is what's going on, which I do, ask for advice or just chat about whatever, you know, that's definitely the hardest thing. Oh, it's the biggest loss. Well, are you working on anything now that you're allowed to talk about? I don't know that I'm allowed to talk about it. So, although I don't know, but it's kind of historical. So I just leave it in that in case I say the wrong thing. I'll take that. Nonfiction historical and it's very patriotic. Okay. Cool. Sounds good. Oh, and one more thing. The mastery class that I didn't mention, that's going to be a good one. It's called the art of telling stories in fiction and nonfiction genres. So we're going to cover a lot of bases and anybody that's out there that's listening, they can bring their two to five minute piece, any of their choice. And then I will be able to listen to that and give them feedback. And that'll be a very personalized great thing. Perfect. I'm looking forward to it. They are me too. Very exciting. Well, listen, Anne, it was so great chatting with you today. Thanks so much for being on the show and we're so excited and honored to have you as a guest speaker coming up at Mayvo 2026 on November 13 through 15 at the West Endals Hotel in Hurned in Virginia. If anyone is interested in registering for this great place over conference, you can go to www.minutelandicfeo.com to register and we'd love to see you there. [BLANK_AUDIO]