Heidi's Guide to Four Letter Words(7)

Directly in front of the window, I see a man with his back to us, sitting behind a computer. On the table next to the computer is a giant, flat, square piece of equipment lined with all sorts of buttons and switches. In front of the man and his table of electronics is yet another large window that separates him from a smaller room, where I see a man perched on the edge of a stool, wearing a pair of headphones and speaking into a microphone.

“Right here in front of us is Dave. Dave is one of our producers. The computer you see in front of him is what we refer to as DAW, or Digital Audio Workstation. The sound levels on the DAW are all set up at the very beginning of a recording, and they’re pretty much left alone so the audio quality is consistent for that specific project,” Jessica explains. “The man in the recording booth with the headphones is narrator Steve Reynolds.”

I watch as Dave lounges back in his chair with his hands clasped behind his head, staring at the DAW and what looks to be sound waves floating across it.

“What are they recording right now?” I ask as Jessica moves toward the door leading to where Dave is sitting.

“A romance novel,” she says with a shrug as she knocks lightly on the window.

Romances? I love romances!

I have two bookshelves in my living room filled to the brim with romance novels. My mother got me hooked a few years ago on a series of Amish love stories. That might not sound very exciting to some, but they are so beautiful and have such amazing storylines. What if I got to see one of those books being made into an audiobook? I’ll have no other choice but to see if my mother can stop by and watch once she finds this out.

Dave glances over his shoulder and smiles at Jessica, waving her into the room. I quickly follow behind her as she opens the door, waiting for me to move inside the room before she closes it behind me.

“Steve, let’s break for a few seconds and redo that last line. We need to understand just how much he wants this to happen. I’d like you to really emphasize the word pump this next time as well,” Dave speaks into a microphone right in front of him before swiveling around in his chair to face us.

This is amazing! I wonder what the character in this book wants to happen. I bet this is an Amish romance if they’re talking about pumping something. Must be pumping water from a well during this scene. Oh, my mother is going to be absolutely beside herself!

I watch Steve remove his headphones from inside the recording booth and take a drink from a bottle of water perched on a second stool right next to him before I move my eyes to Dave and smile at him.

“Dave, this is Heidi Larson. She’s going to be my replacement. Heidi, this is Dave Simpson, the best producer we have,” Jessica introduces as I hold out my hand for Dave to shake.

“Awww, jeez, Jessica, don’t make me blush. It’s good to meet-cha, Heidi.” He laughs before dropping my hand. “So, I guess Brian threatened your mint chocolate chip supply again, did he?”

“You know it.” Jessica nods. “You guys will be in good hands with Heidi. She used to be a teacher, so she’ll be able to keep you crazy kids in line.”

“That sounds great. Feel free to let me know if you have any questions, Heidi. There aren’t too many people here today, but you’ll be able to meet everyone else tomorrow. They’re all gonna be real glad to have you on board. Don’t you worry,” he reassures me.

“I actually have a question. What book are you recording right now? I’m an avid reader, and so is my mother. Romances are our favorite, and she will just die if you’re recording for an author we’ve read before. This is so exciting. She’s going to love it when I tell her about this.”

“Instead of telling you, how about we show you? Steve is recording a new romance novel that’s publishing next month,” Dave replies as he turns away from us, presses a button, and leans forward to speak into his microphone.

Oooh! A new book we haven’t even read yet!

“Steve, let’s take it from the top of page one-hundred-and-four, paragraph two.”

Dave reaches over and flips a switch on the table, and all of a sudden, I can hear Steve clear his throat through a speaker mounted on the wall right next to Jessica.

I can’t stop the giddy excitement that courses through me knowing I’m about to hear someone read lines from a book that hasn’t even been published yet. Any second thoughts I had about taking this job disappear in an instant as I watch Steve slide his headphones back on and get close to his microphone.

“See that stand in front of Steve?” Dave asks, keeping his eyes glued to his computer screen. “It’s got an iPad resting on it with the book’s manuscript pulled up. He did a quick read-through of the book once and made some notes on the iPad about scene changes, who’s talking, major events, those sorts of things.”

“He only read the book once, and now he has to act out the entire thing?” I ask in astonishment.

“They’re lucky if they even get to read it once. Sometimes, when they walk into the recording booth, that’s the first time they’ve seen the book,” Jessica tells me.

“Don’t tell the poor girl all of our horror stories on her first day or she’ll never come back tomorrow.” Dave laughs.

I hear Steve clear his throat a few more times and take another sip of water. He glances through his window at Dave, who points at him and nods, indicating Steve can go ahead and start whenever he’s ready. My heart starts beating even faster in my chest at just how exciting this whole process will be to watch and learn more about. I was dreading calling my mother when I left here today, and now I can’t wait.