For Your Listening Pleasure

I'm giving you the entire first chapter of The Full Picture's audiobook for FREE

I know it’s not our usual newsletter day, so I’m sorry for coming into your inbox all uninvited and tings, but I just had to take a moment and share this with you.

You guys know I love my book. I really do. But my audiobook?! I am OBSESSED with it, okay?!

When my producer, Snowdog Audio, and I began our search for the perfect voice to narrate my novel, I don’t think I realized how difficult of a task that would be.

For those who don’t know, audiobooks are typically narrated by one person. So not only did I need this person to capture Robyn, a Black Canadian–born eighteen-year-old girl who grew up in Brampton (whew chile, it’s a lot, I know), they also had to nail the accents of her Bajan dad, Ghanaian love interest, Ghanaian grandma, British cousin, and every other character who features in the story.

So while so many wonderful women auditioned, especially Toronto-born girls who really embodied what it means to be from the GTA (IYKYK), they couldn’t always nail the Ghanaian accents. And the Ghanaian-based narrator who killed the voices for Osei and Grandma Lily didn’t sound right as Robyn, whose POV is what the book is told through.

I was starting to feel really doubtful that I was going to be able to bring my audiobook to life without it sounding like a Wakanda film, so I decided to go through all the Ghanaian books on my shelf and look up their audiobooks to see if there was anyone who fit the profile.

That’s how I found award-winning Ghanaian-American actress Ana Hoffman. Ana had narrated What Napoleon Could Not Do by DK Nnuro, which is set in both Ghana and America, so I just KNEW she would be able to bring The Full Picture to life in the way that I envisioned.

My producer reached out, and Ana responded immediately with a flawless audition that sealed the deal. Her passion and belief in my story is so clear in every single chapter, and I hope you enjoy her wonderful narration as much as I do!

So without further ado, here’s chapter one of The Full Picture for your listening pleasure.

Until we gist again,

Jess 🫶🏿