Michael Alan White

For most of my life I worked construction. Narrating audiobooks wasn't a plan — it found me on a job site.

I was working on the home of the late Western author C.J. Petit, and every day he'd tell me about the stories he was writing. I got pulled right into them, but I couldn't find time to read — with a wife and three small kids, they wanted a husband and father coming home, not a bookworm in the corner. I told C.J. I listen to audiobooks all day while I work, and if his were on audio I'd devour them. He figured having them produced sounded like a pain and let it drop. But it planted something.

I'd been a musician my whole life — I spent several years touring as Colbie Caillat's bass player — so I already had a microphone and knew my way around recording and editing. I kept my day job, but instead of listening to audiobooks while I worked, I started listening to podcasts by working narrators, learning how the craft is really done. Then, down in my basement after the family was asleep and with coaching from top narrators like Johnny Heller, I started learning the trade.

Before long I handed C.J. a sample of one of his own books. It was surely rough, but he said it felt right — and gave me a chance. I went full-time in 2020, and I've narrated over 100 titles since.