“Twilight,” the first book in the immensely successful “Twilight Saga” written by Stephenie Meyer, was released on October 5, 2005. The next three installments in the series followed annually until the final release of “Breaking Dawn” in 2008. The series has sold over 250 million copies world wide and has been translated into 37 languages. It has won multiple awards including the British Book Awards’ “Children’s Book of the Year” in 2008 for “Breaking Dawn” and the whole series received the honor of “Favorite Book” in 2009 at the Kids’ Choice Awards. Records were broken by the series in 2008 on the USA Today Best-Selling Book List and it spent an incredible 235 weeks on the New York Times Best Seller list.
However, the books were just the beginning. On November 21, 2008, “Twilight,” the first film in the five part movie series, made its debut in theaters. The movie adaptations of the popular book series grossed over $3.3 billion in world wide sales and “New Moon” even broke box office records on November 20, 2009. Going down in history as the largest midnight screening and opening day ever with an estimated $72.7 million.
The books and movies still hold popularity with fans and on August 4, 2020, those fans had something new to be excited about. The much anticipated fifth book in the series, “Midnight Sun,” was released. This particular installment is a retelling of the original “Twilight,” but told through Edward Cullen’s perspective instead of Bella Swan’s. Fans have already flocked to the book earning it a 4.9/5 rating with Barnes & Noble and a 3.9/5 with Goodreads.
Another exciting part to the release of the new book was the debut of the audiobook narrated by the incredibly talented, generous, kind, and all around awesome human, Jake Abel. Check out an excerpt from the audiobook here. Mr. Abel has dazzled us with his brilliant and breathtaking performance in the television series “Supernatural” as Adam Milligan and the archangel, Micheal. He made us love to hate his character Luke Castellan with his astounding talents in the “Percy Jackson” franchise and he stole our hearts with his extraordinary portrayal of Ian O’Shea in the film “The Host.” He even kept us laughing and organized donations to some amazing charities through several weeks of quarantine with his Instagram Live show “Jake & Bake” (by the way, his Deconstructed Eclair and Sweet Potato Gnocchi were absolute perfection). As if we didn’t already have enough reasons to love Jake, his phenomenal narration skills in “Midnight Sun” and his overall excitement for the project has made us love him even more.
Mr. Abel announced on May 28, 2020 that he had lent his silky smooth voice talents to the audiobook of “Midnight Sun.” His fans, along with the “Twilight” fandom, were overjoyed to hear the news! The excitement and anticipation for the long awaited release was suddenly tripled and it was abundantly clear that Jake was just as excited as the fans were.
Nerd Alert News was ecstatic to be able to chat with Mr. Abel about his experiences in recording the audiobook and the inside scoop on some thrilling news! We hope you enjoy hearing about his audiobook recording journey just as much as we did!
TiShea Wilson: First, we would like to congratulate you on the release of “Midnight Sun” and your chance to narrate the story! We were very excited when you announced the endeavor back in May! That being said, could you tell us a little bit about how the opportunity to narrate the story came about?
Jake Abel: I was up in Vancouver filming my last episode of Supernatural, before production shut down for COVID, when Stephenie Meyer’s producing partner, Meghan Hibbett, called and asked if I was interested in doing an audiobook. I said, “Is it ‘Midnight Sun?’ Tell me that it’s ‘Midnight Sun.’ Yes, I’ll do it.” The job, however, was not just handed over. I actually ended up having to send a couple tapes of me reading excerpts from the original “Twilight” and “Beautiful Creatures” as well. It was my first audiobook and at over six hundred pages, it was going to be no easy task. I think everyone just rightly wanted to be sure I could pull it off. In the end, it all worked out.
TW: What was the process to record the audio book like? Did COVID-19 restrictions hinder the project at all?
JA: Initially they were going to have me record at home due to obvious health concerns, but I requested to go to a studio with an engineer if one was available. I knew with a book that big and important to the fans, I would need someone there with me to catch any mistakes—which were countless—and to make sure everything was sounding okay. Luckily, Dennis Kao at Outlaw Sound in Los Angeles was still operating. So, he and I met up for around thirteen days over the course of three weeks and got it done right on schedule. I had an entire room with a booth to myself while he stayed in another recording room and we communicated seamlessly through the headphones and mic.
TW: Is there something that you learned from this experience that you will take with you into future projects?
JA: I did as much research online as I could on how to prepare for an audiobook, which basically came down to one thing: stamina. It can be very taxing on your voice and body sitting, reading, and talking non-stop for hours a day (which is partly why we only worked four day weeks, just to have the rest). I started my mornings doing various singers’ vocal warm-ups at home. On the drive to the studio, I’d put a pencil between my teeth (a trick I’ve done on set for many years) and would recite various poems and monologues to improve diction and dexterity. Then, once in the booth, I was never without Throat Coat tea with honey and ChapStick.
TW: What part of the project as a whole did you enjoy most?
JA: Before I started recording, Stephenie took preemptive pity on me for the parts of the book that not only have a lot of characters in them but intense action as well. However, those ended up being my favorite scenes to do. There was something about the challenge and the focus it took to switch between exposition and various voices that kept me alert and on my toes. I found it also allowed the emotion to build organically. I tended to fumble words less in those exchanges than when just reading Edward’s straight dialogue for instance.
TW: Is narrating for an audiobook something you would be excited to do again? If so, what book would you choose to lend your narration skills to if you could pick and why?
JA: Narration for audiobooks, or even documentary films, is absolutely something I’d be interested in again. In fact, I’ve already recorded another audiobook. I’m not sure if I’m allowed to talk about it, but seeing as nobody told me otherwise, I’ll just go ahead and give you the scoop. Very recently I went back to Outlaw Sound to record the voice of Liam, a nineteen-year-old serial killer in Ellie Marney’s forthcoming novel “None Shall Sleep.” In a nod to “Silence of the Lambs,” Liam is sort of a ‘Hannibal Lecter’ to Emma Lewis’ ‘Clarice’, the book’s protagonist. The expected release date is September 1, 2020.
TW: Of course, we have to ask, how is the self quarantine in Canada going? How thrilled are you to finally be getting back in front of the camera again?
JA: Quarantine in Canada has been rather fantastic, actually. You can’t lock me away in a nice room with all my hobbies and not expect me to thrive. Haha! I’m doing all sorts of fun things in here, most of which you catch on my Instagram. As far as returning to work, it’s more than just being back in front of a camera. One thing doing an audiobook showed me was how much I enjoy being creative with other people. I miss the community of a film set and am eager to return…safely and at a distance of course.
You can download your very own copy of the “Midnight Sun” audiobook narrated by Jake Abel on Audible, Google Play Books, and wherever else audiobooks are sold.
Nerd Alert News would like to extend a thank you to Jake Abel for taking the time to chat with us. We greatly appreciate your time and it is always a complete joy to work with you.
If you would like to donate to one of the charities that were featured on “Jake & Bake” as well as one near and dear to Mr. Abel himself, follow the links below:
Written By: TiShea Wilson
