An Interview with Liz Winstanley, Narrator of Expectations

Expectations on Audible
Cover by Jo-Anne Sieppert

In June 2017, ACX began offering its services to clients in Canada.
ACX is a company which helps authors turn completed novels into audiobooks.

Shortly after hearing the news, I submitted Expectations: A Continuation of Pride and Prejudice to ACX in hopes of finding a narrator with a British dialect. I was beginning to wonder if it would ever find such a producer when I received an audition from Liz Winstanley performing the first 15 minutes of my book. I listened several times, enjoying the warmth of her voice and her talent for voices. Then I made sure my husband and children approved and sent her an offer to record my book.

It has been a delight working with Liz over the past six months. She was dedicated to perfection and a pleasure to correspond with. She graciously suggested a few alterations based on her own knowledge of Regency and British customs. She was also a lovely person and so I asked for an interview which reveals a little more about this talented producer.

Sam: Tell me a little about yourself.

Liz: England was my home until I married an American in 1954, but I'm still a British subject.  Fearful of my acquisition of a North Country accent whilst at boarding schools there, I was given elocution and drama lessons which have served me very well, because in the workplace my so-called 'English accent' has secured employment, where other skills have been singularly lacking.

Sam: What made you interested in becoming a narrator for ACX?

Photo Courtesy of Liz Winstanley

Liz: ACX provides marvelous opportunities for bringing all authors and genres to the world via Audible books so the challenges and rewards offered appealed to me.

Sam: I believe Expectations is the first book you've narrated for ACX. How did you come to choose Expectations?

 Liz: The many movie interpretations of Pride and Prejudice gave me a great insight to the various characters, so I was delighted when I was accepted to be the narrator of this remarkable continuation of their pursuits! I couldn't have asked for a better book to be my first effort!

Sam: How were you introduced to Austen's works?

Liz: Jane Austen's house is located in a small village just miles from where we used to live, so naturally it was top of the list for us to explore. Her characters are so finely drawn and her careful descriptions of the mores and expectations of the genteel young ladies of that time continue to both enlighten and to entertain.

Sam: Do you have any future narration projects you can share?

Liz: I'm planning to try my hand - voice - at narrating some of the well known classics that are now in the public domain, for instance 'Alice through the Looking Glass,' which remains one of my all-time favourites.

We hope you enjoy the result, available now on Audible.