James Patterson, “The Chef” & Me

 

Fellow muses – and co-authors – JAMES PATTERSON & BILL CLINTON sharing a moment.

 

Hired by the Hachette Book Group in NYC to record and narrate the AudioBook version of best-selling author James Patterson‘s latest thriller, I had no idea what I’d signed-up for.

 

Or how far down the “rabbit hole” I’d have to go.

But when you’re invited to audition for a title by one of the world’s best-selling authors, and by one of the world’s leading AudioBook producers… well, you do it.

Upon receiving my MP3’d audtion of Chapter One, I was cast by Hachette’s LIsa Cahn as studio of choice – my Airlift Productions – and narrator.

JamesPattersonTheChefNarratedByMichealZiants
“The Chef” CD Artwork – Narrated by Micheal Ziants, Airlift Productions, New Orleans

Set in New Orleans over Mardi Gras, “The Chef” unravels the tale of Caleb Rooney, detective in the NOPD by day, and celeb food truck operator by night.

Throw into the mix: the FBI, NOPD brass, a police shooting by our hero, recipes (yeah, recipes, it’s called “The Chef”, after all), sex, an ex-wife, a new flame, Middle East extremists, Muslims, “red herrings”, NOLA  tourists, travelogue-style descriptions, Mardi Gras…. and terrorists – and you’ve got yourself quite a rabbit hole.

The planet Earth’s best-selling author JAMES PATTERSON

Co-written along with Max DiLallo, a Los Angeles-based screenwriter, this one is certainly getting some mixed reviews around the planet at the moment (did these folks all listen to/read the same book?), but it was my task to READ THE WORDS.

While, at the same time, give LIFE to the characters!

And what characters – from the sassy ex-wife Marlene to the new flame Vanessa…from the NOPD chief to arrested ne’er-do-wells… from a Middle East terrorist suspect to his bitter widow!

Witness but a small sample in this video “trailer” that I produced for the YouTube krewe here…

* “The Chef”, available now planet-wide via Hachette AudioBooks *

Taking direction from producer Lisa Cahn via the Airlift Productions phone-patch, we recorded all the narrative across November and December 2018, with finished audio edited by Tim McCarthy at A-1 Sound Studios in New York.

And what a thrill the entire process turned out to be!

After all, Lisa informed me shortly into our recording sessions that Mr. Patterson listens to all his AudioBooks so, “Micheal, you’re the voice in his head right now!”

 

 

Really?  As if!

With over 375 million books already sold to this date, and with all the characters this character has already cooked-up…. isn’t there enough traffic there already?

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MichealZiantsSteveScaliseAirliftProductionsNOLA-Oct2018
Steve Scalise & Airlift Mike during a break from “Back In The Game”, Airlift Productions NOLA, October 2018

“Mike, I can’t thank you enough for the great job you did coaching me through the audio recording of my new book, “Back in the Game!” Since this was the first book I’ve ever written (and recorded), it was all new territory for me. You made the entire process go very smoothly, and I am incredibly happy with the final product.

I appreciate all you did to bring this book to life. You know you are really good when both James Carville and I are in complete agreement that you are great to work with!!” — CONGRESSMAN STEVE SCALISE

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Airlift Productions ~ Audio Alchemy & Digital Magic from NOLA

Airlift Productions – we’ll leave the mics hot… and the light on for you.

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