#GuestDayTuesday – TRILLIUM: Narrated by Voice Actor, Jens Hansen – Written by Canadian author, Margaret Lindsay Holton

/ Marcia Meara

Today, we are featuring something a bit different for you, a newly released audiobook. I’m going to let author Margaret Lindsay Holton tell you all about her fabulous Voice Actor and her novel. Take it away, Lindsay!

As an award-winning and mid-career Canadian author, I am thrilled to announce the AUDIOBOOK version of TRILLIUM, the juicy historical fiction set on the southern shores of Lake Ontario in Canada, narrated by the incomparable Jens Hansen! 

In choosing the best narrator for this uniquely Canadian story set throughout the beautiful Niagara Peninsula, I was searching high and low for a broad ‘Mid-Atlantic’ accent that could reflect the undulating tones and intonations of the varied descendants of the English-speaking inhabitants. Finding just the right person was proving very difficult until I heard Jens’ wonderful voice.


HAVING A GOOD VOICE DEMANDS A GOOD EAR!

… Needless to say, Jens has a colourful ‘Anglo’ background …

Jens Hansen was born in 1964, in Dordrecht, #Holland, to a Dutch mother and #Danish father. At 3 months of age, his family moved to #Nigeria, #WestAfrica, where he was raised on a variety of farms while his father worked for the Ministry of Agriculture. In the late 1960’s, his family moved to Isfahan, #Iran, where life continued on a new farm. Jens spoke Dutch at home but he was taught English when placed in a small nearby ex-pat school. His parents would also treat him to English-speaking movies at the nearby US military base. (‘The Sound of Music’ and ‘The Jungle Book’ became childhood favourites.)

Iran, for a wide-eyed rural boy, was filled with glorious sights, sounds and smells. Jens explored nearby mountains collecting snake skins, tortoise shells and fossils. He visited nearby villages, drank tea and ate delicious exotic meals curled up on the floor mats with locals. He also spent many happy hours on the beach with his family on the Persian Gulf. Unfortunately, this idyllic childhood life came to an end when his mother was killed in a car accident. Jens and his younger sister were sent back to Holland to live with relatives for several months. They soon reunited with their Danish father after he had secured new employment at an agricultural college in #England.

By this point, Jens’s English-language skill was a bit rusty, but he soon got the hang of it again as he continued his education in the south-western seaside county of #Cornwall – a rugged and deeply rooted Celtic land – famous for knights, smugglers and pirates! His father re-married a Cornish woman who proved instrumental in developing Jens’s further appreciation of the English language. Jens was soon fascinated by ALL those different British accents! – Aye, shiver my timbers! – His new step-mum also had a great love of theatre and encouraged Jens to join various community groups. After leaving college, he apprenticed in the printing trade, eventually moving to #London. But big city life wasn’t for him and he moved to #NorthDevon to be near the ocean again. 

His life changed dramatically when he was offered employment in the paradise islands of #Bermuda. He jumped at it. After settling in his new island home, he readily joined the local dramatic society and even began to appear in newspaper, magazine and tv ads, modelling for local department stores and the Bermuda Department of Tourism. — (Ha! Mid-Atlantic to the T!!)

Mid Atlantic to a T!

While in Bermuda, Jens met and married his late Canadian wife. During their 11 years there, they were blessed with two fine sons. In late 2001, the Hansen males moved to the #Niagara region of #Ontario, #Canada, and settled into the small village of #Beamsville. Jens continued to work in print and performed in amateur theatrical productions where his unusual ‘Mid Atlantic’ accent proved on-point in local historical plays.  

Adding to his social repertoire, Jens also became a sought-after wine tour guide in beautiful Niagara-on-the-Lake. (#NOTL). Often seen commandeering either a classic Rolls Royce, Land Rover or London cab around the region in the playful guise of a famed ‘007’, Jens continues to this day to escort inquisitive visitors to the region’s many local restaurants and nationally-acclaimed wineries. 

In 2019, Jens moved with his new partner to the northern end of the mid-sized city of #StCatharines. After nearly two decades living in the Niagara area, Jens loves being surrounded by the sprawling vineyards and century-old fruit orchards so typical of the region.

For those who may not know, the famed Niagara peninsula is situated between two of the Great Lakes of North America, #LakeOntario and #LakeErie. The grand Niagara River links the two massive inland freshwater waterways and crescendos at the world-renowned #NiagaraFalls. There, cold waters from Lake Erie plunge over the ancient #NiagaraEscarpment into the gorge below before gushing out to Lake Ontario.

The novel, TRILLIUM,  starts here, at this waterfall gorge, when a young, bright-eyed British foot-soldier, Tom Hartford, gazes out over the rainbow-tinged falling water … 

After narrating this “epic” 14.5 hour story, Jens says he often thinks of the diverse, dramatic and droll characters who have come to life in the undulating country-side of Niagara so eloquently portrayed in TRILLIUM. This deep-rooted agricultural region of the peninsula proved fertile ground for the fictitious – yet delightful – Hartfords, the hard-working Di Angelos and scheming O’Sullivan clan!

To give you a taste of what to expect in this up-coming TRILLIUM – AUDIOBOOK, watch and listen as Jens transforms into revered Scots-Canadian poet Robert Service to perform an outstanding rendition of Service’s well-known poem: ‘The Cremation of Sam McGee’ … 

Clearly, narrator Jens Hansen is a raconteur: a lover of language!

Jens has now brought his masterful story-telling skills to the diverse multi-cast of TRILLIUM. He hopes to enthrall you as he takes you on an journey through this unforgettable family saga filled with local history … 

Now on Audible – or iTunes – for all to enjoy! 
Follow the well-travelled voice of Jens Hansen. DIVE IN! And, ENJOY!!!

p.s If new to audiobooks, try Audible for free for 30 days using this link.  Listen to this spell-binding and timely tale whilst knitting, wood-working, house-cleaning, exercising or just soaking up some sunny golden rays. Tune in! Your first download is FREE!

 

TRILLIUM by author, Margaret Lindsay Holton
(Also available in Ebook or Paperback  – #ReadAlongWithJens)

BLURB:

Insightful, compelling, engrossing and enlightening, TRILLIUM intimately portrays the intertwining evolution of three very distinct families in the wine-making region known as Niagara in the Golden Horseshoe region, Ontario, Canada.

… It all starts when a sandy-haired foot-soldier, 19-year-old Tom Hartford, crosses over the mighty Niagara River in the 1750s …

Readers will meet Maaka, an ingenious indigenous trapper; Franco, a dirt poor Sicilian labourer; Paddy O’Sullivan, a sweet-talking Irishman and sweet Cate, the Hamilton Harbour prostitute. And that’s just the beginning!

All unfolds with a pair of motherless red-headed twin brothers, a diabolical hate-filled drunkard, two devoted raven-haired sisters, an obsessed land developer, hard-working Mexicans, a kind blind man, a handsome Italian-Canadian wine-maker, a blessed treasure trove of attentive mothers, one demented vineyard-wandering wife – and a startlingly beautiful, simpleton savant, Anna.

A 250 year-old story about three families: expect the good, the bad & sometimes the very ugly …

Margaret Lindsay HoltonAward-winning Canadian Artist

MLH PRODUCTIONS
Lakeside Studio Open by Appointment Only
Phone Number – 905-393-5106
Lake Ontario, Canada

MLH visual blog: https://canadadaPHOTOGRAPHY.blogspot.com

LATEST RELEASES:
 
Award-winning The GILDED BEAVER – by MLHolton, 2nd Edition, June 2020
E-Book & Paperback on Amazon CA: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B089T7QJ5B/
 

 

TRILLIUM – by MLHolton. Finalist, 26th Hamilton Literary Awards, 2019

 

Ebook & Paperback on Amazon CA: https://amzn.to/2q0iEeL  
New Audiobook coming to Amazon USA: TRILLIUM  – Narrated by actor, Jens Hansen.
 
A Sound Celebration – CANADADA: TAKE TWO – https://canadada.bandcamp.com
Watch The Frozen Goose – OFFICIAL TRAILER & FILM – https://thefrozengoose.vhx.tv/

 

 

 

74 thoughts on “#GuestDayTuesday – TRILLIUM: Narrated by Voice Actor, Jens Hansen – Written by Canadian author, Margaret Lindsay Holton”

    • Alas, my hearing is too far gone to really enjoy them, though I’ve tried now and then. And I did check out the narration of the poem above. Though I can’t understand parts of it, what I could hear sounded very, very good. I agree about them often being unsung. Audio books are so very popular these days, you’d think they’d become more famous, though I’m sure some are so good, they’re in high demand in the industry. Thanks for stopping by today, Don! 🙂

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      • One of the best I’ve heard is Jim Dale’s reading of the Harry Potter books. I’ve seen him on Broadway and he has a way with dialects and voices. I’m sorry you can’t enjoy them, but I’m still a reader at heart, anyway and would much rather hear the voices as I imagine them over a voice actor’s interpretation.

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        • Yeah, I know what you mean. And I can read a book to myself a lot faster than I can listen to an audio book, though it would be nice if it were really an option for me. 😉 Thanks for the recommendation of the Jim Dale/Harry Potter books. Good to know for those who are able to enjoy audio. 🙂

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    • Thanks, Mae. I thought it was pretty interesting, too, and tried to present it exactly as Lindsay sent it to me. I’m glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for stopping by this morning. (I’ll be heading over to your blog and SE shortly.) 😀 ❤

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    • You are most welcome, Jens. It was fun to share something a bit different today, and I’m glad folks are enjoying it. Thanks for including the iTunes link. I could have sworn I had it in the mix, but it’s possible I missed it. Even so, it never hurts to share it again. I know folks will be checking it out.

      Thanks, too, for being part of this. It was great learning a bit about who you are and what you do! So glad you stopped by. 🙂

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    • Hi Jens ~ thanks for popping in! ~ Some great writers, readers & listeners on Marcia’s site. ~ It’s a wee shame she couldn’t get the embed to work on this post, then they’d SEE your wonderful animated self! ~ 🙂 ~ Happy New Year!

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  13. Fab post. Thanks to Margaret for sharing her very interesting book (hey I’m Canadian and live an hour away from the region she talks about). And just goes to show that the right narrator can make all the difference! 🙂 ❤

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  14. Marcia, thank you so much to this introduction of Holton’s book and it’s been fascinating to learn about the life of its narrator. Wow! What an incredible life, a globa onel, that ens has experienced and very sadly the loss of his mother as young. I can see why the author was thrilled to have met just the perfect match to narrate her book!

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    • Indeed, he was! When Jens & I met earlier to work on the poetry recital of the Robert Service poem, I could hear & see incredible potential. He was my 1st and always preferred choice as the narrator of TRILLIUM. ~ In it, he tackles a wide range of diverse characters over a 250 year timeframe ~ with aplomb! Hope you will dive into the 14.5 hours extravaganza. Thank you! ~ mlholton 🙂

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  16. They say that every cloud has a silver lining and Jens’ experience of living in so many different countries has obviously made him an ideal choice for a wide range of audio books. I decided to narrate my own book and quickly realised that having so many characters from so many different countries and regions had been a mistake! Trillium sounds like an intriguing saga.

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    • Glad you enjoyed learning more about Jens and Trillium, Trish. I did have an audio version of Swamp Ghosts made, but it was a ton (hours and hours) of work. And I would have preferred narrating it myself, but honestly, setting up a soundproof room at home, or paying a lot of money for a professional “booth” was daunting. I’d love to know more about how you did yours.

      Thanks for stopping by and I’m glad you enjoyed the post! 🙂 🙂

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        • And did that give you decent results, soundwise? I understand audio book publishers are very picky about that. I’m no expert on that, but I do know that my characters pretty much all have southern accents of one sort or another, and finding someone else who can do their voices and dialects correctly (without sounding like he’s doing the three bears talking to Goldilocks) is really hard. Plus the hours I put in on MY end, listening to and correcting problems, and going back and forth with the reader were mind-bloggling. I guess I need to hire Jens, myself. 🙂

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    • It is! Hope you’ll give it a whirl! 🙂

      Jens switches from accent to accent effortlessly: Italian, Scottish, Irish, French etc.

      It WAS a massive undertaking … We started in January and finished the 14.5 hour effort in mid August. He’d read about half an hours worth, I’d listen and correct or suggest. He’s fix. Then, I’d update the edit. I then sent our finished files to a sound engineer to clean up. Then, it was submitted to ACX, the audio arm of Amazon. It took them over 3 months to ‘clear’ our ‘indie production’ (an unexpected delay that threw off our fall marketing plans), and another month after that before it went to iTunes.

      Overall, the audiobook version was expensive to produce, and I seriously doubt I will ever make back the investment.

      BUT, it is done. A good audio version of TRILLIUM now exists. As time goes on, my hope is that the verbal telling of the story will travel beyond the reading kingdom. Time will tell. (The ACX contract is 7 years.)

      Worth mentioning too, there is growing concern from indie producers about ACX’s royalty structure and reporting. A group has formed on Facebook to address these on-going issues.

      Still, when all’s been said and done, I’m personally delighted by Jens’ re-telling of this tale. I could not have asked for a better narrator! Hope you will give it a whirl. (We are looking for a few good reviews on iTunes!) 🙂 ~ mlholton

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  19. This was a very suspenseful post! The more I read, the more I just had to hear Jens’ voice! As I listened to him recite the poem, I thought it sounded familar. Then I realized that I heard someone recite that very same poem at a faculty reading last month at the college where I work!

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