Sound & Vision

Here on the ACX blog, we often tout audio as a way to take your story to another level, bringing your words to life in an art form that’s more than just your book read aloud. But what does that mean in practice? We’re joined by author Brit Benson, narrator Angelina Rocca, and producer Brittney Cottingham of Lyric Audiobooks, to talk about their new project Between Never and Forever—a rockstar romance that uses original lyrics and music to fully immerse listeners in the world of these characters and produce a story that’s truly meant to be heard. Read on to hear how they brought this story to life through the magic of audio!

Brit, to start with, tell us a little about the story. Brit Benson: Between Never and Forever is a rockstar, single dad, second chance romance. It's an angsty love story that spans over a decade, with heightened emotions, a few twists you might not see coming, and a beautiful HEA [happily ever after]. Savannah and Levi are best friends as kids until Savannah runs away at 15. Fate brings them back together at 18 only to tear them apart in a heartbreaking way. When they meet again at 26, Levi is a single father and Savannah is a world (in)famous rockstar. Levi's daughter also happens to be Savannah's biggest fan. When Savannah’s and Levi's worlds collide, tensions rise and sparks fly in the best "it's always been you" kind of way. Also, there's a really cute dog.

Why did you choose to incorporate music and singing into your audio edition? BB: Honestly, I didn't even know it was an option before starting this project. It wasn't part of my original vision for the book, and even after Brittney [producer] mentioned it as a possibility, I turned it down because the idea of it was too overwhelming for me. Writing lyrics was hard enough, but making decisions on music composition? Instant terror. It wasn't until I found out that Angelina [narrator] could sing that I actually got excited for the idea of music. I was already a fan of Angelina's work, and when I learned she had a background in music composition and performance, I trusted her completely to create something that fit with the story and the character she was playing.

How did you cast Angelina & Jacob? BB: Jacob was my dream narrator to play Levi. I knew Jacob had the kind of emotional range I wanted to hear in my hero, and Brittney is amazing and got him for me. I definitely did a little happy dance when I heard he agreed to do this project. Angelina was the best happy accident. There was another female narrator cast, but there was a scheduling conflict and Britt [producer] had to work some magic last minute. The moment Brittney suggested Angelina, I was like "I WANT HER." I knew Angelina from TikTok and was already a fan of her voice and presence, and I immediately could see her narrating Savannah.

Angelina, what is your musical background like? Angelina Rocca: I'm a classically trained singer and pianist and self-taught guitarist. I started performing and writing music at a very young age and continued to do so through university where I studied jazz music and political science. I took time off school to record an album and tour with my jazz and blues band nationally and internationally. Through that time, I performed everywhere from church basements and intimate jazz clubs to music festivals and concert halls. How does that experience play into your character for this audiobook? AR: Obviously I was not a rockstar like Sav is, but I deeply connected with some of her experiences managing public life/private relationships, band dynamics, the constant hustle and the toll all of that takes on a person. I remember feeling some of the things Sav felt in this book and drew a lot from that emotional well of experience.

How does music work within the story? BB: Since my FMC [female main character] is the lead singer in a band, there are several scenes where the character Savannah is singing—Levi hears Savannah's band on the radio or overhears her singing in her trailer on the movie set, and there is a whole song complete with singing and guitar in a scene where Savannah's band is performing a live show—and the music really elevates the listening experience. It's one more element that helps immerse the readers into the story. When you think rock concert, you don't think spoken word. You think singing and musical instruments. This audiobook gives that to the readers. Angelina was also perfectly cast for this role, so her composing the music and singing just gave the character of Savannah an even more authentic feel. Angelina didn't just play the rockstar, she became her, and it's something that readers experience when they listen to the audiobook.

I understand there is a full song in the audiobook – Brit, did you write the lyrics? BB: Ugh, yes. Ha! Had you ever written a song before? BB: I've never written a song before, and every second of writing those lyrics was painful for me. I was very reluctant to even try, but the consensus among my alpha readers and team was that a rockstar romance with a lead singer as a main character needed lyrics, so I did it. Essentially, I was peer pressured into it [laughs]. The lyrics I wrote never became a complete song in my head. I put a lot of meaning into the lyrics, but I was totally lost when it came to melody. Angelina composed the music and her friend Jeff Gunn played the guitar. I gave almost zero direction, but by the time Angelina was composing the music she'd already performed the whole book and had done such a beautiful job with my FMC that I trusted her vision. Angelina's performance proved that she understood the character of Savannah, so I knew she'd create something that fit the story.

Angelina, what did you pull from to inspire your performance of this character? AR: I listened to a lot of Fletcher, The Pretty Reckless and Kelsea Ballerini to get into Sav's headspace before writing. I spent much of my professional career singing jazz and blues, so I did my best to pull that back stylistically and perform the music in Between Never and Forever in a more straightforward way. By the final song, Sav has been through a lot in her life and it would be reflected in her voice so I sang with more rawness and strain than I typically would.

How do you make the music blend seamlessly with the storytelling? BB: I think the consistency helped make it feel more natural. If the character in the story sang, Angelina sang. For the whole band performance, there is singing and guitar accompaniment. In a way, the readers get to hear what the characters hear. It's a more immersive experience. I also think it helped that this audiobook was done in duet narration because even in Jacob's POV chapters when his character was overhearing Angelina's character singing, it was still her voice the readers heard. AR: The musical challenge of the first song was that it's performed in segments sprinkled throughout a few chapters. It was important to me that each [of the segments] were very clearly from the same song, so I had to stay true to the overarching key and rhythm. I treated each one as if it was a chorus, pre-chorus, bridge, tag etc. Ultimately, I decided not to use guitar for those segments and instead sang a cappella because I felt like the introduction of guitar in the text for sometimes what would have been a couple of lines would have been jarring. The final song worked with instrumentation because it was a high intensity moment on stage and felt like a fully formed song because of the length of it.

Brittney, from the production side, what can you tell us about creating an audiobook like this? Brittney Cottingham: The decision to integrate music into the audiobook was sparked by the fact that we recorded Between Never and Forever partly live on Zoom. When duets are recorded live, they capture an authentic exchange of emotions, reminiscent of the roots of audio plays. The chemistry between Angelina and Jacob in these live sessions added a realistic touch, particularly in emotionally charged scenes so it became important to maintain this authenticity throughout the project. Initially, we considered just instrumentals underneath the spoken lyrics, but the casting of Angelina, and me knowing her musical background, made it an obvious choice to have her sing in the audiobook.

Angelina, what was that live duet narration experience like for you? AR: This was my first time recording duet live with my co-narrator and it was incredible. The opportunity to play off of another actor is a much more organic experience than the way I've done it before, recording lines of dialogue without the other actor's voice and energy. This way of recording is challenging to schedule and more time consuming, but I think it's absolutely worth it. I felt like my emotional connection to the text was heightened and the audio more seamless because of it. How did you blend and balance the narration and musical elements so they work for the listener? BC: Careful execution is the goal here. You have to choose music that complements the mood and theme of the story while also making sure the musical elements enhance the overall narrative rather than distract from it or overshadow it. I had to pay attention to transitions between Jacob's narration and music to avoid abrupt changes that might disrupt the flow. I would also suggest anyone interested in doing music in audiobooks to gather feedback from beta listeners to identify any potential issues. This entire process is also done best when it's a collaborative process built on trust in the artists. I entrusted Angelina to lead the musical elements, allowing her creative freedom without micromanaging. I would also use this as an example for any producer that it's important to get to know the narrators that they work with! If I didn't know Angelina was a jazz singer in another life, I wouldn't have asked, and honestly, she probably wouldn't have suggested it! Building relationships with narrators can lead to special moments like this that might otherwise be overlooked. What advice would you give to an author looking to add music or song to their audiobook production? BB: Work with a reputable producer or production company that has experience with adding music—I never could have created this audiobook without Brittney. She was absolutely essential, and she cared about this project just as much as I did. Finding someone who understands the process and knows the industry is extremely important. It's also important to find someone who truly cares about your story and is committed to bringing it to life through the audio production. I don't know that I would say that it's necessary to have narrators with musical backgrounds, but I know it made a huge difference in my book. It feels more authentic because the narrator playing the rockstar is the person who composed the music and sang.

Want to hear the finished product? Between Never and Forever by Brit Benson is now available for your ears on Audible.