Finding Her Voice: Audiobook Narrator Andrea Emmes.

Nick Sampson | November 26, 2025

Andrea Emmes - Epic Realms Poster

When audiobook narrator, actor, and producer Andrea Emmes sat down with Epic Realms, the conversation quickly revealed the remarkable path that brought her to more than four hundred narrated titles and a growing creative legacy. Her journey has been anything but traditional, shaped by resilience, reinvention, and an unwavering love of storytelling.

From Disney Interactive to an Unexpected New Chapter

Before she became one of the most recognizable voices in indie and traditional audiobooks, Emmes worked in the gaming industry. She spent several years at Disney Interactive, navigating the excitement and instability that often comes with tech and game development. After surviving one wave of layoffs, the studio eventually shuttered her entire department.

It left her at a crossroads.

Struggling to find another game design job with only a couple years of experience, Emmes faced the classic barrier many early-career developers encounter. Seasoned designers flooded the same interviews, and despite positive feedback, she continually heard that she needed more experience. That setback became the pivot point that changed everything.

Her husband, who often listened to audiobooks while working at major tech companies, suggested she revisit her voiceover roots and explore audiobook narration on ACX. With severance time to experiment, Emmes took the leap. She already had a microphone and basic gear, but quickly discovered that audiobook work required a different skill set than her previous acting, singing, and VO work.

Learning the Craft One Book at a Time

ACX became her training ground. Emmes likened it to the wild west, a marketplace filled with everything from first-time writers to authors so talented she wondered why they were not already famous.

She learned editing requirements, DAW software, sound specifications, and the delicate balance between performance and production. Early on, she recorded inside a closet before eventually upgrading to a professional booth.

Her first projects could not have been more varied. She narrated Broken Skies by Theresa K., a young adult sci-fi story, followed by The Lie by Ashley Fontainne, and then Get Inside Her, a nonfiction dating guide by Marnie Kinrys. Each one pushed her into new emotional spaces and technical challenges.

Over time, Emmes refined her approach to character work, especially male voices, which early reviewers criticized. Rather than be discouraged, she treated the feedback as a challenge, leaning on her musical background to explore vocal placement, pacing, and tone. The combination of formal training, natural storytelling instincts, and years of performance experience accelerated her growth as a narrator.

A Creative Partnership Ten Years in the Making

One of the most meaningful parts of Emmes’s narration career has been her long-running collaboration with author Ashley Fontainne. Fontainne was one of the first writers to hire her back in 2014, and the two forged a professional relationship built on trust, shared enthusiasm, and a mutual understanding of each other's creative strengths.

They worked together on a book nearly every year, even as Fontainne struggled with burnout, family responsibilities, and growing frustration over the competitive self-publishing landscape. Twice, Fontainne told Emmes she was ready to retire. Twice, she found new inspiration through Emmes’s performances. That ongoing partnership eventually evolved into something new: co-writing.

The Road to Eternal Beauty

Their new novel, Eternal Beauty, released on October 28, is a dark, emotional, genre-blending story that weaves horror, thriller elements, paranormal tension, and social commentary about beauty culture and trauma.

The seed of the project came from a short story Fontainne had written long ago, centered on characters named Barbara and Claire. Emmes suggested reshaping it into a young adult novel, and they expanded the cast with Bridget, a girl readers follow from age six through late adolescence.

The book explores the pressures of social media, the layers of identity people hide behind, and the dangerous pursuit of perfection. Emmes connected strongly with Bridget’s voice, contributing heavily to dialogue and age-appropriate perspective through the skills she developed narrating hundreds of books. It was her first time co-writing a novel, and the process consumed an entire year. The result is a work that both writers are deeply proud of.

Narrating Her Own Work

Recording her sections of Eternal Beauty introduced a new challenge. Emmes had read the manuscript dozens of times during drafting and revision. Knowing a story that intimately can sometimes make performance feel too rigid or rehearsed.

She pushed herself to remain present in each moment, even rerecording large sections when she felt the performance lacked freshness. Co-narrator Marnie Penning performed the older characters, bringing years of Shakespeare and theater experience to the project.

The finished audiobook reflects the emotional depth and technical polish that Emmes demands of herself.

A Career Still Evolving

Despite her achievements, Emmes remains humble and hungry for growth. She has not ruled out writing another book, though she jokes that she would probably still run her drafts past Fontainne for reassurance. For now, she continues narrating, acting, producing, and bringing stories to life with a voice that thousands of listeners instantly recognize.

As Epic Realms prepares to feature more creators across audiobooks, gaming, fiction, and multimedia storytelling, Emmes stands as a shining example of how passion, persistence, and reinvention can transform a career. From Disney Interactive layoffs to a catalog spanning more than four hundred audiobooks, her story is proof that unexpected detours often lead to the most fulfilling destinations. Check out the full interview on our Main Page - EpicRealmsMedia.com