Where I’m Writing From: Sound Booth eli.cranor@gmail.com March 5, 2023 Eli Cranor is an Arkansas novelist whose debut novel, Don’t Know Tough, is available wherever books are sold. Don’t Know Tough made @USATODAYBooks’s “Best of 2022” list and the @nytimes “Best Crime Fiction” for 2022 Cranor can be reached using the “Contact” page at elicranor.com and found on Twitter @elicranor

Left to right: Eli Cranor, Danny Campbell (on computer), and Kevin Cottrell

I’m writing from the sound booth inside Joker Ent. Recording Studio.

The studio is owned and operated by Kevin “K.E.V.” Cottrell. I’ve gotten to know Kevin over the twenty-some-odd hours it’s taken me to record the audiobook for my next novel, Ozark Dogs.

Kevin is a big dude, taller than I am, with wise eyes and an easy smile. His studio is located just off John Barrow Road in Little Rock. It’s a dim-lit space with a salt-crystal lamp and a bamboo plant in the corner by the window.

The whole audiobook process is wild.

This is my second time recording my own work. I recorded Don’t Know Tough in Memphis around this same time last year. I did the whole thing in three days straight and it just about killed me.

That studio was called Electraphonic. It was different from Kevin’s in a lot of ways. More old school. The owner, Scott Bomar, was Justin Timberlake’s cousin. He recorded the soundtracks for “Hustle and Flow” and “Black Snake Moan” in the same studio where I recorded my first book.

I love Memphis. I was born just a few miles west of there in Forrest City. Scott was great too, but the marathon session proved too much, not to mention the four-hour drive home to Russellville.

That’s why, when it came time to record the second novel, I pushed the audiobook company to find a studio a little closer to home.

Kevin and his first-class organization really helped lighten the load. We weren’t alone, either. Danny Campbell, a voice actor out of L.A., directed the whole production via Zoom.

It’s one thing to write a book; it’s a whole different thing to record one. Every time my throat gurgled or I flubbed a line, Kevin had to pause the recording and start again. Danny made sure I kept all the different character voices straight. He also helped with my inflection and tone.

My back hurt, my throat was raw, my eyes watery, but when it was all over we had eight hours of high-quality audio, eight hours’ worth of a story set right in my backyard.

Was it worth it?

You bet it was, and here’s why: I don’t see Arkansas represented much in the wide world of publishing. When I do, something’s always wrong. The locations don’t add up. The accents are way off.

It means a great deal to me to represent an authentic Arkansas. Now, I didn’t say an ideal Arkansas. My books oftentimes highlight the dark side of the Natural State, but I work hard to make sure I deliver an honest portrayal. And with the help of Kevin and Danny, that’s just what this latest audiobook provides.