Narrator Spotlight: Michelle H Lee
Voices matter. And it goes beyond finding a great match to a character when an author selects a narrator for their audiobook. Sometimes the match is about more than a popular name or specific tone.
When her Painted Daisies novel Sweet Memory was scheduled for audiobook recording, LJ Evans reached out to Podium Audio, requesting a narrator whose cultural background and ethnicity matched her character’s. Podium reached out to Michelle H Lee, a Korean-American voice actor from Maryland. Best decision ever!
I believe LJ’s intentional decision to ask for an ownvoices narrator is so incredibly relevant and impactful, and I reached out to her to find out her motivation behind that request:
When I first had the idea for The Painted Daisies, I wanted them to be a collection of women from different ethnicities, cultures, and sexual preferences who came together as not only a musical group but as friends and, even more importantly, a family. I purposefully used sensitivity readers from the band’s differing backgrounds and tried with all my white, heterosexual heart to be respectful and showcase these stunning women as they should be told. So, when Podium Audio agreed to pick up the series, it was important to me to not only ensure #ownvoice narrators had the opportunity to bring these women to life, but it felt critical to the characters themselves. I’m incredibly proud of the talented voices that Podium brought to this series, and Michelle is at the core of that. She is generous and kind and incredibly authentic as a human. It’s been a pleasure to have her as part of this series and my author journey.
Having read the entire Painted Daisies series, I truly believe LJ accomplished her goals, and I am definitely enjoying reliving the series through the audiobooks.
When I listened to Sweet Memory, I went to look up Michelle H Lee (as I do with all the new narrators I come across) because when I find voices I love, I tend to look for even more audiobooks they narrate. I was so excited to read in her bio that Michelle doesn’t only narrate romance, she’s done voiceover work for multiple anime, including a couple I recognized from the many my spawns watch. It was a neat little shared moment for us when I pointed out that one of the narrators I started following voices characters in Assassination Classroom and Tokyo Ghoul.
In addition to narrating various audiobooks under Michelle H Lee, she also has a pseudonym, Emery Erickson, she uses for the spicier side of romance novels. In her words, “If my mother in law would be shocked to hear me narrate something then it's an Emery book.”
Her variety of work spans multiple genres and subgenres, creating a diverse collection of media that also crosses generations, and that is pretty freaking cool.
Of course once I found out more about her, I followed her on Instagram as well. Now I have to remember not to hit her profile when I’m hungry, because her foodie pix are amazing!
And of course I couldn’t leave well enough alone there, because when I found out Michelle is local to me and Charm City Romanticon, I hit her up to be an attending narrator at the event. I am so excited she’s going to be there and I can fangirl her in person.
It’s funny how we can live so close to people we share interests with, but it’s something so global as books that bring us all together. I am truly excited about meeting my practical neighbor at Charm and learning even more about her talents and experiences at the event.
All The Info About Michelle
You can find more information about Michelle on her website: https://www.michelleleevo.com/
And get more info about Emery on her website: https://www.michelleleevo.com/emery-erickson
You can grab Michelle’s audiobooks on: Audible
And grab Emery’s audiobooks here: Audible
You can find Michelle on social media here: Facebook Instagram Twitter/X
