Q&A with Narrator Darren Eliker

I am an absolute moth to the flame for a great narrator. Over the past couple of years I’ve gotten a bit picky about who I listen to. I have my favorites, and I do tend to stick to them. I love finding new favorites and working them into my audiobook rotation too. Some I find by accidentally, others through books I audioproof, and still others wind their way onto my radar because readers and authors just will not shut up about them.

That last one definitely applies to Darren Eliker.

As we approached CCR 2024, attendees started posting about who they were reading and listening to, and one name kept coming up: Darren Eliker. Darren has narrated multiple books for Suanne Laqueur. Suanne came to Charm City Romanticon in 2023, then again in 2024, and we became friends. I started to follow her and the accolades for her novels and their audios flowed across my feed.

Immersing herself in Suanne’s backlist, reader and CCR2024 attendee Joyce Hiebert posted, “Darren Eliker is hands down, no doubt, absolutely, the best audiobook performer I have ever heard. I’ve lost count of the accents he’s gifted me with. He laughs, he cries, he screams, he mourns, and he embodies completely the characters that the truly phenomenal Suanne Bierman Laqueur has created. I am in book heaven.” And Joyce’s opinion is one I trust implicitly. So I grabbed those audiobooks. Fast.

And while they are all on my TBL, one thing I absolutely did do right away was listen to passages in several of the books. Because come on, I couldn’t not sample that voice after multiple readers and Suanne raved about him. And, OH, that voice! Butter!

I fully admit to glee-squealing in dog decibels and doing a happy dance in my office when Darren accepted our invite to CCR2025. Having both him and Suanne there will be truly wonderful and I cannot wait to meet him.

Darren has a rich and varied background in acting and voiceover work, and he truly knows how to bring a story to life. I loved learning more about him through this Q&A, and I hope you will to.

How did you get started narrating? 

By the time the pandemic hit, I’d been performing professionally for nearly 30 years on stage, on-camera and voice acting. My full-time “survival job” throughout was in commercial audio production. I’ve been story-telling all my life and when the shutdown occurred, theaters closed and businesses were sitting on the sidelines, I was looking for a way to stay creative.  I’d been reading aloud to our son for years, books by Tolkein, Jobling, Riordan, and Mull among others, playing all the parts, the characters, the accents and it hit me…why the hell am I not doing this professionally? What are you waiting for? You’ve got a booth in your basement, the equipment, the skill set...get to work. I had no real plan. I just kind of went to Audible, found my way to ACX, started auditioning for projects that attracted me, and things kind of went from there.

Where do you recommend a new listener start in your audiobook library?

Romance and literary fiction fans should definitely start with An Exaltation of Larks, the first of the amazing Venery books by Suanne Laqueur. If mythological romance is your jam, go with The Voyages of Trueblood Cay, which is related to that series and a recent Earphones Award-winner.

Do you have a favorite/most memorable scene/ part in a novel you've narrated?

I have many but I’ll go with one from An Exaltation of Larks that absolutely wrecked me in the making. It was a certain phone call one of the main characters received from a certain plane on a certain day on which we can all remember exactly where we were. I’ll say no more.

Is there a part of your career as a narrator you thought was going to be difficult but has wound up being really wonderful?

I think it was not being sure where I was going to fit and whether people would like my work. I knew I wanted to focus on fiction and thought probably mystery/thriller, horror, sci-fi, fantasy, literary fiction and the like, which I’ve done. But the biggest surprise was discovering a fit with romance which has led to some of my best performances.

Are there specific themes, tropes, or subgenres you’re more drawn to as a narrator, reader, or listener?

Found family stories really resonate with me along with contemporary train wrecks and redemptive themes, things that allow me to explore the depths of human emotion through trauma, loss and recovery. Epic multigenerational stories with coming-of-age elements are super fun to work on. And I’m attracted to slow burn unrequited love themes. 

What is your favorite part about being a narrator?

Telling stories that people can feel. Not just hear but feel. Creating that theater-of-the-mind experience. From an actor perspective, it’s freeing to be able to play against type as my age changes, and lean into my fondness for accents, character work and language. I’ve always been attracted to the musicality of the human voice, what makes people sound the way they do, and what it says about where they’re from. Another fun thing about working with indie authors is the close collaborative relationship you often get to develop and witnessing an author’s delight in hearing their story come to life.

What do you like to read/listen to?  Any favorite authors/narrators you want to send a shout-out to?

I’ll read anything. My tastes are fairly eclectic. I was nibbling away at Ann Patchett’s Tom Lake when I was cast in the play The Animal Kingdom by Ruby Thomas in June during which I started prepping my next audiobook. So, I admit to mostly reading what I’m prepping or working on, which has been deliciously dominated of late by the amazing Suanne Laqueur. You may have heard of her? (wink) We’re currently producing our fifth title together. More on that soon!

Is there someone(s) who’s been influential in your life as it relates to your career? 

There are two in particular. First, my wife and best friend, Jennifer, for all her love and support over 26 years through rehearsals, performances, dry spells and late night recording sessions. The other is Suanne Laqueur, who has not only been the most wonderful partner, collaborator, and ally I could ever ask for but one of the dearest, kindest and closest friends I’ve ever had. To say her stories have changed my life is an understatement. She is the first romance author I’ve worked with and the whole reason I’m even at this event. I’m so glad we found each other. Ask her to tell you about it sometime. 

How have your life experiences influenced your career as a narrator? 

It’s hard to point to any one thing. We’re all storytellers and everything in life is show prep, as they say. Love. Loss. Laughter. Living. Dying. All of it. We’ve all experienced those things. As an actor, a narrator, you take that, live it, feel it all, and then pour it back into the words that are on the page, lifting them up, and  giving them life in the spirit of… “Let me tell you a story.”

This or That: 7 random questions that may or may not be book related: 

Kindle or Paperback - Paperback

Beach or Mountain Vacation - Beach

Dogs or Cats - Birds

Ice Cream or Cake - Ice Cream

Action Flick or Rom-Com - Action Flick

Tea or Coffee - Coffee

Road Trip or Air Travel - Road Trip

Connect with Darren:
You can find more information about Darren on his website: https://darreneliker.com/

You can grab Darren’s audiobooks on: Audible