Laura Stahl breathes life into Snoe

Today marks the release of the audio book version of Zomblog: Snoe. And I am thrilled to say that the lovely and talented Laura Stahl is already working on Zomblog: Snoe's War, and will take the story to its conclusion with Zomblog: Snoe's journey. So, here she is...

Snoe in the sunshine!

So, what led you to doing voice work for audio books? 

A couple of years ago a friend of mine, Kyle McCarley was narrating a series. The author was interested in the idea of having a male voice for male characters, and a female voice for female characters. I thought it was a great opportunity to try something I had always been curious about. I'm an actor, and telling stories is one of my favorite things to do. It all just seemed like a natural course to continue to pursue it. It's a great creative exercise.


The social media is… 

Internet cocaine. I've never been very good at Facebook, twitter or things like that. I should probably work on those skills. If you use it right, it's an excellent professional tool. I just can't get past all of the people who use it as a diabolical over-share device. I don't want to know what your lunch looked like, and I really don't think doing your laundry at odd hours of the night constitutes zany enough activity to call your life "Hash-tag" random. 

Share some information about your individual work on projects besides the ones you are

doing for me: 

I've been very quietly writing songs on the Ukulele. I find it rather therapeutic. I'm not sure what's going to become of those. I may self-produce some and see where I can take them. I'm also in talks for a few independent films which has been a lot of fun. The projects are still in development phase and I've been lucky enough to be a part of that end of the creative process. It's been really eye opening. 

What is one question you are sick of being asked—not in interviews, but by individuals
who know you are in the entertainment industry? 

"Yeah, but what do you do? Like, for money?" another good one is, "When will you have rent?" (Just kidding on that last one. They've learned not to ask anymore.)

Get it HERE!

So, let’s talk a little about the Zomblog series. What are your thoughts on the project, and do you have an interest in the zombie genre apart from this work, or is it simply part of the job? What (if anything) do you think sets it apart from other stories in the genre 

I like that we've gotten to see enough of a time line to watch society begin to try and regrow. In the first insurgence of the popularity of Zombies, it sort of seemed like we were irrevocably watching the end of our species. In this latest return, we as a race have been fighting back. I love that Zomblog is making a statement that our current moral compass as a nation at the least is not satisfactory anymore against the insatiable hunger of blind masses. It's also great that we're reading the literal thoughts of our heroes. We get to live the life they do, while still allowing our imagination to fill in what isn't mentioned. 

What are some other projects where fans can find your work? 

If anyone out there is a fan of MMORPGs, I am the voice of the Tinkerer from the free to play game Dragons Nest. I have a few NPCs there as well. You can also find my voice in Maple Story. I'll leave it to the fans to find me. :) 


How would you describe Zomblog to friends? 

Zomblog is like viewing the birth of Legends from the inside. In the universe of Zomblog, the legacy of Sam, Meredith, and now Snoe, is widely known and has grown fantastical even in the heightened reality of existing Zombies. Because we; the readers; are lucky enough to live outside of the infantile society, we can get to know these characters as human beings, instead of the figure heads and mythic symbols they've quickly become.


What is one thing about you that would surprise individuals who do not know you personally? 

I speak a little Japanese. But not enough to survive. Also, one of my favorite things to do in the world is fly on trapeze!


What do you look for when choosing to narrate an audio book? Or are they simply acting jobs that you simply take as they come along? 

Getting down to brass tacks: Passable grammar. I know that sounds silly, but thanks to the fantastic opportunities of the internet, there's a huge wave of self publishers. It's great for those who would otherwise not have the chance. But it's also true that there's now less of a need to actually understand the written to get your voice out to the public. Honestly though, if I can't understand what you're trying to say, I can't fairly communicate it to your audience. 


One of the biggest criticisms regarding Zomblog is that it paints humanity in a negative light? Did you get that vibe? How did you see it? 

I can see where those criticisms are coming from. The world of Zomblog is stripped of niceties. We're still working on surviving, and not yet on thriving. Humanity can really be incredibly ugly. We've all seen it: fanatics, zealots, imperialists, psychopaths, these things stain the history of humanity- which in comparison of the world isn't very long. One thing that's good to remember though-- Zomblog is a heightened reality, (thankfully) not one we live in. As such, the ugliness as well as the beauty will also be sharpened. 

How do you see humanity dealing with a scenario such as this? (Removing the idea of how unlikely it is, of course.) 

Honestly I don't know. Seeing how communities rise up together in the face of disaster, I hope better than the series describes. 


Did anything stand out for you? 

The series as a whole, really. I just like that these people are PEOPLE. Not super heroes. We have flaws, all of us. We are unreasonable, prejudice, selfish and narcissistic. We don't like change. But we all have a need to thrive.