Welcome to Femme Vocale

Featured

Posted on 29 March 2013 by delilah

CRYSTAL SERSHEN

I am an Audible-Approved audiobook narrator, voiceover artist, and professional actress with an MA in classical theatre from New York University. My theatrical background provides me with a great facility for expression, creating characters, and a variety of accents. I have performed on stages throughout Southern California and been associated with some of Los Angeles’ most prominent theatre companies, including The Will Geer Theatricum, The Actors’ Gang, and City Garage. I honor literature immensely and love bringing words to life.

My professional post-production experience in film and broadcast television greatly facilitate the production element required to fully produce and master professional audiobooks. I worked as a story editor and assistant editor on MTV’s Made, Bravo’s The It Factor, and VH1’s Totally Obsessed. I have also shot and edited two short documentary films (viewable on my website The Bohemian Heart).

My state-of-the-art studio, Femme Vocale, delivers the highest-quality audio, with latest generation iMac, Focusrite Scarlett audio interface, Pro Tools 10, Audio Technica 2035 large diaphragm studio condenser cardioid mic, Waves plugin suite, and iZotope RX.

My clients include authors, agents, audiobook production houses, and publishers—among them Audible Studios, Bee Audio, New York Times bestselling author Joan Wester Anderson, New York Times and USA Today bestselling mystery/thriller author Cheryl Bradshaw, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Ava Lore, bestselling mystery writer Jo Dereske, and award-winning Amazon #1 bestseller Dr. Jennifer Howard.

You might not know it to look at me, but as a second-degree black belt, former second mate and forklift driver, I’ve got a mean left hook and can drink just about any sailor under the table. But the real secret of my success is my little pooch (and production assistant), Howlin’ Jay Hampton, who makes my world a vastly better place.

Audiobook narration and production is a natural for me, the perfect amalgam of my creative talents.

I am a member of the APA (Audio Publishers Association).

Acting Resume | Samples | CV | LinkedIn profile

New Release: Dear Departed

Posted on 20 June 2015 by delilah

Dear Departed by Enes Smith

Decorated homicide Sergeant Natalie Collins arrived home only seconds after her sister was murdered. The killer was still at the house . . . a man who believed that with each kill he was closer to living forever. He was hunting survivors of certain death – searching for their secrets. He escaped, and the evidence in Natalie’s house pointed to her. Now she is on the run, hunted by the police and the killer with unfinished business.

A serial killer thriller in the best traditions of mystery, crime, and suspense novels. Originally published by The Berkley Publishing Group, this is a special Kindle edition. Crime writer Ann Rule said, “Smith is a cop who’s been there, and a writer on his way straight up . . . chillingly authentic.”

Get the audiobook here

Coming Soon … Dear Departed by Enes Smith

Posted on 8 May 2015 by delilah

SLATED FOR JUNE RELEASE

Dear Departed by Enes Smith

A serial killer thriller in the best traditions of mystery, crime, and suspense novels. Originally published by The Berkley Publishing Group. Crime writer Ann Rule said, “Smith is a cop who’s been there, and a writer on his way straight up . . . chillingly authentic.”

Black Artstory Walking Tour: Audio Release

Posted on 17 February 2015 by delilah

Femme Vocale proudly announces the audio release of Myrtle Avenue Brooklyn Partnership’s Black Artstory Walking Tour, with narration by award-winning voice actor Dave Fennoy and Crystal Sershen.

+ =

Myrtle Avenue Brooklyn Partnership’s Black Artstory Month

Walking Tour

This self-guided walking tour focuses on a handful of African-American artists who called Fort Greene or Clinton Hill home while they were at the height of their artistic careers. This tour will explore the lives of eight different artists who worked in a variety of fields, from music to painting to literature, from the Civil War through the 1990s. Some of the artists were born and raised in the neighborhood, while others migrated here, drawn by the area’s vibrant community of Black artists.

Beyond their neighborhood and race, each of these artists share a common thread: They dedicated their lives to honing artistic talents and creating something new to share with the world.

The area of Brooklyn that you will explore during this walking tour holds close to 400 years of Black history.

Access the audio version of the walking tour here

Coming Soon: The Boss’s Fake Fiancee by Inara Scott

Posted on 7 January 2015 by delilah

SLATED FOR FEBRUARY RELEASE

The Boss’s Fake Fiancee by Inara Scott

An Audible Studios Production

Is she his worst nightmare…

No relationships, that’s billionaire Garth Solen’s rule—especially not with a woman like his new employee Melissa Bencher, who thinks with her heart and not her head. But all bets are off when Melissa’s attempt to make her jerk ex-boyfriend jealous by suggesting that she’s dating Garth. To protect his ailing grandmother, he is forced to play the part of Melissa’s adoring fiancé.

…or a dream come true?

Melissa couldn’t begin to imagine all the trouble one impulsive act could cause. Now she’s trying on rings and posing for the paparazzi with her gorgeous boss. The game is clear: for one month, they play the part of an engaged couple, and then they part ways. No emotions. No entanglements. But when it comes to matters of the heart, Melissa’s never been good at following the rules…

Coming Soon: Movement by Valerie Miner

Posted on 22 December 2014 by delilah

SLATED FOR JANUARY RELEASE

Movement by Valerie Miner

An Audible Studios Production

This novel in stories tracks ten years in the life of Susan, a journalist and feminist, during a time of transition in America

Susan is an activist. And yet, though her political ideals form the center of her life, she questions her convictions. At the heart of this string of interconnected stories are tensions among ideas, feelings, and action. Miner deftly interweaves Susan’s story with the tales of women whom Susan will never meet. The result is a textured and enveloping book that creates a sense of universality.

Written with a deep understanding of activism, Miner’s novelistic retrospective of the feminist movement questions everything from marriage to Marxism. This fascinating work gives a true and unflinching view of what it means to be a woman in the world.

Valerie Miner is the award-winning author of fourteen books, including novels, short fiction collections, and nonfiction. Miner’s work has appeared in the Georgia Review, TriQuarterly, Salmagundi, New Letters, Ploughshares, the Village Voice, Prairie Schooner, the Gettysburg Review, the Times Literary Supplement, the Women’s Review of Books, the Nation, and other journals. Her stories and essays have been published in more than sixty anthologies. A number of her pieces have been dramatized on BBC Radio 4. Her work has been translated into German, Turkish, Danish, Italian, Spanish, French, Swedish, and Dutch. She has won fellowships and awards from the Rockefeller Foundation, the McKnight Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Jerome Foundation, the Heinz Foundation, the Bogliasco Foundation, Fundación Valparaiso, the Australia Council Literary Arts Board, and numerous other organizations. She has received Fulbright fellowships to Tunisia, India, and Indonesia. Winner of a Distinguished Teaching Award, she has taught for over twenty-five years and is now a professor and artist in residence at Stanford University. She travels internationally giving readings, lectures, and workshops. Her website is www.valerieminer.com.

Audio Tour: Myrtle Avenue Brooklyn Partnership’s Black Artstory Month 2015

Posted on 30 October 2014 by delilah

Exciting news as Femme Vocale signs on to produce a podcast-format walking tour for Myrtle Avenue Brooklyn Partnership’s Black Artstory Month 2015, in celebration of Black History Month.

Producer and voice artist Crystal Sershen was able to mine the award-winning, well-renowned, and universally loved talent of Dave Fennoy, so this production promises to be a powerful contribution to the neighborhood and the celebration of black artists of Fort Greene, Clinton Hill, and Wallabout, Brooklyn.

Stayed tuned for more details.

DAVE FENNOY

CRYSTAL SERSHEN | FEMME VOCALE

The Complete Stories of Bernard Malamud

Posted on 30 June 2014 by delilah

I’m delighted to have been selected as one of four narrators on The Complete Stories of Bernard Malamud, one of America’s great authors. Produced by Audible Studios. Look for release in August.

New York Times Notable Book of the Year
Publishers Weekly Best Book of 1997

With an Introduction by Robert Giroux, The Complete Stories of Bernard Malamud is “an essential American book,” Richard Stern declared in the Chicago Tribune when the collection was published in hardcover. His praise was echoed by other reviewers and by readers, who embraced the book as they might a displaced person in one of Malamud’s stories, now returned to us, complete and fulfilled and recognized at last. The volume gathers together fifty-five stories, from “Armistice” (1940) to “Alma Redeemed” (1984), and including the immortal stories from The Magic Barrel and the vivid depictions of the unforgettable Fidelman. It is a varied and generous collection of great examples of the modern short story, which Malamud perfected, and an ideal introduction to the work of this great American writer.

Sinfully Hot Summer Release: The Billionaire’s Wife

Posted on 27 June 2014 by delilah

What’s the difference between 50 Shades of Grey and The Billionaire’s Wife? Good writing.

+ =

Delphine Ste. Sirène – sassy seductress, sarcastic siren, and my soul sister at Femme Vocale – announces the hottest audiobook release of the summer: Ava Lore’s The Billionaire’s Wife. Read the synopsis below and listen to a sexy sneak peak right here – it sizzles!

Get the audiobook here

Synopsis

Starving artist Felicia Dare hates rich men. As far as she’s concerned, they’re all absent, philandering jerks who care more about money than people. And she should know. Her own father is a millionaire.

Or was. When he shows up on her doorstep and tells her he blew the GDP of Africa on bad investments and failed businesses, Felicia knows he’s getting what he deserves. Except that’s not all: her mother is sick, and he can’t afford the payments for her treatments. He has a backer to save his company, but there’s one catch: Felicia must marry him!

A modern woman, Felicia balks at the implication that her hand can be bought, and she sets out to give this backer a piece of her mind. But there’s more to Anton Waters than money and power, and when they come face to face, Felicia realizes that saying no to his proposal may be harder than she thought!

Warning! This novel is full of drama, romance, and red-hot BDSM sex, and is for mature readers only!

Get the audiobook here

Just Released: Goldenland Past Dark, written by Chandler Klang Smith & read by Yours Truly (an Audible Studios production)

Posted on 3 June 2014 by delilah

THE HIGHLY PRAISED DEBUT NOVEL by Chandler Klang Smith

CLICK HERE FOR SAMPLES

A hostile stranger is hunting Dr. Show’s ramshackle traveling circus across 1960s America. His target: the ringmaster himself. Struggling to elude the menace, Dr. Show scraps his ambitious itinerary, ticket sales plummet, and nothing but disaster looms. The troupe’s unravelling hopes fall on their latest and most promising recruit, Webern Bell, a sixteen-year-old stunted hunchback devoted obsessively to perfecting the surreal clown performances that come to him in his dreams. But as they travel through a landscape of abandoned amusement parks and rural ghost towns, Webern’s bizarre past starts to pursue him, as well. Along the way, we meet Nepenthe, the seductive Lizard Girl; Brunhilde, a shell-shocked bearded lady; Marzipan, a world-weary chimp; a cabal of drunken, backstabbing clowns; Webern’s uncanny sisters, witchy dogcatchers who speak only in rhymes; and his childhood friend, Wags, who may or may not be imaginary, and whose motives are far more sinister than they seem.

PRAISE for GOLDENLAND PAST DARK

“Smith’s first novel captures the uncertainty and surreal qualities of circus life in gorgeous prose. Her characters represent archetypes of the ‘circus freak’ as well as very real people with deep-rooted feelings and motivations. Part dark fantasy, part magical realism in the style of James Blaylock and Tim Powers, Smith’s tale deserves exposure to a crossover audience.” – Library Journal

“Smith’s debut showcases a cornucopia of memorably weird personalities in a handful of vivid moments…All of this is utterly fantastic and wonderful.” – Publisher’s Weekly

“Chandler Klang Smith is clearly a writer of promise, with an eloquent and poetic imagination and a feel for language that more than matches it.” – Strange Horizons

“Chandler Klang Smith is one of the most exciting new novelists I have read in some time. Her precise, lyrical voice should enchant a good many readers. Goldenland Past Dark is an impressive debut that signals the beginning of a long and fruitful career.” – Nicholas Christopher, author of Veronica and The Bestiary

“Like a Max Fleischer cartoon or a Charlie Chaplin film, Goldenland Past Dark sneaks in real, unsettling weirdness and lingering melancholy behind a facade of zany fun. In this vivid, highly original debut, Chandler Klang Smith proves herself to be an imaginative force to be reckoned with. Step inside this circus tent: you’ll be glad you did.” – Christopher Miller, author of The Cardboard Universe and Sudden Noises from Inanimate Objects

“Chandler Klang Smith’s debut is filled with fascinating freaks and language that evokes the magic of a night under the big top.” – Lev AC Rosen, author of All Men of Genius

Get the audiobook here

Goldenland Past Dark

Posted on 28 April 2014 by delilah

I am both thrilled and honored to be working on the audiobook version of this fine novel. The writing is outstanding and beautiful, the characters heartbreaking. Chandler Klang Smith is a magnificent author. More to come on the release date in a few weeks….

SLATED FOR MAY RELEASE:

GOLDENLAND PAST DARK

THE DEBUT NOVEL by CHANDLER KLANG SMITH

A hostile stranger is hunting Dr. Show’s ramshackle travelling circus across 1960s America. His target: the ringmaster himself. Struggling to elude the menace, Dr. Show scraps his ambitious itinerary, ticket sales plummet, and nothing but disaster looms. The troupe’s unravelling hopes fall on their latest and most promising recruit, Webern Bell, a sixteen-year-old stunted hunchback devoted obsessively to perfecting the surreal clown performances that come to him in his dreams. But as they travel through a landscape of abandoned amusement parks and rural ghost towns, Webern’s bizarre past starts to pursue him, as well. Along the way, we meet Nepenthe, the seductive Lizard Girl; Brunhilde, a shell-shocked bearded lady; Marzipan, a world-weary chimp; a cabal of drunken, backstabbing clowns; Webern’s uncanny sisters, witchy dogcatchers who speak only in rhymes; and his childhood friend, Wags, who may or may not be imaginary, and whose motives are far more sinister than they seem.

PRAISE for GOLDENLAND PAST DARK

“Smith’s debut showcases a cornucopia of memorably weird personalities in a handful of vivid moments…All of this is utterly fantastic and wonderful.”
– Publisher’s Weekly

“Chandler Klang Smith is clearly a writer of promise, with an eloquent and poetic imagination and a feel for language that more than matches it.”
– Strange Horizons

“Chandler Klang Smith is one of the most exciting new novelists I have read in some time. Her precise, lyrical voice should enchant a good many readers.Goldenland Past Dark is an impressive debut that signals the beginning of a long and fruitful career.”
– Nicholas Christopher, author of Veronica and The Bestiary

“Like a Max Fleischer cartoon or a Charlie Chaplin film, Goldenland Past Dark sneaks in real, unsettling weirdness and lingering melancholy behind a facade of zany fun. In this vivid, highly original debut, Chandler Klang Smith proves herself to be an imaginative force to be reckoned with. Step inside this circus tent: you’ll be glad you did.”
– Christopher Miller, author of The Cardboard Universeand Sudden Noises from Inanimate Objects

“Chandler Klang Smith’s debut is filled with fascinating freaks and language that evokes the magic of a night under the big top.”
–Lev AC Rosen, author of All Men of Genius