Spoken Realms

06/04/2026

New Release! Lady Susan by Jane Austen presented by The Online Stage.

Written in epistolary form, this novella follows the manipulative behavior of Lady Susan Vernon, a scheming widow intent on securing a financial future for herself and also, rather begrudgingly, her teenage daughter, Frederica. Her sister-in-law, Catherine de Courcey, is none too pleased with Lady Susan's sudden arrival as Susan herself had tried to prevent Catherine's marriage to her beloved Charles. Susan sets her sights on Catherine's brother, Reginald, mostly out of jest and amusement, while Catherine makes desperate appeals to her brother and attempts to expose the true wretched character of Susan. Lesser known than her more popular works, Austen's wit still shines brightly through her characters' correspondence.

Cast:

Lady Susan Vernon—Anna Grace
Catherine Vernon—Amanda Friday
Reginald de Courcey—Josh Innerst
Alicia Johnson—Alyssa Petrey
Mrs. de Courcey—Lillian Rachel
Public Domain (P)2026
Distribution

06/04/2026

Congratulations to Jeff Hays - Voice and Soundbooth Theater !

It’s official. The mainstream media has discovered Jeff Hays’s secret identity as a wizard. Clare Mulroy of USA TODAY has published a glowing article about Jeff and his clearly magical narration abilities. Besides a look into Jeff’s recording process, the article also explores his role in the audiobook industry. You can read all about it at the link in the comments!

We couldn’t be prouder of our intrepid leader — aka USA Today’s new “voice of the summer” — but we also are grateful for our fans’ enthusiasm and support for Jeff and SBT. Thanks, crawlers.

06/03/2026

June Events for this month are here!

Click this link to join: https://discord.gg/kJ6mWh3QFs

06/03/2026

06/03/2026

06/03/2026

I've been doing a lot of travelling and projects around the house and garden lately. A very normal existence really and I've also been very quiet here on Facebook. But I decided this would be my next project as it was a book that got me into reading when I was just a kid. So it's about time...and I'm rediscovering what's great about Sir Arthur Conan Doyles writing. It's fun, thrilling and thought provoking. (The last tale I recorded was set in places I knew well and ended here in Savannah, Georgia where I live now! Most strange!) Anyhow, it's in production so I'll post more when it's being released. Thanks to Steven J. Cohen and Spoken Realms for their collaboration once again. Watch this space. 🙂

05/29/2026

I did a thing! Since I’m know as “The Maven of a Million Voices” (thank you Stephen J. Cohen) and my background is in Shakespeare (54 productions of 23 of the Bard’s plays), I have created a podcast ONE WOMAN SHAKESPEARE where I bring to life entire plays all by myself, starting with A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM, the play I’ve performed in the most - 10x! I am dropping one act each week on Mondays and the plays will be available for free for English teachers and students to have an an audio resource. Available on all podcast platforms.

Happy release day to two very fun projects…

A QUIET REBIRTH is the first in the Beyond the Threshold series by Jolyne Mattox (co-narrated with Johnathan McClain) about a 35 year old gamer guy who picks the wrong night to go to the convenience store and ends up reincarnated as an elf girl. Imagine an elven baby with the inner monologue of Patton Oswalt and you’ve got the idea! This installment follows the newly reincarnated Luna, through her formative years, exploring her new world of Enora and learning about magic, all while retaining her memories of her former life on earth. Thank you to Stephen Graybill for imagining me for this magical world.

CHICKEN SOUP FOR THE SOUL: LET YOUR DREAMS AND PREMONITIONS GUIDE YOU is the third Chicken Soup book I’ve done for Simon & Schuster. You’ll be amazed by these 101 stories of people being staved, warned, and uplifted by their dreams, inner voices, and surprising premonitions. Thanks to Kate Frarey for tapping me for this wonderful series!




Audible
Podium Entertainment

Simon & Schuster

05/26/2026

At long last, my video masterclass of THE PENNING METHOD FOR THE PANICKED ACTOR™️ is LIVE! Thanks so much to everyone who has reached out about it - I’m so excited for you all to have lifetime access to me teaching you this award-winning method “in person.”

Lauren Rodriguez was selected to have the honor of going through the course first and an hour later she emailed me excitedly:

“I ate up the modules. I was hooked in. Everything was clear and made sense. Most importantly, it makes sense to my brain! I want to start putting this into action.”

“I liked the interactive part. I am a visual learner, and while I completely understand the point that my markings are my own, seeing yours reinforces the point. ‘Oh, like that!’”

“As it states, this is for the panicked actor. When I am in a 1:1 with a coach or in a group workshop, my first read is run by adrenaline and all I can hear is my blood pumping in my ears. The annotations The Penning Method teaches helps ground me and keeps me on the page.”

Thank you so much, Lauren - I’m thrilled it helped you and can’t wait for it to help others too! 🥰

🔗 to get your access, too: http://bit.ly/4v4woDI

05/26/2026

Coming soon in audio!

Audiobooks Marni Penning, Actress/Narrator

It’s been a little while since The Choice Within was released, and what’s stayed with me most isn’t the moment it came out — but what’s come after.

The way different parts of the story seem to stay with different readers. The moments that linger, or resurface later.

Stories don’t really end on the last page. They settle in, shift over time, and take on meaning in ways you don’t always expect.

Grateful for every reader who’s spent time with it.

04/18/2026

Join me and fabulous Co-Host Claudia Dunn for an uplifting conversation with special guest Timothy Andrés Pabon,
multi-award-winning, bilingual audiobook narrator, producer and coach in the Narrator Uplift House, on Clubhouse this Thursday, April 16th, at 2 pm ET:
bit.ly/4dIjSV0
We'll be chatting about Tim's upcoming Audiobook Narration Workshop with Sean Pratt Presents May 2nd: https://lnkd.in/geevrWvt
and other uplifting topics.