Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Charity Spencer. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Charity, appreciate you joining us today. Can you tell us a bit about who your hero is and the influence they’ve had on you?

One of my heroes is a woman most have never heard of. Her name is Darlene Diebler Rose. She was a missionary in Papua New Guinea with her husband when World War 2 broke out and they both became prisoners of war for the duration of the war. Her journey of faith & courage as she lost her husband, was imprisoned in horrific conditions, sick with multiple viruses, and imprisoned on death row & waiting to be beheaded for something she didn’t do has spoken to my heart time and time again. Every time I hear her story, God speaks to me in some way, shape, or form.

What does missionary work have to do with voice work? Well, nothing. ;) Where they intersect for me is the heart and character behind the work. Being a new business owner is not all kicks and giggles. It’s hard. And some months, finances are tight. Darlene tells a story of being in a prison cell, on death row, sick with malaria, having maggot infested porridge as her only sustenance. During one of her fevers, she looked out the window to see another woman prisoner in the courtyard have someone sneak bananas through the fence to her when the guard wasn’t looking. She said that seeing those bananas created a physical hurt within her. She got down on her knees and said to God, “I’m not asking for a whole bunch of bananas like that woman has, but could I have just one banana, Lord? And I’m sorry if I’m asking for this and you don’t have a way to get one in here to me.” The next day, guards opened her door. She stood, fearing she was going to be beaten yet again, but instead, the guard laid 99 bananas at her feet! She then said, “we live like paupers when our Father owns the cattle on a thousand hills.” Wow. What this has helped me realize time and time again is that when a situation, from our perspective, seems dire, dead, no hope of anything changing….that is NOT the end. God can and does do the “exceedingly abundantly more than we could ask or imagine.” This truth has gotten me through many difficult months during the start of my business and I am unbelievably grateful.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I have been an on camera actress in the Nashville area for quite some time. Voice work…I knew it was out there but for me personally, it was not on my radar in any way, shape, or form. About 8-9 years ago, I happened to book a voice over job through my on camera talent agent. It was an ad for a New King James version study Bible that Thomas Nelson/Harper Collins was releasing. I was excited b/c it was creative work! So I went into the studio, recorded the spot, left, got paid, and that was that…or so I thought. 3-4 months after that, I got an email out of the blue from someone at Thomas Nelson that I knew through my then day job at a production studio. The email basically said, “Charity. I just watched a video that one of my staff produced. I didn’t know you did voice over work. Would you be open to talking about the possibility of your narrating audio books for us?” I always get excited with new opportunities so I literally threw my hands up in a shrug (much like my favorite “shrugging” emoji) and said, “Sure?” Next thing I knew, I was in the studio recording a book….then another book….then another book. All these years since, the audio book work has just never stopped coming. On January 1 of 2022, I stepped into full time voice work!

I love working with audio book companies and authors. My goal in any book narration is to record it in a way that the listener feels that they are hearing the author themselves tell their own story. I want the listeners to be totally engrossed in the story, and not being distracted by anything that I as the narrator might do. If you get lost in a book I narrated, then I have done my job well!

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

I worked in the production world for nearly a decade before diving into voice work, both in front of, as well as behind the camera. I worked full time for a production company and quickly became known as the girl who was “reliable” and would “get things done” and who would “take care of the client.” The relationships I built there over nearly 12 years were pivotal. Even though that feels like a lifetime ago now, I still get calls from friends and clients from that world who pull me in for their projects in a number of different capacities…or who refer me to someone they know who is needing someone with my skill set. There is nothing better than knowing people trust you enough to recommend you to another.

We’d love to hear the story of how you turned a side-hustle into a something much bigger.

Voice work was absolutely my side hustle for nearly 8 years before I moved into it full time. Audio book narration literally fell into my lap, I can’t describe it better than that. I happened to get hired a voice over job through my on camera agent, went into the studio, recorded, left, got paid, and that was that! It was a job (a fun job ;) ). Several months later, out of the blue, a gentleman I knew through my work at the production company reached out to me. Turned out, he oversaw all audiobook production for Thomas Nelson and he had seen the voice over job that I had just done. He asked if he could talk to me about possibly narrating audio books for him. I shrugged my shoulders and said, “Sure?” I’m always open to new opportunities! But I could never have foreseen, not in a million years, that that would become my career. God is good.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.charityspencervoice.com www.charityspencer.com www.spencercasting.com
• Instagram: @charity_spencer
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/charity.spencer.voice.artist
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/charity-spencer-08217420/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPi9Fya5s4X7PgcBwR-5Xfg
• Other: https://www.audible.com/search?keywords=charity+spencer&ref-override=a_hp_t1_header_search&k=charity+spencer

Image Credits
Charity Spencer_1 – Bralyn Stokes Charity Spencer_3 – Andy Diffie Main Shot – Andy Diffee