the author’s thoughts
Once Again is an emotional and suspenseful time-slip story that questions time and memory as grieving parents Erin and Zac fight to undo their fate. While I was writing the book, the main characters, as well as all of the others, took on their own distinctive voices and they became like people I knew well and whose words were like memories of my own. After the book launched in October, I waited for a chance to listen to the audiobook, and when I got my author copies, I was absolutely blown away. The narrators are award winners Lauren Fortgang and Neil Hellegers, and it’s almost as if they’re clairvoyant. Their skillful performances sound so much like the voices that lived in my head, it’s uncanny.
Playing more than a dozen characters, they unfold the intricate story, page by page, with deft and wide-ranging portrayals of people in an increasingly intense state of crisis. Lauren creates the females, from the very young to the most mature, with pathos and heart-rending clarity. Neil tackles the male roles, from a brilliant astrophysicist making astounding discoveries to the horrendous villain and his unconscionable wants, and he depicts them in rich vocal detail.
Even knowing what the narrative held in store for the characters, I was completely swept up in the performances, my heart thumping, my nerves crackling, wanting to experience what would happen next and to know how it would feel to hear it play out. Though the listening time is only six hours, it seemed like a deeper span than that, and yet it also seemed to speed by until the action came to an end and the story resolved in a final moment of silence. It was so gratifying.
I’m immensely grateful to Sandra Bond for her expert advice, to Alcove Press for all the support, to Dreamscape for the beautiful production, and to Neil Hellegers and Lauren Fortgang for their impressive performances.
about the narrators
Lauren Fortgang lives in New York City where she currently works as an actor and voiceover artist. Born in Wilmington, DE, her city-mouse/country-mouse upbringing featured stints in rural towns across California and Oregon. She had early training at A.C.T.’s Young Conservatory and is a graduate of Fordham University: College at Lincoln Center, where she majored in theater. Her curiosity for finding new niches in the industry has afforded her a broad career spectrum, both in and out of the 'spotlight', as actor, spokesperson, audiobook narrator, singer and even costume designer.
Lauren works most regularly as an audiobook narrator for a vast roster of publishers including Audible Studios, Hachette, Penguin Random House, Macmillan, Scholastic, Blackstone Publishing, and beyond. She has voiced hundreds of titles across multiple genres featuring works by James Patterson, Joan Didion, Louisa May Alcott, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Candace Bushnell, Ann M. Martin, R.L. Stine, and Brené Brown.
Lauren is both an Audie Award and multiple Earphones Award winner, and her work has been recognized by Audiofile Magazine, the Audio Publishers Association (APA), the American Library Association (ALA) and Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), School Library Journal, Library Journal, USA Today, Market Watch, Bustle, Forbes, Slate, Paste, and Publisher's Weekly. A hobbyist extraordinaire, she lives in Brooklyn with her beau, one resident cat, and one determined foster. Lauren is a proud member of SAG-AFTRA.
a narrator’s home-studio helper
Neil Hellegers hails from the green hills and not-so-busy streets of River Vale, NJ, where he divided his time between theatre, literature, percussion, and policy debate. He is happy to note that he has managed to maintain this balance for the entirety of his adult life.
After graduating from the University of Pennsylvania, in Philadelphia, PA, with a B.A. in Theatre Arts and a Minor in Psychology, Neil acquired a M.F.A in Acting from the Trinity Rep Conservatory, in Providence, RI. He returned to NYC in 2003, and, since then, has made a career of theatrical performance, percussion, theatre education, and audiobook narration, and is currently living in Brooklyn, NY, with his wife, rambunctious son, and their mutt!
Starting his professional acting career working at festivals and and international tours performing Shakespeare opened his mind to the sweeping potential of theatre in performance to inspire and delight, a sensibility he has carried into contemporary theatre, new play workshops, film, TV and commercial work, and audiobook narration. Neil also has sought and developed educational opportunities, considering teaching as a means of advancing the craft of both student and teacher, and also a vehicle for social and political change. Neil has played drums in a wide variety of bands and musical groups, from punk, to prog, to jazz, to folk, and in theatrical performance, most notably for the Philly-based-90s-progressive-instrumental-rock-band, Lexicon.
As an audiobook narrator, Neil specializes in fiction, genre and non. A voracious reader of science fiction and fantasy, Neil strives to bring the same thrill of the possible to the actual, with non-fiction ranging from self-help both spiritual and practical, history, and cultural studies. Recording at home from a Studiobricks One Plus, he is an Audible Approved Producer, and has worked for numerous publishers, including Tantor Media, Penguin Random House Audio, Macmillan Audio, Hachette Audio, Blackstone Audio, Audible Studios, Harper Collins Audio, Deyan Audio, Spoken Realms, and more. He is a proud member of SAG AFTRA.