Crafting the Immersive Audio Book

Crafting the immersive audiobook was an unforgettable experience—and a perfect example of what happens when you create space for passionate people to bring their magic to a shared vision.

I met Ariel Highwind at Sal Romeo’s acting class in Burbank, CA, where I trained for a year. At the time, I had been working on Horatio in the Wind for a few months and brought it in to read for the class.

I was so nervous, I completely mumbled through it. Then, out of nowhere, Ariel stepped in from the audience and finished reading for me. The effect on the room was immediate—she read it with such presence and grace, I knew right away: I needed to record her.

Our first attempt happened in my apartment, in a blanket fort I rigged up in a mildly successful attempt to absorb sound. Ariel was, as always, incredible—but the recording quality was… questionable.

Then came Fernando Arroyo. Fernando is one of the most talented composers I know, and also one of the kindest. We’d met years earlier at a party in L.A. and had stayed friends ever since. I showed him the project, and he was all in. He offered to record it properly, compose the musical score, and add the immersive sound design that would bring it all to life.

We recorded the final vocals at Fernando’s sound engineer’s apartment. I mostly sat back in awe as I watched the team work seamlessly together.

In just three hours, we had the full dialogue recorded. One month later, we had the immersive audiobook you can now enjoy.

A year later, I recorded the Spanish version myself, which is also available on the site.

This project has been a labor of love—and watching others add their gifts to it has been one of the most rewarding parts of the journey.

— José Oldenburg