Today, we're interviewing Andrea Hintz, the voice of “Felix Jaynes” in the upcoming full cast audiobook production of Perception and Deception: A Spy Series!
Details and updates about the production can be found here: https://andreahintz.wixsite.com/andreahintz/audiobooks
So without further ado, let's begin the interview!
Yes, I'm interviewing myself. I’m a writer, so I thoroughly enjoy having conversations with yours truly (lol)! I thought it would be fun for my readers to get to know me on a more personal level. If you guys ever want to ask me more questions, just send me a chat or email me at tesoroseries@gmail.com!
So without further ado…let’s begin my interview…
Tell us about the role you are playing in the full cast audiobook production of Perception and Deception: A Spy Series!
I am playing the role of a young spy navigating the drama-filled, small town of Toselville, Vermont. Her cover identity is “Felix Jaynes” a nature photographer visiting the town on “business.” As the writer of this series, this character is very near and dear to my heart. Someone once told me that Felix is my “alter-ego.” There is a bit of truth to that, in that Felix has personality traits very similar to myself, and other times, she is completely different. I’m surprisingly spotting more and more of our differences now as I record her voice for this audiobook. She’s strong, fearless, mature beyond her years - an empathetic sort of personality. This is what I often strive to be. Our greatest difference in personality is that Felix is much more solemn than I am. I often find myself laughing as I record her more “serious” lines and have to do re-takes.
What’s your story? How did you end up in the exciting career of acting?
The first role I ever played was as an angel in a play about the birth of Jesus, way back in pre-school. I was the one who got to deliver the great news to Mary.
As life went on, I ended up getting into music and fostered my love for performance via more musical outlets. I sang and played the guitar in church bands off and on throughout my childhood and teen years. When I was ten years old, I won a local kid pageant that resulted in me getting to sing at several city events over the course of one year. The greatest experience during this time was getting to sing the National Anthem at the Phoenix International Raceway for a 4th of July celebration. There were 40,000 people in the stands, and jets actually flew over the raceway when I sang the line, “and the rockets’ red glare.” I still don’t know how they timed that so accurately.
As I entered my teenage years, I began writing and recording my own music. If you actually want to see me when I was a teenager attempting to make it big on my YouTube channel (lol), check out the link here and scroll all the way to the bottom. You can see how my recording abilities progressed over the years (and check out that wild hairdo I used to sport proudly).
I am a fiction author and really always have been. I’ve loved creating stories since childhood. I wrote and illustrated several “books” as a kid, but I started writing my first chapter book when I was twelve. Finished, but never published it. At about thirteen or so, right when I was starting college (and in case you’re wondering, my professors and classmates had no idea how old I really was at the time) I started writing the first book in The Tesoro Series. At sixteen, I wrote the first Perception and Deception book. You’ll notice that the storylines and writing styles in both series matured as I matured. You can find all of my books and writing endeavors on this website!
So how did I get into voice acting? It was a culmination of my fascination with recording, singing, and storytelling. If you add that all together…you get a Full Cast Audiobook Production! This has been such an exciting way to bring all of my passions together into one project!
Which human characteristics do you portray the best?
Those would be my most natural traits, which would include empathy, professionalism (my day jobs have consisted of business / financial consulting), and being as kind as possible. I feel like it would be incredibly hard for me to ever portray the “bad guy” or the “mean girl.”
Any advice for people who are in the midst of pursuing their dreams and might need a little encouragement?
I’ve been pursuing these dreams for years, and the number one, most important piece of advice I can give is to pray and trust in God’s plan. As long as you’re putting God first above everything else (including your dreams) He will handle the rest. My greatest times of success have always happened when I’ve set my dreams aside and devoted my time to worshipping and studying the Word of God - enjoying that loving relationship. Honestly. Now, that’s not the reason you should be doing so, but God will suddenly start bringing “favor connections” your way (i.e. people who suddenly pop into your life and can tell you how to be successful). Again, I want to stress that achieving personal gain is not the reason you should be spending time with God. I mean, how does that make us feel if someone is spending time with us just to get something? If that is a person’s motive, then they gain nothing and they’re not showing true love and respect to God. Joyce Meyer teaches an amazing message about motive, especially in her discussion about Heaven starting at the 9:15 mark of this video (it’s an important message for everyone):
Next piece of advice is to never allow rejection to take away the joy of doing what you love. Easier said than done, I know. I went several years with no success for my books. There were many times that took the joy away. I re-prioritized and made a deal with myself that I would do my part by creating the content and putting it out there for people to see, and then let God do with it what He desired. It would get in front of the right eyes when it was time. And that’s when I began noticing a difference.
What are your favorite types of books and movies?
I read a little bit out of the Bible everyday that I possibly can.
Surprisingly, I don’t really read a lot of spy books (what?!)! I do a lot of beta reading for my author friends (reading their books before publication to provide feedback and editing suggestions) and they return the favor. They do write in the overall same genre as me: mystery. They’re all fantastic! If you’re ever looking for some great books to read, you can find a list of several author friends on the dedications page of Perception and Deception IV (some I’ve beta read for, others I haven’t). When I do decide to read a book not related to my writing network, I surprisingly tend to shift toward Young Adult books like Phantom Stallion: Wild Horse Island, any Star Wars series, The Mysterious Benedict Society, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, etc., which are all quite different from what I actually write. A dash of family drama and comedy are always appreciated. You will notice the “family drama” element appears frequently in my writing. However, humor is generally accidental (lol).
I am becoming more of a non-fiction reader as time goes on. My favorite books are from Joyce Meyer and Joel Osteen. Their books are all about building spiritual, physical, and mental health. Great way to keep the mind strong and sharp so you’re prepared when the storms approach. The more blessings you receive, the stronger you will have to be.
Now, I do watch a lot of spy movies including the Miss Congeniality series, the Mission Impossible series, Knight and Day, as well as several others. I always gravitate toward the more light-hearted detective stories - cops/detectives, action, and comedy combined. Really anything with Martin Lawrence or Sandra Bullock in it (lol). So I think you’ll find that my love of spies stem more from movies and television versus actual books.
We have a bit of a Christian community subscribed to this blog as well who like to hear about inspiring stories involving walks of faith. If you have a story you’d like to share about this, please feel free to do so.
I think that a lot of this was already covered in the questions above, so I’ll share a different inspiring story that I’ve been wanting to share on my blog for quite sometime…a childhood memory I’ve been pondering quite a bit lately as I’ve been facing some life challenges. All is fine. Just the usual, unexpected curveballs, and something I really can’t fix on my own.
Lately, I’ve been in the midst of doing some Spring cleaning, and stumbled across a dusty box that contained a few mementos from my middle school years. Amidst these trinkets, was a small trophy I received one year for “Outstanding Band Student.” Yes, I used to play the Alto Saxophone, following in the footsteps of my musically talented mother who also plays this rich-sounding instrument. I smiled. Nice memory. Then I placed the trophy back into the box, not really thinking about it any further.
A few days passed, and one afternoon, as I was sitting in my home office, I was contemplating my next course of action for this “life dilemma” I mentioned earlier. I glanced over and noticed the box and trophy in full view…
Flashback to a ten-year-old me. Mom insists I was always beautiful, but I considered myself a very simple, quiet, unnoticed kid in school - very frequently bullied (the reason I enjoy writing about strong heroines and the triump of good over evil). We were in band class after school one afternoon. There were about, oh, forty or so kids. Every semester, we would perform a concert, and an award would be handed out for the most “Outstanding Band Student.” The band teacher had the blank trophy sitting on her desk for months…most likely to give us incentive to do our best.
I wanted it.
Not in a competitive, arrogant way. I just thought (in a completely humble way), “It would kind of be nice to have that pretty trophy in my room, but it’s ok if I don’t win it.” There were about forty other kids, after all, and any one of them could’ve won it deservingly. As I was staring at the trophy on the desk, the class bully walked over and stood beside me. This girl was not only in band with me, but sat next to me in my regular classes. She always went out of her way to pick on me and had even stolen away my best friend that year. You know…kid drama.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
“Just looking at the band trophy.”
She furrowed her eyebrows. “Why?”
I was scared of aggravating her. She’d always displayed general disgust whenever any words came out of my mouth.
“Because I thought it would be kind of nice to have,” I replied quietly.
She guffawed. “You think you’re going to win that trophy? Uh, it’s going to be mine. You’ll never win it!”
After a brief bicker, I walked away and brushed it off. I was used to her nature.
Over the next few months, this school bully decided to make it her mission to regularly taunt me about the trophy.
She’d lean over in class and whisper, “I’m gonna win it! It’ll never be yours!” In line to lunch, she’d walk behind me and chant, “You would never win anything like that!” Several times a day. And honestly, I thought she actually might win it.
Concert night arrived. It was Spring, and we were all dressed in white button-up shirts and black skirts / dress pants. The entire school and all their families were crowded in the cafeteria. We performed a great concert, all went well. At the end of the program, we took our seats in the front rows of the audience, and the band teacher began handing out the trophies for each grade level.
The bully was sitting a few people down from me on the long bench, off to the right. She was making faces at me and taunting me once again.
“I’m going to win it,” she was mouthing, pointing to herself. Then an evil grin.
I looked away.
The band teacher reached my grade level and my heart began hammering. Not because I necessarily wanted to win the award, but because I was afraid of the taunting I’d receive once this bully won it.
The band teacher stood on stage, in front of the school and all their parents, and held the trophy up. “And the Outstanding Band Student for the Spring is…Andrea Hintz!”
I was shocked - dumbfounded. I won it? Seriously?! The crowd erupted in cheers. I stood up, walked to the stage, and collected my award. My homeroom teacher came from out of nowhere and gave me a big kiss on the cheek in front of everyone. Still shocked, I returned to my place on the bench.
Very quietly and discreetly, I glanced over at the bully. She was sobbing. Her friends were trying to console her. I didn’t revel in this…in fact, I hated seeing her cry. It actually hurt me. I never talked to her about it after or rubbed it in her face. I just took my award and went home. The trophy sat on a dresser for years and was eventually boxed up and put away when I got my own place.
Flash-forward to present day. I was thinking about this story again and realized a very important lesson. Yes, the obvious one of “good always triumphs over evil.” But let’s dig a little further…
God deals with a very, very full plate of intense situations each and everyday. My situation with my bully, although it felt huge to me at the time, was very minor in the scope of life. If God cares enough about a simple, unnoticed, middle-school girl…that he’d uplift her in front of her enemies as well as the entire school…if God cares enough about the birds in the sky…God will surely care about the more complicated situations you and I face as adults. The bullies are bigger now. They don’t just taunt…they could technically impact future, finances, and well-being. But they won’t be able to touch us. Because God is watching out for that very same middle-school girl to this very day…and He’s about to prepare another table before our enemies.
I pulled the trophy out of the box and placed it on my desk as a daily reminder.
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