Ashley Duongtran

Audiobook Narrator & Book Editor

Over 500 books in 5 years, some in print and some in my ears. Many of them more than once, and some of them eight times (and counting).

To be clear, that’s what I’ve read, not what I’ve edited. The list of manuscripts I’ve edited is much shorter, and it’s confidential.

It's true: I do read to escape reality. Sometimes it's easier to deal with someone else's problems than to be in my own head. But speculative fiction also lets me sit with lessons I might not understand or "get" in the real world, because the fantasy frame puts them at a distance I can work with. A lesson that never quite landed in real life will click on the page.

When I find a world I love, I move in. I reread Anne Bishop’s The Others series the way some people rewatch comfort shows. (Don’t misunderstand: I have comfort shows too. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve rewatched Bones.)

I remember storylines years later—not always the character names, but the shape of the plot, the emotional beats, and the moment everything shifted. That’s how my brain holds stories: by structure and feeling.

That’s also how I approach the work I do with authors. I care about the architecture underneath: why a story holds together or falls apart, how a reader experiences pacing and tension moment to moment, and what makes a character’s voice land in audio. Before Toe-Curling Tales, I spent four years as a working editor in pharmaceutical advertising, where every claim had to survive medical, legal, and regulatory review before it shipped. I read manuscripts with the same reflex. Noticing is instinct. Turning what I notice into something an author can revise from is the part I had to learn. Every observation carries its reasoning, so the author can argue with it.

The audiobook narration came from the same place: wanting to give voice to the worlds I already love living in, and one more excuse for me (and my listeners) to read more. I fell for the "just use your voice, easy money" pitch, and it took me three tries to commit. At first I hated the sound of my own voice, and then acting required me to access some feelings I wasn't ready to explore. But the wanting was always there (and the easy money was a lie). What it actually took was an acting mentorship, two years in and counting.

I specialize in speculative and romantic fantasy because that’s what I read: paranormal romance, romantasy, urban fantasy, and dark fantasy. When I work on your book, I already live there.

Outside of books: I onewheel to dinner reservations and plan trips around where I want to eat.

A random fun fact about me: The Bad Batch has a piece of my soul. (If you know, you know.)

I dive in with my whole heart, which is either a personality trait or a warning depending on how you look at it.

That's the energy I bring to client work. When I take on a project, I’m moving in. Your world gets the same attention I give the ones I return to on my own shelves.

If you’re an author in my genres looking for someone who gets it, I’d love to hear about your project. Outside those genres, I’ll take a look case by case, and I’ll tell you honestly if your story isn’t for me.