Periphery is now available on audio!
Happy 2026, Friends!
New year, new happenings! I’m so excited to announce the launch of the Periphery audiobook!
This is my first-ever foray into audiobooks, and the process—from selecting a narrator to listening to the different character portrayals and reimagining the cover—was super fun!
Once I connected with the most incredible narrator in the universe (okay, yes, I’m biased, but seriously, she’s amazing) I handed over the Periphery manuscript, and she spent hours upon hours in her sound studio bringing heart and soul to the story. Each character has their own unique timbre; each emotion is conveyed with striking, heartfelt clarity, and every tense moment is conveyed with depth and precision to immerse the listener into the Periphery world.
Honestly, until we collaborated on this project, I had no idea how much work went into audiobook narration. And the end result? Completely surpassed my expectations!
Today, I’d love to introduce you all to the woman behind the voice—award-nominated voiceover artist Tara Kulkarni!
“I love voicing female protagonists who find their power as the novel progresses.”
Award-nominated voiceover artist, Tara Kulkarni
AA DaSilva: Tara, thanks for joining me on the blog today! It has been an absolute pleasure working together to bring the Periphery book world to life. Can you tell us what drew you to the project and how the personalities of the characters shaped your portrayal of them?
Tara: I was super excited when you offered me the opportunity to be your narrator! I felt an immediate kinship when I checked out your website and saw that we’re both in the medical field.
First and foremost, the writing is excellent (and clearly written by a human). A book can have the best story and characters in the world, but if the dialogue is not believable, the sentence structure is unwieldy, or the manuscript is littered with spelling and grammatical errors, it’s hard to get through it (both as a reader/listener AND as a narrator).
Even from the audition itself, I could tell that Periphery was really well written. It’s genre-bending (ostensibly speculative fiction but by way of action, romance, and suspense). And I love voicing female protagonists who find their power as the novel progresses – Charly is no exception! When we meet her, she has experienced major trauma that she hasn’t really processed. She’s just going through the motions and kind of feels like she’s living on… the periphery of her own life. (Ouch, did I mention I tell dad jokes and bad puns too?). Sy is the catalyst for her emotional thawing, but it’s still Charly’s journey.
One thing I love about your writing is how nuanced it is. Not once is the word gaslighting mentioned, but its stink is all over one of the main relationships in the book. There are subtle hints that are dropped here and there before we finally see the full picture – it would have been easy to hit us over the head with it (rude!), but you assume the reader is intelligent enough to put the pieces together on their own.
AAD: Wow, thank you for your kind words! I must add, the medical field certainly gives us kinship, but a love for dad jokes, bad puns, FMC’s who find their power? We had a lot in common right off the bat!
Speaking of the medical field…you’re an award-nominated voiceover artist and primary-
care physician. What led you into the voiceover industry? What are some of the challenges unique to the industry?
TARA: When I was young, I used to say that my dream was to be a doctor, but my fantasy was to be on Broadway (dream role: Christine in Phantom of the Opera, see above regarding female protagonists who find their power). I’m so grateful to have been able to live out my dream, and I think the voiceover world has gotten me fantasy-adjacent! I’ve been a performer since I can remember. When I was in elementary school, I was reading aloud to the little little kids (when I should have been doing my own homework – oops). I volunteered for an organization called Learning Ally by recording scientific books for the reading-impaired (one was about the effects of cocaine on the brain!). I was also hired to record assigned readings for a classmate in college with dyslexia. I was also involved in musicals/plays and took a couple of college acting classes. I didn’t realize this until I started voice acting, but I would also add sound effects when I would examine patients in the office (like “creaking” when I’d bend and flex their knee!).
AAD: OMG that is so fun! It seems the stars knew (maybe before you even did) that voiceover work was part of your future. I bet your patients loved the humor and heart you conveyed during exams! So, how did you get started with voiceover acting?
TARA: The real jumping off point was in 2024, when I did an online voiceover workshop with Brigid Reale (my first coach and still mentor!) on medical narration. I decided that I’d invest in the equipment, invest in the training, and see if I could make something happen. I was still working in the office as a primary care physician (32 scheduled hours ended up being a 60-hour workweek), so I ended up switching to telemedicine at the end of 2024, which has afforded me much more flexibility.
AAD: Ah, another thing we have in common! A few of my early publications were also medical—patient education newsletters—how cool that we both combine our medical experience with our love of the arts? What direction would you like to see your career go?
TARA: My ultimate goal is to be a full-time voice actor and keep practicing medicine as a side gig. I love being a doctor, and I never want to give up medicine completely. It’s this delicious combination of science, data analysis, and most importantly human interaction and communication. I live for those moments when I get to make a diagnosis, when a patient gets better, when they’re thankful at the end of the visit for just listening to them without judgement, or when we come up with a plan together that makes them feel empowered to make changes that will get them to a better state of health.
But the current climate we practice in these days is challenging, and I know that the only way to be the best doctor I can be for others is to take care of myself first. (To quote flight attendants across the world: “You have to put on your own oxygen mask before helping those around you”).
AAD: Absolutely, such a great analogy. Working in healthcare certainly requires that providers take care of themselves—or risk complete burnout. I’m glad to hear that you’re striking a nice balance between two careers that you love, which is so important.
Speaking of two careers, it’s so exciting to learn you have been an extra on-set for multiple popular TV shows like Law and Order: Criminal Intent, Walker (the reboot!), Madam Secretary, Royal Pains, and others. Can you tell us a little about your experiences in the film industry and what that was like?
TARA: Disclaimer: don’t try this at home. I was trolling Craigslist looking for things to do between college and medical school (besides tutoring, being a research assistant, helping out with my high school choral ensemble, and taking some classes a local college) I found a posting looking for Indians for a TV show (I grew up in NYC). Thankfully, it was legitimate, and I did my first job as a background actor (read: extra). I loved the behind-the-scenes look at the TV/filmmaking process, and it’s great to meet my fellow background actors while we’re waiting on set. I’ve also seen myself on TV a handful of times, which is always fun! I did a few projects (like Walker) when I lived in Austin for a couple of years, and I’ve even dipped my toe into it where I live now (in the DMV area).
AAD: That is so cool! With your experience in plays and musicals, I’m sure seeing that side of the industry was so fun. When I learned you also sing, I wasn’t surprised with a voice like yours! Your vocal range is impressive! Can you tell us a little about your singing projects, and are they in a public or private capacity?
TARA: My life is a musical – I break out into song at the drop of a hat (or the drop of anything that even approximates a song lyric – it’s a problem I’m working on…). Although I’ve sung solo a handful of times (friends’ weddings or random events), I’m primarily a choral singer. In college, I was in class for 16 hours a week and in choral rehearsal for 12 hours a week. I currently sing with the Reston Chorale with my best friend from college (I sang at her wedding… 16 years ago?). I’d love to incorporate singing into my voiceover career one day!
“My life is a musical- I break out into song at the drop of a hat.”
AAD: I can imagine you give out quite a few earworms. I had a co-worker start singing “it’s the final countdown” before the end of shift the other day, and I’ve been singing it randomly ever since. It’s a good thing we don’t work together in-person—I’d totally be right there with you turning the clinic into a musical.
Now I have to ask: what is the most unique voiceover project you’ve worked on?
TARA: I’ve had a couple of cool VOG gigs recently (VOG = Voice of God, which is voicing the overhead announcements at an event).
One was for an induction ceremony for nurses as fellows into the American Academy of Nursing; I was hired because I was able to pronounce Chinese names, of which there were many (thank you Susan Hu for teaching me basic Mandarin pronunciation in high school!).
Another was a safety announcement at the Indianapolis Zoo – I did that in both English and Spanish!
One of the most challenging books I’ve narrated is what I lovingly refer to as “the accent book” – The Family Koenig by Dr. Andrew Friede. It’s a fascinating story of 3 generations of female Jewish physicians throughout the 1900s. There were characters with French, Spanish, German, and British accents, among others. The hardest part was a series of journal entries that are narrated in a French accent but contained German-accented English dialogue. (Just saying that makes my head hurt!). But it’s hard to grow without being challenged!
AAD: Things I learned today: Overhead announcements are called VOG. I had no idea! Have family, friends, or patients ever organically identified your voice on a narration project or commercial?
TARA: Sort of! I did a rebrand for the Chicago Stars FC (a women’s football club), and my aunt happened to hear it on the radio. She didn’t know why she was so drawn to the voice until I told her about the project. But in general, most of my friends and family are surprised when they hear my voice in projects because they don’t think it’s me!
AAD: I can imagine! I feel like I’m always taken aback when I hear someone I know using professional inflection on a business call. Like, hey, I know your voice but not that voice. So, outside of working in medicine, music, and voiceover work—what do you like to do for fun?
TARA: I have 3 dogs (two regular adoptees and one foster fail puppy), so being a dog mom may fall into both work and fun! Besides singing, I love doing puzzles (crosswords, jigsaws, etc), watching TV (I won’t say how often I’ve seen some episodes of Supernatural, but it may qualify me for an intervention), reading, and napping. I’ve been meaning to sign up for an intro tap or jazz dance class… one day!
AAD: As a dog mom myself—they’re the best kind of work!
You narrate a wide array of projects that span industries, from commercials to e-books to
corporate projects, animations, and more. Do you have a favorite niche among all of these? And, looking ahead, is there a dream voiceover project you’d love to get your hands (or should I say, voice) on?
TARA: The next Periphery book, of course! 🙂 Audiobooks are a blast, but they’re also the marathons of voiceover. It’s great to do some cross-training to keep things fresh (especially as someone with ADHD)! And I do love medical narration (it’s never words like “cholangiocarcinoma” or “Enterobacteriaceae” that I trip over, usually something simple like “grasped”).
Beyond that, I’ve always had an affinity for working with the pre-teen/teen population (both as a tutor and as a physician), so getting to do YA audiobooks or even e-learning for that age group would be amazing.
And I love character work in general, so I’m really interested in branching out into the world of animation and video games – bonus points if I get to sing too!
AAD: I’ll be on the lookout for your next educational, YA, or animation gig (especially if it includes singing!). It has been such a pleasure both working with you on this project and getting to know more about you! You will always have my professional endorsement for anyone who is looking for a multi-talented voiceover artist! Where can one get in touch with you to inquire about your voiceover services?
TARA: You can check out my website to listen to some samples/demos (https://voicedbytara.com) or reach out to me at tara@voicedbytara.com. Messages by carrier pigeon are also accepted.
Check out the Periphery trailer, narrated by Tara Kulkarni!
“For every project written with heart, Tara will infuse it with soul.”
-AA DaSilva
AA DaSilva 