2026 Q1 - Believe People Who Believe In You
(5-7 min read / 7:19 min listen)
One of my favorite quotes is:
When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time. People know themselves much better than you do. That’s why it’s important to stop expecting them to be something other than who they are.
— Maya Angelou
I admire the wisdom in this quote for two reasons. On the one hand, it advocates for acceptance and integrity. On the other hand, it’s self-protecting advice: a reminder that one’s actions speak louder than one’s words and when actions and words are misaligned, believe the actions. Put another way, I believe we can’t help but show people who we truly are — whether we are conscious of doing it or not.
I think that authenticity of expression is beautiful and healthy for everyone, but that it also requires courage because not every audience, environment, or situation honors it. For me, it’s not just an act of personal integrity to live authentically, but an act of resistance and advocacy in the face of a culture that deems my Queerness, my gender, and my ethnicity as “other” or even as inferior. My joy is generous and my peace is an invitation, because there is a social aspect to all of this. For me, living authentically is also a values-based social contract. It’s a pledge that I prioritize inclusion, care about connection, and that I respect boundaries. I suppose it is a Way: an alignment between thought, feeling, and action; a way of being. And frankly, it’s also my ideal job description.
So when my friend and colleague, Jennifer Aquino — who, fun fact, is also the person who encouraged me to become a narrator — told me she thought I’d make a great audiobook director, it is absurd that I’d be resistant, right?
But I was resistant, nonetheless! For the same reasons I was initially resistant to mentoring and coaching, I felt trepidation at stepping into a role that assumed some degree of responsibility for someone else’s work. I already loved directing myself as a narrator — it’s a perfect blend of my English/Theatre double major at work, LOL — but something in me froze at the notion (the pressure, really) of helping anyone else do it the only way I’d ever done it or wanted to do it: my way.
Now, Jennifer is talented in many ways, but she has an incredible talent for bringing out the best in people. And it wasn’t until she reflected that right back at me by reminding me of my consent-culture advocacy, values of diversity and inclusion, and how I actually enjoy holding space for people to be vulnerable and authentic, did it click for me: directing wasn’t about getting other narrators to narrate “my way,” but to create an environment for “their way” to flourish.; for them to be their best.
Also, I’m detail-oriented and organized, which is the other half of the job.
So after a few more gentle prods to believe what Jennifer saw in me, I said yes. Jennifer trained me (and several other diverse narrator colleagues); many of us are now officially directing audiobooks! I’m so grateful to have a friend like Jennifer: someone who not only believes you when you show her who you are, but someone who reflects back to you what you have been unconsciously sharing all along — and who invites you to imagine what more you can do.
As I celebrated earlier this year, TRANS HISTORY, a big multi-cast book I directed for Penguin Random House Audio, won the 2026 Odyssey Award for Young Adults. During our kickoff meeting, the producers offered me as much assistance as I might require, knowing it was my third directing project and a lot of moving parts — a graphic novel adaptation featuring two authors, many non-narrators, some new narrators as well as veteran narrators, across multiple time zones, countries, recording set-ups, and engineers. And I was grateful for their support and generosity, but I remember telling them that I saw it as a rite of passage for myself as a new director. I wanted to devote myself to handling as much of the project as I could. I saw it as an opportunity to get a broad range of experiences and work with a wide range of variables, all while keeping everything technically organized for the editor and artistically organized as an audiobook. From helping non-narrators optimize their less-than-optimal recording situations to coaching the authors, from soothing the nerves of folks who have never been behind the mic, to balancing efficiency and playfulness with the experienced narrators, I found that much of my role as director came very naturally to me. Although it’s not the scale of project I want every job to be, I genuinely really loved it!
So for a book that means so much to me both personally and professionally, its being honored with an Odyssey Award feels incredibly affirming — as a Trans artist, as a narrator, and especially in coming into my own as an audiobook director.
I’ve been so thrilled and thankful to have been directing a lot this quarter!
And now it’s time for the breakdown. Q1 in review:
Audiobooks
Awards:
TRANS HISTORY wins the 2026 Odyssey Award
Releases:
Narrating:
Shifter Romantasy series
Trans Memoir/Essay Collection
Omegaverse Romance
Queer Mystery/Thriller
Mystery project (it’s got an NDA)
Directing:
YA Sci-fi Fantasy
Paranormal Fantasy
Middle Grade Fiction
LGBTQIA+ Children’s Book
Queer fairy tale retelling
Voiceover
Dubbing!
Thanks for spending time with me and sharing my celebrations again this quarter! Much love!
Cheers!
Nicky