Musings of Two Creative Minds

I know I've been quiet again, but with good reason. I won't go into great detail but will give you all a quick overview. In the last few years, I've been having greater and greater difficulties with pain, mobility and balance in the lower half of my body. The main cause for all of this is still being investigated by my doctors, including neurologists. And although one explanation seems likely, I am not going to say anything until we finally get a concrete diagnosis. Naturally, I've been finding the prospect of not being able to get around on my own legs very unsettling and upsetting. Mostly because I only recently turned 60. I wasn't expecting to have problems like this until much later in my life. I certainly did not expect to start having problems beginning in my mid-50's, which is when this all began.  Anyway, as things have gotten progressively worse, I find myself dwelling on an old Styx song called "Crystal Ball", from the album of the same title

  I love a good anthology, or collection of short stories. Naturally, when I spotted this book in a used bookstore, I was intrigued by the title and the image on the cover. After reading the synopsis on the back cover, I decided it was worth checking out. And boy was I right to do so. I thoroughly enjoyed each of these odd little mysteries. As the cover indicates, there are only 8 stories contained in this volume, and each one (even though a couple of the tales takes place outdoors) have been referred to as a "locked room" mystery, which makes the collection all the more interesting for me.  Similar to Arthur Conan Doyle's beloved Sherlock Holmes, we are introduced to Mr. Trevis Tarrant, through our narrator Jerry Phelan who first encounters Tarrant in the first story involving an ancient codex in a museum. And also like Holmes, Tarrant has an affinity for 'unusual' cases or problems. But, there the similarities end. We soon learn that Trevis Tarrant is more willi

KIRKUS BOOK REVIEW In Krummenacker and Caminiti’s paranormal thriller series starter set in the Civil War era, an Irish immigrant on a spy mission fights monsters and discovers a new superpower. The story opens on a man named Jacob Long, who’s carrying his infant daughter in a blizzard, encountering a great beast called a Skinwalker, which gains different powers depending on what pelts it acquires. The creature protects the child when a pack of monsters attack. Readers soon learn that the monsters are under the control of a mysterious figure working with an assassin named Lansford Hastings. The plot transitions to the main character, Keefer O’Connor, an Irishman who’s made a name for himself as a military strategist. This leads to his recruitment by Union Army Provost Marshal Lafayette Baker, and soon, Keefer is promoted from a captain to a colonel by the War Department. He’s assigned a mission to assassinate Gov. Fredrick Low of California if he sways from his antislavery stanc

We're just hours away from the release of the first installment our paranormal thriller trilogy "The Pass" (4-14-2024). And start things off, I thought it might be interesting to share with you all what Kirkus Reviews had to say about this new tale of adventure and suspense... KIRKUS BOOK REVIEW In Krummenacker and Caminiti’s paranormal thriller series starter set in the Civil War era, an Irish immigrant on a spy mission fights monsters and discovers a new superpower. The story opens on a man named Jacob Long, who’s carrying his infant daughter in a blizzard, encountering a great beast called a Skinwalker, which gains different powers depending on what pelts it acquires. The creature protects the child when a pack of monsters attack. Readers soon learn that the monsters are under the control of a mysterious figure working with an assassin named Lansford Hastings.  The plot transitions to the main character, Keefer O’Connor, an Irishman who’s made a name for himself as a m

 Only six more days until you reach "The Pass"... That's right folks. In just a few more days (on 4-14-2024) you can get your copy of "The Pass". A novel that Kirkus Reviews has called "A supernatural espionage tale that keeps the excitement high." Rich Caminiti, my co-author (an old friend from high school - Levittown Memorial H. S. class of '82 to be exact) and I have woven this tale of supernatural mystery and intrigue, set in the old west (or the Civil War to be precise). This book is the first of a trilogy we have been working on for some time, and the next installment has a completed 1st draft, waiting to be re-worked, edited, re-drafted, etc. Plus, the third installment is already underway as well. Besides having a cracking good tale to tell, this volume has some beautiful pen and ink illustrations created by the wonderfully talented Gabrielle Callan (artist/tattooist) whose link to more of her work I will provide towards the end of this ent

Greetings one and all. And welcome back to the blog. Sorry to keep you all waiting, but last weekend got a bit crazy around here. Nevertheless, we're back with another Sneak Peek Saturday edition for you.  Continuing with "The Pass" coming next month, we realized that last time we'd introduced you all to a couple of our protagonists, so it's only fair this week we introduce you to two the villains of this piece.  So, without further ado, sit back and meet two very unsavory, and disturbing men who each has their own secret agenda in this story. Enjoy...         Some five hundred yards away, a man bundled in furs, lowered his still smoking Mississippi rifle. “Sorry, Jake, old boy. But business is business. And if you made it out of here alive, you’d be able to claim cousin Amanda’s inheritance which would’ve been bad business for me,” he sighed. In the distance, he could hear the baby’s wail.             Immediately he began reloading.             From out of t