Musings of Two Creative Minds

          With 2018 drawing to a close, I’m sure a lot of us are reflecting on what’s happened in each of our lives as well as wondering about what 2019 holds. For me 2018 was a strange year of revelations, new opportunities, as well as upheavals. Two bouts with bronchitis, the second one becoming pneumonia, really took a lot out of me and my vacation time from work. I was supposed to be off this last week and not returning until January 2 nd . Our 1 st anthology “The Vampyre Blogs – One Day At a Time” had been slated to be released in late September/early October but didn’t see the light of day until early this month (not a great time to push a new book, not when the big publishers are pushing a bunch of titles they’ve been holding back in time for the holidays). However, things will pick up. I know this from past experience, so I’m not too worried. However, the big question of course is what can you all expect from us in the coming year? Well, quite a lot. Firstly, w

REVIEW BY ALLAN KRUMMENACKER 5 - STARS   "Serving up a deliciously creepy read..." This is the first book I've read of Miss Remiel's and I have to say she did not disappoint. Camille Dutton is a fascinating protagonist who finds herself on an island community where she' is expected to simply work at the local library. "I'm a book waitress..." she keeps telling people. Nothing more, nothing less. She doesn't consider herself amazing or unusual. But she soon finds herself being slowly surrounded by people who seem oddly fascinated by her. Even some of the books in the library seem to have taken an odd interest in her like set of "The Devil's Handbook" which seemingly falls off the shelf of their own volition. Then there's the strange yet fascinating gentleman named Derek Gallagher, who like her is not native to the island.  But his purpose for being there is not a new start, but to delve into a strange series of

5.0 out of 5 stars NATHAN IS THE MAN! December 4, 2018 "OH WHAT CAN I SAY, I LOVED, LOVED, LOVED IT READING IT AGAIN" Come and see for yourself what everyone is talking about and grab a copy for yourself for just $3.99.  And while you're at it, buy one for someone in your life who enjoys a good paranormal/science fiction anthology. Amazon US Link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07KMN78B2 And for our friends up in Canada and over in the United Kingdom here are some more links: Amazon UK Link: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07KMN78B2 Amazon Canada Link: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B07KMN78B2

****OUR ANTHOLOGY HAS RECEIVED IT'S FIRST REVIEWS AND THEY ARE 4 AND 5 STARS**** 4 STARS -  "A great read!" 5 STARS - " A well written story collection revealing Nathan's past. Excellent!" Come see what other readers are saying and take a 'Sneak Peek" for yourself by clicking the link below, and maybe check out the other books in our Para-Earth Series.  Amazon US Link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07KMN78B2 Amazon UK Link: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07KMN78B2 Amazon Canada Link: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B07KMN78B2 *NOTE: Signed Trade Paperbacks will be available soon, in plenty of time for Christmas*

Just $3.99, or FREE for Kindle Unlimited subscribers. 26 Tales of Para-Earth Encounters Spanning 150 years answering many questions about your favorite vampyre and his friends such as: - How did a Nathan manage to continue to serve the  Union Army in the Civil War after becoming a vampyre?  -How did he and The Professor meet? -Why did Lisa and Marisa drift apart? -Has Nathan or his friends ever met any of the  characters from "The Bridge" or "The Ship"? -Who else has had a Para-Earth encounter? Plus much more! So go ahead grab your copy today! *And remember the holidays area almost upon us and you can order Kindle books for family and friends, you can even have them delivered on a specific date such as Hanukkah, Christmas, and birthdays . Just click below to start your shopping: https://www.amazon.com/Vampyre-Blogs-Anthology-Para-Earths-Para-Earth-ebook/dp/B07KMN78B2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1543590262&sr=8-1&

ONLY 6 MORE DAYS UNTIL... - 26 tales that span 150 years -  Stories of love, laughter, tears, wonder, hope, growth and wonder - Kindle $3.99/Trade Paperback $15.99 -Pre-Orders are available now at: https://www.amazon.com/Vampyre-Blogs-Anthology-Para-Earths-Para-Earth-ebook/dp/B07KMN78B2/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1543161531&sr=1-1 And now a sneak peek... "The Snowman" December 2014   by Helen Krummenacker      A chilly December evening was made cozy not only by the fireplace, but the scents of vanilla, cinnamon, and ginger from baking in the kitchen. Marissa turned the radio to a station playing all Christmas music. Isabella was excited even beyond the average child at Christmas time, for this was her first Christmas tree, her first time seeing fairy lights, and even the radio was a novelty for her. She would sit on the sofa, stare at the tree and get up again every few minutes to better distribute the ornaments for col

****COMING DECEMBER 1st, THE LATEST INSTALLMENT OF THE PARA-EARTH SERIES****   Twenty-five stories, spanning 150 years...   “The Vampyre Blogs – Coming Home” introduced a new cast of characters to the Para-Earth Series. This anthology answers and raises questions about their backstories and relationships. What otherworldly threats has the Professor dealt with? How did Nathan’s altered self affect his service in the Civil War? What other mysteries linger on Nathan’s estate? What did a German like the Professor do during WWII? Who are some of the other people Nathan has met over his unnaturally long life? Are Nathan and the Professor the only ones who’ve had close encounters with Para-Earth beings? These and more, including the return of certain characters from “The Bridge” or “The Ship” will be explored within these pages.   KINDLE PRE-ORDERS BEING TAKEN NOW AT THE LINK BELOW:   https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07KMN78B2?ref_=pe_3052080_276849420

REVIEW BY HELEN KRUMMENACKER This is one of the Phryne Fisher novels, a mystery set in Australia. These deal not only with solving crimes-- in this case, looking into the suspicious death of an eccentric writer of fairy stories-- but also the social structures of the times they are set in. It’s 1928, and the aftermath of the Great War is still felt in everything from the growth of women’s career options to international politics. For Miss Fisher, the international politics has turned her personal life on end, because her Chinese boyfriend is in danger just trying to handle his family’s import business while China is in crisis. As for the mystery, most of the suspects living as neighbors to the deceased were also her co-workers through a women’s magazine. And what a women’s magazine it is! While there are columns on child-raising and fashion, the magazine is full of how-to information on building your own radio and fixing your car, as well as health and gardening advice.

REVIEW BY ALLAN KRUMMENACKER 5 - STARS "What price for sanity?"     Waverly Hills Sanatorium is an actual place in Louisville Kentucky that the author visited as part of a paranormal investigative team. By the author's own admission their paranormal experiences where 'minimal', I feel the setting and strangeness of exploring an abandoned place with so much history lent a great deal to the creation of this novel.       Ben Clausen has landed a job teaching English over at the U of L, and is now searching for a place to live. His search has brought him to the most unlikely place to find an apartment, one half of the old Waverly Hills Sanatorium a place famous for its tragedies and ghostly legends. Only one half of the place has been converted into apartments, while the remaining half is still in severe disrepair and is kept off-limits, perhaps for very good reasons.     But beggars can't be choosers, and with the rent priced just right Ben m

REVIEW BY ALLAN KRUMMENACKER 4 - STARS "An Eerie Blend To Satisfy Horror Enthusiasts..." Mix one part voodoo, one part devil worship, three parts the darker side of human nature and you get "The Haunting of Gospall". The author does a wondrous job of blending these three elements into a intricate yarn that transcends the high seas. He starts us off with a brilliant opening scene upon the SS Gospall in the 1800's, showing a keen insight of what sailors and captains faced on the open waters during one of the more contentious periods between England and France.  We're introduced to characters we come to admire and care deeply for, both in the 1800's and the present, as the tale unfolds and a mystery that links the two time periods slowly unfolds. We meet Sean, who is blessed unwillingly with psychic talents that has led him down a dark path once before.  The author also introduces us to his beloved Sophie who not only listens to him whe

And I'm back, sort of. Okay, I'm still a bit unwell, but finally on the mend. In the meantime let's continue with that discussion about some of the things I learned putting together our first anthology. First off it was somewhat easier than creating an entire novel. With a novel you have to keep track of so many things like character development, interactions, subplots, pace of the story, etc.  Now with an anthology, you still have a lot of stories to contend with but each one is self-contained and has its own beginning and end. You don't have to be worried about how they fit into the main tale. Plus you can have a greater variety of characters and give each tale a flavor all its own. Sounds pretty easy so far right? Well, here's where things started to get a little more complicated for me.              Like a novel, an anthology does need to have a certain feeling of cohesiveness to it. There must be some facet or factor that makes the read

Blogger’s Note: I know I promised the second entry about things I learned about putting together an anthology, but the bug we’ve been fighting turned into bronchitis, possibly bordering on pneumonia. So we’re both on heavy antibiotics which does not make for very sensible thinking or analyzing, much less writing. So please bear with us and hope you enjoy this latest book review. We hope to be back in the saddle very soon. Thank you. "Ghost Hand" is a thrilling ride into a modern day reality, so like our everyday one, but with a twist... some people have 'Ghost Limbs'. It feels like the author took the concept of 'phantom limb syndrome', when someone suffers the loss of a limb yet still feels the missing appendage, and then made it into something more tangible in a unique way. The characters are born with what would have been a missing limb, except the limb IS there, only it's glowing and almost intangible at times. And sometimes, they seem t

*Blogger's Note: I know I promised to continue about our experiences with creating our first anthology, but massive colds have been kicking us around.  Hope to get back to that subject next week.  Until then, here's another book review.  Enjoy* This was my first venture into the writing of Miss Grogg and I have to say I was quite pleased.  This tale took me down the winding passages of my own childhood memories involving friends, relatives, and grandparents (who I sorely miss). The story begins with Brandon having to move into his little brother's room, because his elderly great-grandmother is coming to live with his family.  Brandon is not happy about this and even resentful.  But we quickly see the conflicting emotions within him early on when he first meets his great-grandmother who is full of spunk and not one to be pushed around in spite of her advanced age.  But in addition to that fiery spirit she brings an old fashioned trunk that captivates not only Br

Last night Helen and I finished the final story for our upcoming anthology!      Thank you!  Thank you!  You're all being too kind.  But today's post is not to talk about the anthology itself, as much as what went into making it.  How did it differ from writing full-length novels?  Was it easier?  Was it harder? What was the process like?  Where did we get all the stories for it, etc.?       Well, for starters, coming up with a decent number of stories was and wasn't hard really.  Helen had been writing stories long before e-books and well before I tried my hand at penning a tale.  I can easily say I learned so much from her earlier attempts at getting published, and let me tell you she got damn close to seeing some of her work in print.  But, that's a tale for another entry.       What I want to say is that I learned a lot about what to expect when I decided to try  going the traditional published route.  Although in my case, I started shortly after the

     First I'd like to thank all the guest bloggers, authors, and reviewers who were so kind to supply our blog with posts. It gave me some much needed time to get some rest and help family members who had suffered a terrible loss. It also allowed us to get back to work on our anthology “The Vampyre Blogs – One Day At a Time” which will be coming out in early October, a perfect time for creepy stories and tales of encounters with strange beings. With only two stories left to be completed and edited, we will soon be lining up Beta-Readers and then doing our final edits.      Work has also been progressing on “The Door” latest full-length novel in the Para-Earth Series, and “The Pass” the first installment in a brand new series co-written with Richard Caminiti.      In the meantime, I have been studying and purchasing the necessary equipment to begin audio-readings. As you can see below I've been slowly setting up a “Recording Studio” in our office/guest

REVIEW BY HELEN KRUMMENACKER      Mystery stories have to work hard to set themselves apart from the crowd. Some do it with an underlying nonfiction theme, such as mystery novels/recipe books. Special settings can be useful. Most of all, characters are a way to be distinctive and memorable. There’s an entire bookshelf in our house of mysteries with animal detectives.      Cats make up the majority of animal detectives, able to roam freely and unobtrusively. Three Bags Full takes a different, and possibly unique path. As the name suggests, the mystery is being worked on by… sheep.     It begins with the discovery of the death of their shepherd. Even they can tell it is not natural causes, because he has had a spade stuck in his body. Whether it is the cause of death or not, it is a definite sign of violence and took place in their pasture, at night, while they were in a barn. They are disturbed; it is very like and yet unlike a wolf attack. The sheep vow that, as he protected