Musings of Two Creative Minds

 A whole year of planning, working, sweating, and it still wasn't enough.  For those who are wondering, I'm referring to my unabridged dramatic reading of Charles Dickens "A Christmas Carol". My plan was to unveil the finished project as a picture book on YouTube. Besides spending hours recording voices, some sound effects, finding music in public domain, as well as dozens of images (also in the public domain) created over the last 150 years since the book's creation... and I still couldn't quite get it across the Finish Line. At least not in time for this Christmas.  All I have left to do is film an opening and closing to the project, but between work and other audio and writing projects, I just couldn't do it justice this year.  Now some of you might be asking yourselves, why? Why was this so important to you?  After all, there are so many versions available of the story available on YouTube, streaming services, Blue-Ray, DVD, etc.  Well the answer is, n...

  Hello everyone, Santa left one more chapter of "Forever Festive" for you here on the blog, so here is a full 1/2 hour chapter of Rafael and Clara arriving at his childhood home and getting quite the welcome.  Enjoy... Chapter 3 - Parental Warning You can get "Forever Festive" (or any/all of the Forever Detective Books) right now in e-book or a trade paperback (at Amazon and Barnes and Noble) at the links below: Amazon Link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09KCC5HZV AmazonUK Link: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B09KCC5HZV AmazonCA Link: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B09KCC5HZV AmazonAU Link: https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B09KCC5HZV Smashwords Links: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1112190 Barnes and Noble Link: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/forever-festive-helen-krummenacker/1140442307?ean=2940165068287 Kobo Link: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/forever-festive Apple Books Link: ‎ https://books.apple.com/us/book/forever-festive/id1592528404

Christmas is only a week away, and Santa told me you've all been very good this year. So with Helen's permission, I'm sharing the 1st and 2nd audio chapters I narrated of   "Forever Festive" , the 4th book in her Forever Detective Series, which is available now for Kindle, Kobo, Apple, Nook, and Trade Paperback.  Unfortunately, due to time and work constraints, I'm still editing the last few chapters of the full audiobook itself, which means that version will not be available until early next month. In the meantime, we both wanted to give you these chapters as a sample of what you can expect in her vampire detective's first holiday adventure. Enjoy...  Chapter 1 - "Harold T Angel" Chapter 2 - "Appropriate Decor" You know books make a great gift, or nice little something to fill some stockings, and you can get "Forever Festive" (or any/all of the Forever Detective Books) right now in e-book or a trade paperback (at Amazon and ...

Here's the book trailer for "Forever Festive" which is the 4th book in Helen's vampire/noir book series set in the 1947. Click on the image and see what she has in store for our favorite vampire detective as he tries to spend Christmas with his folks who don't know his little secret... “Forever Festive” is available now in paperback and e-book formats at: Amazon Link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09KCC5HZV AmazonUK Link: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B09KCC5HZV AmazonCA Link: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B09KCC5HZV AmazonAU Link: https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B09KCC5HZV Smashwords Links: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1112190 Barnes and Noble Link: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/forever-festive-helen-krummenacker/1140442307?ean=2940165068287 Kobo Link: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/forever-festive Apple Books Link: ‎ https://books.apple.com/us/book/forever-festive/id1592528404

The 4th book in Helen's "Forever Detective Series" There's no place like home for the holidays-- or for having you darkest secrets revealed! Can Rafael Jones manage to find the missing girl, build on his romance with agent Clara Thomas, and still keep his parents thinking he's living a normal life instead of being living dead? And will working for the forces of Heaven strengthen Rafael's faith, or shake it? Wizards, witches, angels, and Pixie Dust bring their own surprises for Rafael's Christmas. So get ready to order your copy, and maybe a few to put in stocking or under a tree.  (Personally signed paperbacks will also be available)

As the saying goes, all good things must come to an end. So this is the final weekend of your early Halloween treat, as we suspect most folks will have a lot to do next weekend with the holiday itself. But we still have 3 more chapters for you to sample "Forever's Too Long". Chapter 5 - NOT JUST A SPARK After a long day of tussling with crooked antique dealers and wasting time with useless police detectives who are more interested in playing games, Rafael and Clara deserve a night off. So they decide to step out and enjoy some music and dancing. So let's click on the link below, and enjoy their evening out as as they get to know a little more about each other. Chapter 6 - CULT FOLLOWING It seems like a simple job to Rafael. Go in, get some evidence of wrongdoing-- there's always wrongdoing by cult leaders-- and present it to Eugene's former employees to get them to get their lives back on track. But Rafael has no idea just how wrong things are behind the faca...

The Halloween Season is still going on, and so does the treat. Last week we brought you the first 3 chapters of Helen's 1st solo novel "Forever's Too Long". Today we're giving you the next 3 chapters along with a chance to see Rafael and Clara working together, as well as getting to know one another better.  You'll also get to see how others view Rafael, especially from his days back on the police force. As you'll hear, the reactions he gets tend to run from delighted, annoyed, and downright suspicious. So sit back and enjoy these three new chapters from the first book of the Forever Detective Series. Chapter 3 - The Ellis Island Traffic Control Board Chapter 4 - Moose's Memory Chapter 5 - Clara Proved Me Wrong Next week we'll be sharing the next three chapters where things begin to get a bit more hairy for Rafael. After an evening of dance and romance, he begins to delve deep into the second of his two cases. By infiltrating the cult that has been...

Hello everyone, Halloween is just around the corner and I felt that since I haven't been posting a lot hear lately (due to back issues and other life events) I thought perhaps you all deserved a treat. And since I spent months talking about recording and creating audiobooks, I thought it only appropriate to share some of my work with all of you.  So I'm presenting the first 3 chapters of Helen's first solo novel "Forever's Too Long" here on the today and a few more in the next two weeks. Why that book? Because it's the Halloween season and the novel is a vampire tale set in 1940's New York City. It stars Rafael Jones, a former police officer who just came back from Germany, where he was an investigator gathering evidence for the famous Nuremberg trials. Now he's back home in America and opening his own detective agency. In this story his first two cases will lead him straight into the depths into another world that holds wonders and terror, the wor...

Starting today it's Free (Sound) Sample Saturday over on Helen's Blog "The Forever Detective". What is Free (sound) Sample Saturday? Simple, it's where she shares a chapter (or two in this case) from the Audible version of her 1st solo book "Forever's Too Long".  A mystery involving vampires in the noir setting of 1947 New York City.  And since I've been posting for months about doing audiobook recordings, I felt it was only appropriate to share this with you since "Forever's Too Long" is my first complete voiceover project. That's right you'll be hearing me narrating the story, and supplying the voices voices for the entire cast. Furthermore, next week we will be sharing the 2nd chapter and so on in the following weeks. Some come and take advantage to check out the Prologue and full 1st Chapter of this 5 star rated series and see what everyone is talking about, by clicking on the link below: https://www.theforeverdetective....

Our first novel in the Para-Earth Series, is going to get a complete rewrite!  Yes, you are reading that correctly. You're eyes are not playing tricks on you. I know earlier this year I said I was going to try and clean up "The Bridge", but the further I got into reading it, the more I saw just how messed up it had gotten. But before I go further, a little history lesson. "The Bridge" was the first book I ever released, so naturally there were a lot of rookie mistakes made in it, which were pointed out to me early on in the reviews (even though those same reviews gave it 4 and 5 stars). But I couldn't ignore the fact that there were problems with my baby. I call it that, because I did all the writing and did not credit my wife for all the help she gave me in developing the story. So I tried going back and fixing the errors only to wind up with mixed results. A third attempt was made, which still seemed plagued with problems. Finally, a few years ago, my edit...

  In the span of 10 months, Helen and I have released 3 audiobooks which I have narrated. We just released "Forever In Deep" last week.  Links: Audible          Amazon          Itunes All three books are the entire "Forever Detective Series" to date. Helen has more stories coming and will be releasing a fourth book "Forever Festive" this November. We are hoping to have the audio ready to be released at the same time so people can have that option to stick in someone's stocking or leave under their tree, (electronically speaking) of course. Remember, you can gift someone an e-book or even an audiobook. Links: Audible         Amazon         Itunes Links: Audible         Amazon         Itunes Now this may not seem like such a big deal, but for someone who spent over a year researching how to create audiobooks, as well as getting the proper equipment, a...

  Hello everyone, we hope you've all been doing well. It's been quite a week around here, or a couple of them actually. Both Helen and I got our 2nd Moderna shots, and both of us felt pretty crummy in the following days. Unfortunately, in my case a nerve problem in my back became exacerbated to the point that I've not been to work all this past week, and next week isn't looking to great either. My doctor is trying to line me up with an MRI to see what's going on.  But in the meantime, I tried to take my mind off my discomfort by being busy. In this case it meant finishing the final edits on the collaboration with my high school friend Rich Caminiti, and lo and behold... the 2nd draft is now finished and in the hands of beta-readers.  If you're wondering what the book is about, here's a little hint: Was it just bad luck and weather that doomed the Donner Party in 1846, or was it something 'else', something evil and powerful? And is it still there wait...

  Hello again everyone. I recently had a request to the links regarding to all my posts here about doing audio recordings. As I started to gather the links, I quickly realized that they were all seriously scattered throughout the blog, as I'd done them over the course of 13 months. Plus, there were a number of other entries in between which made them even more difficult to find.  So today's entry mainly consists of all the links for easy access to anyone who wishes to look over the details and suggestions I had about audio recordings. So far there are only eight entries, but I am planning on more in the coming months.        ADVENTURES IN AUDIO RECORDING LINKS: Part I: https://musingsof2creativeminds.com/2019/07/27/adventures-in-audio-recording/ Part II: https://musingsof2creativeminds.com/2019/08/09/adventures-in-audio-recording-part-ii/ Part III: https://musingsof2creativeminds.com/2019/08/25/adventures-in-audio-recording-part-iii/ Part IV: http...