A Time For Reflection and Plotting the Year Ahead

Happy New Year everyone! Yes, I know it was a couple of days ago, but I'm still wishing you all the best for this new year. 

Like most people, I'm taking a look back at 2020 and what I managed to accomplish in spite of all the chaos we've experienced with this Pandemic. Helen and I have been extremely cautious to avoid getting it since both of us have conditions which would likely land us in the hospital if we were to catch Covid - 19. And here in California where we are, the ICU's are currently filled and overflowing. 

Mind you, I've been working full-time for the county in spite of the situation. So I haven't had extra time to work on personal projects as much as one might expect. Still, I did manage to get a number of projects completed in 2020. 

For starts, I managed to get my first audiobook narration out on Audible

Amazon Link: Forever's Too Long (Audible)

I also created my 2nd and 3rd book trailers (both for Helen's "Forever Detective Series"),

Link: Forever Haunted Trailer

Link: Forever In Deep Trailer

I painted the cover for her book "Forever In Deep"

Amazon Link: Forever In Deep

On another front, my high school friend Richard Caminiti and I completed the first draft of our long-distance collaborative novel, "The Pass. This dark fantasy piece, that takes place during the Civil War will hopefully be available for sale later this year in either late September, or early October.

I also managed to finish recording Helen's second solo novel "Forever Haunted".

 I am currently completing final edits of the recordings, and will be submitting them to Audacity for review. Once approved, it will be available on Audible, so stay tuned.

Finally, I got myself an account on Instagram. If you'd like to follow me over there, here's my link:

https://www.instagram.com/allankrummenacker/

My goals are to network and entertain, as well as help promote our books and projects.

So what are my plans for 2021?

Well, for starters, finishing the final edits and getting the audio files for "Forever Haunted" submitted to ACX for approval of course. I've re-edited nine of the 18 chapters, as well as the opening and closing credits.

Once I've got those out of the way, I'll start recording "Forever In Deep".

I would also like to complete the 2nd draft of "The Pass" no later than February 28th, so we can get it sent out to the beta-readers Rich has already lined up. After we hear back from everyone, then we can get the final draft set up as well as add the pen and ink art that our wonderful Illustrator Gabrielle Callan has been putting together for the book.

As the year progresses, I'd also like to finish recording the remaining chapters of  my "A Christmas Carol" project for release on YouTube in December. I still have to edit the current files, as well as add more soundtrack layers for sound effects and other touches, as well as locate more public domain, and non-copyrighted images for the video.

I of course wish to have completed 1st drafts of "The Door" (the direct sequel to "The Bridge") as well as "The Vampyre Blogs - Family Ties" (which is a direct sequel to "The Vampyre Blogs - Coming Home).

There will also be book cover art that will require my attention for Helen's 4th solo novel "Forever Festive", "The Door",  and "The Vampyre Blogs - Family Ties"

Helen and I are also considering trying our hands at some podcasting, focusing mostly on writing, recording audios at home, and other creative endeavors.

I have dozens of other ideas, but I'm trying to keep things within the realm of actually getting done this year, without killing myself. I'm still working full-time at the county. Currently I'm alternating one week in the office with the public (which is nerve-wracking because of the pandemic) and then one week home telecommuting. So, trying to keep a balance of what's doable as opposed to moaning about what I can't get to, is really tricky at times.

And of course, I will be posting more here about my audio adventures, including more bloopers, as well as sharing thoughts on writing.

There's a lot on the agenda as you can see, so we hope you'll stick with us. And as always, keeping writing everyone.