Musings of Two Creative Minds

Hello everyone, and welcome to my first blog post for 2025. I know it's been a while since I last posted anything on this blog, but as the title of this entry says... life and reality has REALLY been demanding so much of my time and energies.  And since it's been so long since my last post, let me quickly recap where I left off... I had located the crystal ball my wife gave me for my birthday many years ago and was contemplating looking into it to see if a wheelchair might be in my future due to my continuing leg and back issues. Well, here's the real-life answer as to that question... So yeah... this has come to pass. Mind you, I am getting used to it. Plus, I'm not in the chair all that often. I mostly use it on long outings and excursions with family and friends. (Sadly, for me these days a long outing lasts more than 15 minutes on my feet for the most part before the pain and numbing of my hips/legs/and feet become intolerable). Still, I really like being able to be...

This year has been 'difficult' for me on a number of fronts, some of which I've already shared with you. Still there are others, that are still ongoing and taking up a lot of my time and brain power. I have actually done a number of audio short stories which are perfect for this time of year, I just haven't had the time to really gather and piece together videos to present on YouTube for my "Library of the Obscure" channel. However, if any of you wish to hear any those recordings (complete with sound effects), I'll be happy to post them as a prelude to the podcast itself here on this blog as well as on the Library of the Obscure YouTube channel. Please let me know what you think by leaving your thoughts in the comments section below. In the meantime, here's the link to a story by Lord Dunsany (one of HP Lovecraft's greatest influences), that I shared last year. I hope you enjoy this tale, and I thank you for your understanding... NOTE: I will be a...

This little video gives you an idea of why I get so busy with my audio recordings. I swear, when you're doing most of your work at home, this means you literally are the chief, cook, and bottlewasher. From start to finish, you are your own director, actor, voice talent, editor... the works! It's all on you to make that audio ready to be submitted to ACX and then onto Audible. And there will be days when you are so confident that the recording you just did was F------ Awesome! Possibly one of the best takes you've ever done in your entire career and then... Well, just watch the video below... And even after doing this for 3 years, this still happens all too often to me. And yet, in spite of all the times this happens, I'm still beginning work on my own podcast. Stay tuned for more on that. My goal right now is to get at least a dozen or more installments recorded BEFORE I start to actually get the podcast up and running. Like my unabridged reading of Charles...

What a way to start a brand new the year! Helen just got a Kirkus Review of her first novel "Forever's Too Long", calling it... "A tense, thrilling paranormal adventure with a striking cast." Here's the full review: A supernatural crime novel set in the 1940s focuses on a private detective. This series opener begins in 1947. The narrator of the story, Rafael Jones, has set up shop as a private investigator in New York City. Rafael has an extensive background in law enforcement (both civilian and military), and he is eager to strike out on his own. No sooner has he put the sign up for Harmony Investigations than he is approached by a British woman named Clara Thomas. Clara has been sent to persuade Rafael to work for Interpol. She is a sharp woman, with a degree in mathematics from Oxford, who knows how to handle herself in a fight. She can also fly a plane. Rafael doesn’t need that much convincing, and he soon learns that working with Clara will be fun....

Christmas came early to me... Last night I received this comment over on my YouTube channel regarding my presentation of an unabridged version of Charles Dickens' classic "A Christmas Carol" from Barbara Ortiz... "This version is among the best, the added images are very nice, your extra research is appreciated. Ahh, also, your voice acting is spot on." This meant the world to me. I hope everyone else who's checked it out enjoyed it just as much. And if you wish to give it a try, I'm supplying the link just below. Happy Holidays everyone and may the season bring you all the joy and happiness it can. Link: Merry Christmas, Happy Hannukah, a Joyous Kwanzaa and a Happy New Year to you all.

The holiday season is upon us, and I hope you are all enjoying yourselves. I know I've been on the quiet side for some time, but I've been dealing with some health issues (which I'll discuss down the road, it's still not fully resolved yet). But I've also been working on a special project for the last 2 years. It's been quite a journey with this particular effort of mine, as it's part audiobook and part video.  As you all know I've done a fair amount of audio work, but adding video was a whole new ballgame for me. Getting everything lined up just right, finding imagery in public domain, as well as music to go along with it, took a considerable amount of time and energies. But I feel like the results were worth it. I learned a lot along the way and may actually start doing some podcasting in the near future. We'll see. But for now I'd like to present to you all to a brand new Unabridged presentation of Mr. Charles Dicken's classic "A Chri...

With the holidays over and all audio recording projects edited and out there, Helen and I have finally had time to settle down and work on rewriting the first book in our Para-Earths series "The Bridge". As you know from previous entries, the last 'edited' files that we published got corrupted without our knowledge, so when I found out I took it down from all sites (which is why you cannot find it now). But rest assured work has begun and some 'technical' changes are being made to the new edition which will be released next year 2023. Originally I planned on re-releasing it this year as a special 10th anniversary edition, only to discover that while I put a 2012 copyright year in the original version, it never actually reached Amazon or any of the other outlets until 2013.  So to keep with calling it the 10th Anniversary edition, we all have to wait a little longer. However, I'm not actually bothered by this delay. Because reworking the book, I'm disco...

  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 ...

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...

Greetings one and all.  Sorry for the silence, but as you can guess I've been really busy on audio and writing projects.  Sadly, one of those projects will not come to light until this time next year. This would be the one I last posted about, namely "A Christmas Carol". Between trying to get the audiobook version of "Forever Haunted" completed, as well as a lengthy short story (I know that sounds weird, a short story being lengthy) over on our other blog "The Vampyre Blogs - Private Edition", as well as trying to deal with work and prepping for the holidays, time has not been very available for me.  So I'm planning on releasing my reading/performance of Mr. Dicken's classic for December 2021. It will be complete with voices and sound effects, along with royalty-free and public domain imagery from the internet. At the moment it seems to be coming in at a length of 5+ hours which is why I will be releasing it in staves (chapters) as Mr. Dickens ...

It's been a busy month for me, which is why I haven't been posting anything lately. Between editing "The Pass", my long-distance collaboration with my old friend Rich Caminiti and recording and editing Helen's 2nd book in her "Forever Detective Series", it's been hectic for me. On top of all that, I have been working on a new short story for our other site: "The Vampyre Blogs - Private Edition" (link:  https://www.thevampyreblogs.com/ ) The story will be a Christmas ghost story (an old English tradition), which I hope you will decide to check out when it is posted. (I promise to let you all know when that happens). Finally, as the title of this entry indicates, I've also started a new audio project that I hope to post on YouTube in December. What is it? Well, I'll be reading Charles Dickens "A Christmas Carol".  Now I suspect some of you are already thinking "Oh great... ANOTHER production of that old story." So ...

My first 'Voice Actor' performance "Forever's Too Long" is now available as an unabridged audiobook, exclusively through the author's webstore.  You have a choice between MP3 Downloadable Zip File for $12.99, or if you prefer available as a 4 CD set for $20.00 (which includes shipping).                        This book has already been earning rave 5 Star reviews both locally and internationally in audio, paperback, and e-book forms: 5.0 out of 5 stars - Well-crafted and hard to put down  Reviewed in Canada on November 12, 2019  Format: Paperback  "Relatable characters, evocative scenery, and engaging dialogue make this book a lot of fun to read..."  5.0 out of 5 stars - A Great Twist  Reviewed in the United States on July 3, 2019  Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase  "This is an interesting take on both hard-boiled mysteries and urban fan...

Finally heard back from ACX. Two issues came up. I didn't leave enough "Room Tone" (silence) at beginning and end of every chapter. They want .5 to 1 second of silence before first word spoken, then 1-5 seconds of silence after last word spoken. Easy fix. The other issue, I included the closing credits and the last chapter in one file. They wanted them separated, another easy fix.  Otherwise, they had no other problems with the files. Volume, clarity, technical requirements of the audios themselves, all of that was fine.  I will be making these corrections, if I haven't already dealt with them on my own. After that... still going to follow our own path at this point and make CD's and downloadable MP3's from our websites.  and  Why? Because Audible has an "exclusive" clause that says only they get to produce the audios, and they do not make CD's. They only produce Audible versions, and as we've been told ...

After our last entry asking about making other options available such as CD's and downloadable MP3 files of our books for audio, we've learned that if we go with Audible they have the "Exclusive" right to produce the audio. It also clearly states in the agreement that neither we, nor anyone else, can create audios of the books in ANY format.                                     And this does not just apply to us. At our local library we found some of Jim Butcher's "Dresden Files" on CD. However, it seems they were all made before the books were transferred to Audible. Since then no new CD's have been made. Allan even went as far as to check on Amazon and found the only  CD copies available are used ones for the earlier books. There do not appear to be any CD's for the more recent installments of that series, only the Audible version. So what does that mean for us? That is whe...