Musings of Two Creative Minds

  *NOTE: This review covers the audiobook version (which is unabridged), so there will be references to the performance by the voiceover actor Marc Thompson) As a big fan of the Star Wars animated series "Rebels", I was always fascinated by the character of Grand Admiral Thrawn. He was clearly one of the most formidable opponents I'd ever seen on any show (with the exception of Naraku from the anime "Inuyasha"). Thrawn was extremely intelligent, cunning, effective, a really knew how to analyze a situation and who his opponents in order to anticipate most of their possible moves. I often had the impression that if you tried playing chess with him, he'd figure out all your possible moves and how quickly to win the game when you were still trying to figure out which of your pieces you'd finally decided to move first. And I always wanted to know much more about him and what made him so damn impressive. Well, this book answered most of my questions and brough...

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....

Available now at Audible and Amazon , my 4th performance as a voiceover artist.   The 4th book in Helen Krummenacker's growing "Forever Detective Series" book series . I give you "Forever Festive": 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 . Available now at: Amazon:   https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09KCC5HZV Audible:   https://www.audible.com/pd/Forever-Festive-Audiobook/B09PX5RZ6D?ref=a_series_Th_c5_lProduct_1_4&pf_rd_p=284b47b1-a5db-4711-9667-612f2ac7458e&pf_rd_r=8QVETWGEZ0D4XBT5NE9R Itunes:   https://books.apple.com/us/book/forever-fes...

  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 ...

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....

  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...

Hey Audiobook/Audible fans, Helen's first book "Forever's Too Long" is now on sale for 1/2 price (regular price $14.95 - now only $7.47) over on Amazon.  If you love vampires, noir/mystery detectives set in 1947, this is the one you've been waiting for. And a little FYI, I did the narrating and am recording on her 2nd book (coming this December) as we speak. So come and grab your copy, or gift one to a family member or friend. Just click on the link below to purchase: Link:  Forever's Too Long - Audiobook What listeners are saying over on Audible:  5 out of 5 stars Anonymous User 06-25-20 5 - Stars Good plot with smart characters Nice to have a story that isn't based on the inattention or inability of the protagonists.  Please continue releasing the series!

As you all know, I've been busy recording audiobooks at home. I've already gotten "Forever's Too Long", my wife Helen's first solo novel, published on Audible where it received a 5-star review. So of course I was eager to turn another of her books into audio as well. So I began recording her second book "Forever Haunted".  Now having shared on this blog all the technical aspects that I use to record the books, I thought it might be fun to share one or two... um... a few? Oh hell, I make a LOT of mistakes and I run into some other 'obstacles' that I thought might help prepare you all for some of what you might encounter.  So, here's the first (of what I suspect will be a growing library) of my blooper outtakes... Now remember folks, "We are controlling transmission. If we wish to make it louder, we will bring up the volume. If we wish to make it softer, we will tune it to a whisper. We will control the horizontal. We...

5 out of 5 stars Anonymous User 06-25-20 OVERALL - 5 Stars PERFORMANCE - 5 Stars STORY - 5 Stars Good plot with smart characters Nice to have a story that isn't based on the inattention or inability of the protagonists. Please continue releasing the series! AMAZON LINK:  Forever's Too Long - Audio AUDIBLE LINK:  Forever's Too Long - Audible                                     And so it has finally happened, after months and months of researching how to make an audiobook, getting the equipment, rehearsing, learning how to control one's voice for quality, pacing yourself, being sure of clarity when you speak, consistency in volume, learning how to edit the recordings and meet ACX's requirements, and finally getting your work made available on Audible. This in and of itself is a huge achievement. But no one tells you about what comes next....

Well, after all these months of posting about making an audiobook, it's finally happened... I am now the newest voice actor over on Audible! To be honest, the reality of it is still kind of sinking in for me. We got the word on Tuesday, the day before Helen's and my 31st wedding anniversary. And it just seemed so perfect in so many ways. As you all know Helen wrote "Forever's Too Long" as her first solo novel, and she had me do the artwork for the cover. We've always been a team and we've always support each other in so many ways, so seeing this culmination of her writing skills, combined with my penchant for voices become a reality on the eve of our wedding anniversary just seemed so appropriate. To be honest, I'm still in shock over here. The idea of being the voice for an audiobook had been simmering in my mind for about a year or two before I actually tried it. A co-worker of mine who knew and loved our Para-Earth books kept tellin...

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...