Stephen Burckhardt's Blog: My Blog Ramblings, page 26

Friday Funnies: Being a Writer

Hello my happy people,

I hope you are all happy and healthy and are looking forward to a wonderful weekend. We are still trying to get everything set for our trip to Bolton in the United Kingdom in a few weeks. I am really hoping to win this award for a few reasons but the most important one is I believe it will give me a boost to help reach more people like me with health challenges. i want to expand my reach as an advocate for those who strive everyday to build and rebuild their lives after brain injuries. It is very important to me and I think this award would help me reach more people and touch more lives.

We have been furiously trying to get ready for this trip. I tried on my old brown evening gown and my husband finally admitted to me that he hates my favorite dress. I was shocked. He really wanted to see me in something more vibrant, so we went dress shopping. We didn't find anything in town. We took a chance and ordered online. We got lucky.

Now, I have a new red dress with silver accents that I love, but it is a tiny bit tight on the chest ... so more yoga and no cookies or Pringles between now and the trip. The dress fits, but just. It would be nice to have a tiny bit more breathing room, but at least I'm not in danger of splitting seams. It's not that tight. Thankfully it is very comfortable and P.R. loves it on me. I tried it on again today with all the undergarments and the shoes I plan to wear on awards night. It is a good thing I did too.

The jewels on my shoes kept getting caught in the dress. So I need different shoes. I went online again to look for silver shoes and it was tough to find something I liked, that was available in my size, and would also be delivered in time. I did find one pair on Amazon.de that will work. They are not as cute as I hope to find, but I ordered them anyway just to be sure to have something to wear for the awards ceremony. P.R. and I are going out to the mall tomorrow for another reason and will look for cuter shoes there as well, but at least I will have something that will work.

I had to write a one minute acceptance speech on the chance that I hit my 1 in 6 chances of winning. I cried the first time I read it out loud. That is so not like me to get emotional when public speaking. I just hope I can get through it on the night if needed. I have been known to lose the ability to speak at all when I get too happy. Dang neurological conditions pop up in weird ways sometimes. Fingers crossed nothing pops up on awards night. At least P.R. will be there to back me up if I do lose the ability to speak.

I have been working on the outline for The Touch. This is such a new process for me. I have never used an outline for anything I have ever written. In college, I faked my outlines when I had to turn them in for the grade. Turns out, it is very easy to write an outline for something you have already written.

I thought having an outline for this thriller would help me keep the case facts straight so I don't drop the ball on the "evidence" as I present it in the story. I had a few plot holes I got lucky and caught when writing the Into the West Books. I accidently changed the Ruth's daughter's name a few times but caught it before it went to print, among other things. I do not want to have issues like that with the new thriller.

This next Wednesday on the Book Banter podcast, I think we will have a sneak peek from Into the West: Family Ties and I hope to have an author interview announcement coming soon.

But now ... it's time for the jokes!

Have a great weekend people!

Dianne

Q: Since you became a full-time freelancer, have you sold anything?

A: Tons ... my car, my house, my clothes…

Q : What type of blood does a proofreader have?

A: Type O.

Q: I heard you just self- published your first book. What are you going to buy with the money? A: I don’t know, a candy bar

Q : What do you get when you give a writer a deadline?

A: A really clean house.

Q : Why are writers always cold?

A: They’re surrounded by drafts.

Q : How many self-published authors does it take to change a light bulb?

A: Take a hike! I’m not changing a thing!

Q : What’s the difference between a self-published author and a large cheese pizza?

A: A pizza can feed a family of three.

Q: What do you call a self-published author with health insurance?

A: Married.

Q : What do you get when you cross an editor and a parrot?

A: A bird that wants 8 cents a word.

Q : Is it true that writers are very tolerant people?

A: Yes, my tolerance for rejection has increased significantly since I started writing.

Q : What does editing and parenting a toddler have in common?

A: Reading the same damn book over and over and over.

and last but not least ...

Q : What is often random, disgusting, and could put you on an FBI watch list?

A: A writer’s browser history.

Ricky Gervais Tells A Story About How He Learned To Write

Fast Company

(Sorry about the F-bomb in the beginning but the rest is great!)

https://youtu.be/zTJyDe7a2bo ,Podcast Links

Listen to our podcast, Book Banter with Dianne Burckhardt, every Wednesday. Check your favorite podcast provider for listings.

​

Listen to Book Banter with Dianne Burckhardt on These Featured Podcast Providers:

BurckhardtBooks.com/podcast ,Buzzsprout ,Apple Podcasts ,Spotify ,Amazon Music

Burckhardt Books Pages:

,Subscribe to Our Newsletter ,Members Only Page (Join FREE and get access to exclusive content, lots of freebies, and listen to our Book Banter Interview Archive) ,Writing Prompt Challenge (Rules, prompts, and submission links on Writing Prompt Challenge page)

About Dianne:

,Dianne Burckhardt, Award-Winning Indie Author What is a ,Chiari Malformation, a ,Syrinx (Syringomyelia), and ,Hydrocephalus? Want to know more about the host of Book Banter with Dianne Burckhardt? Check out ,Episode 1: Who Am I?

Follow us on TikTok :@ burckhardt_books (click underlined text to go)

Support Our Book Banter Buddies (guest interviews):

More TBA

Past Guest Interviews:

,Mark L. Redmond website: The Box M Gang (Episode 8: March 23, 2022) ,Buy The Box M Gang on Amazon ,DJ Jamison, Amazon Author Page (Episodes 21 & 22: July 6 & 13, 2022) ,Two Truths and a Lyle free book promotion ,Allie "Book Historia" Alvis website (Episodes 23, 24, & 25: July 20 & 27, Aug 3, 2022) ,Bite Sized Book History - YouTube Channel ,Lisa Sillaway "Social Media Professor" (Episodes 26 & 27: Aug 10 & 17, 2022) ,Social Media Professor on Facebook Kara Vogt from ,Kavo Creative Studio (Episodes 32 & 33: Sept. 21 & 28, 2022) ,Wise Oak Soapery website ,Wise Oak Soapery on Facebook Carrie Donovan - writer/musician (Episode 37, October 26, 2022) ,Walpurgisnacht ,,- short story ,Backyard Whiskers - Rockabilly Band Webpage ,Children of the Corn - Band Video Carrie and the Dirty Pillows - Band Video

Support Us:

It's even easier now to support Burckhardt Books and our Book Banter Podcast, many options are no cost to you. ,Click here for more information.

Book Banter EP 39: Gushing about The Vibrant Years

Hello My Happy People,

I have a lot of information for you in today's podcast. I share my thoughts on a new book I've been reading by Indian American romance author, Sonali Dev, titled The Vibrant Years. Dev is a USA Today bestselling author and her new book is promises to earn her more bestseller titles.The Vibrant Years is set to release December 1, 2022 and is the first book published through Mindy's Book Studio run by none other than Mindy Kaling of The Office fame ... among other things. I'm only halfway through Dev's book and I already love her style and want to read more of her books!I have updates on the She Inspires awards ceremony coming up this month and news on my own books, Into the West: Family Ties and The Touch, plus news about the end of season one of Book Banter with Dianne Burckhardt and a look at my plans for season two. We've got a lot of info to share today, you should listen now.

Dianne ,Podcast Links

Listen to our podcast, Book Banter with Dianne Burckhardt, every Wednesday. Check your favorite podcast provider for listings.

​

Listen to Book Banter with Dianne Burckhardt on These Featured Podcast Providers:

BurckhardtBooks.com/podcast ,Buzzsprout ,Apple Podcasts ,Spotify ,Amazon Music

Burckhardt Books Pages:

,Subscribe to Our Newsletter ,Members Only Page (Join FREE and get access to exclusive content, lots of freebies, and listen to our Book Banter Interview Archive) ,Writing Prompt Challenge (Rules, prompts, and submission links on Writing Prompt Challenge page)

About Dianne:

,Dianne Burckhardt, Award-Winning Indie Author What is a ,Chiari Malformation, a ,Syrinx (Syringomyelia), and ,Hydrocephalus? Want to know more about the host of Book Banter with Dianne Burckhardt? Check out ,Episode 1: Who Am I?

Follow us on TikTok :@ burckhardt_books (click underlined text to go)

Support Our Book Banter Buddies (guest interviews):

More TBA

Past Guest Interviews:

,Mark L. Redmond website: The Box M Gang (Episode 8: March 23, 2022) ,Buy The Box M Gang on Amazon ,DJ Jamison, Amazon Author Page (Episodes 21 & 22: July 6 & 13, 2022) ,Two Truths and a Lyle free book promotion ,Allie "Book Historia" Alvis website (Episodes 23, 24, & 25: July 20 & 27, Aug 3, 2022) ,Bite Sized Book History - YouTube Channel ,Lisa Sillaway "Social Media Professor" (Episodes 26 & 27: Aug 10 & 17, 2022) ,Social Media Professor on Facebook Kara Vogt from ,Kavo Creative Studio (Episodes 32 & 33: Sept. 21 & 28, 2022) ,Wise Oak Soapery website ,Wise Oak Soapery on Facebook Carrie Donovan - writer/musician (Episode 37, October 26, 2022) ,Walpurgisnacht ,,- short story ,Backyard Whiskers - Rockabilly Band Webpage ,Children of the Corn - Band Video Carrie and the Dirty Pillows - Band Video

Support Us:

It's even easier now to support Burckhardt Books and our Book Banter Podcast, many options are no cost to you. ,Click here for more information.

Manic Monday: Anger Management

Photo by Karolina Grabowska: www.pexels.com

Hello My Happy People!

I sincerely hope you are all happy today. Recently, I have been doing a lot of personal introspection and dealing with a lot of my own anger management issues. If you know me you might actually be surprised to find out that I deal with anger issues every single day. I love the line in The Avengers when Bruce Banner says that his secret is that he is always angry. I wanted to just yell at the screen, "Me too, Bruce, Me too!"

It has been a problem since I was a child, but has gotten worse as I got older and had to deal with employment issue and health issues and all the other life things. My prefered method of dealing with anger has always been to just shove it all down and try to keep it to myself, but that is proving to be more and more problematic as I get older.

I know avoidance is not a healthy way to deal with emotional issues and in fact it can just save all your issues up to pop out and spill over onto random situations, making even simple confrontations more problematic. So now I'm dealing with some things head on to try to lighten my emotional baggage. It's good to deal with this all, but it's stressful too. I do believe it will all be worth it though and will make all my relationships better.

I truly hope you are all in a good place emotionally and physically. Writing has always been a great stress reliever for me. Right now I am using some of my anger in what I am writing for The Touch. Nothing like creating a character based on someone you are angry with and then killing them off (only fictionally) in a horrific and brutal way (to be honest, sometimes I worry about myself when I giggle as I write these scenes). It can be so therapeutic ... even if it is a tad creepy.

This weekend P.R. and I tried to find me a new evening gown for the She Inspires awards ceremony in Bolton, UK, but we did not have any luck in town so we went to the internet. I was more than happy to wear my brown dress I wore for my 40th and 49th birthdays, but P.R. thought I needed something new and more colorful. We found a nice dress online and it should be here in a few days. I hope it fits because we really do not have time to find anything else. Though I'd still be happy to wear my brown dress, I love it even if it is about 15 years old.

I have a few hours of writing planned for today. I hope to make some good progress. I need to read some today too. I'm finishing up the book I was given by a publicist who would like me to interview the author on my podcast. When I have the details set, I will let you know. So far, I'm enjoying her book.

That is all for today, people. I hope you have a wonderful week!!!

Dianne ,Podcast Links

Listen to our podcast, Book Banter with Dianne Burckhardt, every Wednesday. Check your favorite podcast provider for listings.

​

Listen to Book Banter with Dianne Burckhardt on These Featured Podcast Providers:

BurckhardtBooks.com/podcast ,Buzzsprout ,Apple Podcasts ,Spotify ,Amazon Music

Burckhardt Books Pages:

,Subscribe to Our Newsletter ,Members Only Page (Join FREE and get access to exclusive content, lots of freebies, and listen to our Book Banter Interview Archive) ,Writing Prompt Challenge (Rules, prompts, and submission links on Writing Prompt Challenge page)

About Dianne:

,Dianne Burckhardt, Award-Winning Indie Author What is a ,Chiari Malformation, a ,Syrinx (Syringomyelia), and ,Hydrocephalus? Want to know more about the host of Book Banter with Dianne Burckhardt? Check out ,Episode 1: Who Am I?

Follow us on TikTok :@ burckhardt_books (click underlined text to go)

Support Our Book Banter Buddies (guest interviews):

More TBA

Past Guest Interviews:

,Mark L. Redmond website: The Box M Gang (Episode 8: March 23, 2022) ,Buy The Box M Gang on Amazon ,DJ Jamison, Amazon Author Page (Episodes 21 & 22: July 6 & 13, 2022) ,Two Truths and a Lyle free book promotion ,Allie "Book Historia" Alvis website (Episodes 23, 24, & 25: July 20 & 27, Aug 3, 2022) ,Bite Sized Book History - YouTube Channel ,Lisa Sillaway "Social Media Professor" (Episodes 26 & 27: Aug 10 & 17, 2022) ,Social Media Professor on Facebook Kara Vogt from ,Kavo Creative Studio (Episodes 32 & 33: Sept. 21 & 28, 2022) ,Wise Oak Soapery website ,Wise Oak Soapery on Facebook Carrie Donovan - writer/musician (Episode 37, October 26, 2022) ,Walpurgisnacht ,,- short story ,Backyard Whiskers - Rockabilly Band Webpage ,Children of the Corn - Band Video Carrie and the Dirty Pillows - Band Video

Support Us:

It's even easier now to support Burckhardt Books and our Book Banter Podcast, many options are no cost to you. ,Click here for more information.

Friday Funnies: Look on the Bright Side ...

Hello My Happy People,

I have to admit, I have been a tad out of sorts the last month or so. So many things in our private life here in Germany have been crazy with P.R. starting a new job, us both catching a bad cold (not Covid, thank goodness) on vacation, and me trying to get back in to the swing of things after taking an actual vacation from book stuff ... among other things.

The weather was nice for a few days but has since turned chilly and occasionally rainy again. But on the bright side, it could be a lot worse. I am starting to get over my cough, which was the worst part of my cold. I actually was coughing so much and so hard for a while that I pulled a muscle in my back. It was exhausting.

Now that I am feeling better, I am beginning to feel excited and motivated about my books again. If you listened to this weeks podcast, you know I'm feeling very ambitious too. We will see how well I can get my "experimental month" to work out. If it does work to bolster my creativity, it could open up a lot of opportunities for me for future projects. Keep your fingers crossed.

We are getting closer to the She Inspires awards ceremony in Bolton, UK and I am so looking forward to this. It will be amazing to be in the same room with so many female entrepreneurs and accomplished, influential women. Not to mention the community of men who are there to support these women. It will be an incredible event!

I am going to wrap this blog up now so I can get some writing done today while I have time. P.R. and I are going out tonight to celebrate his new job so I have to wrap thing up early today.

If you missed the Halloween cover reveal for The Touch, you can check it out below along with a better photo of the cover art. The last frame of the video did not do the cover art justice, but I really liked the spooky video montage so I just went with it knowing I would have to post good photos of the cover art later. I would love to know what you think of the cover. If you saw it on a table in a bookstore, would you pick up the book and read the back?

Have a great weekend people!!!

Dianne Cover Reveal Videohttps://video.wixstatic.com/video/2c304a_57216d3286384815997cf66c5149acf3/720p/mp4/file.mp4The Touch Cover Art

Look on the bright side ... just think how much deeper the ocean would be without sea sponges.

Look on the bright side ... despite the cost of living, it remains very popular!

Look on the bright side ... eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines.

Look on the bright side ... if you are not a morning person just remember, the early bird may get the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese.

Look on the bright side ... if you drive way too fast, you don't have to worry about cholesterol.

Look on the bright side ... if you borrow money from a pessimist, they don't expect to get it back.

Look on the bright side ... you may not look like Barbie, but if she is really so popular, why do you have to buy her friends?

Look on the bright side ... bacteria can make you sick, but they're the only culture some people have.

Look on the bright side ... you may be in the wrong lane and going the wrong way, but at least everything is coming your way.

Look at the bright side ... if at first you don't succeed, you can always destroy all evidence that you tried.

And last but not least ...

Look at the bright side ... if you laughed quickly at these jokes jokes you are ahead of the game, because he who laughs last, thinks slowest.

MozART group - Gypsum Kings (Official Video, 2009)https://youtu.be/YZ37diqbPOg ,Podcast Links

Listen to our podcast, Book Banter with Dianne Burckhardt, every Wednesday. Check your favorite podcast provider for listings.

​

Listen to Book Banter with Dianne Burckhardt on These Featured Podcast Providers:

BurckhardtBooks.com/podcast ,Buzzsprout ,Apple Podcasts ,Spotify ,Amazon Music

Burckhardt Books Pages:

,Subscribe to Our Newsletter ,Members Only Page (Join FREE and get access to exclusive content, lots of freebies, and listen to our Book Banter Interview Archive) ,Writing Prompt Challenge (Rules, prompts, and submission links on Writing Prompt Challenge page)

About Dianne:

,Dianne Burckhardt, Award-Winning Indie Author What is a ,Chiari Malformation, a ,Syrinx (Syringomyelia), and ,Hydrocephalus? Want to know more about the host of Book Banter with Dianne Burckhardt? Check out ,Episode 1: Who Am I?

Follow us on TikTok :@ burckhardt_books (click underlined text to go)

Support Our Book Banter Buddies (guest interviews):

Carrie Donovan - writer/musician (Episode 37, October 26, 2022) ,Walpurgisnacht ,,- short story ,Backyard Whiskers - Rockabilly Band Webpage ,Children of the Corn - Band Video Carrie and the Dirty Pillows - Band Video

Past Guest Interviews:

,Mark L. Redmond website: The Box M Gang (Episode 8: March 23, 2022) ,Buy The Box M Gang on Amazon ,DJ Jamison, Amazon Author Page (Episodes 21 & 22: July 6 & 13, 2022) ,Two Truths and a Lyle free book promotion ,Allie "Book Historia" Alvis website (Episodes 23, 24, & 25: July 20 & 27, Aug 3, 2022) ,Bite Sized Book History - YouTube Channel ,Lisa Sillaway "Social Media Professor" (Episodes 26 & 27: Aug 10 & 17, 2022) ,Social Media Professor on Facebook Kara Vogt from ,Kavo Creative Studio (Episodes 32 & 33: Sept. 21 & 28, 2022) ,Wise Oak Soapery website ,Wise Oak Soapery on Facebook

Support Us:

It's even easier now to support Burckhardt Books and our Book Banter Podcast, many options are no cost to you. ,Click here for more information.

Book Banter EP 38: News, Updates, and The Touch!

Hello my happy people,

Today I have a brief update on my works in progress, a few future author guests I'm working in getting scheduled, and my general rambling. It's another hodge podge of goodness mixed with a nice sneak peek from The Touch.

I recently published a cover reveal for The Touch, but the final photo in the video was not great so I wanted to share the cover here again with all of you so you can get a good look at it. I hope you like it.

That is really pretty much all I have to add about today's podcast ... it's better if you just go listen for yourself ... it's worth it.

Have a great Wednesday, people!

Dianne ,Podcast Links

Listen to our podcast, Book Banter with Dianne Burckhardt, every Wednesday. Check your favorite podcast provider for listings.

​

Listen to Book Banter with Dianne Burckhardt on These Featured Podcast Providers:

BurckhardtBooks.com/podcast ,Buzzsprout ,Apple Podcasts ,Spotify ,Amazon Music

Burckhardt Books Pages:

,Subscribe to Our Newsletter ,Members Only Page (Join FREE and get access to exclusive content, lots of freebies, and listen to our Book Banter Interview Archive) ,Writing Prompt Challenge (Rules, prompts, and submission links on Writing Prompt Challenge page)

About Dianne:

,Dianne Burckhardt, Award-Winning Indie Author What is a ,Chiari Malformation, a ,Syrinx (Syringomyelia), and ,Hydrocephalus? Want to know more about the host of Book Banter with Dianne Burckhardt? Check out ,Episode 1: Who Am I?

Follow us on TikTok :@ burckhardt_books (click underlined text to go)

Support Our Book Banter Buddies (guest interviews):

Carrie Donovan - writer/musician (Episode 37, October 26, 2022) ,Walpurgisnacht ,,- short story ,Backyard Whiskers - Rockabilly Band Webpage ,Children of the Corn - Band Video Carrie and the Dirty Pillows - Band Video

Past Guest Interviews:

,Mark L. Redmond website: The Box M Gang (Episode 8: March 23, 2022) ,Buy The Box M Gang on Amazon ,DJ Jamison, Amazon Author Page (Episodes 21 & 22: July 6 & 13, 2022) ,Two Truths and a Lyle free book promotion ,Allie "Book Historia" Alvis website (Episodes 23, 24, & 25: July 20 & 27, Aug 3, 2022) ,Bite Sized Book History - YouTube Channel ,Lisa Sillaway "Social Media Professor" (Episodes 26 & 27: Aug 10 & 17, 2022) ,Social Media Professor on Facebook Kara Vogt from ,Kavo Creative Studio (Episodes 32 & 33: Sept. 21 & 28, 2022) ,Wise Oak Soapery website ,Wise Oak Soapery on Facebook

Support Us:

It's even easier now to support Burckhardt Books and our Book Banter Podcast, many options are no cost to you. ,Click here for more information.

Manic Monday: Happy Halloween!

Hello My Happy People,

I hope you are having a wonderfully spooky Halloween. Halloween is my favorite holiday, but unfortunately it is not really celebrated much here in Germany. Trick-or-Treating and elaborate house decorations are not a thing where we live. I really miss that about the US.

I was always that crazy lady on our block who had a yard full of decorations that included lighting and sound effects and of course I always dressed up to hand out candy. We gave out the good stuff too, full size candy bars and sometimes I did yard long pixie sticks. Some parents were (understandably) not thrilled with that one, but it's only once a year.

More often than not, parents were thrilled to come to our home and we even had people dropping off carloads of kids at my home. We would normally get about 200 kids at our house and there were nowhere near that many kids in our area. I loved it.

Since living here in Germany, we had two Trick-or-Treaters the second and third year we lived here and that is all we have ever gotten. I still buy one bag of candy every year, just in case. I make sure it's something my husband likes so he can have them if no one shows up. I always hold out hope!

If you were looking for a Friday Funnies blog last Friday and couldn't find it ... that is because I did not write one. I had a medical procedure Friday morning and thought I would be over the effects of the anesthesia and the tests with plenty of time to write my blog, but I ended up being wiped out for the day. Do not worry, it was nothing major. It was just one of those annoying checkup things you have to do as you get old.

This might be too much information for some of you, but I do want to share that people should not put off getting things like heart stress tests or colonoscopies and endoscopies. While it can be annoying to have to make time for these things, they really weren't as bad as I had expected them to be. Now that they are all done, my doctors have a good baseline of information to help keep me healthy(ish) for years to come. Plus, I am good for another 5 years or so before I have to worry about doing these again. Please look after yourselves, I hope you all stay happy, healthy people.

Now for actual book news!

I have been putting off doing a cover reveal for The Touch because I thought it would be cute to make it a Halloween Treat for your all. What better time to reveal my new serial killer/mystery book than on Halloween? I need to go create the video to do the reveal, but watch for that later tonight on my social media.

This Wednesday we will have another sneak peek from The Touch for the Book Banter podcast. You will not want to miss this podcast.

Have a very Happy Halloween people!

Dianne,Podcast Links

Listen to our podcast, Book Banter with Dianne Burckhardt, every Wednesday. Check your favorite podcast provider for listings.

​

Listen to Book Banter with Dianne Burckhardt on These Featured Podcast Providers:

BurckhardtBooks.com/podcast ,Buzzsprout ,Apple Podcasts ,Spotify ,Amazon Music

Burckhardt Books Pages:

,Subscribe to Our Newsletter ,Members Only Page (Join FREE and get access to exclusive content, lots of freebies, and listen to our Book Banter Interview Archive) ,Writing Prompt Challenge (Rules, prompts, and submission links on Writing Prompt Challenge page)

About Dianne:

,Dianne Burckhardt, Award-Winning Indie Author What is a ,Chiari Malformation, a ,Syrinx (Syringomyelia), and ,Hydrocephalus? Want to know more about the host of Book Banter with Dianne Burckhardt? Check out ,Episode 1: Who Am I?

Follow us on TikTok :@ burckhardt_books (click underlined text to go)

Support Our Book Banter Buddies (guest interviews):

Carrie Donovan - writer/musician (Episode 37, October 26, 2022) ,Walpurgisnacht ,,- short story ,Backyard Whiskers - Rockabilly Band Webpage ,Children of the Corn - Band Video Carrie and the Dirty Pillows - Band Video

Past Guest Interviews:

,Mark L. Redmond website: The Box M Gang (Episode 8: March 23, 2022) ,Buy The Box M Gang on Amazon ,DJ Jamison, Amazon Author Page (Episodes 21 & 22: July 6 & 13, 2022) ,Two Truths and a Lyle free book promotion ,Allie "Book Historia" Alvis website (Episodes 23, 24, & 25: July 20 & 27, Aug 3, 2022) ,Bite Sized Book History - YouTube Channel ,Lisa Sillaway "Social Media Professor" (Episodes 26 & 27: Aug 10 & 17, 2022) ,Social Media Professor on Facebook Kara Vogt from ,Kavo Creative Studio (Episodes 32 & 33: Sept. 21 & 28, 2022) ,Wise Oak Soapery website ,Wise Oak Soapery on Facebook

Support Us:

It's even easier now to support Burckhardt Books and our Book Banter Podcast, many options are no cost to you. ,Click here for more information.

Book Banter EP 37: Carrie Donovan

Hello My Happy People!

I hope you are all doing well this week. P.R. and I went to the doctor on Monday and got confirmation that we just had head colds and not CoVid, thank goodness! Luckily, we were already over the worst of it and just have an annoying cough hanging on, I'm sure you all know how that goes.

The good news for today is that my friend, Carrie Donovan, and I were able to have our interview (without me coughing on air). Carrie is a singer/songwriter in the rockabilly band, Backyard Whiskers (check out her links below). This year she entered the annual Tales of the Dead short story writing contest with the Baltimore County Public Library and won. Carrie reads her award-winning story, Walpurgisnacht, for us.

You will not want to miss this podcast!

Use these links to go straight to our feed on Buzzsprouts or our ,Book Banter with Dianne Burckhardt podcast page on our website or just click the button below to listen now!.

Have a great Wednesday people!

Dianne ,Podcast Links

Listen to our podcast, Book Banter with Dianne Burckhardt, every Wednesday. Check your favorite podcast provider for listings.

​

Listen to Book Banter with Dianne Burckhardt on These Featured Podcast Providers:

BurckhardtBooks.com/podcast ,Buzzsprout ,Apple Podcasts ,Spotify ,Amazon Music

Burckhardt Books Pages:

,Subscribe to Our Newsletter ,Members Only Page (Join FREE and get access to exclusive content, lots of freebies, and listen to our Book Banter Interview Archive) ,Writing Prompt Challenge (Rules, prompts, and submission links on Writing Prompt Challenge page)

About Dianne:

,Dianne Burckhardt, Award-Winning Indie Author What is a ,Chiari Malformation, a ,Syrinx (Syringomyelia), and ,Hydrocephalus? Want to know more about the host of Book Banter with Dianne Burckhardt? Check out ,Episode 1: Who Am I?

Follow us on TikTok :@ burckhardt_books (click underlined text to go)

Support Our Book Banter Buddies (guest interviews):

Carrie Donovan - writer/musician (Episode 36, October 26, 2022) ,Walpurgisnacht ,,- short story ,Backyard Whiskers - Rockabilly Band Webpage ,Children of the Corn - Band Video Carrie and the Dirty Pillows - Band Video

Past Guest Interviews:

,Mark L. Redmond website: The Box M Gang (Episode 8: March 23, 2022) ,Buy The Box M Gang on Amazon ,DJ Jamison, Amazon Author Page (Episodes 21 & 22: July 6 & 13, 2022) ,Two Truths and a Lyle free book promotion ,Allie "Book Historia" Alvis website (Episodes 23, 24, & 25: July 20 & 27, Aug 3, 2022) ,Bite Sized Book History - YouTube Channel ,Lisa Sillaway "Social Media Professor" (Episodes 26 & 27: Aug 10 & 17, 2022) ,Social Media Professor on Facebook Kara Vogt from ,Kavo Creative Studio (Episodes 32 & 33: Sept. 21 & 28, 2022) ,Wise Oak Soapery website ,Wise Oak Soapery on Facebook

Support Us:

It's even easier now to support Burckhardt Books and our Book Banter Podcast, many options are no cost to you. ,Click here for more information.

Manic Monday: Burn Out!

Hello My Happy People,

P.R. and I are still trying to get over the flu we brought home with us from vacation. We went to the doctor today and the good news is we are not actively infected, just dealing with the after effects of the illness, not CoVid (thank goodness). So basically we just need more rest. To that end, I am going to make this short and sweet and go back to bed.

I actually took two weeks off from all book related work while we were on vacation. I had not done that since I began working on my books in 2015. The last few days I have been having a lot of great ideas for the last Into the West book and for my new book, The Touch. It made me realize a lot of my issues with these two books has just been good, old fashioned burnout. I'm tired.

I do everything for the books from designs and layouts to social media and taking care of the website, publicity, and of course, writing the books. I need a bit more of a break. I think I will be taking another short vacation from everything next month when we go to the UK for the She Inspires awards and again at Christmas when one of my bonus daughters, Mary, will be visiting us. Until then, I am going to do my best to set and keep "office hours".

I hope by making these changes it will spark my creativity. I will let you know more as I get things figured out. Until then, I will do my best to give you something interesting to read.

Take care and have a great week people!

Dianne,Podcast Links

Listen to our podcast, Book Banter with Dianne Burckhardt, every Wednesday. Check your favorite podcast provider for listings.

​

Listen to Book Banter with Dianne Burckhardt on These Featured Podcast Providers:

BurckhardtBooks.com/podcast ,Buzzsprout ,Apple Podcasts ,Spotify ,Amazon Music

Burckhardt Books Pages:

,Subscribe to Our Newsletter ,Members Only Page (Join FREE and get access to exclusive content, lots of freebies, and listen to our Book Banter Interview Archive) ,Writing Prompt Challenge (Rules, prompts, and submission links on Writing Prompt Challenge page)

About Dianne:

,Dianne Burckhardt, Award-Winning Indie Author What is a ,Chiari Malformation, a ,Syrinx (Syringomyelia), and ,Hydrocephalus? Want to know more about the host of Book Banter with Dianne Burckhardt? Check out ,Episode 1: Who Am I?

Follow us on TikTok :@ burckhardt_books (click underlined text to go)

Support Our Book Banter Buddies (guest interviews):

Carrie Donovan - writer/musician (Coming soon) ,Backyard Whiskers - Rockabilly Band Webpage ,Children of the Corn - Band Video Carrie and the Dirty Pillows - Band Video

Past Guest Interviews:

,Mark L. Redmond website: The Box M Gang (Episode 8: March 23, 2022) ,Buy The Box M Gang on Amazon ,DJ Jamison, Amazon Author Page (Episodes 21 & 22: July 6 & 13, 2022) ,Two Truths and a Lyle free book promotion ,Allie "Book Historia" Alvis website (Episodes 23, 24, & 25: July 20 & 27, Aug 3, 2022) ,Bite Sized Book History - YouTube Channel ,Lisa Sillaway "Social Media Professor" (Episodes 26 & 27: Aug 10 & 17, 2022) ,Social Media Professor on Facebook Kara from ,Kavo Creative Studio (Episodes 32 & 33: Sept. 21 & 28, 2022) ,Wise Oak Soapery website ,Wise Oak Soapery on Facebook

Support Us:

It's even easier now to support Burckhardt Books and our Book Banter Podcast, many options are no cost to you. ,Click here for more information.

Friday Funnies: Home Sweet Home ...

(Two of our Disney Souvenirs)

Hello My Happy People,

I hope you had a great time wherever you are while we were off on vacation. Things did not turn out quite as planned for us (but when do they ever) but we still managed to have a mostly wonderful trip.

We started off in Turin, Italy to visit our friends who recently moved there from Chile. The first day, we walked around the downtown area and visited a huge market. The second day did not cooperate. A cold front came in with lots of rain so we stayed in and played cards and watched movies. Since the actual point of going to Turin was to spend time with our friends, the weather do not ruin our plans.

The next day we flew out to France and spent three days at EuroDisney. This was a very big deal as my better half, P.R., had never been to a Disney park in his life. We stayed at Harbor Bay in the Disney Resort and was a short walking distance to the parks. We managed to see most everything we had hoped to see while there. The last day was rained out but we really only lost a few hours of our planned stay so all in all, it was a good experience.

The trouble came when we went to Paris for the last few days of our trip. We had planned to see several sites and revisit a few of our favorites from our honeymoon trip. We went to the Eiffel Tower on our honeymoon but did not go up in it. We bought skip the line ticket to go up in the Tower this time around but it was not to be.

P.R. caught a cold (not CoVid, we tested) while we were at Disney and it stayed pretty mild for him, sniffles and a slight cough. The trouble came when I caught it from him. With my health the way it is, I tend to catch everything I'm exposed to and when I get it, it's always much worse than expected. I was in bed for three days, we missed all our sights in Paris. I'm still coughing and sneezing almost a week later. We just had to reschedule our plans for tomorrow. What can you do but say, C'est la vie!

P.R. keeps saying we can always go back to Paris and have a re-redo on the sightseeing. It's only about an hour flight from where we live so it's not an expensive trip for us. When I lived in Wichita, Kansas it would be about the cost and distance of going to Dallas, Texas for a weekend. We already have another trip planned for November.

We will be going to Bolton, UK over Thanksgiving. The She Inspires ward ceremony is the 24th of November and will be there for the celebration. We will be flying into Manchester. It will be very nice to spend a few days there. We have been to London before, but this will be our first trip to Manchester. It should be exciting even if I do not win my category.

Because of everything going on, I am considering taking the holiday's off to focus on friends and family. I have been working on book stuff one way or another practically non-stop since 2015. These last two weeks off have been incredible I have gotten great sleep and I find that the stories are talking to me a lot more. I think I need to set up office hours and not work o book stuff outside of those hours, start having a full life again, not just write.

I have a lot of balancing I need to figure out and I will get it done just like I get everything done, with sheer determination! I will make it all work ... be sure to keep checking these blogs and podcasts to see what I accomplish. Thank you to all who have kept following me through the mistakes, missteps, and madness. I do not promise I will ever do things any better, I only ever promise to do my best to keep producing content and to be entertaining!

Have a great weekend (vacation photos coming soon).

Enjoy,

Dianne

Q: What kind of air should you breathe if you want to be rich?

A: Million - aire.

Q: What did one plate say to the other plate?

A: Tonight, dinner's on me.

Q: Did you hear the king had to go to the dentist?

A: He needed to get a new crown.

Q: What happens when doctors get frustrated?

A: They lose their patients.

Q: Why do nurses like to carry a red crayon?

A: In cast the need to draw blood.

Q: What kind of jewelry do rabbits wear?

A: 18 carrot gold.

Q: Why can't the bad sailor recite the alphabet?

A: Because he keeps getting lost at C.

Q: Why did the boy bring a ladder on the bus?

A: He wanted to go to high school.

Q: How did the slow barber manage to win the race?

A: He knew a shortcut.

Q: What do you call a cow with no legs?

A: Ground beef.

Q: Why shouldn’t you trust trees?

A: They all tend to throw shade.

Q: How do you fix a broken tomato?

A. With tomato paste.

Q: What kind of music are balloons afraid of?

A. Pop music.

And last but not least ...

Q: Why did the orange stop in the middle of the road?

A: It ran out of juice.

https://youtu.be/jeVzU7jz3Y4,Important Podcast Links

Listen to our podcast, Book Banter with Dianne Burckhardt, every Wednesday. Check your favorite podcast provider for listings.

​

Listen to Book Banter with Dianne Burckhardt on These Featured Podcast Providers:

BurckhardtBooks.com/podcast ,Buzzsprout ,Apple Podcasts ,Spotify ,Amazon Music

Burckhardt Books Pages:

,Subscribe to Our Newsletter ,Members Only Page (Join FREE and get access to exclusive content, lots of freebies, and listen to our Book Banter Interview Archive) ,Writing Prompt Challenge (Rules, prompts, and submission links on Writing Prompt Challenge page)

About Dianne:

,Dianne Burckhardt, Award-Winning Indie Author What is a ,Chiari Malformation, a ,Syrinx (Syringomyelia), and ,Hydrocephalus? Want to know more about the host of Book Banter with Dianne Burckhardt? Check out ,Episode 1: Who Am I?

Follow us on TikTok :@ burckhardt_books (click underlined text to go)

Support Our Book Banter Buddies (guest interviews):

Carrie Donovan - writer/musician (Coming soon) ,Backyard Whiskers - Rockabilly Band Webpage ,Children of the Corn - Band Video Carrie and the Dirty Pillows - Band Video

Past Guest Interviews:

,Mark L. Redmond website: The Box M Gang (Episode 8: March 23, 2022) ,Buy The Box M Gang on Amazon ,DJ Jamison, Amazon Author Page (Episodes 21 & 22: July 6 & 13, 2022) ,Two Truths and a Lyle free book promotion ,Allie "Book Historia" Alvis website (Episodes 23, 24, & 25: July 20 & 27, Aug 3, 2022) ,Bite Sized Book History - YouTube Channel ,Lisa Sillaway "Social Media Professor" (Episodes 26 & 27: Aug 10 & 17, 2022) ,Social Media Professor on Facebook Kara from ,Kavo Creative Studio (Episodes 32 & 33: Sept. 21 & 28, 2022) ,Wise Oak Soapery website ,Wise Oak Soapery on Facebook

Support Us:

It's even easier now to support Burckhardt Books and our Book Banter Podcast, many options are no cost to you. ,Click here for more information.

Book Banter: Returning Oct. 26th!

Hello My Happy People,

We are on vacation but we will be back very soon. Keep watching our social media for our return October 21st and our first Podcast on October 26th.

When we return, my friend, Carrie Donovan, who just won a horror writing contest will join me on the podcast and read her winning entry. I can't wait for that! She is a writer but also a singer/songwriter for a Rockabilly band and plays the upright bass. You should check out her videos and link information below. I will post dates for that podcast as soon as we set up the interview when we are back from vacation.

We also stopped the writing prompt challenge and just gave the two entrants each $25 and called it good. I didn't get any more submissions so it was time to quit trying to make it happen. We will just focus to our TikTok page for more interaction.

So watch for us to be back Friday, October 21st. I will start back up with the Friday Funnies and carry on from there. We will have vacation photos and videos when we get back and hopefully the full plot for The Touch sorted out, another sneak peek of the story, and the cover reveal!

Have a wonderful October, people!

Dianne,Important Podcast Links

Listen to our podcast, Book Banter with Dianne Burckhardt, every Wednesday. Check your favorite podcast provider for listings.

​

Listen to Book Banter with Dianne Burckhardt on These Featured Podcast Providers:

BurckhardtBooks.com/podcast ,Buzzsprout ,Apple Podcasts ,Spotify ,Amazon Music

Burckhardt Books Pages:

,Subscribe to Our Newsletter ,Members Only Page (Join FREE and get access to exclusive content, lots of freebies, and listen to our Book Banter Interview Archive) ,Writing Prompt Challenge (Rules, prompts, and submission links on Writing Prompt Challenge page)

About Dianne:

,Dianne Burckhardt, Award-Winning Indie Author What is a ,Chiari Malformation, a ,Syrinx (Syringomyelia), and ,Hydrocephalus? Want to know more about the host of Book Banter with Dianne Burckhardt? Check out ,Episode 1: Who Am I?

Follow us on TikTok :@ burckhardt_books (click underlined text to go)

Support Our Book Banter Buddies (guest interviews):

Carrie Donovan - writer/musician (Coming soon) ,Backyard Whiskers - Rockabilly Band Webpage ,Children of the Corn - Band Video Carrie and the Dirty Pillows - Band Video

Past Guest Interviews:

,Mark L. Redmond website: The Box M Gang (Episode 8: March 23, 2022) ,Buy The Box M Gang on Amazon ,DJ Jamison, Amazon Author Page (Episodes 21 & 22: July 6 & 13, 2022) ,Two Truths and a Lyle free book promotion ,Allie "Book Historia" Alvis website (Episodes 23, 24, & 25: July 20 & 27, Aug 3, 2022) ,Bite Sized Book History - YouTube Channel ,Lisa Sillaway "Social Media Professor" (Episodes 26 & 27: Aug 10 & 17, 2022) ,Social Media Professor on Facebook Kara from ,Kavo Creative Studio (Episodes 32 & 33: Sept. 21 & 28, 2022) ,Wise Oak Soapery website ,Wise Oak Soapery on Facebook

Support Us:

It's even easier now to support Burckhardt Books and our Book Banter Podcast, many options are no cost to you. ,Click here for more information.