Stephen Burckhardt's Blog: My Blog Ramblings, page 32
June 20, 2022
Manic Mondays: Rainy Days ...
Hello My Happy People,
I hope the weather is nice where you are. We have had some crazy weather here. It was unbelievably hot and humid one day then cold and rainy the next, and today the weather can't seem to decide which way it wants to go. I feel like I'm living back in Kansas again.
I managed a great push on writing Into the West: Family Ties this weekend. I am up to about 16,000 words. Keep in mind most of the books in the Into the West Saga Serial are around 40,000 so I think this book is going to be a bit bigger. I plan to try to keep it under 60,000 so it is still a novella and a quick read for you all.
The way I have it set up in my head, if this book gets too long, I can change the ending and use what I have in mind now as the beginning of the next Territories Saga Serial book; Surviving the West. So it will all work out okay one way or another. My focus right now it just to get the final book, part 7, Into the West: Family Ties, finished.
If you haven't noticed, I have been doing a LOT of tweaking on the website. I am still going through checking all the site pages to make sure they appear correctly on cell phones, tablets, and computers. I just updated a lot of the site fonts and colors to make things more coordinated throughout the site. I you didn't notice before, the new color scheme is a blend of what I had for Dianne's website and for Stephen's website. Stephen's had browns, yellows, pinks, and deep reds while Dianne's had white, light and dark teal, and purple.
I have also been working on a lot of marketing things as well. I have created a video sample for the beta audiobook, Into the West: The Orphan Train so people can listen to a few minutes of chapter 1.
https://video.wixstatic.com/video/2c304a_4e36da5dd5624427884d62a88084b861/360p/mp4/file.mp4And now I am off to write some more! I hope all of you have a wonderful week!
Go forth and be happy,
DianneImportant Links:
Burckhardt Books website Members Only Page ( Subscribe to Newsletter
Listen to our podcast, Book Banter with Dianne Burckhardt every Wednesday on any of these providers and more. Check your favorite for listings.
Book Banter with Dianne Burckhardt Home Page ,Buzzsprout ,Apple Podcasts ,Spotify Amazon Music
June 17, 2022
Extra! Extra! Cover REveal is here!
Hello My Happy People,
I managed to get the reveal video done last night after all after we got home from date night. We tried a new Korean restaurant and it is now on our list of favorite places to dine. The service was so friendly and fun, the food was amazing, and the atmosphere was ... okay, a tad warm (but what isn't right now?) but very nice. We will be going back!
Since our reservations were a little late we just came home instead of going to a movie like usual. P.R. wanted to watch the Formula 1 practice rounds anyway and that gave me time to finish up the RE-Reveal cover video and update everything with the cover art.
Now I will say, this is not the actual final cover art. I want to adjust the cover photo so the kids are little bigger and not so much empty field, but other than that this is the cover art. So when the final books get printed and the photo looks a bit different ... that is because it is. But it's close enough to final that I went ahead with it for the reveal.
In case you didn't see the video on my social media pages. Check it out here.
https://video.wixstatic.com/video/2c304a_2d03bf84230e4eac81d8880aeea90d32/720p/mp4/file.mp4Have a great weekend, people. Go forth and be happy!
StephenRelated Links:
,Burckhardt Books website Members Only Page ( Subscribe to Newsletter Book Banter Podcast on BurckhardtBooks.comSupport 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: Summer Fun!
Hello My Happy People,
I hope you have had a wonderful week. You will be thrilled to learn I have been quite productive and have gotten up to about 14,000 words written on Into the West: Family Ties. Things are finally clicking for me and I plan to do a good push this weekend and see how much I can get done. Cross your fingers that I can get a good chunk written. I have a feeling this book is going to be pushing actual novel size when it is finished. Even if it is, I am not going to break this one up into two books like I did with parts five and six. I'm just going to let it stand as a larger book.
I decided to go that way mainly because I want to move on to another genre and play with a few stand alone books. I do not want to take the time to do another book set up, cover design, etc. I think I can keep it to a reasonable length so it won't be too much bigger than normal. We will see. It is the story that is important so as long as it gets told, that is really all that matters.
The temperature has been climbing but surprisingly our house has not really heated up too much. We have been able to get by with just fans or open windows so far and have only used the air cooler just once when it was really humid. We don't have air conditioning here. The air cooler is basically a fan with a water tank that you put ice packs in.
I was pleasantly surprised how well the water cooler works. We only have one, but our place is small so it was enough last year. We turn the cooler on in the main hall then turn a fan on in each room to get things circulating. We managed to survive summer heat this way. Hopefully this summer will be the same.
We have been looking at things to do out in town since things are opening up more and more around here. There are food festivals, open air markets, loads of great movies coming out, and tomorrow we are trying out a Korean restaurant downtown. It looks so good online. I hope it is as good as it looks. P.R. and I both love Korean food. In fact, I just did my take on a Bibimbap bowl for dinner tonight. I made it only slightly spicy thought. I should have turned the heat up a bit more. Next time!
We will have the cover re-reveal for Into the West: Family Ties tomorrow in a blog "extra" because I did not have time to finish the reveal video today and we are getting ready to go out for date night ... and you know I can't be late for that!
What are your plans for the summer? Is there a vacation in your future? We have started making plans for a vacation this year. We haven't been out of the country since 2019. We really want to go somewhere again but we are considering any place just out of town. We've talked about visiting my parents, visiting P.R.'s dad (who we were supposed to go visit when CoVid hit the world and we still haven't been there), going on a cruise, going to Greece, going to Belgium, or going to any Disney park because P.R. has never been to one. We can't make up our minds. We might have to draw slips of paper from a hat.
Whatever ever you do to enjoy your summer I hope it is filled with fun, friends, family and of course ... FUNNIES! Because laughter lifts the spirit and makes life lighter.
To help you out with that, let's get on with the jokes!
Enjoy!StephenRelated Links:
Burckhardt Books website Members Only Page ( Subscribe to Newsletter Book Banter Podcast on BurckhardtBooks.com The Jokes!Q: What is brown, hairy, and covered in sunscreen?
A: A coconut on vacation.
Q: Why do robots go on vacation?
A: To recharge their batteries.
Q: Why do seagulls fly over the sea?
A: Because if they flew over a bay, they would be baygulls.
Q: What animals can you always find at baseball games?
A: Bats
Q: How do we know an ocean is friendly?
A: It always waves!
Q: What do ghosts eat in summer to cool down?
A: I Scream.
Q: What kind of tree can you hold in your hand?
A: A palm tree!
Q: Where is a sheep's favorite place to go on vacation?
A: The Baaa-hamas.
Q: Where is a shark's favorite place to go on vacation?
A: Finland!
Q: Why do reporters like ice cream?
A: They always want to get the scoop!
Q: Why did the police raid the seafood restaurant?
A: They heard something fishy was going on.
And last but not least ...
Q: How does a mermaid stay in touch with her friends?
A: She calls them on her shell phone.
TRY NOT TO LAUGH CHALLENGE!! - DAD JOKES ON VACATIONhttps://youtu.be/lkBTs1ECSv4June 15, 2022
Book Banter Podcast EP 18: A HodgePodge of Goodness ... and BOOKS!
Hello My Happy People!
https://video.wixstatic.com/video/2c304a_059d949f7fd545d296415d540a272bdf/720p/mp4/file.mp4In this episode, I give you updates on the state of the website/social media updates and consolidations under Burckhardt Books. Changes are coming fast and marketing things will be so much simpler and less time consuming once they are all completed. It will remove many of my distractions from (and excuses for not) writing.
Book Banter has lined up a number of amazing guests I hope to feature as soon as possible. I am working to set interview times now. I already have commitments from several amazing guests I preview in today's episode. I hope to schedule the interviews very soon and will update you as soon as they are definite.
I have an update on the new series from my friend, author Mark L Redmond. His The Box M Gang is on sale now. Plus, I share my favorite book since ninth grade, the sci-fi novel The Silver Metal Lover by Tanith Lee. The love is real and DEEP.
The show ends with a short reading from chapter one of the final book in the Into the West Saga Serial, Into the West: Family Ties. This book is currently in production and will be released in 2022 (I swear it will be soon).
It's a fun filled show today with lots of information. Why not take a few minutes out of your day and listen now on your favorite podcast provider or on our own Burckhardt Books website. If you missed out on earlier episodes that have been dropped by your provider, don't worry! We have created an archive on our Members Only page at Burckhardt Books where you can listen to all of our episodes from the very first one.
Membership to the page is free, quit at any time, no strings attached, ever. But joining up will get you a slew of fun freebies with more to come in the future. We never spam you with loads of emails or offers because honestly we are just too busy (and sometimes too lazy) to do that. Why not take a moment to relax and listen now?
Have a great day!
DianneRelated Links:
Burckhardt Books website Members Only Page ( Subscribe to Newsletter Book Banter Podcast on BurckhardtBooks.comSupport Our Book Banter Buddies (past and future guests):
Mark L. Redmond website: ,The Box M Gang Buy ,The Box M Gang, on Amazon Buy ,The Box M Gang ,on Barnes & Noble Booksellers Allie "Book Historia" Alvis website Kavo Creative Studio Lisa Sillaway, The Social Media ProfessorSupport 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.
June 13, 2022
Manic Mondays: The Frustration is Real!
(Photo by Keira Burton on pexels.com)
Hello My Happy People!
I hope you had a wonderful weekend. My better half and I went out for another movie this past Saturday. We stopped off as a steakhouse for dinner first (believe it or not steakhouses tend to have great veggie plates) then we saw Dr. Strange - Multiverse of Madness. That is a very accurate name for that movie. When it was over I turned to P.R. and said, "That was some weird sh*t." But it was still good and I loved seeing Bruce Campbell in there.
I spent the rest of my weekend trying to create a downloadable audiobook file that will play in actual audiobook apps. I think I have it working now, but people seem to be having trouble downloading it. I am going to send out a special email with a link to the downloadable file. I would love for people to give it a try and let me know if you have any trouble downloading the file or uploading it to your prefered players. If you are not currently on the mailing list, you have time to join before I send out the email later this week. Just go to our ,subscribe page (click red text to go) and join up.
We have also made supporting Burckhardt Books and Book Banter with Dianne Burckhardt even easier with our new Support page (click the red text to go). We have lots of suggestions for ways you can show your support for us at no cost to you but a little time. We also have two ways you can financially support us, through the Buy Me a Coffee program or our new dedicated PayPal donations page. All donations go directly to improving equipment and content quality.
I have been working to line up some great guests for the podcast and I hope to start getting those interviews recorded as soon as we can sink up our schedules. Keep watching our social media for more information on a podcast interview schedule.
I am off to work on writing part 7, Into the West: Family Ties. It is coming along better now but it is still slow going hence the photo and title for today's blog. I am seeing progress but not as much as I would like. It feels so slow and like I'm trying to pull the story out where the others just flowed. It's frustrating! But I shall not be deterred!
Have a great Monday and check out the podcast this week for more news on Burckhardt Books.
Take care my happy people.
StephenJune 10, 2022
Friday Funnies: Housework is Never Done.
Hello My Happy People,
I hope you have had a wonderful week and have great weather wherever you are so you can enjoy your weekend. I have been so busy this week and part of that has been doing housework.
The thing that is so tiring about housework is IT NEVER ENDS! You are never finished. Sure you might be finished for the day or even the week but sooner or later you have to do it all again. There is always more dishes to wash, meals to cook, and laundry to wash, dry, and put away! It helps when you have a wonderful partner who helps keep up the home but sometimes jobs don't leave much time for one or sometimes even both partners. So what do you do?
Don't stress about it for one thing. Do you have enough clean clothes to get dressed in the morning? Then do laundry tomorrow. Do you have enough clean dishes to fix breakfast, then wash dishes tomorrow. The world is not going to end if you take one night to relax and get your energy back. And in keeping that idea, today we have some jokes about ... you guessed it ... housework.
If you need a suggestion for what to do during your down time tonight, why not listen to my Beta Version FREE Audiobook of my award-winning Into the West: The Orphan Train on the Members Only page ( It's free to become a member, you can quit anytime, no strings attached.
And if you like podcasts, check out ours: ,Book Banter with Dianne Burckhardt (
But for now ... on with the jokes!
Enjoy,
DianneQ: What did the vacuum say to the mop?
A: I’m so tired of everyone pushing us around.
Q: Who cleans the bottom of the ocean?
A: Mer-maids.
Q: How do you contact the spirit of a recently deceased window cleaner?
A: You use a Squeegee board.
Q: How was your first day as a street cleaner?
A: Not bad. There’s no training, you just pick it up as you go along.
Q: Are you interested in a vacuum cleaner so advanced it can cut your housework in half?
A: Interested? I'd take two.
Q: Why did you quit your job to clean mirrors in a factory?
A: It was just a job I could really see myself doing.
Q: What should you do first when you feel like I should clean the house?
A: Lay down until the feeling passes.
Q: What do you hate more than having a dirty house?
A: That's easy ... cleaning it.
Q: Did you hear that everyone in Britain prefers to use brooms to clean their floors?
A: Nonsense, that’s just a sweeping generalization.
Q: What are you when you clean a vacuum cleaner?
A: You become a vacuum cleaner.
Q: Why was the broom late?
A: It over-swept.
Q: Did you hear Bissell just created a new broom?
A: Apparently it’s sweeping the nation.
Q: My husband and I were arguing about whose turn it was to do the laundry.
A: In the end, I just threw in the towels.
Q: My friend asked me if I knew any laundry puns.
A: I said, I’ve got loads of them.
Q: Are you mad about Disney giving young girls unrealistic ideas about love?
A: No, I’m more annoyed that, no matter how much I sing, woodland animals have not once helped me with my housework.
Q: Are you into spring cleaning?
A: Not really but I’m not really into summer, fall, or winter cleaning either.
GE Big Boys - SNLhttps://youtu.be/vZRzJJcq6RsJune 8, 2022
Book Banter Podcast: EP 17: Checking Out Other Book Podcasts
Hello My Happy People,In today's episode, I take a look at some of the other amazing book podcasts available on Apple Podcasts and other hosting platforms. There are some incredible niche markets out there and there seems to be a podcast somewhere to target each one. From unknown hosts to very recognizable celebrities, there is something to appeal to every taste and appetite.I have been busy working on the last installment in the Into the West Saga Serial, Into the West: Family Ties and read a bit of my latest work at the end of the podcast today. Be sure to sign up for the Burckhardt Books mailing list so you will get all the latest news on everything from new podcasts, blogs, and dates for coming book releases.
Remember: If you like audiobooks, please go have a listen to mine and give me pointers on how to make it better. I am just now learning how to produce audiobooks (I even do all the voices for this one) but I do not listen to many audiobooks anymore. Because of this, I am seeking people who are audiobook fans to listen to my audiobook for FREE and give me feedback on how to improve mine.To access the free audiobook, just join the Members Only page of my website for FREE (link below) and follow the links to get to the free streaming beta version audiobook of my award-winning book Into the West: The Orphan Train. You can quit the Members Only page anytime, no strings attached! So you can join, listen to the audiobook and quit right after if you like. No fees, no problems!But for now, the podcast is ready to go. You can listen anytime, any where, on any device! What are you waiting for?EnjoyDianneRelated Links:Burckhardt Books
Members Only Page ( Subscribe to NewsletterBook Podcasts
The 27 Best Book Podcasts - For when you put your book down. by Emily Burack Feb. 23, 2022 Storykeepers Podcast - Waubgeshig Rice and Jennifer David Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland with Chris Riddell - On the Road with Penguin Classics The Worst Bestsellers - Worst Bestsellers LeVar Burton Reads - LeVar Burton and Stitcher ,AnaMaria Curtis - winner of the LeVar Burton Reads Origins & Encounters Writing Contest Support the show
I have had a few people mention that they were not able to support the podcast through the "Buy Me a Coffee" service. One of my site members (Thank you Karen) asked if she could buy me a "Tea" through PayPal instead.
If you would like to support this podcast and our Audiobook production, you can "Buy Me A Tea" by donating through ,PayPal (
And thank you so much for your support!
Listen to our podcast now on our website:
Find us on these providers and more:
June 6, 2022
Manic Mondays: Newsflash ...
(Photo by Ketut Subiyanto on Pexels: Photo altered by Dianne Burckhardt)
Hello My Happy People,
Have I got some great news for you ... I have been writing today and already added a 1,000 words to part 7 Into the West: Family Ties. I think I might actually have my groove back, but I do not want to jinx myself.
Today is a holiday here in Germany (Whit Monday) so the hubbie and I took Shaggy and walked over to our local Starbucks and got coffee. It was a pleasant morning sitting out on the patio. The coffee shop was busy, but not too busy. We had a nice relaxing moment and then I came home and started writing. I am taking a break now to write this blog and grab a bite to eat for lunch then diving back into my book. I will share a bit in the podcast this week of the new text.
Here you can see Shaggy hiding under my chair at the cafe. Do not worry, he is not overheated. It was actually a bit chilly out today. Shaggy has a lot of stress when we are out on the street and that is what you see in this photo. We always take water with us when we have him out and about with us, but he never drinks while we are in public, but we always offer it to him. He started out life as a street dog in Moscow and we suspect he was not treated well on the streets. Now when he has to be out in public, he shows stress like this but he is doing so much better than when we first got him. He actually did great today.
Audiobook News: I have also been working to learn how to create a single file of all the audiobook tracks that can be downloaded from our site and will play in order or you can select tracks to play. Wish me luck on this. As a practice, I plan to set up the beta audiobook of Into the West: The Orphan Train as a downloadable file for $1.99 for the complete beta audiobook for people who would actually like to own a copy instead of doing the free streaming. This will be good practice for when I am ready to sell the other audiobooks.
Cover (re)Reveal: I know I already shared the book cover for Into the West: Family Ties when I was working on it before, but it has been so long I think I will do another cover reveal. I have changed it up a bit so it seems like a good idea. That should be coming here in about a week, so keep watching our social media to see it.
But for now, it's time to get back to work! Have a great Monday and may your week be fabulous! Go forth and be happy, people!
With gratitude,
DianneRelated Links:,Burckhardt Books
Blog Ramblings Members Only Page ( Subscribe to NewsletterListen to our podcast now:
Find us on:
June 3, 2022
Friday Funnies: Crazy Weather
(Photo by Johannes Plenio on Unsplash)
Hello My Happy People!
I hope you are having a wonderful day and looking forward to an even better weekend! I am looking forward to a weekend of writing! I am sure there are some of you who are happy to read that.
I feel like I am finally working past my mental block on writing Into the West: Family Ties, the last book in the Into the West Saga Serial, and am beginning to make actual progress. So I hope to make a good push and get a few chapters in this weekend. It would make me feel a whole lot better if I can get that far. We will see if the movie plays ... if you listened to the podcast this week, you know what I am talking about.
In the meantime, how about some great Dad Jokes?! The weather has been crazy here in Germany and back in my home town of Kansas with loads of rain in both places. Wichita has been having some flooding but we have not seemed to have that problem here, at least none that has made the news. Because of this crazy rainfall, I think we need some weather jokes.
Don't forget to check out my podcast Book Banter with Dianne Burckhardt. I am working on a few amazing guests who will be coming soon. I want to start lining up at least one guest per month to bring you some amazing content that all pertains to books, writing, and marketing ideas for writers. I hope to be able to start publishing a schedule for the shows here by the end of the month.
If you like audiobooks, you can listen to the entire free streaming beta version of my first award-winning book, Into the West: The Orphan Train right now. Just join my Members Only page for FREE and you can listen to the free complete audiobook today! No hidden fees, no strings attached, quit anytime! Link to join is below.
Related Links: ,Burckhardt Books
Members Only Page ( Subscribe to Newsletter Book Banter with Dianne Burckhardt Support the Podcast and Audiobook production with coffeeListen on our website at the link above or any of the streaming services ...
Enough business ... ON WITH THE JOKES!!!!
Have a great weekend my people ... go forth and be happy!
DianneQ: Do you think we should make special section for weather puns in our paper?
A: No, they are too simple, coming up with weather puns are a breeze.
Q: Did you see the news of a coming flood today?
A: Yeah it was just leaked.
Q: What's the difference between weather and climate?
A: I'm not sure but I know you can’t weather a tree, but you can definitely climate.
Q: What is the weather report for the kitchen today?
A: Well it's chilli today but hot tamale.
Q: How do you move furniture at a weather station?
A: To begin, you'll need four casters.
Q: Why do you hate windy weather?
A: It just really blows.
Q: Did you know I got a text from the sun?
A: I was very enlightening.
Q: What is always the brightest day of the week?
A: Sun-days.
Q: Why was there a line of guys outside the hair salon on a nice summer day.
A: Because it was perfect weather for a barber queue.
Q: Why is winter is the worst time of year for a wedding?
A: Because someone always seem to get cold feet.
Q: What do you call a dollar bill frozen in a block of ice?
A: It's cold, hard cash.
Q: What do you call kids from the neighborhood who played all afternoon in the snow?
A: . Chill-dren.
Q: What is a mountain's favorite type of candy?
A: Sno Caps.
Q: Was if very cold this morning?
A: Well, when I took out my phone to check the temperature, the weather app froze.
And last but not least ...
Q: Why do you have a subscription to Lightning Strikes News?
A: Because I like to keep myself up on current events.
"Hot Weather vs. Cold Weather? Which is better?"Jim Gaffigan Stand up (Quality Time)
https://youtu.be/xX_dtHKVnf0June 1, 2022
Wednesday Podcast: EP 16 Writing Process & Bk 7 Sneak Peek
Hello My Happy People!I hope you are having a wonderful Wednesday! I have been hard at work overcoming my procrastination habit and working on part 7 of my Into the West saga Serial, Into the West: Family Ties. I think I am finally seeing some progress, but you will hear more about this and my writing process for all the books in the Into the West Saga Serial Collection in today's podcast.I also have a favor to ask in regards to my free beta version audiobook. If you like audiobooks, please go have a listen to mine and give me pointers on how to make it better. I am just now learning how to produce audiobooks, I even do all the voices for this one, but I do not listen to many of audiobooks anymore. Because of this, I am seeking people who are audiobook fans to listen to my audiobook for FREE and give me feedback on how to improve mine.Just join the Members Only page of my website for FREE (link below) and follow the links to get to the free streaming beta version audiobook of my award-winning book Into the West: The Orphan Train. You can quit the Members Only page anytime, no strings attached! So you can join, listen to the audiobook and quit right after if you like. No fees, no problems!I also throw in a sneak peek from Into the West: Family Ties. So what are you waiting for?The podcast is ready to go, give a listen anytime, any where, on any device!EnjoyDianneRelated Links:,Burckhardt Books
Blog Ramblings Members Only Page ( Subscribe to NewsletterListen to our podcast now:
Find us on:
