Stephen Burckhardt's Blog: My Blog Ramblings, page 82

So Very Tired of Coughing

Today was long and tiring. I managed to get a few things done today but not as much as I wanted. I just can't stop coughing and it's wearing me out. I hope tomorrow will be more productive.Dianne Burckhardt and I are looking at creating a new website with our own store where people can buy our books directly from us. It will be a joint effort and we also want to network with our other friends who are writing and promote their books if they will promote ours as well.This is a short blog but I'm too tired to think so I'm going to bed for now. I hope to have a bit more information tomorrow.

Back From the Dead ... Sort of ...

I took a longer break from work that was planned. P.R. and I had a great time on our vacation. I can easily say this was the best birthday of my life.We got home and returned to our normal working lives and P.R. got sick. I was doing my best to be a good caretaker and get P.R. back to full health, which I did. P.R. wa only down for a few days and then went right back to work.A day after P.R. left town, I got sick. The thing with having the kind of condition I have is that when I get sick, I don't just get the sniffles and need a day or two in bed like most people, I get very sick. I have been in bed for a week now and still have a long way to go to be healthy again. Not going to bore, or gross out, anyone with details but it will be a few days yet before I'm really up and around again.Right now the only things that are really getting me up and out of bed are taking care of Shaggy and going to the bathroom, evening eating is not really mandatory at this point. However, as you can see, I did get my butt up long enough to do at least a tiny bit of work today, which actually turned out to be a bit depressing.I've been dealing with some hard issues about my writing career. I need to make some money and so far this western serial just isn't cutting it. I can't seem to find the right combination of promotions, brides, or just outright begging to get people to post reviews or share my posts. It could be the genre, westerns are not a huge selling market. It has been suggested that the covers aren't interesting enough or that the fact that I promote the serial novella category too much and the actual story line not enough. I don't know.Then there are the audiobooks. I'm doing more and more research into how this is done and I think it will be a revenue boost but the technical part, if I want to do a good product, is going to take a bit more time to learn. One thing I have decided for sure is, right now I need to put the audiobooks on the back burner for a few months while I learn more about the production side of it. I am not scraping that project, I just won't be making that my main focus right now.So now what to do about the actual books?I love these characters and this story and I have the next two books plotted out in my head and ready to be put on the page. But will the work be worth the money? Last year I made a total of $75 combined from every book I have out. (I have a feeling those were all bought by two people, my mother and my friend Gayle Kelley.) I could have made more selling plasma. I have been taking money from my 401K to help cover my time off to get a writing career going but I'm getting to the limit I set for myself to take out. I lose so much in penalties that at some point I might as well just set all my cash on fire, it's that kind of waste.I have friends who are self-publishing in romance and erotica and are making a small but steady income with their books. I had wanted to write something with more heart and deeper cultural significance but I think that only works if you are George Orwell or Jane Austin. The vast majority of today's readers want to 50 Shades of Grey not Pride and Prejudice.No matter what, I need to finish this western serial. It will forever be in my head and won't go away until I write it down. But do I finish it right now or do I take a short break and write one book that could bring in some money? That is the real question.I will be doing a lot of thinking today and I hope to make my decision this week.

When Life Gives You Lemons ...

Things are crazy right now. I would bet you can tell by now that when the blogs aren't happening, my days are too crazy to keep up with them. It's not going to get better for a while.Tomorrow, P.R. and I leave for a short trip. I do not plan to take the computer with me for a few reasons. One, it's not really a vacation if you are working and two, this computer is starting to act a little wonky and I do not want to take the chance that it will get messed up while traveling. I depend on it too much!Shaggy will be staying with friends while we make this trip. We had wanted to take him with us but it just doesn't seem like a good idea. We would rather he stay here with people he knows.So sorry for the lack of communications right now but I will get back in full swing when I get home. I should add here, it's my birthday next week so I think I'm allowed to be a bit of a lazy bum for a short while.

Shaggy, Diets, and Pokemon Go

P.R. and I both decided we want to lose some weight. With us having to watch Shaggy's diet so closely because of his health, it made us start talking about our own. I'm doing my best to give up bread. I was eating way too much of it. P.R. is eating a lot more salads for meals. I can't get myself to do that. While I am the vegetarian in the family I have always hated salads. Ironic, I know.Today, I decided it was about time I got Shaggy out for a walk. I've been babying him since he was sick but now it's time to get him back to his normal schedule. I wasn't planning on taking him out to any shops or on busy streets, just a short walk around our neighborhood. Before heading out I finally decided to join the cult and download Pokemon Go. If nothing else it would give me something to do on the walk beside picking up Shaggy's poop. I caught a Bulbasaur and Ghastly on this first walk, I have no idea if that is good or not.I have also started going out on days P.R. isn't home, running errands and leaving Shaggy home alone for about four hours at a time. When I do get around to going back to school he's going to be alone five to six hours a day again. So this is a good start for him. He has done very well. He hasn't torn anything up and there haven't been any messes in the house.As soon as I get this blog posted, I'm going to get some work done on the audiobook edits. I want to, at the very least, get the audiobook for Into the West: The Orphan Train done this month. This first one is a learning process for all of us. I hope all the other audiobook will go faster.Tonight, I plan to get some dog food canned for Shaggy. I got all of the jars exchanged yesterday and they have all been through the dishwasher. So, I just have to cook up a new batch of food, fill the jars and pressure cook them.  I think as long as I don't blow up the house it will be a success. But for right now ... back to the sound studio!

Who Needs Sleep ...

I'm so tired. I have been trying to study for my class, keep up with blogs, work on editing the audio for the audiobooks, and now I'm teaching myself how to can food ... for my dog.Shaggy has some very bad allergies, they almost killed him, and to keep him healthy I'm having to cook for him. But we are going to be going out of town for my birthday later this month and I didn't want our friends who will be watching him to have to cook for him like I do. I'm happy to do it because I love my little furry buddy but I doubt my friends will be as happy to do it all.My solution was to can his food and then my friends only have to open the jars to feed Shaggy. He gets his good healthy food, they don't have to cook, and I know he's taken care of while we are gone. Just one problem. I have never canned food in my life.My Granny did it a lot and mom did some heat seal canning but no one ever taught me how to do this.  So, I'm currently teaching myself how to do this. It doesn't seem that difficult when you have the right tools. I ordered an electric pressure cooker to make it easy and I went out today and bought all tools I'd need: tongs, jar wrench, and all the jars I would need to get started. Only one problem, the jars I bought are too big for the cooker.Tomorrow, I will have to go back out and exchange the jars. To make things more complicated, I had to shop two places to get all the jars I needed. When I get home I will cook up a huge batch of food and start canning Shaggy's dog food. All this walking and you'd think I'd be losing weight.

Everything But the Blog

This week has been very productive in every way except where work is concerned. I have gotten so much done this week it's actually been pretty amazing. Projects that I have let slide by the wayside for months now all got finished. I caught up on home repairs, cleaned out the kitchen pantry (which still had stuff left by the people who lived here before us), and even read up on how to can meat. I'm thinking about keeping Shaggy on this home cooked food diet and canning my own for him.I'm crazy, I know. It's not like I don't have enough going on working with Dianne to finally finish the audiobooks, write my blogs, and write the next book in theInto the West Saga Serial, Into the West: Sharon Springs. I think since my class is going to have to be put off until the end of September or later, I'm just really restless.If you don't personally know me, let me explain, I get bored easy. When I was in college in my twenties, I would work two or three part-time jobs while going to school. I need projects and if I don't have them I have actually been known to sit in one spot thinking, about everything, writing stories in my head, planning art projects, and more while not moving an inch ... for hours. It's kind of unnerving, even for me.So, I need busy work. I am not ready to start writing part three just yet. I want to get the audiobooks for part one and two set before I start on writing part three. So, since I can't start writing part three and I don't have a class to go to I need to keep busy. Today I vacuumed the apartment, cleaned the rugs, dusted, washed the patio furniture, changed the tablecloth on the patio table, brushed out Shaggy, vacuumed again, baked banana nut bread, and prepped dinner so I'll only have to pop it in the oven when P.R.'s plane lands. I'm sure there are other things I'm forgetting ... oh yeah, wrote a few blogs.Tomorrow, Dianne and I will have another recording session to see if we can get some significant headway on the audiobooks. I also need to check into the best way to publish these. I also still need to work on the cover art for the Barnes and Noble editions of my books. So much had been done and still so much left to do. Thank goodness.

Free Audiobook Sample

Dianne and I have been working for months now trying to get a good computer setup for recording the audio tracks for the audiobook versions of theInto the West Saga Serialbooks. After my vacation back home to visit the folks where I hit the local music and computer stores, I think I finally have a workable audio setup.​Below you will find a link to the page with the audio sample ofInto the West : The Orphan Train. Please feel free to share this sample file far and wide. And if you find it in your heart to do so, drop us a note and tell us what you think of it. We'd love to hear your opinions on how we can improve our products for you.  Just go to the CONTACT page and use the form provided.I want to make it downloadable but I am not a HTML wiz, at least not yet. I will work on this again tomorrow. But for now, please check out the link and give it a listen. We hope you like it!

I Need to Plan Better

I am so so so so tired! I think I subconsciously tried to kill myself today. That is the only explanation I can come up with for my actions. I think it’s time to reevaluate how I run errands.The vacuum cleaner the landlords provide with the apartment finally gave out. It’s not surprising, the thing is seriously old. I mean OLD! I get the feeling this thing is from the 70s. It might be the bright orange color or the fact that some of the parts have been taped together or the general bulk and weight of the thing. It really is in sad shape.The front wheel that guides it was broken off before we even got it, the panel to one of the filters is taped on, the cord on it is amazingly short and it weighs a ton. I had been using it about three times a week to keep the pet hair down but I always seemed to get more hair off the rug just by scooting my rubber soled house shoes around the rug.Plus, the handle was so short I had to either sit to vacuum or lean over to use it. Not to mention the front suction bar didn’t have wheels on it so it was a feat of sheer strength to push and pull the thing back and forth over the rug. It just wasn’t very good.Then this week the thing finally shot craps. While I was vacuuming, it popped, then the breaker popped, and when I went to unplug it, the vacuum smelled like a burnt match. Not good. Neither P.R. nor I wanted to tell the landlords about the vacuum right now (we still have to tell them I had a hand tremor and dropped a glass on our new stove top. The glass survived, our new stove top didn’t) since we still need to tell them we need to have them order us a new stovetop.So, today I went out to buy us a new vacuum. P.R. and I figured when we get ready to move out then we will tell the landlords their vacuum shot craps way back when and until then we will just use ours. This just saves them having to get a new one for the apartment right now and I get to have one I actually want to use.I took a week and checked out different brands available near us. The local home improvement store had a Dirt Devil that seemed pretty good but I wanted to do some comparison shopping. I went online and checked out a few and P.R. suggested I check out a local electronics store that sells appliances too and see what they had.My plan was to get up early and go get it today since P.R. usually works from home on Fridays. Since Shaggy was so sick just a week ago, I have tried to avoid leaving him home alone whenever possible. But P.R. had to go into the office today and made me change up my plans a little.P.R. was going to leave about 7 am but things happened, as they so often do, and ended up having to stay home until about noon. I decided to wait and go shopping in the afternoon so I could spend the morning with P.R. seeing as how we get so little time together right now.By the time R.R. left, the day had gotten pretty hot. It’s over 90 degrees and remember, we do not have air-conditioning. About 1 pm I finally got my new grocery cart, a few bungee straps, said goodbye to Shaggy, and headed out into the town.I went to the electronics store first. It’s in an upscale mall and they have a great food court with many vegetarian food options. I was only looking at the vacuums for about a minute when a salesman came up and asked if I needed help. I told the guy what I wanted in a vacuum and my price range and he helped me pick out a nice machine. It has all the features I wanted and was about $30 under the budget limit I had set on, and it was the last one they had right now.The salesman asked if I was going to be able to carry it and I told him I would be fine, that was what I brought my grocery cart for. I pulled the blue bag off the cart frame, flipped out the base extender, put the box on the cart and secured it with a few bungee straps. Then I put the blue bag back on the cart on top of the box and secured it to the handle. He was pretty impressed with my setup.Now that I have my new vacuum I pay for it, go to the food court and get a veggie quesadilla, then head back towards home. So far I’m doing great. I’ve been inside most of the time, the public transportation hasn't been packed so it’s not stifling hot. I get off one stop before my usual station because it’s closer to the grocery story I want to go to.Walking to the store from the station, I start to really feel the heat. By the time I get in the grocery store I’m thankful they have air-conditioning and I have a bottle of water. I do my shopping and load everything into grocery cart and start off for home.At this point, I’m very proud of myself for how I planned out this shopping trip and think very highly of myself for my ingenuity. This would be the first time my hubris was a foreshadowing of a downfall. The walk home is what really does me in. The extra weight from the groceries really made a huge difference in the amount of energy I have to use to pull the cart.As I start walking toward the street, my sandal starts catching on the pavement. It seems the sole on my right shoe is starting to come lose and I have to make sure to lift that foot up a little higher than usual to keep the toe from catching on the pavement and flipping part of the sole back. By the time I get out of the parking lot of the grocery store and walk to the light to cross the street, I’m already sweating like I’m in a sauna.I stop and take a drink of water. My once cold water is already starting to get warm. As I stand in the sun drinking my water, I look at the shade of a bus stop beside me and I think, I should have stepped into the shade to do this, too late now.I cross the street and have to wait to cross one more to get home. I try to stand in the little bit of shade provided by the traffic light beside me. I think, if only I had started back to yoga last month there would be less of me right now and more of me would be in the shade. Ah, well.I get across the street and am very thankful to see there are several patches of shade all along the street I now have to walk down to get home. I am feeling the heat pounding down on the top of my head as my clothes begin to cling to me more and more as sweat begins to create numerous trails down every part of my body.The trek home becomes several short excursions going from one spot of shade to another. Each shady checkpoint becomes a water and repositioning station. I am starting to feel the fatigue in my arms and back as the weight of my load works with the heat to take it’s toll on me. I find myself repeating the mantra, almost home, with every water break.I am disappointed in some of the places I think will provide shady refuge. While on the pavement it looks wonderful, due to my height the shade only covers me from the chest down. My face is beginning to feel like it’s burning and I wish I had thought to put on sunscreen before I left.I finally inch my way around the corner and have just another block to walk. I start thinking how lucky I am. My cart has worked perfectly, I am almost home, I am just so brilliant how I planned out this day if you overlook the fact I was starting to get a raging headache and felt like I could vomit any moment now. Once again I failed to expect my hubris to foreshadow the inevitable.I get ready to make the last turn onto my street and my ankle strap on my left sandal breaks (WTH?!). I walk over to a bit of shade before I take the time to check out my shoe. The strap is still secure around my ankle but one side has now come loose from the sole of my shoe. Dear Lord, why?!At least the shoe still stays on my foot even if it is now flopping around with each step. So, try to picture this last block home. I have to lift my right foot up a little higher than normal to keep the loose sole from catching the ground and flipping back. I have to swing my left foot out a bit with each step to get the shoe to go back under my foot due to the loose ankle strap, while pulling a card loaded with a vacuum and a bag full of groceries. I could work for Monty Python’s Ministry of Silly Walks.This last block took me longer than it has ever taken me to walk that distance. The heat is making me sick and I feel like I’m getting close to what could be dangerous heat exposure but I’m almost home. I get in the building and take the vacuum off the cart and carry it up the stairs then come back down to get the groceries. I just leave everything outside the apartment door and then head to the basement to put the laundry in the dryer.When I finally get in the apartment, Shaggy is going crazy jumping all over me. I bring the things in and go sit on the couch and pet Shaggy for a few minutes. I feel like I could pass out. I figure the best thing to do is get my temperature down. I go into the bedroom and stip down to just underwear. I turn on a fan and just relax for a moment. It seems like I can’t stop sweating so I decide to go take a cold shower.I step in the shower and I’m finally able to get my temperature down. It took about a good hour before I really felt like I was back to normal again. Looking back I think I have pushed it just a little too far today. I believe I was in full-on heat exhaustion.Even after the shower, I soaked my shirt in cold water and put it back on then sat in front of the fan again. The good news is, I didn’t stroke out and I have wonderful new vacuum cleaner. I already tried it out.The handle extends so I can actually use it standing up. The cord is twice as long as the old one. It’s bagless and has a washable HEPA filter. The suction foot on the thing has wheels so I don’t feel like I’m wrestling with it to use it.When I used the old one it would take a few months to fill up the little bag in it. I used the new one just once and I have to empty the container three times as I went through the apartment just once, two of those loads just came off the rug in the livingroom!I have never seen this rug look so nice. So, was it all worth it? I’m going to say, yes. Why, you may ask. Because I didn’t die and the vacuum works fantastic. Would I do it this way again knowing what I know now? Aw, hell no!

Hints, Bribes, and Honey-Dos

I woke up today feeling much better. I decided to take advantage in case the migraine comes back later. Typically when I get a migraine like that it lasts three days. I wanted to take advantage of feeling good while I could.As soon as I got up I started cleaning the apartment. I can never concentrate on work when there is a mess. I brushed out Shaggy and painted the wall where I patched it the day before yesterday. I didn't get the color quite right. I think I'm going to have to go get paint swatches and try to find a better match.After I finished my honey-dos, I was going to bake some pumpkin bread but the pumpkin I had in the fridge had started to ferment. If I'm going to get drunk I'd rather it be from a good scotch not old pumpkin. Besides, since P.R. and I are both trying to lose some weight, it's probably a good thing I had to skip the pumpkin bread.Dinner is started for tonight so now I can focus on getting some work done. Let's start with the hint.Spoiler alert if you haven't read part two.The next installment,Into the West: Sharon Springs,is going to have a lot of emotional turmoil. If you read part two you already know Elizabeth and Connor are going to be placed in two different homes in Sharon Springs. As you can imagine, the children do not like this idea but the big surprise is how much another character hates this idea and tries to talk Mrs. Kelly out of the placements.When things finally get set and the children try to get settled, new problems pop up with some of the locals. As Mrs. Kelly prepares to leave, things will get a little crazy but good people step up to help the children feel more at home. There will be the beginnings of a set up for a future relationship no one will expect to work out, and it's not who you think.New characters will be introduced and old ones leave as things begin to get set up for part four,Into the West: Most Wanted.Right now, I have five installments planned to finish theInto the West Saga Serial. But we will have to see if I have Elizabeth and Connor's story where I want it in part five before I really decide where it ends.AND NOW FOR THE BRIBE!I really want to increase my followers on my Facebook page.So, I'm going to offer a $20 Amazon gift card to one lucky person.1. All you have to do is share my Facebook page with your Facebook friends. For every share you post you get your name in the drawing for the gift card. To do this just go to my Facebook page. On the top of the page under the cowboys you will see where the buttons for LIKE, MESSAGE, and MORE are located, click on MORE. In the drop down menu click on SHARE. Then just post the page share to your own timeline.2. If you want to earn extra chances to win, share my blog posts on your Facebook page, each share earns another chance in the drawing.3. If you want even more chances to win post a review somewhere online for one of my books. Doesn't matter where you do it, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Goodreads, take your pick. Just post a note on my Facebook page telling me where you did it and you will get 3 more chances to win for each review.So that's it.The contest starts now and ends September 30th. The winner will be announced October 1st.You can earn your first chance to win bysharingthis blog post.  Good Luck!!

Hints and Bribes and Honey-Dos

I woke up today feeling much better. I decided to take advantage in case the migraine comes back later. Typically when I get a migraine like that it lasts three days. I wanted to take advantage of feeling good while I could.As soon as I got up I started cleaning the apartment. I can never concentrate on work when there is a mess. I brushed out Shaggy and painted the wall where I patched it the day before yesterday. I didn't get the color quite right. I think I'm going to have to go get paint swatches and try to find a better match.After I finished my honey-dos, I was going to bake some pumpkin bread but the pumpkin I had in the fridge had started to ferment. If I'm going to get drunk I'd rather it be from a good scotch not old pumpkin. Besides, since P.R. and I are both trying to lose some weight, it's probably a good thing I had to skip the pumpkin bread.Dinner is started for tonight so now I can focus on getting some work done. Let's start with the hint.Spoiler alert if you haven't read part two.The next installment,Into the West: Sharon Springs,is going to have a lot of emotional turmoil. If you read part two you already know Elizabeth and Connor are going to be placed in two different homes in Sharon Springs. As you can imagine, the children do not like this idea but the big surprise is how much another character hates this idea and tries to talk Mrs. Kelly out of the placements.When things finally get set and the children try to get settled, new problems pop up with some of the locals. As Mrs. Kelly prepares to leave, things will get a little crazy but good people step up to help the children feel more at home. There will be the beginnings of a set up for a future relationship no one will expect to work out, and it's not who you think.New characters will be introduced and old ones leave as things begin to get set up for part four,Into the West: Most Wanted.Right now, I have five installments planned to finish theInto the West Saga Serial. But we will have to see if I have Elizabeth and Connor's story where I want it in part five before I really decide where it ends.AND NOW FOR THE BRIBE!I really want to increase my followers on my Facebook page.So, I'm going to offer a $20 Amazon gift card to one lucky person.1. All you have to do is share my Facebook page with your Facebook friends. For every share you post you get your name in the drawing for the gift card. To do this just go to my Facebook page. On the top of the page under the cowboys you will see where the buttons for LIKE, MESSAGE, and MORE are located, click on MORE. In the drop down menu click on SHARE. Then just post the page share to your own timeline.2. If you want to earn extra chances to win, share my blog posts on your Facebook page, each share earns another chance in the drawing.3. If you want even more chances to win post a review somewhere online for one of my books. Doesn't matter where you do it, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Goodreads, take your pick. Just post a note on my Facebook page telling me where you did it and you will get 3 more chances to win for each review.So that's it.The contest starts now and ends September 30th. The winner will be announced October 1st.You can earn your first chance to win bysharingthis blog post.  Good Luck!!