Randy Elrod's Blog, page 6

Candid Thoughts As I Turn Age 67

When I was born in 1958, the world was almost unrecognizably different. There was no internet, no cell phones, no personal computers. Even color television was still a luxury we didn’t have. Heck, we didn’t have a television at all until I was sixteen years old. And we had no electric heat, only a huge...

Indecent Obsessions

What makes an obsession indecent? For years, I lived trapped between desire and shame, constantly questioning why my natural curiosities were labeled as taboo. Growing up in an evangelical American household meant sexuality existed only within narrow confines—anything beyond was sinful, inappropriate, or not discussed. The human experience is inherently sensual. We are beings who...

My One-Year Journey with Tantric Massage Therapy

For the past year, I’ve been experiencing tantric massage therapy here in Barcelona, and at 65 years old, it’s the first time in my life I’ve ever done anything like this. What began as a completely serendipitous encounter has become a profound healing journey that has transformed my relationship with my body and myself. I...

The Mountain Where Time Stands Still: My Secret Retreat from Barcelona’s Bustle

Each year, I escape to Montserrat for a solitude retreat that renews my spirit in ways no other place can. Just an hour from Barcelona by train, this mountain sanctuary feels like stepping into another world. The magic truly begins after 5 pm, when day-trippers board their buses and descend to the city. Suddenly, the...

El Cuarto De La Purga

EL CUARTO DE LA PURGA Una Novela Corta por Randy Elrod Para aquellos que se han atrevido a cruzar puertas transformadoras y para aquellos que aún las buscan. CAPÍTULO UNO Llegada a Manhattan Dicen que Dios habla en susurros, pero todo lo que escuché mientras nuestro jet descendía hacia Nueva York fue silencio—ese tipo de...

I Invented Five New Cocktails–And They Are Delicious!

One of our new favorite Barcelona speakeasies is a short ten-minute walk from our home. We stumbled upon it while searching for a new Mexican restaurant we found on the app The Fork. As we looked in the glass doors, we knew this was a place we had to visit, so we slipped in for...

Barcelona: The Muse Behind “The Purging Room”

In the labyrinthine streets of Barcelona, where Gothic spires rise above modernist masterpieces and ancient Roman walls embrace Mediterranean shores, I found the perfect muse for my transformative novella, The Purging Room. The idea was born in the Appalachian wilderness, but it needed Barcelona’s unique blend of architectural time travel, artistic rebellion, and sensual atmosphere...

The Doors We Fear to Open: Finding Courage to Cross New Thresholds

We encounter them daily—unopened doors that we hesitate to push open. The job application never submitted. The conversation perpetually postponed. The creative impulse repeatedly ignored. The relationship that remains unresolved. These thresholds exist everywhere in our lives, silently waiting for the moment when our courage finally outweighs our fear. In my novella The Purging Room, Phoenix...

About

I’m Randy, an artist whose insatiable curiosity and passion for experience routinely outpaces conventional wisdom. My journey weaves through multiple creative terrains—from music to writing, from entrepreneurship to wilderness adventures. As an author, I’ve explored the intersections of spirituality, creativity, and authentic living through works including A Renaissance Redneck in a Mega-Church Pulpit (memoir), My Confession, The Loss of...

My First Novel is Here

Successful businessman Phoenix Adams has it all: wealth, status, a beautiful wife, and a respected position as an elder in his church. Yet as he lands in New York after closing the biggest deal of his career, an overwhelming emptiness threatens to consume him. When a business acquaintance directs him to an unmarked door in...