Allan Krummenacker's Blog, page 3
March 16, 2024
Take a Sneak Peek Into "The Pass" If You Dare...
Okay, the countdown to the release of "The Pass" is on! Which means it's time for Sneak Peek Saturdays!
From here on out, up until the book's release, we'll be bringing you peeks into this brand-new novel (which FYI, is the first installment of a trilogy of books). Originally, Rich and I had planned on just one fairly good-sized book, but soon the story and the characters kept growing to the point we began talking about making it a two-volume tale. But of course, again the story kept expanding to where we finally said "FINE! We'll make it a trilogy... OKAY?" That seemed to satisfy our two muses. At least for now.
There's a good possibility that further stories involving some if not most of these characters may be looming large in the future. But for now, we just have this one rather epic tale for you.
And like any good epic, it contains a number of key and supporting characters. So, we've decided to take advantage of Sneak Peek Saturdays to introduce you to some of those characters and give you glimpses of who they are and what they're like.
This week I'm introducing you to a number of the more major members of our cast. So without further ado, sit back and dive into a large section of Chapter 1 of "The Pass"...
November 1846
“Damn you, Hastings,” gasped Jacob Long as he struggled to remain upright in the waist deep snow. The small bundle that hung from his neck let out a pitiful cry.
“No, no it’s all right, Sweetie,” he murmured soothingly and made for the nearest tree. Once there he propped himself up and made gentle rocking motions. “I’m not gonna let any of them touch you. We’ll get help, you’ll see.”
As if to mock his words, a howl rose above the blowing wind. They were getting closer. Yet in spite of the approaching danger, the baby quieted down. Neither of them was going to last much longer if he didn’t find help soon and he knew it. Catching his breath, he straightened to his full six-and-a-half-foot height and plunged headlong into the storm once more. The snow was deep, but his long legs allowed him to continue forward in spite of the seemingly never-ending obstacle and the torrential breeze which seemed to be trying to drive him back. As he struggled, a part of his brain kept lamenting that he hadn’t followed the path the Reed’s group had taken. But Amanda had insisted they try to catch up with Donner and his group. “Cousin Lansford assured me that Mr. Donner will watch out for us,” she’d said.He’d always done everything he could to make her happy, so he’d listened, and it had cost them... dearly. Shortly after the snow began to fall, they came. First they’d gotten the cattle, then the oxen, and finally his beloved Amanda. He’d been out searching for food and had actually shot a deer and was bringing it back when he found them swarming over her like a pack of wolves. One of them had just started towards Sara when he let loose with his rifle. The noise startled the others and caused them to scatter. Especially after they saw how his shot sent their companion flipping head over heel before landing in the snow where it writhed in agony before he put another bullet through its head. He’d rushed to his beloved’s side, but she was already gone. Tears ran down his face as he prepared to bury her, but then Sara began to cry. It took him less than a second to realize his daughter was crying not from hunger, but fear. The things he’d driven away were coming back. Grabbing his daughter and what few supplies he could, including jars of milk he’d gotten from the cattle before they’d died, he fled into the night hoping to lose them. But those damned things had given chase. However, luck had been on his side. Out of desperation, he’d crossed a stream where his pursuers came to a halt. Whatever evil moved them seemed unable to cross the running water allowing him and his daughter to escape. But their reprieve had been a brief one. Within days, they’d found his trail again and now they were closing in. If he could just get to a cave or someplace where he could start a fire, he was sure he could hold them off till morning. They never seemed to follow during daylight, which would allow him to put more distance between them. Unfortunately, he could barely see anything in this storm. The roar of the wind seemed to drown out all sound. He could barely hear his own labored breathing above it. For all he knew his pursuers could be practically on top of him and he wouldn’t hear them until it was too late. Pushing forward he kept muttering to himself, “Got to keep moving. Can’t let them have Sara! I must get her to safety. Catch up with Donner and his party, they’ll help us, they’ll…”Suddenly the storm seemed to ease, and the air became still. The man paused in mid-step. Until recently, being in the woods held no fear for him. He’d been a hunter and trader most of his life. In fact, he had spent not one but two winters in horrendous conditions and survived. Therefore, he knew how storms behaved and they didn’t act like this. Silently he crossed himself. He had no idea exactly what this place was, but it seemed that the law of God and nature did not apply here. He stood there wondering if he should retrace his steps when his ears detected movement nearby. Turning towards the sound, he spotted several pairs of glowing eyes staring at him from the darkness. They were low to the ground, so he knew it couldn’t be the ones he’d been fleeing from. Besides, these eyes were animal, not human. ‘Wolves,’ he thought with despair. A pack of them, and probably half-starved. Otherwise, they wouldn’t be bothering with him. Then again, they could simply want his daughter, and he wasn’t about to let that happen. He started reaching for his gun, then thought better of it. He could definitely nail one or two, and the sound might scare the rest of the pack off. But if they were as hungry as he suspected, even the sound of gunfire might not be enough. Plus, he’d need to reload between shots. No, he’d have to deal with them another way. Reaching over his shoulders, he pulled out a pair of wicked looking axes saying, “Wolf meat is as good as any in this weather.” Brandishing his weapons in a meaningful way, he grinned wickedly and added, “And I reckon I’m hungrier than any of you. So, who’s gonna be first?” The animals paused in mid-step. They were hungry all right. But it was clear that they could sense he would not be easy prey. For a brief moment, he thought just maybe they were going to back off. But then Sara gave a little cry. Immediately, the animals began advancing once more. Realizing they hadn’t known about her, now he was even more determined to keep his child safe at all costs. As the lead wolf drew closer, he took a defensive position: one arm waving an axe in front, while the other was poised to strike with its companion. The animal uttered a low menacing growl and started to spring… and suddenly vanished.Jake blinked in disbelief. It had happened so fast. Something big had shot past him and had taken the animal with it. For an instant, he thought about the others, but quickly shook his head. The movement was all wrong. They moved in a strange jerking and hopping fashion. The thing that had taken the wolf had moved in a fast almost fluid motion. The eerie silence seemed to close in once again, only to be punctured by an animal’s scream that ended almost as quickly as it came. The other wolves took note and began to look uneasy. Soon a slicing sound pierced the gloom, and the smell of blood began to permeate the air.Jake thought for a moment the smell would drive the wolves into a frenzy, but instead it seemed to frighten them. A few even began to whimper. More strange sounds erupted from the darkness then a figure stepped into view. It was a wolf, but far larger than any he’d ever seen. The beast moved on all fours and slowly approached him and the pack. It took Jacob a moment to realize that the beast was walking on top of the snow without breaking the surface, in spite of its massive size. The pack seemed to realize that this newcomer was nothing like them and began to back away warily but were not actually turning tail and running off. Meanwhile, the great wolf snarled and barked at the pack which clearly outnumbered it. To Jake it sounded like a challenge, but none of the wolves seemed inclined to accept and he couldn’t blame them. He could feel his own knees struggling to keep him upright, as one thought raced through his brain. ‘Has this thing been sent from Heaven or Hell? Are we to be delivered or slaughtered?’ As if hearing his thought, the animal turned its gaze on him and immediately Jake fell to one knee. Those eyes… burning with crimson fire… and age. Great age, coupled with anger… Still clutching the axes in his hands, he prepared himself for the attack he was sure was inevitable. Unfortunately, it did not come from in front of him like he expected. Instead, it came from behind. The others had found him…
The great beast had been studying the human with curiosity. How had this individual found this spot? Normally, his kind simply paused and walked around after shaking slightly. But this one had actually entered the area, armed no less. Furthermore, the man had brought wolves with him. Not that it minded. It had needed a new skin and the leader of the pack had been just the right size. The animal had put up a good, if somewhat short struggle, but that was mostly due to its being malnourished. The skin, which had been practically hanging in areas on the animal, was now stretched taught, filled with muscle and power it had never known before. Yes, this new skin was just right. The other wolves would probably follow. It was hard to say. The scent of their former leader was pouring off the skin, but they would be picking up on the ‘other’ smells as well. Eagle, coyote, rabbit, deer, wild boar, bear… so many scents, but underlying all of them was power. They were in the presence of a new master, one who could reward or punish them without a second thought. But right now, its thoughts were focused solely on the man kneeling in the snow before it. He was clutching something to his chest… his offspring? A newborn? No, the scent was wrong. It was several months old, but still too fragile and helpless to be on its own. It needed the protection of its parent, the man. Staring into the eyes of the man it could see that he possessed the determination and a willingness to fight, in spite of his fear. Yet there was something else, a hint of awe and hope? At that moment, the child gave a cry. It sounded almost like the newborn of one of the big cats, only there was something more in the child’s voice. A warning of approaching danger. Immediately, the great wolf raised its hackles as its nose caught the scent of the approaching threat. The dead things were coming! A wave of anger swept through the beast’s form which seemed to swell and grow even larger. How dare they invade this place! No matter, they would pay dearly for this intrusion. As for the ones who led them here... The beast slowly shifted its gaze back to the man, but instead found its eyes focusing on the little one in his arms. The child had stopped crying and her eyes were fixed on its own. ‘So small… so weak… so easy to take… the pack is so hungry…’ The thought had come unbidden. This was not unusual. The skin remembered the mind that had inhabited it before. The skin always remembers. The creature shifted slightly, but did not attack. The… infant? Yes, that was what it was called, was still looking its way and actually reached out a tiny hand… ‘So small… so helpless…’ Suddenly, the moment was broken. The dead things had arrived. From out of the darkness they leapt, covering huge distances in a single bound. They were shaped like men and had their arms extended, but there the similarities ended. Their smell was all wrong. They reeked of years old carrion, even though they were perfectly intact. The color of their skin was wrong, and several had long white hair. Their clothing was not like that of any humans the beast had ever seen before. Except that one time some years ago when a stranger came with others who buried boxes not far from here… But now was not the time to remember. The smell of blood was in the air. The man with the child was hacking at the dead things with the weapons in his hands which seemed to be proving effective. Two heads were already lying on the snow at the man’s feet. It was almost like watching a dance. The twin axes seemed to glisten in the moonlight as they arced and curved in time with their wielder, who spun and wove between opponents. Soon an arm and another head fell at the man’s feet, as the blades continued their intricate motions. Yet, in spite of the growing number of fallen body parts, more of the enemy kept appearing on the scene. With a low guttural growl, the great wolf turned to the pack and barked a terse command. Several of the wolves began to back up, whimpering like frightened pups, while the rest stood their ground. But none leapt to the attack as commanded. Frustrated the great wolf was about to repeat his command when several of the jumping things landed in their midst and began tearing into the pack. Snarls and cries of pain ripped through the night air, as several animals found themselves being rendered asunder by talon-like hands that sliced into their fur and skin with ease. Most of the animals turned and fled, but a few remained as they found themselves surrounded. The great wolf could stand no more. With a roar that seemed to shake the trees it leapt into the fray. Jaws slavering it grabbed one of the dead things and shook it like a rag doll until it heard the sound of snapping joints and cracking bones. Then it hurled the thing into the nearest tree where it made a most satisfying crunch. Without pause the beast took up a position in front of the remaining wolves and took out several more of the dead creatures in the same manner. Bloodlust filled the huge wolf’s mind, yet a small amount of reason managed to find its way to the surface and pointed out that the tide of battle was not changing in its favor. Looking about, the beast saw each and every opponent it had hurled aside was getting back up. Dislocated limbs, and snapped necks, were clicking back into place as the things rushed to rejoin the fight. Turning to the man with the weapons, it saw that he too was still hard pressed by the onslaught of their common enemy. Yet, the ones whose heads he’d removed, which now totaled four, had remained dead. Others, who had gaping wounds, or had lost a hand or arm, were still attacking. For that matter, so were their dismembered limbs. At that moment, the man looked up and cried, “Behind you!” Turning, the great beast found its first victim had fully recovered and was grabbing its upper and lower jaws. With a strength it had never known in any human, the great beast found its mouth being forced open wider and wider. For the first time, in its long existence, the being who wore the wolf skin began to experience fear. As self-preservation kicked in, the beast rose up on its hind legs which elongated and took on a more human shape. At the same time, its front legs stretched and thickened into two fur-covered arms, while the paws took on a more hand-like countenance and grasped the offending hands forcing its mouth open. Grasping its opponent’s wrists, the beast snapped them like twigs freeing its mouth. Uttering a monstrous howl, it lunged forward and sank its teeth into the dead thing’s neck and with one great jerk, severed the head from the body. Immediately, the headless form went limp and fell to the ground where it lay still and did not get up. Still holding the head in its jaws, the bipedal beast began to raise its head in triumph, then stopped. Some of the blood from the severed head had slid into its mouth and the taste caused the beast to retch. Spitting the head out, the creature buried its muzzle in the snow, swallowing great heaps of white, as if to cleanse itself. At last the taste was expelled from its maw and the creature began to right itself when it heard the man with the axes scream. Looking up it saw one of the enemy had managed to rip the sling, which held the infant, from him. The dead being held the sling aloft and studied it curiously, as the child wriggled within and began to cry. “NO!” the man screamed as he struggled beneath the weight of several of the other dead men as they brought him down into the snow. Without pause, the great wolf launched itself forward and in one swift movement grabbed and ripped the arm holding the child aloft. It paused only briefly, to throw the still moving appendage away and then stared down at the infant who had ceased to bawl. Instead, she seemed to be staring at him in wonder. There was not the least scent of fear from her. Instead she seemed to be fascinated by his long snout and strange countenance. Suddenly, the babe seemed to gasp and without looking, his free hand shot out and grasped the neck of the dead thing, whose arm he’d removed. The thing writhed in his grip, slashing at him with its remaining talon clawed hand. The pain was great, but not enough to make him ease his grip. Eyes still focused on the child, he uttered a bark at the remaining three wolves which immediately came to his side and formed a tight circle with their bodies. Into the center of this living warmth, he lowered the baby in its sling. With one final command to the trio, he turned to the thing in his hand. At that same moment, the dead human’s nails extended to the length of a forearm and sliced into his side.
TO BE CONTINUED...
So, there you have it dear friends. Did you like it? Did it grab your interest? Do you want more? If so, there's good news. You'll get more in the next blog post where you'll get your first glimpses of our baddies of the piece, as well as more action and even a little heartbreak as the battle continues and one will fall, only for another to 'take his place'. Until next week stay safe and keep writing and recording dear friends.
From here on out, up until the book's release, we'll be bringing you peeks into this brand-new novel (which FYI, is the first installment of a trilogy of books). Originally, Rich and I had planned on just one fairly good-sized book, but soon the story and the characters kept growing to the point we began talking about making it a two-volume tale. But of course, again the story kept expanding to where we finally said "FINE! We'll make it a trilogy... OKAY?" That seemed to satisfy our two muses. At least for now.
There's a good possibility that further stories involving some if not most of these characters may be looming large in the future. But for now, we just have this one rather epic tale for you.
And like any good epic, it contains a number of key and supporting characters. So, we've decided to take advantage of Sneak Peek Saturdays to introduce you to some of those characters and give you glimpses of who they are and what they're like.
This week I'm introducing you to a number of the more major members of our cast. So without further ado, sit back and dive into a large section of Chapter 1 of "The Pass"...
(Another of Gabby Callan's beautiful artwork you will find within the pages of this exciting novel)
November 1846
“Damn you, Hastings,” gasped Jacob Long as he struggled to remain upright in the waist deep snow. The small bundle that hung from his neck let out a pitiful cry.
“No, no it’s all right, Sweetie,” he murmured soothingly and made for the nearest tree. Once there he propped himself up and made gentle rocking motions. “I’m not gonna let any of them touch you. We’ll get help, you’ll see.”
As if to mock his words, a howl rose above the blowing wind. They were getting closer. Yet in spite of the approaching danger, the baby quieted down. Neither of them was going to last much longer if he didn’t find help soon and he knew it. Catching his breath, he straightened to his full six-and-a-half-foot height and plunged headlong into the storm once more. The snow was deep, but his long legs allowed him to continue forward in spite of the seemingly never-ending obstacle and the torrential breeze which seemed to be trying to drive him back. As he struggled, a part of his brain kept lamenting that he hadn’t followed the path the Reed’s group had taken. But Amanda had insisted they try to catch up with Donner and his group. “Cousin Lansford assured me that Mr. Donner will watch out for us,” she’d said.He’d always done everything he could to make her happy, so he’d listened, and it had cost them... dearly. Shortly after the snow began to fall, they came. First they’d gotten the cattle, then the oxen, and finally his beloved Amanda. He’d been out searching for food and had actually shot a deer and was bringing it back when he found them swarming over her like a pack of wolves. One of them had just started towards Sara when he let loose with his rifle. The noise startled the others and caused them to scatter. Especially after they saw how his shot sent their companion flipping head over heel before landing in the snow where it writhed in agony before he put another bullet through its head. He’d rushed to his beloved’s side, but she was already gone. Tears ran down his face as he prepared to bury her, but then Sara began to cry. It took him less than a second to realize his daughter was crying not from hunger, but fear. The things he’d driven away were coming back. Grabbing his daughter and what few supplies he could, including jars of milk he’d gotten from the cattle before they’d died, he fled into the night hoping to lose them. But those damned things had given chase. However, luck had been on his side. Out of desperation, he’d crossed a stream where his pursuers came to a halt. Whatever evil moved them seemed unable to cross the running water allowing him and his daughter to escape. But their reprieve had been a brief one. Within days, they’d found his trail again and now they were closing in. If he could just get to a cave or someplace where he could start a fire, he was sure he could hold them off till morning. They never seemed to follow during daylight, which would allow him to put more distance between them. Unfortunately, he could barely see anything in this storm. The roar of the wind seemed to drown out all sound. He could barely hear his own labored breathing above it. For all he knew his pursuers could be practically on top of him and he wouldn’t hear them until it was too late. Pushing forward he kept muttering to himself, “Got to keep moving. Can’t let them have Sara! I must get her to safety. Catch up with Donner and his party, they’ll help us, they’ll…”Suddenly the storm seemed to ease, and the air became still. The man paused in mid-step. Until recently, being in the woods held no fear for him. He’d been a hunter and trader most of his life. In fact, he had spent not one but two winters in horrendous conditions and survived. Therefore, he knew how storms behaved and they didn’t act like this. Silently he crossed himself. He had no idea exactly what this place was, but it seemed that the law of God and nature did not apply here. He stood there wondering if he should retrace his steps when his ears detected movement nearby. Turning towards the sound, he spotted several pairs of glowing eyes staring at him from the darkness. They were low to the ground, so he knew it couldn’t be the ones he’d been fleeing from. Besides, these eyes were animal, not human. ‘Wolves,’ he thought with despair. A pack of them, and probably half-starved. Otherwise, they wouldn’t be bothering with him. Then again, they could simply want his daughter, and he wasn’t about to let that happen. He started reaching for his gun, then thought better of it. He could definitely nail one or two, and the sound might scare the rest of the pack off. But if they were as hungry as he suspected, even the sound of gunfire might not be enough. Plus, he’d need to reload between shots. No, he’d have to deal with them another way. Reaching over his shoulders, he pulled out a pair of wicked looking axes saying, “Wolf meat is as good as any in this weather.” Brandishing his weapons in a meaningful way, he grinned wickedly and added, “And I reckon I’m hungrier than any of you. So, who’s gonna be first?” The animals paused in mid-step. They were hungry all right. But it was clear that they could sense he would not be easy prey. For a brief moment, he thought just maybe they were going to back off. But then Sara gave a little cry. Immediately, the animals began advancing once more. Realizing they hadn’t known about her, now he was even more determined to keep his child safe at all costs. As the lead wolf drew closer, he took a defensive position: one arm waving an axe in front, while the other was poised to strike with its companion. The animal uttered a low menacing growl and started to spring… and suddenly vanished.Jake blinked in disbelief. It had happened so fast. Something big had shot past him and had taken the animal with it. For an instant, he thought about the others, but quickly shook his head. The movement was all wrong. They moved in a strange jerking and hopping fashion. The thing that had taken the wolf had moved in a fast almost fluid motion. The eerie silence seemed to close in once again, only to be punctured by an animal’s scream that ended almost as quickly as it came. The other wolves took note and began to look uneasy. Soon a slicing sound pierced the gloom, and the smell of blood began to permeate the air.Jake thought for a moment the smell would drive the wolves into a frenzy, but instead it seemed to frighten them. A few even began to whimper. More strange sounds erupted from the darkness then a figure stepped into view. It was a wolf, but far larger than any he’d ever seen. The beast moved on all fours and slowly approached him and the pack. It took Jacob a moment to realize that the beast was walking on top of the snow without breaking the surface, in spite of its massive size. The pack seemed to realize that this newcomer was nothing like them and began to back away warily but were not actually turning tail and running off. Meanwhile, the great wolf snarled and barked at the pack which clearly outnumbered it. To Jake it sounded like a challenge, but none of the wolves seemed inclined to accept and he couldn’t blame them. He could feel his own knees struggling to keep him upright, as one thought raced through his brain. ‘Has this thing been sent from Heaven or Hell? Are we to be delivered or slaughtered?’ As if hearing his thought, the animal turned its gaze on him and immediately Jake fell to one knee. Those eyes… burning with crimson fire… and age. Great age, coupled with anger… Still clutching the axes in his hands, he prepared himself for the attack he was sure was inevitable. Unfortunately, it did not come from in front of him like he expected. Instead, it came from behind. The others had found him…
The great beast had been studying the human with curiosity. How had this individual found this spot? Normally, his kind simply paused and walked around after shaking slightly. But this one had actually entered the area, armed no less. Furthermore, the man had brought wolves with him. Not that it minded. It had needed a new skin and the leader of the pack had been just the right size. The animal had put up a good, if somewhat short struggle, but that was mostly due to its being malnourished. The skin, which had been practically hanging in areas on the animal, was now stretched taught, filled with muscle and power it had never known before. Yes, this new skin was just right. The other wolves would probably follow. It was hard to say. The scent of their former leader was pouring off the skin, but they would be picking up on the ‘other’ smells as well. Eagle, coyote, rabbit, deer, wild boar, bear… so many scents, but underlying all of them was power. They were in the presence of a new master, one who could reward or punish them without a second thought. But right now, its thoughts were focused solely on the man kneeling in the snow before it. He was clutching something to his chest… his offspring? A newborn? No, the scent was wrong. It was several months old, but still too fragile and helpless to be on its own. It needed the protection of its parent, the man. Staring into the eyes of the man it could see that he possessed the determination and a willingness to fight, in spite of his fear. Yet there was something else, a hint of awe and hope? At that moment, the child gave a cry. It sounded almost like the newborn of one of the big cats, only there was something more in the child’s voice. A warning of approaching danger. Immediately, the great wolf raised its hackles as its nose caught the scent of the approaching threat. The dead things were coming! A wave of anger swept through the beast’s form which seemed to swell and grow even larger. How dare they invade this place! No matter, they would pay dearly for this intrusion. As for the ones who led them here... The beast slowly shifted its gaze back to the man, but instead found its eyes focusing on the little one in his arms. The child had stopped crying and her eyes were fixed on its own. ‘So small… so weak… so easy to take… the pack is so hungry…’ The thought had come unbidden. This was not unusual. The skin remembered the mind that had inhabited it before. The skin always remembers. The creature shifted slightly, but did not attack. The… infant? Yes, that was what it was called, was still looking its way and actually reached out a tiny hand… ‘So small… so helpless…’ Suddenly, the moment was broken. The dead things had arrived. From out of the darkness they leapt, covering huge distances in a single bound. They were shaped like men and had their arms extended, but there the similarities ended. Their smell was all wrong. They reeked of years old carrion, even though they were perfectly intact. The color of their skin was wrong, and several had long white hair. Their clothing was not like that of any humans the beast had ever seen before. Except that one time some years ago when a stranger came with others who buried boxes not far from here… But now was not the time to remember. The smell of blood was in the air. The man with the child was hacking at the dead things with the weapons in his hands which seemed to be proving effective. Two heads were already lying on the snow at the man’s feet. It was almost like watching a dance. The twin axes seemed to glisten in the moonlight as they arced and curved in time with their wielder, who spun and wove between opponents. Soon an arm and another head fell at the man’s feet, as the blades continued their intricate motions. Yet, in spite of the growing number of fallen body parts, more of the enemy kept appearing on the scene. With a low guttural growl, the great wolf turned to the pack and barked a terse command. Several of the wolves began to back up, whimpering like frightened pups, while the rest stood their ground. But none leapt to the attack as commanded. Frustrated the great wolf was about to repeat his command when several of the jumping things landed in their midst and began tearing into the pack. Snarls and cries of pain ripped through the night air, as several animals found themselves being rendered asunder by talon-like hands that sliced into their fur and skin with ease. Most of the animals turned and fled, but a few remained as they found themselves surrounded. The great wolf could stand no more. With a roar that seemed to shake the trees it leapt into the fray. Jaws slavering it grabbed one of the dead things and shook it like a rag doll until it heard the sound of snapping joints and cracking bones. Then it hurled the thing into the nearest tree where it made a most satisfying crunch. Without pause the beast took up a position in front of the remaining wolves and took out several more of the dead creatures in the same manner. Bloodlust filled the huge wolf’s mind, yet a small amount of reason managed to find its way to the surface and pointed out that the tide of battle was not changing in its favor. Looking about, the beast saw each and every opponent it had hurled aside was getting back up. Dislocated limbs, and snapped necks, were clicking back into place as the things rushed to rejoin the fight. Turning to the man with the weapons, it saw that he too was still hard pressed by the onslaught of their common enemy. Yet, the ones whose heads he’d removed, which now totaled four, had remained dead. Others, who had gaping wounds, or had lost a hand or arm, were still attacking. For that matter, so were their dismembered limbs. At that moment, the man looked up and cried, “Behind you!” Turning, the great beast found its first victim had fully recovered and was grabbing its upper and lower jaws. With a strength it had never known in any human, the great beast found its mouth being forced open wider and wider. For the first time, in its long existence, the being who wore the wolf skin began to experience fear. As self-preservation kicked in, the beast rose up on its hind legs which elongated and took on a more human shape. At the same time, its front legs stretched and thickened into two fur-covered arms, while the paws took on a more hand-like countenance and grasped the offending hands forcing its mouth open. Grasping its opponent’s wrists, the beast snapped them like twigs freeing its mouth. Uttering a monstrous howl, it lunged forward and sank its teeth into the dead thing’s neck and with one great jerk, severed the head from the body. Immediately, the headless form went limp and fell to the ground where it lay still and did not get up. Still holding the head in its jaws, the bipedal beast began to raise its head in triumph, then stopped. Some of the blood from the severed head had slid into its mouth and the taste caused the beast to retch. Spitting the head out, the creature buried its muzzle in the snow, swallowing great heaps of white, as if to cleanse itself. At last the taste was expelled from its maw and the creature began to right itself when it heard the man with the axes scream. Looking up it saw one of the enemy had managed to rip the sling, which held the infant, from him. The dead being held the sling aloft and studied it curiously, as the child wriggled within and began to cry. “NO!” the man screamed as he struggled beneath the weight of several of the other dead men as they brought him down into the snow. Without pause, the great wolf launched itself forward and in one swift movement grabbed and ripped the arm holding the child aloft. It paused only briefly, to throw the still moving appendage away and then stared down at the infant who had ceased to bawl. Instead, she seemed to be staring at him in wonder. There was not the least scent of fear from her. Instead she seemed to be fascinated by his long snout and strange countenance. Suddenly, the babe seemed to gasp and without looking, his free hand shot out and grasped the neck of the dead thing, whose arm he’d removed. The thing writhed in his grip, slashing at him with its remaining talon clawed hand. The pain was great, but not enough to make him ease his grip. Eyes still focused on the child, he uttered a bark at the remaining three wolves which immediately came to his side and formed a tight circle with their bodies. Into the center of this living warmth, he lowered the baby in its sling. With one final command to the trio, he turned to the thing in his hand. At that same moment, the dead human’s nails extended to the length of a forearm and sliced into his side.
TO BE CONTINUED...
So, there you have it dear friends. Did you like it? Did it grab your interest? Do you want more? If so, there's good news. You'll get more in the next blog post where you'll get your first glimpses of our baddies of the piece, as well as more action and even a little heartbreak as the battle continues and one will fall, only for another to 'take his place'. Until next week stay safe and keep writing and recording dear friends.
March 1, 2024
SPECIAL COVER REVEAL!!!
It's been several years since I released any books myself, as I've been mostly focused on voiceover work and recording the first 4 books of Helen's "Forever Detective" series (I'm currently recording the voiceover for her most recent novel "Forever Chosen" and her anthology "W. I. T. C. H. Hunters Forever").
However, this does not mean I have not been writing during that period of time. In fact I've been doing quite a bit of writing, along with editing and formatting all of Helen's books, along with my other collaboration with my old high school friend Rich Caminiti. And at long last, Rich and I are ready to present the cover of the first installment of a brand-new series of novels.
And here it is...
This beautiful cover was created by the very talented Gabrielle (Gabby) Callan, who in addition to being a fabulous artist, has recently added talented tattoo artist to her list of artistic talents. But in addition to creating this gorgeous cover, you will also find more of her pen and ink work within the pages of this novel set in 1863 during the Civil War.
You can see more of her work over on Instagram at: Gabrielle Callan (@gabbycallan) • Instagram photos and videos
Espionage, mythology, legend, magic and intrigue await you within the pages of his historic fantasy book coming next month.
Stay tuned to this blog for sneak peeks at both the story and more of Gabby Callan's illustrations.
Have a great weekend everyone and stay safe.
June 9, 2020
Adventures In Audio Recording VII
Okay now that we've covered as much of the technical that I'm aware of, let's move on to a new topic, namely doing the actual reading aloud. Now the first thing I'm going to say is please do not make yourself sound like Ben Stein. Unless of course your book is about curing insomnia, in which case then you might make a bundle on the open market.People do not want to hear a lifeless dull monotone performance. You put a lot into your work to make it come to life on the written page. Now you have to bring that same life into your reading. Mind you I'm not saying you have to put together a full-fledged performance complete with sound effects, mood music, and an entire cast. But you do need to give your listeners an interesting and gripping experience. Try to get them caught up int he moment with your voice and delivery. But equally as important you have to make sure your speaking clearly, not too fast, nor too slowly. You need to enunciate properly so they don't get hung up on a badly pronounced word and are now falling behind as the rest of the story continues, while they're trying to figure out what you meant to say.Now if you've already done loud readings and have entertained people with them, you're off to a great start. In my case I took a theater class back in the day and have been part of Toastmasters, so I have a lot to fall back on to help me. Plus I've read aloud to many people and have been complimented on my ability to make the characters come alive for the audience.Now if this sounds like more than you can handle, you might want to look into some training or hiring someone as a narrator. Even with my experience, I've been having a hard time with my recordings and making sure they come across as professional as possible. I've been able to give a lot of technical information here, but actually delivering a good reading is a whole other ballgame for me. I'm very demanding of myself and want to produce a really top-notch product. So far, those who've been listening to the chapters I've already recorded and edited are very pleased with the results. Some, who listen to a lot of Audible books, have told me I'm as good if not better than a number of narrators they've listened to.I think that may be partly because I not only read but give each character a different voice and wind up with a narration/performance recording. But while I do so I am trying to pay attention to a number of factors like:- Pacing: I have to struggle not to get too caught up in the performance that I don't rush through a scene no matter how exciting I find it.
- Pausing: Remembering to actually leave a pause at periods and commas. This is a bit of an issue for me, so keeping pacing in mind helps a lot. So in my case the two go hand in hand.
SIDENOTE: Why yes I am a big fan of the muppets, how did you know?- Emoting: Okay this goes back to my earlier comment about Ben Stein. Remember the listeners cannot see you, so you have to let your voice carry the day when it comes to emotions or giving the audience a sense of urgency, anxiety, worry, passion. You don't have to go overboard like this guy...But just let some feeling into your voice to give the audience a feel for the moment.- Emphasis: This area can be tricky. Luckily if you're the author or the author is someone close who can help coach you on this part, you'll be in good shape. Deciding where to put emphasis (making a certain word/part of a sentence) can be simple or not. In my case I recently had an occasion where I was doing a voice-over on a book trailer for my wife Helen's latest solo novel. She had created a sentence that was a bit long, but technically correct from a writing standpoint. However, I was having trouble finding where to put the emphasis on certain sections within the one sentence. I'm putting the trailer just below so you can see and hear it. The area in particular is about halfway through it where I start talking about "The shadows of Prohibition..." It took me a couple of takes to get this line just the way she wanted, but the result was spot on.I feel we've covered a lot today so I'm going to leave our discussion here for the moment, partly because I'm going to a class on Voice-Over work on Monday. Hopefully I'll have more things to share with you all in my next entry in two weeks. I do hope this and the previous entries regarding Audio Recording has been helpful to you. There's still probably a couple of more entries to do before I finish this topic... and even then I might do more down the road as I finally prepare myself to actually submit an audiobook to ACX/Audible. That will probably be an adventure in and of itself, so stay tuned.Until next time, keep writing and recording my friends.
- Pausing: Remembering to actually leave a pause at periods and commas. This is a bit of an issue for me, so keeping pacing in mind helps a lot. So in my case the two go hand in hand.SIDENOTE: Why yes I am a big fan of the muppets, how did you know?- Emoting: Okay this goes back to my earlier comment about Ben Stein. Remember the listeners cannot see you, so you have to let your voice carry the day when it comes to emotions or giving the audience a sense of urgency, anxiety, worry, passion. You don't have to go overboard like this guy...But just let some feeling into your voice to give the audience a feel for the moment.- Emphasis: This area can be tricky. Luckily if you're the author or the author is someone close who can help coach you on this part, you'll be in good shape. Deciding where to put emphasis (making a certain word/part of a sentence) can be simple or not. In my case I recently had an occasion where I was doing a voice-over on a book trailer for my wife Helen's latest solo novel. She had created a sentence that was a bit long, but technically correct from a writing standpoint. However, I was having trouble finding where to put the emphasis on certain sections within the one sentence. I'm putting the trailer just below so you can see and hear it. The area in particular is about halfway through it where I start talking about "The shadows of Prohibition..." It took me a couple of takes to get this line just the way she wanted, but the result was spot on.I feel we've covered a lot today so I'm going to leave our discussion here for the moment, partly because I'm going to a class on Voice-Over work on Monday. Hopefully I'll have more things to share with you all in my next entry in two weeks. I do hope this and the previous entries regarding Audio Recording has been helpful to you. There's still probably a couple of more entries to do before I finish this topic... and even then I might do more down the road as I finally prepare myself to actually submit an audiobook to ACX/Audible. That will probably be an adventure in and of itself, so stay tuned.Until next time, keep writing and recording my friends.
May 29, 2020
Adventures In Audio Recording - Part VI
Okay, so now that we've got all the technical parts of recording covered and how to meet ACX's requirements, we're ready to record and submit, right?
Yeah, what the 10th Doctor is saying. There are a number of other non-technical requirements that we have to pay attention to, in order to submit our audio successfully. First off, you need to include opening credits. These are as follows:-The title of the audiobook-The subtitle, if there is one-Written by (Name of the Author)-Narrated by (Insert your name here)All of these need to be included in the very first file. Now you can submit this as a separate file, or as part of the first chapter.Speaking of chapters, each chapter should have its own sound file. When you submit to ACX you'll be submitting an entire folder of files to them. And each file can only include one chapter, no matter how short. UNLESS... the chapter is so long that the sound file is going to be longer than 120 minutes. In that case, you'll be breaking that chapter up into more than one file. Remember, no single file can be longer than 120 minutes. ACX is very strict about this.And since we're discussing credits, there should also be closing credits at the end of the final chapter or at least the spoken words THE END. I myself prefer something like this. "The End. You have been listening to "Title of the Book", written by "Author Name" and narrated by "Your name here".You'll also want to have a separate file to submit that will be a sample of your work so the audience can get a taste of what awaits them inside your audiobook. Do not include anything that contains the opening/closing credits, music, or anything explicit. The sample can be anywhere from 1 to 5 minutes in length. So choose wisely, remember this is part of your 'hook' to get listeners to want to hear the entire story from start to finish.
Another requirement ACX asks of submissions is 2-3 seconds of silence or "Room Tone". Remember where I mentioned having several seconds of silence where we used the "Noise Reduction" function, this is where that section comes into play again. Originally we used it to clean up the entire file. But now we need it as a lead in before any speaking takes place in a file, and they also want another 3-5 seconds at the end of each file. This is a requirement that can and will get you rejected, so make sure each of your files has this 1/2 to a full second at the beginning and 3-5 seconds of "Room Tone" at the end.Be careful of making sure each file is consistent in pacing, vocalization, sound levels, clear speaking, etc. Try to avoid loud mic pops, mouth noises, breathing, etc. (most of which we covered in the previous entries where we covered the technical requirements). Still, try to make sure there is a definite consistency throughout all the files so as not to irritate the listener. People love being drawn into a story and then jarred out of it because of a mistake someone made in the recording. This WILL lead to bad reviews and poor ratings of all your hard work. So take the time to make sure every file is clean and consistent for your own sake.Next up, Mono or Stereo channel formats. Whichever format you choose ALL the files associated with the audiobook in question must be in the same format. I myself stick to Mono which makes my life so much easier. I personally don't really know the difference between the two, but Mono is what I use and I keep things consistent that way.Finally, ACX has one final rule... the narration must be done by an actual human being. Text-to-speech is not allowed. Audible listeners are expecting a performance by a person, so ACX will only accept that and nothing else.So, we've covered technical issues, and the submission requirements for ACX, which means we're done right...
Sorry about that, but there are other things we need to discuss and take into consideration. And all of it falls under "Performance". How good a narrator are you? Can you bring life to the words and characters or not? How fast should you be reading? What about pauses for the end of a sentence, etc., etc. Are you putting emphasis in the right place for the story?We'll go into all that in our next installment. But if you feel you've learned all you need, perhaps you're already an actor or someone who's just a natural at loud readings. If you are, then best of luck to you and go get 'em!As for everyone else, I'll see you in a couple of weeks. Until then keep writing and reading my friends.
Yeah, what the 10th Doctor is saying. There are a number of other non-technical requirements that we have to pay attention to, in order to submit our audio successfully. First off, you need to include opening credits. These are as follows:-The title of the audiobook-The subtitle, if there is one-Written by (Name of the Author)-Narrated by (Insert your name here)All of these need to be included in the very first file. Now you can submit this as a separate file, or as part of the first chapter.Speaking of chapters, each chapter should have its own sound file. When you submit to ACX you'll be submitting an entire folder of files to them. And each file can only include one chapter, no matter how short. UNLESS... the chapter is so long that the sound file is going to be longer than 120 minutes. In that case, you'll be breaking that chapter up into more than one file. Remember, no single file can be longer than 120 minutes. ACX is very strict about this.And since we're discussing credits, there should also be closing credits at the end of the final chapter or at least the spoken words THE END. I myself prefer something like this. "The End. You have been listening to "Title of the Book", written by "Author Name" and narrated by "Your name here".You'll also want to have a separate file to submit that will be a sample of your work so the audience can get a taste of what awaits them inside your audiobook. Do not include anything that contains the opening/closing credits, music, or anything explicit. The sample can be anywhere from 1 to 5 minutes in length. So choose wisely, remember this is part of your 'hook' to get listeners to want to hear the entire story from start to finish.Another requirement ACX asks of submissions is 2-3 seconds of silence or "Room Tone". Remember where I mentioned having several seconds of silence where we used the "Noise Reduction" function, this is where that section comes into play again. Originally we used it to clean up the entire file. But now we need it as a lead in before any speaking takes place in a file, and they also want another 3-5 seconds at the end of each file. This is a requirement that can and will get you rejected, so make sure each of your files has this 1/2 to a full second at the beginning and 3-5 seconds of "Room Tone" at the end.Be careful of making sure each file is consistent in pacing, vocalization, sound levels, clear speaking, etc. Try to avoid loud mic pops, mouth noises, breathing, etc. (most of which we covered in the previous entries where we covered the technical requirements). Still, try to make sure there is a definite consistency throughout all the files so as not to irritate the listener. People love being drawn into a story and then jarred out of it because of a mistake someone made in the recording. This WILL lead to bad reviews and poor ratings of all your hard work. So take the time to make sure every file is clean and consistent for your own sake.Next up, Mono or Stereo channel formats. Whichever format you choose ALL the files associated with the audiobook in question must be in the same format. I myself stick to Mono which makes my life so much easier. I personally don't really know the difference between the two, but Mono is what I use and I keep things consistent that way.Finally, ACX has one final rule... the narration must be done by an actual human being. Text-to-speech is not allowed. Audible listeners are expecting a performance by a person, so ACX will only accept that and nothing else.So, we've covered technical issues, and the submission requirements for ACX, which means we're done right...Sorry about that, but there are other things we need to discuss and take into consideration. And all of it falls under "Performance". How good a narrator are you? Can you bring life to the words and characters or not? How fast should you be reading? What about pauses for the end of a sentence, etc., etc. Are you putting emphasis in the right place for the story?We'll go into all that in our next installment. But if you feel you've learned all you need, perhaps you're already an actor or someone who's just a natural at loud readings. If you are, then best of luck to you and go get 'em!As for everyone else, I'll see you in a couple of weeks. Until then keep writing and reading my friends.
March 23, 2020
Adventures In Audio Recording - Part V
Okay, we covered a lot of technical details in the last entry, but there’s still one more thing I want to talk about today, before going on to other details to consider when doing an audio recording. Regretfully, I’m one of those people with asthma so on occasion you can actually hear me taking a deep breath from time to time in the raw recordings. I do try my best to watch my breathing while I’m recording, but occasionally I take one of those deeper ones that the microphone catches. Now, this may not be a huge problem for audiobooks, but if you’re doing recordings of yourself singing it can be a BIG problem. So to keep yourself covered on both fronts let me introduce you to Noise Gate.Now, in my case Noise Gate was one of those Effects that I needed to add to Audacity. You may want to refer back to this YouTube Video for how to add an effect to your Audacity:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MdQq9W6Ot2wOf course you’ll want to know where do I find the Noise Gate effect so I can upload it?Here’s the link:https://wiki.audacityteam.org/wiki/Nyquist_Effect_Plug-ins#Noise_GateJust click on (noisegate.ny) Download and follow the instructions in the YouTube video to get it into your Audacity Effects Arsenal.Okay, now that you have Noise Gate among your Audacity Effects, bring up one of your recordings that you’ve done. Select the entire recording and go to Effects and scroll down the list until you find Noise Gate. Mine looks like this:
From the first three options Select Function, Stereo Linking, and Appy Low-Cut Filter: are already selected in this image so just leave them like this. The same holds true for Gate Frequencies Above, that 0.00 setting is just fine.The only things I changed were the following: – Level Reduction: -30.0 – Gate Threshold: -30.0 – Attack/Decay: 50.0It will remain at these settings unless you change things. Then I hit the OK button and that’s it. On occasion you might need to hit the Debug button, but that may only be the first time you use it, if at all.This should take out the breaths and now you will have a very clean recording.From here select the entire recording (Select All) and go to that Analyze option on your Audacity toolbar and select ACX Check. If I’ve done my job explaining things well you should be meeting ACX’s requirements. If not, the analyzer will tell you where you’re falling short and what areas need to be adjusted. Remember I’m a NOOB when it comes to technical things so you might want to refer to those videos I listed in the previous entry to get more details and insights.Okay, now you’ve got all your effects and chains in place and you can clean up any recordings you put together. So what else do we have to watch out for? We’re set, right?Sorry gang, there’s still more to cover (which is why this series has so many installments). In the next entry we’ll be covering ACX’s other submission requirements: such as giving title, author, who’s narrating, pacing, silence at the beginning and end, chapters, etc.That’s going to be a lot of material in and of itself so I’m going to close this entry here for now. In the meantime, experiment with Audacity, learn its many other tricks and functions that I haven’t even touched on. Watch YouTube videos for tutorials, etc.But above all, keep reading and recording my friends.
March 11, 2020
Adventures in Audio Recording - Part IV
Okay folks today we get down into some of the actual nitty-gritty with the Audacity program. I'm going to be covering a fair amount of info here, while also supplying youwith links to various videos that helped me. This way if my own instructions are not clear, or maybe you work better with a visual, you'll have the link to see exactly what's going on.Now I'm going to introduce you to what I refer to as "My Best Friend" in Audacity. It's called the CHAIN. What the chain does is applies several clean-up "Effects" that will improve the quality of your recording in one shot. Mind you, it is possible to do every Effect separately, but you'll probably need to do it every one at a time, whenever you do a recording. The Chain command will have all the Effects preset at the levels you already need in order to meet ACX's requirement guidelines and will save you a LOT of time.However, we will have to do those presets while creating the Chain. This may take some time, but as I said before, in the future you'll be able to select the Chain command and it will do it all in one shot. So let's get started.
Looking at the image above you'll see Audacity in all its complicated-looking glory. Don't worry it's not that scary really. Clicking on "FILE" you'll get a drop down menu. Just under the Import Option you'll see Chains. Bring your cursor over it and it will give you two more options Apply Chain and Edit Chains. You'll want "Edit Chains" so click on that. This is what should come up:
Of course in your case there may not be any Chain names in that first column, aside from maybe MP3 conversion, that came with mine, but I don't know if this is true for everyone. Nevertheless, you have to create a new chain command of your own. So down at the bottom you'll hit the Add button. This will start your new Chain. I gave mine the name ACX so I know exactly what it does.After you give it a name the next thing you'll see that you have that name highlighted under your Chain List. In the other box you'll see 01 End. That will wind up getting pushed down to the bottom of your list as you add each effect, so don't panic. At the bottom of your screen you'll click on Insert which will bring this up next:
Now you have a list of Effects to choose from. I started with Equalization so select that one. Once you have it hi-lighted you'll see at the top of that box a button that says "Select Parameters" hit that. This will bring up another screen that looks like this:
Looks intimidating doesn't it? But all I want you to do is go to the bottom where it says Select Curve and choose the Low Roll-Off For Speech option. Then you'll take the Length of Filter arrow just above that line towards the right and move the arrow to about 5000. Then click OK.Congratulations, you've just taken care of your Equalizer Effect. Now we're back on our Command Select screen with Equalization still chosen. You'll now hit the OK button on that screen and see that Equalization is now part of your Chain.Not so bad, right? Now we're going to hit the Insert to add another Command to the Chain. This time I want you to choose RMS Normalize for your next command.*NOTE: If this or any of the other options I'm telling you to choose is not among your selections, you'll need to add it to your options. Should this be the case with you, I recommend watching video which is easy to understand and really helpful visually. I used it and it saved me a lot of aggravation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MdQq9W6Ot2w. Mind you you might need to restart Audacity to get it to show up among your Select Command options, so make sure you save the Chain you've been creating BEFORE closing Audacity down. That way all you've done is already still there when you go under File and hit Edit Chains which will bring up your list again and you can select it to continue inserting the new command/effects.Now back to RMS Normalize. Now remember to choose RMS Normalize, instead of Normalize. These are two very different functions and ACX is focused on RMS Normalize so choose it. Once again it will be hi-lighted and you'll choose Set Parameters at the top of that window. Once there you'll get a small window (which I cannot find an image of online #*@%!!! -those symbols were me cursing under my). However, without the image I can tell you there is very little to do here. You'll simply enter -20.00 in the box marked Target RMS Level. You'll also make sure the Normalize Sterio Channels is set at "Independently". Then hit OK. This will take you back to Select Command and you'll hit OK on that window. Now you have both Equalize and RMS Normalize in your chain.*ANOTHER NOTE ABOUT RMS NORMALIZE: If after you run your chain and you go to ACX Analyze and it may come back saying the RMS Normalize did not meet their standards. If this happens go under Effects, choose RMS Normalize and this will in turn take you back to that same screen where you set the Target RMS Level. Don't change anything. Simply hit the "Debug" button (while having your entire recording selected so it will be applied to the whole thing), and then run the ACX Analyzer again after that. This happened to me the very first time I ran my chain and it fixed the problem. And apparently it has become the default because I've never had this problem with the RMS Normalizer ever again. Hopefully, you'll have the same luck.Finally, we come to the last command in my Chain and that is Limiter. Once again we are back on the Chain screen and hitting Insert. This time from the Select Command we choose Limiter and go back up to the top and click "Edit Parameters". This is the screen that should come up:
Here you will choose the following. First you'll want to choose Soft Limit under Type. Then you'll choose 0 for both Input Gains (or if that's already your option just leave it). Then -3.5 for Limit to (dB). and finally 10 for Hold (ms). As for Apply Make-up Gain: choose the No option. Then click OK. Then select OK on Select Command and you'll see it as part of your Chain. From here, you'll simply hit the OK button at the bottom of the Chain Command screen and you are done. You now have a working Chain that you can apply to your entire recording.To do this, you'll got to Select at the top of your Audacity screen and choose All. Then you'll go to File and choose Chains and this time select Apply Chain. From there you'll select whatever name you gave the Chain and select "Apply To Current Project" and from there the magic happens. The program will tell you which effect it is working on then go straight to the next one and so on until it finishes. You'll see a visible difference in the wave-lengths of your recording and when you play it you'll notice a huge difference in the sound quality. Here's an example of one of mine, the first is the "Raw" unclean version, and the second is how things sound after applied the Chain command.RAW RECORDING:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yi0ckZKHFtoAFTER CHAIN APPLIED:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DDKbpmmwI8w
Again you could have applied all these steps individually, but again the time it took to just set this Chain up would be just as long. But now that you have that Chain you'll be done in way less time.Now if anyone found me sounding condescending in how I wrote this piece, please understand I am a total Novice when it comes to tech and I know I'm not the only one out there. So I tried to keep this in terms I know I would understand if I was a reader with the same lack of knowledge.And in case I left anything out or didn't explain the processes correctly here are the video links that cover this same material. It took me hours to find these but they were so worth it in the end.How to Make Your Voice Sound Like Studio Quality in Audacity:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=20DtRBJXWXU&list=PLjgeYVyMyvJxzwyZjepXTyey_gTeGiF2K&index=25&t=97sMaking Your Voice Sound Better In Audacity:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TYF5ytMDFpA&list=PLjgeYVyMyvJzrsl94TaEtLVVZts6O10a9&index=3&t=0sAudacity for ACX:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wnutKoBzmpA&list=PLjgeYVyMyvJzrsl94TaEtLVVZts6O10a9&index=6&t=18sThe last video involves adding a Noise Gate, which I will go into in the next installment of this series. I'd do it here, but I've probably already overloaded you all with enough info. But watch the video by all means and if you choose to experiment on your own, that's great.Until next time keep writing and recording my friends.
January 7, 2020
2019 In Review and What's Coming In 2020
New Year's is a time for reflection and looking ahead... or so I've been told. My first thought was "I didn't really get that much done this year. I don't have much to say or show for it." Then at the urging of Helen I pulled out a pen and paper and started making a list. The results surprised me.
I created not one but three book covers. This is the most art I've done in one year in I don't know how long. Two of them were of course for Helen's new The Forever Detective Series. The other was a new cover for "The Vampyre Blogs - Coming Home" which we re-released as the first Young Adult (YA) installment of our Para-Earth Series.Speaking of Helen's new series, we created not one but two book trailers, one for each book.This was the first time I'd ever made a book trailer and it was a blast. Helen wrote a short script for each and also found a bunch of images she wanted used in them. I not only supplied the expertise in turning it all into a video, but also the voice-over.Now all this voice-over work, as brief as it was, led to yet another new project. At the urging of many others, I started looking into creating audiobooks. I spent a couple of months researching equipment and software and how to use it all. Eventually, I finally started recording a couple of our short stories from our anthology "The Vampyre Blogs - One Day At a Time" and got some seriously positive feedback, as well as some solid tips.Here's one of them:I've recorded several more in the meantime, with the hopes of eventually having the entire anthology recorded in the coming months.This leads me back to my efforts to get into creating full-scale audiobooks. In spite of all my research and blogging about all the technical aspects of creating an audiobook (there are seven entries in this blog already with a few more to come) I still wasn't sure I was ready to fully go for it. Then in early November I went to a class about voice-over work and got the reassurance I needed from a pro. As she told me in an e-mail "You've got the chords for this..."With this in mind I've been fully throwing myself into completing the audio recordings of Helen's first solo book "Forever's Too Long". To date 20 of the 22 chapters are recorded and edited. I have re-record two more and get them edited. Once their done and meet with her approval (I had recorded them earlier but neither of us were happy with the results hence the do-over) we will be submitting the entire set to Audible. We're hoping this will happen no later than the end of this month (January 2020). From there I intend to continue recording more stories from the anthology as well as begin turning her second book "Forever Haunted" into an audio, as well as "The Vampyre Blogs - Coming Home" in which Helen will be lending her vocal talents to bringing those characters more to life.Some of you may be wondering why I haven't started turning "The Bridge" or "The Ship" into audiobooks, instead of jumping to "The Vampyre Blogs - Coming Home" and "TVB - One Day At a Time". The answer is simple, length. Both "The Bridge" and "The Ship" are much longer than any of the other books I'm tackling and will take a great deal more time to record. Plus, I still have to come up with voices for all the various characters in those two books. So until I've nailed down voices for everyone, those are on the slow track for now, but they will be happening.But getting back to 2019, with all this artwork and recording, did I get ANY writing done? The answer is of course I did. Some of it was on the long-awaited sequel to "The Bridge" and "The Ship".
"The Door" is fully under way, and will hopefully finally see the light of day by the end of this year if not sooner. As this book is a major turning point in the Para-Earth Series, I really want to get this book completed as much as people want to read it. However, some of it's progress will depend on another writing project with my other collaborator Rich Caminiti.
"The Pass" has been one of the most ambitious projects I've worked on to date. It is also the only book I've worked on as a long-distance collaboration, which has involved trading off chapters and as well many, MANY Skype sessions. But Rich and I are closing in on a finished 1st draft and then the process of creating a 2nd cleaner draft will begin in another month or so. So I will have much to do on that front. After the 2nd draft, it will be sent to beta-readers and an editor for further clean-up. Our hopes is to have the book out by the end of the year, but we will see what happens. We refuse to rush the book without getting it as clean and exciting as possible. And on a side note, the 2nd installment of that tale is also under way as I write. So more on that will be coming in future blog posts.Also on the writing front I completed 3 brand new short stories for our other site "The Vampyre Blogs - Private Edition". Two of those tales were rather lengthy and took several months apiece to complete. Yet in spite of their length, they are still considered short stories and not novelettes or novellas.So that covers most of 2019.What's in store for 2020?
Well, I've already covered the fact that I'm close to releasing a complete audiobook, which I hope to follow with at least 2 more before year's end. As I mentioned earlier, one will be "The Vampyre Blogs - One Day At a Time" anthology, the other will be Helen's 2nd book "Forever Haunted". I've got voices prepared for both titles and depending on how things go I may get "The Vampyre Blogs - Coming Home" under way as well.When it comes to my own writing getting "The Pass" into a finished 2nd draft and sent to beta-readers and an editor are the top demands. Rich and I would like to see it reach readers by the end of the year, but I know from experience that there's still so much to do before that can happen. But we will see.I'm already planning several new short stories for "The Vampyre Blogs - Private Edition" as well as beginning preparations to put together and 2nd anthology with several never before seen stories included."The Door" of course is another priority for me. I'd really like to see that finished and prepped for release this year. With luck, and patience, I hope to make that actually happen.And of course, I'll be making new book trailers as well as helping format Helen's next two books in her Forever Detective series.
So that's what's been and what is coming. There's a lot on our plates, but we'll keep bringing you new posts regarding all these projects and more so stay tuned. Please accept this late wish for a HAPPY NEW YEAR to you all and as always keep writing.
I created not one but three book covers. This is the most art I've done in one year in I don't know how long. Two of them were of course for Helen's new The Forever Detective Series. The other was a new cover for "The Vampyre Blogs - Coming Home" which we re-released as the first Young Adult (YA) installment of our Para-Earth Series.Speaking of Helen's new series, we created not one but two book trailers, one for each book.This was the first time I'd ever made a book trailer and it was a blast. Helen wrote a short script for each and also found a bunch of images she wanted used in them. I not only supplied the expertise in turning it all into a video, but also the voice-over.Now all this voice-over work, as brief as it was, led to yet another new project. At the urging of many others, I started looking into creating audiobooks. I spent a couple of months researching equipment and software and how to use it all. Eventually, I finally started recording a couple of our short stories from our anthology "The Vampyre Blogs - One Day At a Time" and got some seriously positive feedback, as well as some solid tips.Here's one of them:I've recorded several more in the meantime, with the hopes of eventually having the entire anthology recorded in the coming months.This leads me back to my efforts to get into creating full-scale audiobooks. In spite of all my research and blogging about all the technical aspects of creating an audiobook (there are seven entries in this blog already with a few more to come) I still wasn't sure I was ready to fully go for it. Then in early November I went to a class about voice-over work and got the reassurance I needed from a pro. As she told me in an e-mail "You've got the chords for this..."With this in mind I've been fully throwing myself into completing the audio recordings of Helen's first solo book "Forever's Too Long". To date 20 of the 22 chapters are recorded and edited. I have re-record two more and get them edited. Once their done and meet with her approval (I had recorded them earlier but neither of us were happy with the results hence the do-over) we will be submitting the entire set to Audible. We're hoping this will happen no later than the end of this month (January 2020). From there I intend to continue recording more stories from the anthology as well as begin turning her second book "Forever Haunted" into an audio, as well as "The Vampyre Blogs - Coming Home" in which Helen will be lending her vocal talents to bringing those characters more to life.Some of you may be wondering why I haven't started turning "The Bridge" or "The Ship" into audiobooks, instead of jumping to "The Vampyre Blogs - Coming Home" and "TVB - One Day At a Time". The answer is simple, length. Both "The Bridge" and "The Ship" are much longer than any of the other books I'm tackling and will take a great deal more time to record. Plus, I still have to come up with voices for all the various characters in those two books. So until I've nailed down voices for everyone, those are on the slow track for now, but they will be happening.But getting back to 2019, with all this artwork and recording, did I get ANY writing done? The answer is of course I did. Some of it was on the long-awaited sequel to "The Bridge" and "The Ship"."The Door" is fully under way, and will hopefully finally see the light of day by the end of this year if not sooner. As this book is a major turning point in the Para-Earth Series, I really want to get this book completed as much as people want to read it. However, some of it's progress will depend on another writing project with my other collaborator Rich Caminiti."The Pass" has been one of the most ambitious projects I've worked on to date. It is also the only book I've worked on as a long-distance collaboration, which has involved trading off chapters and as well many, MANY Skype sessions. But Rich and I are closing in on a finished 1st draft and then the process of creating a 2nd cleaner draft will begin in another month or so. So I will have much to do on that front. After the 2nd draft, it will be sent to beta-readers and an editor for further clean-up. Our hopes is to have the book out by the end of the year, but we will see what happens. We refuse to rush the book without getting it as clean and exciting as possible. And on a side note, the 2nd installment of that tale is also under way as I write. So more on that will be coming in future blog posts.Also on the writing front I completed 3 brand new short stories for our other site "The Vampyre Blogs - Private Edition". Two of those tales were rather lengthy and took several months apiece to complete. Yet in spite of their length, they are still considered short stories and not novelettes or novellas.So that covers most of 2019.What's in store for 2020?Well, I've already covered the fact that I'm close to releasing a complete audiobook, which I hope to follow with at least 2 more before year's end. As I mentioned earlier, one will be "The Vampyre Blogs - One Day At a Time" anthology, the other will be Helen's 2nd book "Forever Haunted". I've got voices prepared for both titles and depending on how things go I may get "The Vampyre Blogs - Coming Home" under way as well.When it comes to my own writing getting "The Pass" into a finished 2nd draft and sent to beta-readers and an editor are the top demands. Rich and I would like to see it reach readers by the end of the year, but I know from experience that there's still so much to do before that can happen. But we will see.I'm already planning several new short stories for "The Vampyre Blogs - Private Edition" as well as beginning preparations to put together and 2nd anthology with several never before seen stories included."The Door" of course is another priority for me. I'd really like to see that finished and prepped for release this year. With luck, and patience, I hope to make that actually happen.And of course, I'll be making new book trailers as well as helping format Helen's next two books in her Forever Detective series.So that's what's been and what is coming. There's a lot on our plates, but we'll keep bringing you new posts regarding all these projects and more so stay tuned. Please accept this late wish for a HAPPY NEW YEAR to you all and as always keep writing.
October 17, 2019
Adventures In Audio Recording - Part III
Okay, so getting ready to record in the privacy of your own home. Sadly, this will not always be easy. Finding a quiet spot to set up is always tricky at best. But here are a few do's and don't's:1 - DON'T use your bathroom! It may have great acoustics for singing, but for recording an audio book, not a great choice. Too much echo, unless of course you want that effect for a particular scene where the character is in a cave/tunnel. But not ideal for an entire book. You'll drive your listeners crazy.2 - Do not have any laundry, dishwasher, or loud fans going anywhere nearby. If you've got a really good microphone, guess what it will be picked up in the background. Not acceptable to ACX requirements.3 - Make sure the windows are closed so you don't pick up outside noises, like traffic or kids playing.4 - Be prepared to start over... repeatedly! Things happen. You accidentally step on something, or your clothing is crinkly, etc. Where something comfortable and quiet.5 - Have some water/drink on hand to take a swig between takes (or even sentences). Remember, with Audacity you'll have the capability to delete sections where something happened you didn't realize got picked up by the mic.Some of you are probably wondering, "How do I delete a section in Audacity?" It's very simple. When you record Audacity not only records but gives you a visual on your computer screen as depicted in the shot below.
You'll notice how one section of the narration is already hi-lighted. For this discussion let's say that's the are you want to delete. Well once you have the area you want to go, simply select it and hit your delete button. It's that simple. Just be careful you're selecting just the section you want gone. If you delete too much, you do have the option of "Undoing" the delete by simply moving your cursor over to the Edit on the toolbar line and selecting Undo. Then you can go back and select just the area you had intended to delete. Audacity can be very forgiving. But this only works if you haven't done another delete already. The Undo is only good for undoing what you just got rid of, not something you removed several deletes back.The same holds true while you're recording. If you make a major goof one trick I've learned is to snap my fingers near the microphone. This will create a big spike on your Audacity recording so you have a visual which makes it easy to go back and figure out where the error occurred and delete it later on. I will also snap my fingers again when I'm restarting so I can find the dead area between the snaps to delete.As a rule I DO NOT stop the recording when I make a mistake. I use those snaps and keep recording. I'll even do this when I've recorded a section but wasn't happy with how it sounded to me. *Remember how I said in the last post that the headphones plug into the Blue Yeti microphone so I hear exactly what the mic is picking up*. Well if I feel I didn't do a good job on that last section, I'll snap and redo it. Believe me, those snapping fingers will become your best friend when it comes to editing your recording on Audacity. It makes it so easy to find those sections and delete them and it will save you a lot of time.Okay, let's say you've finished your recording and have gone through the process of deleting the sections you wanted removed. What comes next? You'll probably wind up with a raw version that sounds like this:You can hear me taking breaths as well as a few noises that the mic still picked up in the background in spite of all my efforts to make things quiet in the room. Furthermore, the decibel levels in some areas will not meet ACX's requirements. What do we do about those? Well, for sake of length I'm going to cover all of that in our next installment. Sorry if this leaves some of you hanging, but to cover the material properly it will probably be a lengthy entry complete with examples and YouTube links to videos where I learned a lot of what I will be covering.So stay tuned and keep writing and practice reading aloud my friends.
September 19, 2019
Adventures In Audio Recording - Part II
Okay, continuing with my adventures in recording audios, I left off last time with the image above. Now what you are seeing are the Blue Yeti Microphone, which had a huge amount of reviews over on Amazon. It's a very versatile microphone in the respects thatit can give you several options for picking up sound. It can do 360, if you want a room full of people involved (or to pick up background sound effects), it can do 2-way where you're on one side of the mic and someone else is directly opposite you, while filtering out the sides somewhat. It also has a setting called Cardioid which is the one I use for audios, this allows you to not have to be directly in front of it at all times, so if you like to move a bit and perform as you record a scene, it catches everything you're saying. These will plug into your computer's USB port, so no special attachments. Also, the cord is very long (about 6-7 feet) so you have some freedom of where to set up to get away from your computer and not pick up sound from it.Now I warn you in advance, this microphone costs at least $90-100+ depending on several factors. Number one are you buying a package deal where you also get a pop filter/professional foam windscreen that fits on top of the Blue Yeti for further filtering of noise. If you're just getting the microphone go through the color selection. Believe it or not, which color you get it in can raise or lower the price a fair amount. Because I chose this blue color, I got mine for just under $105 instead of being charged $120 if I'd taken the Black or Silver.Don't ask me why color matters I have no idea. I just went with what was cheaper and it kind of reminded me of the color of the Tardis in Dr. Who... one of my all time fav shows.Also, I warn you that this is NOT a small microphone. In its stand that comes with the microphone, this puppy is a full 1 foot tall and almost 3-4 inches wide at the base. The microphone itself can be removed from the base and attached to a swing arm, but make sure the arm can handle the weight and stay in position. There are swing arms designed for the Blue Yeti, but that's more money so go with what your budget will allow. Personally, I just keep mine on a bureau in a quiet corner of my room and record while standing and performing. Now when I say performing, I mean reading not singing. I like to add silent gestures as I record which allows me to get more emotion and emphasis to come across in the readings.
Next you'll want closed over the ear headphones. In my case, they plug directly into the bottom of the Blue Yeti Microphone. This is a big plus in my book, because I could hear exactly how I sound over the mic as well as hear background noise that is being picked up. This in turn allowed me to turn things off, re-position the mic to cut down a lot of the noises it was picking up. And believe me, even in Cardioid mode, that mic will pick things up so pay attention to what you're hearing. I don't have a specific brand of headphones to recommend I've had this pair for 2 years already and with the way technology keeps changing, they are probably obsolete. But they're great for my purposes.
Now comes the biggie, what audio recording system to use. In my case, I went with Audacity which is a free download (here's the link: www.audacityteam.org/download/).
I highly recommend getting fully acquainted with this software and its many features. And believe me it has a lot! Now, if you're like me (who is a complete audio neophyte) you may want to go over to YouTube and look up some videos to learn how to navigate and use Audacity to its fullest before launching into full-recording mode. If you're already well-versed, I salute you and wonder where the hell were you when I was looking for advice.I will go much deeper into the specific functions I use with Audacity in another post, but for now I wish to focus on the equipment I'm using. But one thing I will say about Audacity is that it has one particular function I'm very excited about. Along the toolbar at the top of the screen of Audacity is a button titled Analyze. When you click on that, a pull down menu appears and one of the options is ACX Check, which will become your best friend/enemy. When you've got your recording done an think it's ready to go, you will click on ACX Check and it will analyze your work and tell you whether or not it meets the technical sound requirements to be moved onto Audible. If your recording doesn't meet the standards, it will tell you why and what needs to be improved.Now all of what I've covered today is strictly for recording inside your own home. If you can rent studio space, they'll have all the equipment and soundproofing already covered (hopefully). I've never been to one, so I cannot say much on that front. But, recording audios in your own home can be done, but it will take some effort. I'll cover what I did to prepare and get cleaner sounding recordings in the next two-three installments of this blog.Until then, take care and keep writing/recording my friends...
August 8, 2019
Adventures In Audio Recording
As many of you have learned from my last post, my great adventure in audio recordings has begun. So far I have recorded only the one short story "Wolves and the Northern Lights", which comes from our first anthology book "The Vampyre Blogs - One Day At a Time". But simply recording one story is a far cry from turning a full-length novel into an audiobook. However, that is indeed my long term goal. At this point, I'm keeping things simple for myself as I still get used to the equipment both for recording as well as editing to get the best sound quality for listeners.To keep things manageable for myself, I'm planning on recording the rest of the 25+ stories from the anthology, as well as slowly begin recording it's predecessor "The Vampyre Blogs - Coming Home". Like the anthology, that novel is mainly comprised of blog, e-journal, and e-diary entries from various characters in the book. And I plan on doing different voices for the authors of each entry, in an effort to bring the entire story and cast more to life for you all.I have already started compiling what I call my "Voice Library", which currently contains over 140 different voices (most based on actors and characters from movies, television, and even cartoons). I've always been a vocal mimic since childhood, and am taking great joy in finding a constructive outlet for all those years of trying to amuse myself and friends. I may share some brief recordings here, featuring some of the voices so you can get a better idea of just how versatile I can be.But with all that said, the main topic I'd like to share with you all how I've been able to make all this happen. I know many of you might be wondering if I rent time at a local recording studio, or did I set up my own inside my home? If I'm doing it at home (which I am), how much special equipment did I have to buy? Did I have to soundproof an entire room? Who is doing the editing of my recordings? Will they be available through Amazon's Audible program? If they will be available through Audible, how did I submit my work to them? What are their requirements, etc.?
Okay, let's begin with how I got started down this particular path. As I've mentioned in a post last August when I first began thinking about this, I had been asked many times if any of our books were available in audio. Whenever I said I'd been thinking about it, but couldn't decide on a reader I would be told "You should do it yourself! You've got a great voice..." So that of course got me thinking.I did wind up trying a few samples back then, but I wasn't happy with the quality of the recordings and kind of went off the idea a bit.Then Helen not only began but finished her first solo novel. Besides listening and helping beta-read for her, I wound up doing the cover art for her. Then we had to focus on marketing the book to build up interest. So besides promoting the book on blogs, FB, Twitter, etc. but I wound up creating my very 1st book trailer. Anyone wanting to see the results can click on this YouTube link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wNoPA_ytUvc.While not 100% perfect, I was quite happy with the results, especially the voice-over you hear in the trailer. Shortly afterwards we held a book launch party for her novel “Forever’s Too Long”. During the party I did something I’ve been thinking about for some time but never tried, namely loud readings using the voices of character’s appear in the scene for those who attended. Their responses were much more positive than I’d expected.As a result, I finally decided to go ahead and begin doing audio readings. But first I had to start gathering the right equipment for such an undertaking.TO BE CONTINUED...
