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Monthly meandering

A lot happened this past month. I celebrated my two youngest daughters’ birthdays, fixed a flat on the RV and headed west. For a more in-depth look at my RV life and its recent challenges visit RoamingRaven.com.

The recovery of the author interviews on the external hard drive, that went swimming in the dog’s water dish, was a 95% recovery. The layering of the video is now in production. Tim Smith’s is in the final stages.

Mountain Bookfest canceled. Since Renee and I had several hard copies of “The Missing Locket” we gave the copies away in exchange for reviews. Ten ARC readers of “The Missing Locket” report, they want more. Yet, they have not left a review on Amazon in exchange for reading the novelette. If it is as good as they tell Renee and me, how will others know unless they leave a review on Amazon? The frustrations of being an author.

For a dollar a month, you can support Cleo and Joe’s dog bone habit on Patreon. You will receive several lens clips from us each day, and video, postings, etcetera not public on Instagram or YouTube.

FanGirl

Fangirl here!

And I have read none of his novels, well I read one ‘On Writing’. Yes, Stephen King. Each morning, I listen via YouTube one of his many interviews. Whether he speaks to high school students or the creative writing department of a university, he speaks to the person asking the question. I respect that.

He stated in one interview that he had coffee and breakfast with his wife then went to his office to write for three hours. I challenged myself to do the same. It didn’t work. Some days I need to be on the road by 10:00 a.m. to be at my next destination. The three hours I should have written, I spent driving.

My writing is similar to binge-watching a favorite television program or YouTube channel. I write an hour a day, and when I park for fourteen days, I developed a routine that works for me. I have coffee and listen to an interview. The dogs are up and stirring at that point so off for our morning walk. When we return, it’s time to hit the keyboard. I’ll work until I realize I haven’t moved for a while and then we go for another walk. I also go for a walk when my characters hit the proverbial block wall.

Other interviews I listen to are J. K. Rowlings, Margaret Atwood, Heather Graham, John Grisham, Dean Koontz to name a few others that have interviews on YouTube to listen and receive inspiration.

On YouTube.com/RoamingRavenRV I conduct author interviews of local authors of different cities. Who are you a FanGirl/Boy of?

The Missing Locket – The Séance Series

Eileen Thompson went missing when her son, Sam Thompson was fourteen years old. After years of investigations, law enforcement and private investigators found not a single trace of this respectable, reliable mother. The question lingered, what happened to Eileen Thompson?

Callie Prescot Sanchez and Danielle Galluccio Thompson characters from Because of You by Renee Pellegrino, reached out to psychic investigator Tracy Richards, a character from Small Bit of Justice by Cynthia Carver, to uncover information recovered during a seance that answered that specific question.

Each author writes their perceptive characters. This novella has two distinct voices.

Enjoy the thrilling adventures in The Missing Locket – The Seance Series is a collaboration blending two authors and their fictional world. This novelette is available as a paperback, ebook, and Kindle Unlimited.

Armchair Ghost Hunting

Many of you, might remember when I created a short PDF of this same name. This booklet is an improved version. Not only does it have the original links, but I’ve also included Amazon Affiliate links to the equipment I use in organized ghost hunts.

Because I know a few of you wanted the PDF in paper form, this is now a booklet with the links in a short format at the end of the book.

After debating whether those who aren’t familiar with me would enjoy this booklet, I gave it a chance.

For the clients that respond, ‘Oh I could never do that.’ This is a non-scary book about ghost hunting. You sit in the comfort of your own home, at your own computer and you watch for the ghost to appear. Some links will request for you to screenshot your ghost sighting and send it to them. They are very proud of the work you do from your armchair. You won’t need any of the tools listed when you hunt from your armchair.

Reorganizing my home office

What am I doing now? Reorganizing my home office at the farm. I moved my desk from the storage utility trailer into the living room and I really do plan on getting at least a couple manuscripts polished for publication.

First I have items to haul to the Salvation Army, Give (a medical give away for vets and others who need help affording their meds), along with heirlooms that family members will be given. To my surprise, I found my #2 daughter’s first violin. It is a 1/16th size. The bow is missing, I seem to remember a fight and her older sister breaking it. Other fun objects include antique metal cars, miniature porcelain flower vases, and my personal highchair my mother purchased with S&H green stamps.

Other things on my to-do-list in 2019 include choosing a couple conferences to attend and welcoming a new grandson. The grandson might arrive in 2018, never can tell with those little ones.

Do you really live in an RV?

Do you really live in an RV? Why, yes I do. I’ve lived in an RV for a couple of years now. Recently I moved back on to the farm while repairs are made. Some might say well then you don’t really live in an RV… I would have to disagree because of eight percent of my time is spent on the road. I’ve had renters that lived on the farm, and now it is my time to fix and repair before I hit the road again.

It does seem odd to me not moving daily, weekly, or at least a couple of times a month. This fall and winter, I will be taking short trips here and there. Always returning to finish projects that are in process. Currently, the bathroom is under construction including an actual new tub.

After this project, then I’ll begin in the master bathroom and rehang the door, change paneling and add new curtains. I know the rooms I want to remodel. I’m waiting on each room to let me know how they want to be designed. I know it sounds a bit weird, but the bathroom my ideas just wouldn’t become concrete as to what I wanted to do. Now they are very solid as well as the colors.

My thoughts on the current bathroom remodel. I would like the long wall corrugated barn siding galvanized metal and each end a white fiberglass. The tub is white. The walls will have a wallpaper above a faux wainscoting and all colors will be white, sand, turquoise and accents of a navy. I’m excited to see it finished and thoughts becoming things of beauty.

The RV is parked until my next trip. I do love to travel, meet new folks, and see new sites. In 2019 I want to make it to a couple of writers conferences and return to New Orleans again. Until next time…

When you run short on time and still want to write

When you run short on time and still want to write you either make time or dictate on the go. If you choose the later, then transcribing can be a chore. There are a lot of virtual assistants that do transcribe only and nothing else. Which means you will need to do all the edits yourself.

I have found that google docs have a voice typing tool. You dictate to google docs. This feature is not always accurate and sometimes when I use it, my article reads as if the aliens dictated it. Speak slowly, enunciate clearly, and read it often to make sure you are actually capturing what you dictate.

At times my southern twang drives it to the brink of a chaos hijinks. I do like and recommend it as a form of the old Dragon Speaks program. The drawback is it doesn’t work on all my devices.

Log into docs.google.com with your Gmail account and you have an online equivalent to Word, Excel, and Powerpoint.

Beginning Anew

Sometimes the website minions are against you and you lose a decade of blog posts. Singing a slightly off-key, well okay a Lot off-key, “Here we go again…”