Updates and an Apology...

 

Hello everyone. The image above, basically says it all about how I feel for being away from this blog for so long. And I wish to apologize to all for being MIA all this time. But this year has been... eventful to say the least for me. I'll give you a quick summary.

Now, I last posted here in March and spent the next few months leading into June by researching, viewing, studying how to prepare for my SSDI hearing before a judge. And believe me when I say, I RESEARCHED like crazy. Plus, there were a number of forms and documentation I had to get taken care of to strengthen my case. So, my brain was pretty much stuck in 'Prep-Mode' for that phone hearing, up to and even a bit beyond the date of that appointment. 

And, as hoped, I received notice in the mail in August that I had won. However, during that waiting period I was still mentally stuck in SSDI Limbo. Questions filled my head constantly like "What if I lose?", "Where do I go from there?", "How long would it take to appeal?" or "Will I land up back at square one?" So, no creativity was happening on just about any front.

But, as I said, I did win and got some serious back pay of SSDI which allowed me to pay off my student loans and get some delayed projects taken care of. Such as replacing two toilets here at our home. Both had been acting up, but mostly we needed taller toilets (especially me due to my leg and back problems). 

However, there were other issues in play that I had not been talking about as much. Pain in my back and legs had reached new highs, plus my ability to walk or even stand without risking a fall had become even more severely impaired. And it got to the point that I was referred to a Surgical Spine Specialist for further evaluation and possible surgery. 

Long story short, surgery became a necessity and I underwent a procedure late last month. And I've been spending the last weeks recovering. I'll be seeing my surgeon again for a follow-up this coming Thursday. 

I was unable to drive anywhere for a several weeks and could only tolerate short drives as a passenger. I also was spending a lot more time in my wheelchair or lying down during my recovery.  Again, not exactly conducive to creative productivity.

However, I'm more on my feet again. I'm still unsteady at times and while a good portion of the back pain has been diminished, there are other areas of pain and 'control' of my legs that are still heavily in question. In other words, I'm still heavily disabled in a number of ways.

Which led me to looking into possibly getting not one, but 2 stairlifts installed in our home. The longer of the 2 will lead down to the basement and our garage. The shorter lift will go from the ground level into the 2nd floor. We live in a tri-level home, and even though that one is only 5-6 steps, it's enough of a struggle for me some days that it would make my life a lot easier some days.

But... (drumroll please)

Um... that's good.

Uh, you can stop now... 

Yo! We get the idea...

ALRIGHT ALREADY! THAT'S ENOUGH! GET A GRIP!

Right! Getting back to investing in a couple of stairlifts. I had the folks from the stairlift company come and check out our layout, to see if this was even a viable option. Well, it was, so great news right? Well, sort of. 

Yes, they could install both stairlifts... PROVIDED, we had a couple of power outlets installed into the wall where we needed the stairlifts to be put. 

This brings us up to today! Sometime this week, electricians will come to take care of the outlet situation. Then in another week or so, I'll hear back from the stairlift people regarding their efforts to get the permits taken care of to do the installation. Which will take another couple of weeks to happen, depending on their schedule.

With all that said, I can tell you there will not be a new Halloween story for this blog this year sadly. Mind you, I had actually started, not just one but 2 new tales involving Nathan for Halloween. Unfortunately, both are growing well beyond a simple short story. Each may reach novella length at this rate, so all of us will have to wait and see how it goes. 

I have also been working on a new book cover for Helen's latest installment of her solo series, "The Forever Detective". For those new to this blog, that series revolves around a detective in 1940'a New York City. His first case winds up running him afoul of a nest of vampires, and his becoming one himself. However, he has managed to hold onto his soul and his humanity, and with the help of a select few friends, continues to take new cases for both regular folks, and the occasional supernatural beings. 

The upcoming novel in question is titled "Forever on Broadway" and will take her vampire detective (Rafael Jones) to the lights and stage boards of Broadway. There, an upcoming show "A Midsummer's Nightclub", strange disappearances have been happening with alarming regularity. 

Here's a glimpse at the cover I've been working on. It's still in the process of being finished but should be completed by the end of the month if not sooner. Hope you like what you see:

Now, given the time of year, and the urgency of getting Helen's book cover finished, as well as dealing with the electricians and stairlifts, a lot is going on. Which of course, also means my time and energies will be getting stretched and become more limited. So, I fear there will not be much new coming from me for the coming months (especially with the holidays practically upon us).  

Mind you, I will do what I can to keep things fresh and updated here and on our other blogs. I haven't had much time or energies to work on any new voiceover projects, much less the Library of the Obscure. But we will see what happens on those fronts. 

I do have several audios finished and can release them with limited accompanying imagery over at the Library of the Obscure, or as a podcast (something I've been considering as another outlet for my voicework projects). But we will see what happens. 

Right now, it's a case of taking each day as it comes for me. And we shall see how things play out. I still have a lot of desire for each of these projects; it's just a case of how much energy and time I have available to do any of them. 

So that's where things stand and I will keep you all abreast of how things go. But know that I will not be giving up on any of them, any time soon. 

In the meantime, I'll try and do better to post more often here and do take are of yourselves. Enjoy the holidays and please keep popping in to see what's what here. 

A New Year, Continuing Health Problem, New Beginnings...

 

Hello everyone, Happy New Year! Hope the holiday season treated you well. You probably noticed that the ever since I finished the "Red Fang" storyline, I've been re-sharing older short stores (or not so short like the "Cannibal Killer" tale). You are no doubt understandably wondering why there hasn't been anything new for so long. Well, up until September, my biggest concern was trying to get the left side of my sacro-iliac joint sorted out through physical therapy, and pain control injections. I was lined up to have ablation surgery done on the joint area in question, when I began having an unexplained increase in my heart rate. We're talking into the low-mid 100's even at rest. 

This of course alarmed my wife and my physician who has been subjecting me to a battery of tests, CAT scans, and X-rays. I'm pleased to report that the heart is in fine shape, and there are no irregularities in my heartbeats, aside from the elevated rates. Since then, I've been off work due to nearly passing out at one point and suffering fatigue and dizziness quite frequently. As of this post, we are zeroing in on a possible cause, but there are more tests to be done so I'll keep you updated. 

Now a quick rewind. After I finished the "Red Fang" story, I started focusing on the next novel "The Vampyre Blogs - Family Ties" and was making some good progress. I was also finishing the cover art for Helen's newest book (a short story collection which is part of her own series "The Forever Detective" books, which involve a private investigator who becomes a vampire but continues to be a detective and hold onto his humanity set in the 1940s).

Amazon Link: The Forever Detective Book Series

I also act as her formatter and submit her books to KDP Direct and Draft2Digital to get them into e-book and print forms, and I had that to take care of as well. 

And of course, I have become a voiceover actor and have turned four of her books into Audiobooks on Audible and Itunes:

    

   Audible Link: Audiobooks Forever Detective Series

Itunes Link: Helen Krummenacker on Apple Books

So, I was still keeping busy, in spite of my illness. I just didn't have a lot of creativity flowing for the most part until I was given a new medication for my high blood pressure which also has quieted down my heart rate to more normal levels. However, there are still other concerns regarding levels of sodium and cortisol which are continuing to plague me. But as I said before, we're getting closer to answers so I'm not too worried.

Anyway, since I've been feeling more creative once more, I've come up with a number of new tales for Nathan and company to be dealing with. A couple of them are slated for the second Vampyre Blogs Anthology, which I'm hoping might be released before this year is over. I've got a number of old stories that have not seen the light of day since their original release on this blog, but I really wanted a few never before seen ones as well. One involves a German U-boat during World War I, another involves a sex traffic ring which I will be putting a trigger warning for readers in case they want to skip that one. That tale will also show a little of Nathan's 'darker' side when it comes to harming innocents. 

I am also planning a special Halloween tale for you all on this blog, which may put a few of you in mind of old classic film "Invasion of the Body Snatchers". I won't say anymore, because I want you all to have fun reading that one when it comes out.

In the meantime, I'll be doing a few more re-runs of older stories here, but I wanted you all to know what's happening here on the homefront. 

Oh, I almost forgot to mention that I am currently taking some professional voice acting classes, while I have the down time from my work. I'm hoping this will lead to auditions and some paying work before the year is out. Who know? Maybe, I'll be able to one day retire from the county and do voice work full-time, as well as my writing. 

We'll see. But now you're in the loop. I thank you for your support of this blog and ask you all to keep on visiting and leaving your likes and comments.