Back At It

I mentioned a few days ago that I had done an interview with Jim and Chris Guld from the Geeks on Tour about self-publishing. It will air on their YouTube channel today at 2 PM Eastern time and you can watch it at this link. It was a fun interview and I think you might enjoy it.

The Geeks have many, many years of experience presenting seminars at RV rallies and other venues about all kinds of technical things from digital cameras to computers, and more. You can sign up for their free newsletter here.

I spent some time goofing off yesterday. With cooler weather hopefully headed our way sometime in the next couple of months, I have been trying to figure out a way to convert the trailer that my Old Town Predator PDL kayak is on to carry two kayaks. Terry and I both have regular Old Town Predator kayaks, and then I acquired the PDL and the trailer. That doesn’t include our two inflatable Sea Eagle kayaks and the Bennington pontoon boat. I have my own flotilla.

The standard Predators weigh 86 pounds, and the PDL is 117 pounds. Yes, I know there are lighter kayaks available, but we like the size and stability of these. However, everything comes with a tradeoff. We have found that as we get older, lifting the front of the kayaks onto the tailgate of our pickup truck and shoving them inside becomes more of a problem, as does getting them back off and into the water. Even though I had the nerve ablation procedure on my back, I still can’t push it without getting into trouble again.

There is a great Facebook group about kayak trailer modifications, and I talked to some folks there and came up with a couple of ideas that I think will work. I am leaning toward this.

Since we only have to go 800 feet from our house down to the water and a boat launch, we don’t have to travel too far. So Terry and I are mulling over how best to do that. Well, let’s be honest, I come up with the ideas, and Terry comes up with how to make them happen. We have a division of responsibility that works well for us.

It’s like the division of responsibility here in the house. Terry is responsible for cooking, and I’m responsible for eating. The other day she made one of her delicious chicken pot pies. Forget Swanson or Marie Callender’s or any of that stuff you buy the grocery store, nothing compares to this. It’s full of chicken and sauce and vegetables, and the crust melts in your mouth. It was so good and so big that there was more than enough for leftovers the next day!

Besides looking for ideas for the kayak trailer online, I was back at it yesterday, writing in my new Big Lake book. I got two chapters done, which is not a lot yet, but it’s off to a good start and the words are flowing very well. I’ll have this one out by the end of the year, so be ready you Big Lake fans.

Speaking of new books, some of my author friends have really been busy lately. Ken Rossignol’s MURDER CHESAPEAKE: TRUE CRIME, REAL KILLERS contains 44 stories about everything from a lynching to hired killers to rich kids gone wild.

My buddy George Wier just released Amarillo Waltz, the 19th book in his excellent Bill Travis mystery series. Check it out.

Meanwhile, Donna B. McNicol just released Always on Duty, A new Klondike mystery novella.

And last, but certainly not least, Cameron Lowe’s Beast: A Rankin Flats Horror Tale is free today (Sunday). All of these should keep you in reading material for a while.

Today is your last chance to enter our Free Drawing for an RV camping journal donated by Barbara House. Barbara makes several variations of these, and they all have pages where you can list the date, weather, where you traveled to and from that day, beginning and ending mileage, campground information including amenities at RV sites, a place for campground reviews, room to record activities, people met along the way, reminders of places to see and things to do the next time you’re in the area, and a page for notes for each day. To enter, click on this Free Drawing link or the tab at the top of this page and enter your name (first and last) in the comments section at the bottom of that page (not this one). Only one entry per person per drawing please, and you must enter with your real name. To prevent spam or multiple entries, the names of cartoon or movie characters are not allowed. The winner will be drawn this evening.

Thought For The Day – How am I supposed to trust you when you keep running away every time I untie you?