Worship at the altar that is Izotope RX10

Because I have a limited budget and have the business sense not to throw all my money at non-money making endeavors, I don’t have the latest bells and whistles when it comes to editing audio. To make up for the this, I’ve learned a lot of EQ tricks to do the work that a simple plug-in can do, except I have to apply them to only snippets of audio instead of the whole file. But I did buy myself RX7 Elements years ago when it was on sale just for the de-clicker to get rid of mouth noise. It works, but I would never apply it to the whole audio file as it leaves artifacts and messes with the ending of words.

Every review I’ve read about the standard version of RX has been nothing but praise for the Mouth De-click, with everyone saying it’s worth the price for that alone. Izotope has a lot of sales throughout the year and I’ve been tempted to buy it many times, but held off because of money. I’m also a firm believer that fixing problems at the recording level is the first thing any voice actor should do; however, I have dry mouth and end up with a lot of mouth noise in my recordings. I’ve tried all the tricks to fix it and they simply don’t work. I yam who I yam.

This past Christmas, RX10 Standard went on sale and someone was kind enough to buy it for me as a present. I’ll admit, I was skeptical at first about the Mouth De-click, thinking it couldn’t be any better than the de-click you get with the elements version. Holy shit, yinz guys, was I wrong! It is amazing. For someone who has a dry mouth, this is worth the price of admission. The audio still sounds good if I apply it to a large chunk of it and it doesn’t seem to mess with the words that end in t or d or p. The de-esser is nice too, but I’ve found that my EQ settings are on par with theirs (which actually makes me kind of happy and proud of myself for arriving at that on my own), but I’ll use it more often than not anywya.

So, this was a short review on the fly to tell you that if you have the money, and if it goes on sale, get the full version of RX10 (or whatever number they’re on) because it is worth it. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have an audiobook to edit.

Link to website: https://www.izotope.com/

My review of Reaper as a DAW for voice over

Thanks to Mike DelGaudio aka Booth Junkie, I bought Reaper about five years ago. Not knowing much about audio editing software in the beginning, I didn’t embrace it right away, even after following along with his tutorial videos. I just recently finished up his course for configuring Reaper for voice over. Finally! And for the first time, I feel comfortable with the interface; however, I didn’t do all of Mike’s suggestions. I thought of what I want/need/am familiar with and customized it to my tastes. I even managed to learn how to do some editing techniques where I could see myself actually using Reaper for my voice over work.

However…

Am I going to use it? No, at least not fully, not yet. This DAW is…not easy. After you get it customized to your tastes, it becomes easier to navigate, but that doesn’t make it easier to use. Reaper is not what they call an “out of the box” software program. This is a very deep program with a lot of tentacles to it. In my opinion…for what I do (which is nothing more than editing narration/dialogue and adding sound effects and music occasionally), I’ve come to see that Reaper is too much for my needs. It’s over-the-top. I’m not an audio engineer or a person who makes music so I don’t understand 99% of what is there.

Would I like to use it? Yeah, sort of. I hate feeling defeated by a stupid software program. lol But this feels too much like advanced math or when I learned to code with Java for me. It’s bringing back some bad memories.

Is it a good program? Sure. It’s a good DAW. If you have time, which right now, I don’t because of two geriatric cats, and you want a robust program, I say go for it, but don’t beat yourself up if you can’t grasp it. I don’t believe that this DAW is for most everyone.

Why am I not going to use it? I’m still going to tinker with it, but the biggest reason for not going all in is because it’s simply too much for what I need and what I do. Look, if you’re sitting on the fence about this, try it out, but I’m of the camp that if it ain’t broke don’t fix it. There are so many little things that I do in Audacity that I haven’t been able to find a command for in Reaper…yet. My Audacity interface is so customized to my workflow that I can use it in my sleep. I hate Audacity because it’s so basic, but it fits my needs for now. Reaper isn’t an industry standard and, even though I hate the subscription model, if I get to a point where I’m making more money at this gig, then I’ll probably give Adobe Audition a go. I’m already familiar with Adobe’s platform as I use photoshop and premiere for publishing related things.

So, not good and not bad. It’s just not for me.

I’ll just leave this here

…for a bit, anyway. Although this can fit with most behemoth stores, this is a short video about just one. Why do I bring this up? As a published author, I sell very, very little on Amazon. The store never liked me. I sell more on Barnes and Noble and through the libraries than I do the Zon. Hell, I don’t know if you can even find my books through a search, which is why I always provide a direct link. The truth is, this happens to a lot of indie authors, not just me. If people can’t see your books, they won’t buy them no matter how good they are, but the harsh truth is (and fanboys/girls of Zon will criticize you if you point these things out, sour grapes and all that rot (like raisins, I guess? lol)) the store uses tactics to make it hard (and it’s gotten harder over the years) to have any kind of organic growth. I don’t hate Amazon, but I’m also not a fan and this video is why. I’ve been complaining about the pay-to-play scheme ever since sponsored ads have been implemented. Have you noticed how many sponsored products there are now compared to just two years ago? It’s awful. Shopping there has become a nightmare. Anyway, have a great day.

What am I doing right now?

The Lacey Stocking mysteries bundle is now available in ebook and audio!

As I’m sitting here, with a nice, hot cup of tea, mulling over which step to take next, I see I have a few options before me.

While I’m expending all my mental and emotional energy on getting this guy’s health under control…

it’s me, hi, i’m the problem it’s me.

I realize that I can’t create…anything. I just don’t have it in me, which kind of sucks because I have three books that need fixed and still want to write more Lacey Stocking scripts for youtube. Unfortunately, until I get my cat’s health under control, I can’t think of anything else. (I haven’t even decorated for Christmas.) This little dude has been through a lot this year and has been having the worst luck with vet visits. Someone tell me what the fuck is going on? lol

Anyway, where was I?

I’m learning Reaper, which is an audio editing software, and for the first time in five years I feel like I might have made some headway. But, let me tell you something about this program… Unlike Audacity, which is a clean, straightforward interface that is pretty much like most software programs we’re familiar with, like Word for example. Want to delete something? Highlight it and hit delete. Want to change how something looks? Highlight it and make the change. Audacity is like that; Reaper is…not. Everyone keeps saying how awesome this program is, but I’ve found it unnecessarily difficult and clunky. For two actions in Audacity, you might have to go through four difficult ones in Reaper, at least that’s how it feels now. Once I get more familiar with it, maybe I’ll think differently. I’m bound and determined to see this through. The only reason I’m learning this now is because of the equalizer. Reaper has powers that Audacity doesn’t have and that’s what I’m after.

While I’m learning, I’ve decided to turn another one of my books into audio. I started it a while ago and stopped to do Lacey Stocking (which I really like doing, by the way) and figured since I don’t have much mental energy for anything else, I’ll finish that up. It requires concentration but not creative energy. I need a distraction, yet I’m too distracted to create new work. I’ll get there, hopefully soon. This has been one messed up years for me and the cats. It took a few wake up calls from the universe before I began to suspect that something was rotten in the state of Denmark. Going to a different vet’s office out of necessity made me realize that he might not have been getting the best care where he was. Fingers crossed that we get back on course.

So that’s all for now. I have a few blog posts stewing in my brain. The one about AI is going to be a tough one to write, but one I need to get off my chest. Ciao!

Finishing strong? lulz!

Here it is, December, that bitch of a month where we take a look back at what we accomplished, where we failed, and feel this sense of urgency to get all the things done. In spite of the craziness that was one sick cat after another this year, I managed to get some stuff done, but as the end of the year is looking like a dead end street, I’ve begun to feel very discouraged with the rise of AI (I’ll probably write about that sometime soon), the fall of social media and wondering if it’s worth a single damn anymore, and the lack of visibility because algorithms. Wheeee!! Don’t ya just love it.

Anyway, I don’t usually like posting goals in a public space, but I might as well since I’m going to be spending more time on my website than in the past. So, let’s see, what do I want to accomplish?

1. Learn Reaper once and for all. Reaper is a DAW (digital audio workstation) that enables you to edit and process audio. A lot of voice actors love it, but it has a very steep learning curve. I currently use Audacity because it’s clean and simple, but I want to play in the big leagues, dammit, and Reaper is major league. Which means that while I’m learning Reaper, I won’t be doing any Lacey Stocking mysteries on youtube.

2. Blog more. There’s a reason and there might even be a post about it. This is bigger than me and it’s about ownership and control over what I do, what we all do, really. Plus, I miss the good ol’ days of LiveJournal and the writing community I was a part of there. I wish we could get back to that. Social media isn’t the same.

3. Answer the question: Am I still a writer? In the face of things, I’ve been struggling to stay positive. I also plan on writing a very lengthy and probably scathing review of what I’ve experienced and witnessed being an indie author over the past decade.

4. That being said, I have a few books in mind, but can I find it in me to write them? I hope.

5. Find hope again. The past three years, we’ve all taken a beating. This year was really rough on me and I didn’t realize it until just a month ago. It’s time to sparkle and shine with rays of hope. *giggles*

That’s all for now.

Comments are off because of spam.

A Lacey Stocking mystery bundle coming soon!!

I’m excited to announce the Lacey Stocking mystery bundle. It’ll be released in the next few days, as well as the audio version. Sorry for the abrupt announcement, but my cat was just diagnosed with hyperthyroidism, as well as having some underlying infection, and I’ve been trying to figure out a new routine for a cat who hates change more than most cats. Anyway, here’s the cover. I love it!!

An Almost End of Year Update

I’ve been working really hard at putting out the Lacey Stocking mysteries on my YouTube channel, and I love doing it, but right now, I’m dealing with two very senior cats who’ve been having health issues all year and it’s eating my brain. How I got anything done at all this year is a miracle! Anyway, I’m going to take a step back from putting anymore out for right now until my cats are feeling better. While that is going on, I’m going to put out some public domain stuff and write some more Lacey Stocking scripts which is really the most time consuming part.

Also, if all goes well, I’m going to be making some changes, have a few announcements coming up. Stay Tuned!

So long, Twitter

I’m no longer on Twitter. It’s been a long time coming, but since the changeover, I have decided to leave for good. I’m feeling better already. You can still find me on Instagram where I post lots of cat pictures or on YouTube where I post the audio of some of my flash fiction as well as things I like.

First chapter of A Family Matter : a Lacey Stocking mystery

A Family Matter is available for pre-order right now and will be released September 13, 2022, but in the meantime here’s the first chapter to whet your appetite.

Barnes & Noble, Apple, Kobo, etc. Amazon: US | UK | CA | AU

I glanced over my shoulder to make sure Hardley was keeping up. We were already running behind and there he was flirting with the new secretary at the insurance company down the hall from our office. “Did you lock the door?” I said it loud enough that Miss Long Lashes and Pouty Lips got the hint that batting those eyelashes of hers at my partner was interrupting his work. She took one look at me, scowled, and flounced away.

Disappointed, Hardley hung his head and grumbled. “I thought you did.” Tall and lanky, he was the spitting image of Hollywood actor, Dan Duryea. Hardley had a mix of toughness and charm about him, but mostly Hardley was, I hated to say it, a little on the goofy side.

“Look, fella, your name is on the door.”

“Fine. Hold the elevator.”

It was wrong to play tricks on him when he was chasing all the skirts in the building, but I got a good laugh out of it. It kept him on his toes and us on time for our appointments. Mostly. Deep down, even if he wouldn’t admit it, he enjoyed it too.

Starting Hardley A. Witt Detective Agency was my idea. I had wanted to be a cop ever since I was little, just like my father and my two brothers, but good ol’ Dad wouldn’t stand for his only daughter putting her life in danger on the streets of Chicago. So, after he passed away, I moved to the Pittsburgh area and became a secretary for Standard City Bank where I met Hardley. In his police uniform. Standing in the lobby. Looking bored out of his mind. We became friends and soon found ourselves in compromising situations that usually involved thugs, thieves, guns, Hardley getting a black eye, and me calling on the police to help him out. I suggested going legit and after getting our license we started our own agency. Unfortunately, without his name on the door, no one took me seriously as a private detective.

“The door was locked,” Hardley said, out of breath from racing down the hall. “But I bet you knew that.”

I pretended to be offended. “Whatever do you mean?”

“Fresh. Don’t think you can keep using the your name is on the door line either. It’s not funny anymore.”

“Aw, come on. Where’s your sense of humor?”

“Back in my bed where I left it. Now, are you going to tell me what this is all about?”

“In the elevator. The hallway has ears.” Lois, the nosy switchboard operator, walked by with her morning cup of coffee, watching Hardley and me talking. It was bad enough that she listened in on our phone calls but there she was doing it openly. One of the girls from the steno pool told me that Lois could read lips and that she might have been a code-breaker during the war. It seemed a bit far-fetched about her being a code-breaker but the lip-reading thing? I’d put money on that. I glowered at her. “How’s the old switchboard? Learn any government secrets yet?”

“Hi, Lois.” Hardley winked at her. “How’s your cat?”

Thankfully, the elevator door slammed shut before she could answer. I turned to Hardley. “Why don’t you ask her out and get it over with?”

“Lois?” He scrunched up his nose in a mix of disgust and fascination. “She’s old enough to be my…” He counted on his fingers. “Older sister. You know sometimes I think you’re jealous of me flirting with other girls.”

I laughed. “Why would I be jealous?”

“Because deep down you love me.” He sighed in a love-sick way.

The elevator suddenly got smaller and warmer. I shifted my weight so that I wasn’t standing so close to him. I stared up at the dial as it moved down from one number to the next, hoping he’d take my silence as a hint that I didn’t want to talk about this. He said things like this every once in a while and politely changed the subject when I didn’t take the bait.

“Anyway,” he said. “What’s going on?”

I quietly exhaled in relief. “After you left last night, I got a call from the local wine king himself, Mr. Edwin McMasters, demanding we help him. Not asking, demanding.”

“With all the money he has he could hire any detective agency in the city or the state or the world even. Why us?”

“I was getting to that.” I fished my compact and lipstick out of my purse and began touching up my face. “He doesn’t want a big name. Wants a small racket. His words, not mine.”

“If I could afford it, I’d be offended. What else did he say?”

“Get this. He thinks one of his kids wants to kill him.”

Hardley took hold of my compact and smiled in the mirror, checking for food in his teeth.

I raised an eyebrow. “Now who’s being fresh?”

“It sounds like he needs a bodyguard, not a detective.”

“Being the ditzy secretary I pretend to be, he didn’t tell me everything, but the family is gathering this weekend for their annual memorial service honoring Adele McMasters, the matriarch of the family. Nothing like a little patricide to liven up a family get-together.”

“My, what big words you have, grandma. Inheritance?”

“He’s no Rockefeller, but he’s never stood in a bread line, that’s for sure. Money would be the most obvious motivation for snuffing him out. Or maybe he’s just a nasty person. He sounds like a cantankerous old coot over the phone.”

“Kinda how I feel right now.” He yawned and stretched. “But what I don’t get is why so early and why are we being forced against our will? Couldn’t you have said no?”

“He didn’t give me any room to say no. Like I said, it wasn’t a request; it was a command. Besides, we need the money or they’re going to shut the lights off.”

“It almost feels like we’re being kidnapped.”

“I don’t know about you, chum, but I like having a roof over my head.” Fighting off a contagious yawn, I checked the time on my watch. “Besides, nine o’clock isn’t early.”

“It is when I wake up at four and can’t go back to sleep.”

“He’s sending a car to whisk us away. He kept telling me how lucky we are that he’s letting us visit him and his family at his very private estate.”

“Private estate? Well, la-di-da. I could use a vacation.”

The elevator doors slid open, dropping us into the lobby. My heart raced in anticipation. Despite the circumstances, I was excited about meeting the family. When you live in the shadow of one of the richest families in western Pennsylvania, you can’t help but want a glimpse into their lives. I grew up in a cramped apartment and had to share a room with my brothers. Of course I was curious to see how the other half lived, but add a suspicion of murder into the mix and I was ready to get this job started.

“Don’t expect poolside drinks, okay. We have to help a man figure out which one of his kids wants to bump him off.” As I stepped out onto the sidewalk, I shielded my eyes against the morning sun and began searching for our ride. I had seen the McMasters Family of Wine emblem on the side of a black car around town a few times before, but I didn’t see a black car or a gold emblem anywhere. “Do you see him?”

“I wonder if he’ll send the Bentley.”

“Is Bentley his chauffeur?”

“It’s a car, brainless. Do you know how much one of those things cost?”

“If it’s more than bus fare, then no. And how do you know so much about Edwin McMasters’ car?”

“I saw it in a magazine once.”

We stood outside our building, scanning the street for an expensive car, but mostly the road was filled with taxis and buses rushing people off to work. It was hard to hear anything out in the busy street, but if I had, I would have been prepared for the footsteps that belonged to the gun now making an imprint on my left kidney.

“Don’t turn around. Don’t make a sound. Got me?” A man with a deep, nasally voice stood so close to me that I felt he should have bought me dinner first. But I did what I was told, especially since my gun was in my handbag and my hands weren’t working very well at that moment. Hardley glanced over his shoulder, looking like he was ready to pounce on the man.

“Eyes front if you know what’s good for you. The car’s in the alley. Any wrong moves and I pull this trigger.” He shoved Hardley, nearly knocking him over.

“Easy, pal.”

“Don’t easy pal me,” the brute said. “Move it.”

“Shut up,” I whispered to Hardley.

The gorilla of a man pushed us along the street into the alley next to our building. I turned my head quickly to get a glimpse of his face in case I needed to identify him later. His fedora covered most of his face, leaving only his impressively wide chin visible. A plain black car sat parked with the back door open. Before I could react, another hulk of a man spun me around and put a blindfold over my eyes.

“What’s going on?” I demanded.

“Quiet! Get in.”

With the help of the brute, I slid across the back seat. Hardley jostled in next to me, bumping my shoulder.

“Hey, take it easy, chum.”

“Not a peep, hear me? Keep your eyes covered. I can see you in the mirror, got me?”

The car drove off. Hardley wasn’t kidding when he said it, except this was more than like being kidnapped. We were being kidnapped.