On Writing – Randi-Lee Bowslaugh

A Little Scare

Posted on August 25, 2021August 23, 2021 by Randi-Lee Bowslaugh

It’s almost ready! This book deviates from what I have published in the past but horror has always been my favourite genre. I am happy to be publishing my first collection of short horror stories. Each story is unique with its own format and characters.

Peter Topside author of the Preternatural books has this to say:

“I was given an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review (Thank you, Randi!) Now it’s well known that I’m not a fan of short stories. The only exceptions there are HG Wells’ The Invisible Man and his other well known sci-fi/horror type stories. However, I read through the Little Scare collection, and really did enjoy these tales of the macabre a great deal. They were diverse, and didn’t follow any type of generic formula or theme, which was refreshing. Each tale was also long enough, without overstaying its welcome. They were a bit gruesome at the right times, but it was more reserved and not overly graphic. This is where the writing was done well, as it left certain things unwritten and just insinuated, which is much easier than going into excessive details on the terror at hand. Aside from that, the writing was very easy-to-follow and the book as a whole just had this general creepiness and anxiety-producing uneasiness throughout. My personal favorite here was A Scorched Letter, with Chookies being a close second. If you want a quick read that’ll tickle your inner horror fan, give this a look!”

Stay up to date with release information by following RB Writing on facebook.

Blog, On Writing

Work in Progress

Posted on August 18, 2021August 18, 2021 by Randi-Lee Bowslaugh

This year is getting exciting; and yes I realize that it is two thirds over. The beginning of this year was a bit of a struggle mentally, but it is turning out to be a great end of the year.

The YouTube channel Write or Die Show is going well and has been getting great feedback. When I first came up with the idea for the channel I didn’t know how I would find guests or if anyone would even be interested in listening to the interviews. However, I have already recorded nearly 80 interviews and have a waitlist of 20 guests for the next set of recordings.

From the interviews that have already been posted people are thanking me for talking about mental health. I am blown away by the encouragement that I have received. Not that anyone needs external validation but when my depression rears (which is was – and telling me this was a horrible idea) having that external validation helps to quiet those negative thoughts.

There will be lots more episodes coming and I hope you will share them!

In March I was able to publish not just one but two books! Diamond the Cat and Embracing Me came out that month. Again, the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. Thank you to everyone who has purchased the books and I am so glad that the messages are impactful.

As you know (if you have been keeping up on the blog) I have been diligently working on the audiobook for Embracing Me, and I am happy to announce that it has been sent into ACX and is now awaiting approval. Fingers crossed there isn’t anymore editing that needs to be done.

A Little Scare is almost finished the editing process as well and should be released by the end of September if all goes well. Just in time to make a great Christmas gift for the teen who loves horror. I am really excited about this book as it is so different from what I have published previously and I hope that everyone will enjoy the collection.

Don’t worry I have some more non-fiction books in the works as well.

The Crime Stoppers of Niagara history book is coming along. It is a slow process but involves much more research than previous projects I have worked on. I have learned so much about Crime Stoppers and it really is an interesting organization.

The newest book that I have started working on is my first collaboration with a another author. This will be his first published book and I am excited about the topic – mental health. Which we all know is a topic I love to talk about. In this book we are examining it in regards to biblical principles (if you didn’t know I am a Christian and this has been a book on my mind for many years). This is just getting started so it will be a few months before it is ready to publish.

And if all of that wasn’t enough I will be releasing a self-care journey journal. More on that as it gets more into production. Plus, a list of ideas to be written – more scary stories and more children’s books.

Wow, I have my work cut out for me. Thank you to everyone who continues to support me.

Blog, On Writing

Creating my Audiobook

Posted on May 6, 2021 by Randi-Lee Bowslaugh

I love listening to audiobooks so I decided that I needed to make an audiobook out of mine. I wanted to start with my newest one Embracing Me and after that I’ll start on A Mother’s Truth. I had no idea how to do it but I figured the first step would have to be recording then editing it

I was pretty excited to do the recording because I thought I could do a really good job. I mean it is my story. Who else would be a better narrator than me to tell my own story?

I needed to figure out what software to use, luckily I have some great connections in my business group and somebody told me to use Audacity. If you aren’t sure what Audacity is it’s a pretty simplistic audio editing software and I had no problem using it. If I could do it you could do it and it’s free to download!

I downloaded that and I started recording. I feel like I did a good job. I guess all of you will have to let me know once you hear it. When I was editing I had to learn as I went because I had no idea what I was doing. I suppose I could have found somebody else to do it but I wanted to see if I could do it myself (plus it did save me some money). I went through it and edited the recordings, mostly just taking out all of the little noises of my water bottle or my weird noises

Overall I think it turned out pretty well. Now all I have to do is figure out how the heck I get it onto an audiobook service. That is my next step. As I figure it out I’ll tell you all how I did it and of course announce to you when it’s done.

If you wanted a sneak peek at the audiobook I have put a little bit on the patreon page for those that are patrons.

Blog, On Writing

Muskoka Novel Marathon

Posted on April 22, 2021 by Randi-Lee Bowslaugh

We are still living in strange times and cannot travel but I am still excited to be joining in on the Muskoka Novel Marathon this year. Even if I will be doing it from my home and not in the beauty of Muskoka. It will be the first year that I am participating in this event and I am really looking forward to having a weekend that is all about writing.

The event is a fundraiser for the YMCA of Simcoe/Muskoka Learning Services in Huntsville, Ontario. “These funds are used to directly support literacy programs in our community.” Which is a really worthy cause!

If you want to donate to this worthy cause please use my link here. I appreciate all of support and look forward to sharing with you what I end up writing at the event.