100% Off - Short Story Anthology - Half of Everything - #LookForTheJoy

Half of Everything Anthology - 100% Off

Short Stories - #Vampires #Fantasy #Dragons #YA #Adult #Horror

So it is bleak out there at the moment, people are self-isolating and worse, and I saw a tweet go past the other day saying 'look for the joy'.

It is all too easy to feel depressed in times like this, but there is still joy in the world. I'm having trouble writing because mostly I'm worried about my Papa, who is in his late 70s and had cancer a few years ago so had to rebuild his immune system from the ground up. He's tough and not ill, but I still worry.

And I thought to myself, I should 💖 #LookForTheJoy 💖, because there is still plenty of it out there. And what can I do to help spread this joy.

I'm a writer and people are being forced to stay home, so my brain went: 💖have a free eBook💖. I am fully aware it is only a small thing, but sometimes small things can lift someone's day.

This is my multi-genre anthology with 14 different stories in it. So hopefully there should be something for everyone. It's usually $2.99, but below is a coupon code which will make it free.

Half of Everything by Natasha Duncan-Drake

Coupon: MK73C

How to get the book:

1. Go to Smashwords here.
2. Click buy
3. Put in the coupon code MK73C in the little box that says "Coupon Code" Book is now enrolled in Smashwords site wide promo, so shouldn't need the code anymore. Still 100 % OFF
4. Click update cart, which will take 100% off.
5. Then checkout.

You'll be able to download the eBook in any of the formats Smashwords offer (which is most of them) or read it online, if you want.

The book has dragons, vampires, ghosts, demons, aliens, romance, and more. I hope it brightens at least one person's day. 💖 Let's look for the joy.

The coupon is good for 100 downloads and is valid until April 13th, whichever is hit first. Site wide promo runs until April 20th

If you have any problems with the coupon, please LMK and I will do my best to fix it.

Recipe: Lentil & Jackfruit Hearty Soup #GlutenFree #Vegetarian #Vegan #InstantPot

Lentil & Jackfruit Hearty Soup
#GlutenFree #Vegetarian #Vegan

This recipe is based off of Best Instant Pot Lentil Soup Recipe by Olena from iFOODreal - yes the same lass who came up with the brownie recipe. However, I've changed lots of things, so this is my version 😊. You can in fact adapt this recipe any way you like with any ingredients you like.

Now I made this in my Instant Pot , because I have one and I love it, but it would be easy enough to do it in a large saucepan on a stove. There is just the small matter of having to keep checking it while it's cooking rather than wandering away and doing whatever else we fancy doing. I've included instructions below for both methods.

This makes a lot of soup! Good news, it will keep in the fridge or in the freezer, ready to be reheated whenever we want it. This is great for batch cooking or those with a large family.

Ingredients

• 1 medium onion
• 1 large carrot
• 2 sticks celery
• 400g/2 cups brown or green lentils (uncooked)
• 500g (1 3/4 cups) Tomato Passata (or a tin of chopped tomatoes if preferred - I don't like the bits)
• 150-250g/2-3cups chestnut mushrooms (add to taste)
• 400g (14oz) can shredded jackfruit (if you can't get this or don't like it, just substitute something you do like - this is a very versatile recipe)
• 400g can baby carrots and petite pois (frozen carrots and peas would do just as well and be just as easy - of fresh if you have them, or just peas - I simply happen to love baby carrots)
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 2 tsp oregano
• 1 tsp basil
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 bouillon cubes (I use low-sodium ones, can be veggie or chicken, depending on the dietary requirements of consumers)
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp oil (avocado or olive are good)

To Serve

• sprinkling of cheese or vegan cheese - Parmesan (or veggie equiv) is good, so is a mature cheddar - purely optional, but adds a lot to the flavour profile
• 1 clove garlic - also optional, but adds a zing - this is added with the onion in the stove top version
• any fresh herbs like coriander (cilantro), or basil, or parsley - whatever you like, also optional

Instant Pot Instructions

1. Chop onion finely and dice the carrot and the celery.
2. Turn on the Instant Pot and press the saute button (normal setting).
3. Add the tbsp oil to the cooking pot along with the onions. Saute until soft. 
4. Add a little water to deglaze the pot and make sure no onion is stuck. Step 2 3 & 4 are optional, you can just add everything without sauteing (i.e. dump and go), but I really don't like lumps of onion in my soup, I like it to flavour and melt in.
5. Add the carrots, celery, lentils, passata, mushrooms, carrots & peas, shredded jackfruit, spices and bouillon cubes (crumbled).
6. Use boiling water from a kettle to fill the instant pot up to the max pressure fill line (2/3rds).
7. Put on the lid.
8. Cancel the saute.
9. Press the pressure (or manual depending on model) button and choose a cook time of 18 min.
10. If you are in a hurry, allow the Instant Pot to sit for at least 5 mins after the cooking time has ended before a QPR (quick pressure release), or it will spurt because of how full it is. When there is time, I like to do NPR (natural pressure release) for at least 15 mins before letting out the final pressure until the pin drops.
11. Open the lid and grate in the raw clove of garlic and stir in your chosen fresh herbs.
12. Stir and serve, with a sprinkling of cheese on top to taste.
13. The keep warm function will keep it hot so everyone can return for seconds.

Stove Top Instructions

1. Chop onion finely, mince the garlic, and dice the carrot and the celery.
2. Heat a tbsp oil in a large saucepan, add the onion and garlic and saute for 2 mins or so.
3. Add the celery and carrot and cook for 7-10 mins until they are softened.
4. Add the lentils, passata, mushrooms, carrots & peas, shredded jackfruit, spices and bouillon cubes (crumbled).
5. Add 6 cups/1.5l boiling water from the kettle to the saucepan and stir everything together.
6. Bring the soup to a simmer, place a lid on and turn down the heat. Simmer for 35-40 mins, or until the lentils are tender, checking every now and then. (There may be scum on the top from the cooking at times - ladle this off).
7. Stir in fresh herbs if wanted.
8. Serve with a sprinkling of cheese on top to taste.

Now the Instant Pot cooking time is shorter, but the make time can be similar because of the heat to pressure and pressure release times, however, it really is easier in that there is no standing around. This makes me very happy because if I stand too long I end up in severe pain. Hence one of the reasons I love my Instant Pot. I've only had it two weeks, but I never want to stop using it.

This soup is perfectly hearty enough to be eaten on its own, but for those who like their bread, a crusty loaf or roll would make a great accompaniment.

We had this Saturday and there was enough over (even after Rob had seconds) to fill two big (1litre) soup bags. I gave one to my dear Mama, and we're having the other for tea tomorrow, although it would freeze perfectly well too.

I really like the jackfruit in this because it is like shredded chicken as an underlying texture, and I really like that in a soup. If that is not to your taste or you can't get it or its really expensive where you are, you could easily take it out and sub in something else.

The truth behind this recipe is that its an add whatever you like kind of thing. Experiment and see what you like best. Don't like cumin, pick something different. Fancy it spicier - add some chilli. Love curry, add in some paste or powder.

This makes a really hearty meal that can be kept warm in the Instant Pot or on the hob for people on the go, or put in the centre of the table to let everyone help themselves at a family meal. It works for all occasions. And the big plus is that its good for us. Lots of fibre and vitamins and healthy veggies in a delicious package.

Do you have a favourite soup that you absolutely love?

I have to admit, I am really fond of a good mushroom soup, although I think my fav is probably Stilton and broccoli.

Header Background Photo by Jeeray TANG on Unsplash

Recipe Recommendation: Black Bean Brownies (The Delicious Healthy Option) #GlutenFree

Recipe Recommendation: Black Bean Brownies 

(The Delicious Healthy Option) #GlutenFree

So I have been making a conscious effort to improve my diet, because, frankly I used to eat far too much crap. One of the big things I am doing is reducing the amount of refined sugar I eat.

Now I have to admit, this was really hard for the first week. They are right that sugar is more addictive than cocaine - however, it seems withdrawal doesn't last that long 😂. I've been doing this since New Year and I find that I don't really crave the sweet things that often anymore.

However, I cannot live without chocolate. Sorry - never going to happen. And also, research says that dark chocolate has some great properties, so I have moved on to having some dark chocolate every day - the 72% or 85%, which are supposed to have all the good stuff in them.

I miss cake, though, so have been looking for alternatives. Now I have a new Instant Pot (which I will talk about more in later posts) and while looking for recipes for that I came across a website called iFOODreal run by a lovely lady called Olena Osipov which has some fabulous recipes on it. She also has a great Youtube channel.

One of these recipes is Black Bean Brownies - yes that is brownies made from black beans.

Good news for my gluten intolerant friends too - this recipe is gluten free.

Now I know what you're thinking, probably the same as I did - black beans? Really?

Well I made this recipe the other day and everyone loves it. They are delicious.

Word of warning - this is a very dark chocolate recipe, so if you're not into dark chocolate, this will not be for you. All the sweetness comes from fruit and there is no added refined sugar, so the brownies are dense, squidgy and wonderful with a cup of tea or coffee. They also get better with time IMHO, so if you can leave some overnight they improve even more.

If you want to see the whole recipe, and all the advice Olena gives, than check out her original post:
Black Bean Brownies.

I'm going to include the ingredients here because all the measurements are in North American style on iFOODreal, so here are the UK/Metric equivalents.

Ingredients

• 400g tin of Black Beans
• 2 large eggs
• 155g unsweetened apple sauce (I looked up 1/2 cup and is said 125g, but I had a small 155g jar and it just about filled my 1/2 cup measure, so that's what I'm going with) - I think next time I will use the over-ripe banana idea though, because it's easier to get.
• 15 small or 10-12 Medjool dates (I used the small ones)
• the original recipe has 2 tbsp brewed coffee, but I threw in a tsp of instant coffee for a similar effect, since I didn't have brewed coffee on hand.
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 50g cacao or cocoa powder (cacao is better for you, but is not as easy to get)
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 100g bag of extra dark chocolate chips (I used Dr Oetkers 72% choc chips) - 50g for inside, 50g for the top (this may not be quite the right amounts, but it made it easy for me😂).

Tips

• A stick blender works well to blend the batter - my food processor is not overly great and I don't have a normal blender, so I used the stick one and it came out brilliantly.
• Oven temp conversion (350F) - 180C or Gas Mark 4
• I didn't have an 8x8 brownie tin so I used a 20cm/8inch sponge tin instead and just cut the brownies into cake style slices.
• Cutting it into 16 might make the pieces look small, but they aren't - trust me - each piece is just enough.
• I checked my brownies after 25min not 30 and they were perfect so I didn't use the final 5min of cooking time. It will depend on your oven.
• Do not, and I repeat, do not skip the baking parchment lining. Because these don't use flour, they are not as robust as brownies can be, so getting them out of the tin was ... well ... entertaining. Without the baking paper I would have been sunk.

💖Yummy brownies that have things in them that are actually good for us - win/win! Don't forget to check out Olena's other delicious recipes and tips for hearty, healthy eating.💖

Do you have any favourite recipes that taste decadent, but are, in fact, surprisingly healthy? I would love to hear what they are.

Banner BG Photo by Alison Marras on Unsplash

Domain Name Not Working without WWW When Pointing at Blogger - SOLVED

Domain Name Not Working without WWW When Pointing at Blogger

So as I have mentioned previously, I have been busy setting up everything for my alter ego Virginia Waytes and her Sexy Stories Podcast. I purchased the .com and .co.uk domains for the name as soon as I decided on the nom-de-plume, but had not yet decided exactly where to point them.

This week I finally made the choice to point them at Virginia's presence on Blogger because everything else is linked from there and I can host everything there as well so its all in one place. IMHO it also looks nicest on mobile.

Anyway, this was a little trickier than I expected, even when following their instructions to the letter. As you can probably guess from the title of this post, it didn't completely work.

• http://virginiawaytes.com worked
• http://www.virginiawaytes.com worked
• https://www.virginiawaytes.com worked
• https://virginiawaytes.com returned an error

WooRank.com is a great free service where we can check such things. It does a lot more than that, but after putting in a URL for them to check, we can scroll down to the section called "Indexing" and it will tell us if anything is wrong.

N.B I have "HTTPS availability" and "HTTPS redirect" turned on on my Blogger, because Google down ranks sites that don't have HTTPS activated.

I used these instructions to point my domain at Blogger: Google's Domain Instructions

What is boils down to is that after putting in our domain name on Blogger, we will see this:

Under the black bars on the image is information specific to our Google account and will be individual, but it will be in the same place.

We then have to go to our domain name provider and put in the following record into the CNAME section - wherever that happens to be for them:

Host Name	Type	Result
	A	216.239.32.21
	A	216.239.32.21
	A	216.239.32.21
	A	216.239.32.21
Bit under black box	CNAME	Other bit under black box
www	CNAME	ghs.google.com

And we have to set up out domain forward to point to our Blogger URL (e.g. in my case virginiasparlour.blogspot.com).

However, when I did this the first time, as I said above, everything worked except the https:// without the www.

Thanks to this article: Solved GoDaddy Domain Not Working without WWW in Blogger I managed to sort it out, even though my domain is with Names.co.uk not GoDaddy.

Turns out I had to do the following:

1. Remove the A records above and save.
2. Put the A records back in and save (this refreshes the DNS records).
3. Take out the domain forwarding.
4. Put the domain forwarding back in making sure all domain version forward the same way.

And it all sorted itself out. It can take up to 48 to propagate, but it took mine less than a minute.

And that's it. For a while there I was very confused, but thank heavens someone else had the same issue and worked it out. Hence the reason I decided to share.

Stretches for Authors and the Pomodoro Technique

Stretches for Authors and the Pomodoro Technique

Okay so I know, as authors/bloggers/desk jockeys, we are all guilty of sitting 💺 still too long and, I don't know about you, but this plays havoc with my shoulders and neck. However, I have found a solution. Hence I have come to share.

Now this isn't a complete cure if you're past 30, sorry, we all know age is not our friend when it comes to odd aches and pains, but I have noticed a huge difference since changing my routine.

What We Need:

• Focus To-Do ap - a Pomodoro technique ap available for most devices - has a free and paid option
• A water bottle or other receptacle
• A little space to walk around/move

Pomodoro

Pomodoro is a focusing technique involving work elements and break elements. This idea is we:

1. Do some work for a certain amount of time (I use 25min, but the Focus To-Do ap lets you choose)
2. Take a break for a certain amount of time (I use 5min, but again the ap lets you choose)
3. Repeat and every 4th time the break is longer. (I pop down and have a little peddle on the exercise bike🚴‍♀️ during the longer break, but I realise this is impractical for those who don't work at home 😂).

Focus To-Do also lets us set up lists of tasks in projects, so we can work our way through our list as we use the technique. It also stores what you have been doing and how many Pomodoro sessions it took,

Now I know that working and then deliberately taking a break just because the machine tells us too seems counter intuitive, especially with authors. Surely it will break the flow, I hear you say. And actually, it doesn't.

Personally I can bang out more words using this technique than by just writing non-stop, and it helps when doing covers or blurbs or even social media. Of course if I happen to be in the middle of doing something really important I can keep going for a minute or so, but I have learned to trust the timer. 

The good thing about Focus To-Do is we can use the timer strictly and have it move from work to break to back again automatically, or we can opt to do so manually. I use the manual option so I have the flexibility, but most of the time I simply click the start button straight away so I don't cheat too much.

The breaks allow me to rest my brain and my body regularly, which recharges both for the next element of work. It also means I don't think about twitter or email or anything like that, allowing them to distract me while I am working because I know a break is coming up and I will have a chance to look then.

Stretches and Stuff

So we have our break, but if we just sit there surfing email or twitter, it might help our brains, but not our bodies. Hence I have a little routine.

1. Take a drink of water or beverage of choice.☕ (Of course you can drink at other times, but only refil during the break and make sure to drink as well because we all forget😉).
2. Do shoulder and neck stretches (see below for details).💪
3. Walk up and down my stairs, twice (my office is in our converted loft, so I sit right next to the stairs, but any walking around is good).🚶‍♀️

Using this routine every 25mins during the day, I have noticed a huge difference in how I feel. I started with only the walking, which, although I am slow, has really made me feel better. I have an ankle condition that makes walking hard, but my measured up and down the stairs gets the blood pumping even though I take it gently. 

Then I added in the stretching, which is all done in my chair, which has helped my shoulders so much. When I am out of the house I use crutches to help me get around, and it plays havoc with my shoulders along with all the typing, but these help to keep everything mobile and mostly pain free😊. Now these are not full stretches that have to be held for 30s or anything like that, they are just about keeping moving and not stiffening up.

The Stretches

[Edit: Forgot to mention, my PT gave me these stretches as part of my warm down routine]

Sit forward in a chair so nothing is in the way and hold each of this for a few seconds and then release, being gentle and slow so as not to pull anything. If you want you can hold them for 20s each, but I only do that when I'm using them after a workout 😊. It also doesn't matter what order we do these in, we should all find our own rhythm.

1. Cross shoulder stretch

Hold one arm out straight and use the other to pull it across our body so that it remains parallel with the floor while stretching the shoulder. Repeat for other arm.

2. Overhead shoulder stretch

Place one hand on top of the other, lift arm directly about head and stretch upwards.

3. Front shoulder stretch

This is the same as the overhead shoulder stretch, but with our arms held out directly in front of us. Also, drop the head forward to stretch out the neck at the same time. (No doubt there will be some crunching and clicking from our over worked tendons 😂).

4. Side shoulder stretch

Hold arms at right angles to body straight out at the sides with palms out, and push outwards to stretch. (This one is surprisingly hard, although the more we do it, the easier it gets).

5. Chest and upper arm stretches 

Arms pointing down at 5 and 7 o'clock positions, palms towards the back, thumbs pointing down, bring shoulder blades together and twist palms out to the sides at the same time.

Keeping shoulders back twist palms to the front as far as possible so thumbs are pointing up and slightly to the back, bending arms at the elbow.

And that's it, simple and easy to do, and it keeps everything moving.

My apologies for not having piccies for the last 3, but couldn't find any. I hope the descriptions are sufficient.

Do you have any tips on making sure we writers on't stiffen up while we're working, or lose focus?

Another new cover - Myriad Imaginings - Paperback

Another new cover - Myriad Imaginings - Paperback

So we've been meaning to get the Giveaway Games anthologies into paperback for a while now, but there had never been time to sit down and give it them the attention they deserve. However, that time has finally come.

Myriad Imaginings is going through a new re-edit, to make sure it is perfect and, of course, every book needs a cover.

As you may recall I redesigned all the covers for the Giveaway Games anthologies last year, so I have a great start to work from in creating the paperbacks.

Now the current book blurb is fine for eBook descriptions, but it wasn't right for the blurb on the back of an actual book, if you see what I mean, hence I had to rewrite that too.

However, it is done and I have what I think is an almost definite cover. Just waiting for some feedback from Soph, but this is likely to be it. What do you think?

The big space on the back at the bottom is where the barcode gets put BTW. Just in case you were wondering 😄.

Cover Reveal - New Cover for Shivers: 13 Tales of Terror

Cover Reveal - New Cover for Shivers: 13 Tales of Terror

So originally Soph designed the cover for Shivers: 13 Tales of Terror - our first collection from our All Hallows Read miniature anthologies. And it was great for the eBook version, but we discovered pretty quickly that the design she chose doesn't pint well.

It's unfortunate, after all the hard work she put in, but the cover comes out virtually all black when printed, with very few of the details of the artwork visible. Hence, we decided we needed a new one. Soph doesn't have time to take on the task at the moment, so it came to me.

I've been working on it for a couple of days and it's all ready - so it's COVER REVEAL time!

Drum Roll!

Shivers: 13 Tales of Terror

Spooks, werewolves and demons haunt these 13 tales that will leave you shuddering with fright!

Enjoy the spine tingles as you read a cautionary tale about not playing with any old deck of cards, however innocent they may seem. Wallow in the horror of a she-demon stalking her victims, or a werewolf discovering there are things weirder than himself. Or maybe you'd like to chuckle at the chill on the back of your neck as you spend time with a hair-raising highwayman.

13 tales of terror. 13 scares. Read them - we dare you.

NEW eBook Cover

New Paperback Cover

Purchase Shivers: Paperback | Kindle | Smashwords | Apple Books | Google Play | Kobo | Nook | Scribd

It takes 24 hours or so for the new cover to show up everywhere, but they are now all uploaded, so, hopefully it will be in all the right places very soon.

What do you think? We had a lot of debate over the font. We knew we wanted it to be gothic, in keeping with the theme of the book, but I went through several before going with good old Plain Black, since it was the clearest and easiest to read.

Acknowledgements

Thanks to Simon Matzinger on Unsplash for the background photo and Dark Indigo from Pexels for the foreground image used on the cover of this book.

Recipe Recommendation - 3 Ingredient Banana Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies (#GlutenFree, #Vegan)

Recipe Recommendation

3 Ingredient Banana Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies

Gluten Free and Vegan

So Soph (my sister) was recommended this recipe on Youtube after she started looking up overnight oat recipes, but I was the first to try it. I made these yesterday morning and this morning because I had the bananas and the cookies keep well in the fridge or freeze and they disappear fast.

Many of the recipes I have seen for breakfast cookies require loads of honey or some other sugar substitute, but all the sweetness in these comes from the bananas. The riper the bananas the sweeter the cookies and more prevalent the banana flavour - so we can adjust how we like our cookies by how ripe our bananas are. Personally I like them relatively sweet, so my bananas were on the brown side.

Of course the chocolate has sugar in it, but we're not dumping in huge amounts of refined sugar at the cookie level, so it is much better for us.

There is no lie in the title, these cookies literally only have 3 ingredients (I've listed them out with measures to add in the metric measurements as well - the original recipe is in US measurements). 

• 2 large Bananas
• 1.5 cups / 135g Rolled Oats - I picked up gluten free porridge oats
• 1/3 cup Dark Chocolate Chips (I just used a standard 100g packet of Dr Oetker 70% Extra Dark Chocolate Chunks - which is probably loads too much, but it works 😂 - use vegan chocolate chips if required)

I mean we could easily add other things if we wanted too like nuts or raisins or even a little spice, just as long as we don't add too much and loose all structural integrity of the cookies.

Word of warning - do not touch these when they first come out of the over unless you like being covered in chocolate! Leave them to cool completely before attempting to eat. 😂

Waiting, waiting, waiting for them to cool!

This is the original recipe video from the Clean & Delicious Youtube channel - which has just about everything we need to know, but I've put a few tips below it, that I found most important along the way.

1. For those who are metric 350F = ~180C = Gas Mark 4
2. The only sweetness comes from the bananas so the riper they are the better IMHO.
3. A fork is okay for squishing the bananas, but a potato masher is much faster 😂.
4. Mix the oats and banana and then cover them (I bought some silicone stretch lids before Christmas and they are awesome for such things - no more cling film) and let them sit for 20mins or so, so the oats absorb the banana - gives a moister cookie and better structural integrity.
5. I baked mine on the lower end at 15mins and they are moist and chewy.
6. Try not to eat them all at the same time.😂😂😂

These are moist, delicious and filling. Could not recommend them enough. These are perfect for those of us trying to cut down on our chocolate bar consumption, but still find ourselves in need of a chocolate hit - and studies have suggested that dark chocolate is good for us too, so yay!

New Blog Layout!

New Blog Layout!

So I decided it was finally time for a change and I have a lovely new blog layout. It's still a 3 col one, but it has a new header and I've changed up some of the widgets in the sidebars too.

If you're on mobile I think the only difference you'll see is the header because, for some reason, Blogger sees fit not to include all the sidebars at the bottom in the mobile layout. I'm guessing it's because half the gadgets don't actually work on mobile. For example my blog topics page that uses a gadget doesn't show anything on mobile, so I have had to create a manual one for mobile users. 

Most frustrating!

I've gone for a brighter choice of colours, or rather grey scale with a hint of browns - so it's easy on the eyes, but feels a bit more upbeat.

I have a new header banner which makes me happy too :). The background image is by Pereanu Sebastian on Unsplash, which is also the background for the featured image in this post.

Anyway, I hope you all enjoy the new layout as much as I do.

💖Best wishes to all 💖

The Joys of Podcasting - A Beginning

The Joys of Podcasting - A Beginning

So I have been setting up and practising for recording the podcast as Virginia (my erotic fiction alter ego 😘)- which has been fun and a total headache at the same time! 😂

I am using Audition since I have the Adobe suite of applications and I have never used it before, so that's a learning curve. Nothing Adobe ever makes is intuitive, so I've been checking out all the tutorials etc, but their products are very powerful.

I recommend Audacity to those who do not have Audition - it is fabulous and free and I have used it in the past a lot. The only reason I am using Audition over it is that the Adobe suite had full support if I run into anything I or Rob can't solve.

We put up a bunch of anechoic foam above my desk, because my office is in the converted loft which has a sloping roof, so bounce back was a bit of a problem. It's surprisingly warmer in my little spot now too 😁.

Rob also kindly bought me a foam protector for the mic to prevent reflection from behind, and it keeps out ambient noise quite well too. This is what it looks like at the moment. and yes, the pop guard is held on with bluetac - we couldn't clip it anywhere safely.

Yes, that is also a cat tunnel you can see through underneath it 😂.

So far I have tried three mics:

• My old ProSound Podcasting USB microphone
• A Blue Mic Snowball ICE USB microphone that I am borrowing off my sister
• A posh mic with pre-amp, that was not USB

The best sound by far I can get on my PC is with the Blue Snowball mic. It had a lot more gain than the ProSound and can be set up so it doesn't have a horrible background hiss like the posh mic.

Tip: When connecting a USB mic, plug it straight into the motherboard, not a USB hub or anything similar - it will pick up background noise as a hiss. 

All the mics had a horrible hiss on them to begin with, but Rob used a spectrum analyser on the output and figured out it was power supply noise and plugging directly into the motherboard got rid of it. The posh mic, because it wasn't being converted to digital straight away picked up so much background interference from the rest of the equipment. No doubt it is wonderful with a proper sound desk. 😂

Tip: Don't use really posh, sound enhancing headphones when editing - they will mask problems.

As you can see in the piccie above, I started off using my Bose headphones (originally purchased for flying to help with my air-sickness - I can't take all the low level vibrations), but I discovered a problem. Bose headphones make everything sound amazing! When looking for issues in a recording, this makes them difficult/impossible to spot 😂. I have now borrowed a pair of Rob's phone style headphones until I can get a pair of my own.

The really fun part has been practising Virginia's voice. She does not speak like I do. She has a lower, sexier voice, whereas my voice just gets higher and higher the more excited I get 😂. It's been quite a giggle trying to get her right. So far I have recorded an intro, but I can't start the main part of the podcast yet, until I am sure the set-up is perfectly right. This is the initial music and welcome - LMK what you think!

Anyone else been podcasting? How have you found it? Or do you have a favourite podcast to share?

Join Virginia's Newsletter now to be in with a chance of winning a $20 (or equiv) Amazon voucher and all 12 novelettes of The Manor as they come out.

As join me as Virginia on: Twitter | Wordpress | Blogger | Podbean | Facebook

Banner Background Photo by neil godding on Unsplash

Music from https://filmmusic.io
"Moonlight Hall" by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com)
License: CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)