My recording tent was attacked!

You know, a lot of people have teased me about my recording tent. Some have praised the clean sound in enables me to produce, but most have mocked it.

That's okay. I accept that not everyone's ideal recording set-up includes crawling into an old Spiderman children's play tent covered with a lavender, sheep-festooned flannel sheet, and a worn duvet cover—all held together with binder clips and duct tape.

Really, I don't mind. Chuckle all you want. It looks stupid. I know!

However, the other day I came across the following disturbing sight. And this is where I draw the line, people. Make fun of it all you want, but I will not allow my goofy-looking recording tent to be assaulted!

I was shocked! It was in shambles!

Was there an earthquake? Was it the kids? No. Soon the problem became clear...

And just in case there was any doubt:

Yeah, not a lot of remorse there. And sadly, it wasn't a one-time incident. She tears it down every chance she gets.

So now I have a new pre-recording task. In addition to turning off the heater and refrigerator, moving the ticking clock to the other room, applying lip balm, making sure I have hot tea and cool water at the ready, the microphone plugged in and the lap top fully charged, I also must put the kitten in the back room and close the door before I finish assembling the recording tent.

On a positive note, I've been podcasting for over a year, but now I feel I've truly arrived! Because one thing I've noticed when listening to other podcasters' outtakes, is that feline interference and podcasting seem to go hand in hand!

I'm testing my voice...

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...this week. I recorded every day while the kids were at school. Both for Dead Hunt, and for Dreaming of Deliverance. I think I need to look into the proper way to read aloud, because my voice is feeling a little strained. But I don't think I'll be able to record much next week because Monday is a holiday and I'm subbing Tuesday and Wednesday, so I wanted to get a lot done while I could.

I'm really enjoying narrating Kenn Crawford's novel. And I'm REALLY enjoying only recording, and not having to do the audio editing! He gets to edit out all of the retakes, loud intakes of breath, and lip smacks. You never realize how many extraneous noises you make until you have to listen that closely to yourself. Although, there's something to be said for reading your own words and knowing how to pronounce everything. Dead Hunt takes place in Nova Scotia and the names of the various locations in the story don't exactly trip of the tongue of this west-coaster. I've even been forced to learn how to pronounce a Gaelic phrase. That was interesting!

But I'm still not writing, and that sucks! I've got to figure out how to squeeze it in!