The Writers in Us Resurfaced While Living Abroad

My husband and I have always been writers. In fact, it was writing that brought us together nearly 16 years ago when we were attending Valencia Community College in Orlando, FL. We met in a creative writing club and we've been pushing each other to write ever since.

Shortly before we moved to Argentina in 2012, we found a way to self-publish our novels through Lulu.com. Unfortunately, we were in a severe time crunch. We were extremely busy trying to downsize all of our personal belongings from the storage unit and later from our family's basement in New York.

As if moving abroad wasn't stressful enough, we also had to rush, rush, rush to get all of our ideas into a word document, customize it to meet the printing requirements of the publishing company, and actually publish it. There was virtually no time to edit. Even spell check missed quite a few things and glancing at hundreds of pages in the space of an hour was a bad idea.

It wasn't until we actually got to Argentina and had some time to relax that we realize the numerous mistakes in our work. Many of them were careless. Unfortunately, we weren't sure we'd be able to edit them and resubmit our work for publishing from abroad. Every single penny went into trying to survive here and our finances hemorrhaged with each passing month which eventually became years.

Jumping to the present... well, sort of.

Halfway through 2016, I realized that writing was my passion and I had allowed the severe depression caused by living abroad, and being unable to return home, get the best of me.

I've spent nearly three years paraphrasing ridiculous articles about Kim Kardashian, confessions of gold diggers, rich kids who love to flaunt their money on Instagram, different ways to have orgasms and countless other topics that aren't worth anyone's time for several sites like All Day, Life Buzz, and Gab Worthy. Worst of all, I wasn't even getting recognition for those articles. Someone else did. Granted, I would never want my name associated with those horrible topics, but you can see how frustrating it can be to ghost write and get paid very little, and never be seen.

I needed to return to my writing because there isn't just one book in me. There are countless stories I want to share with the world, but first, I had to go back and fix the mistakes of my past. So I started editing and essentially rewriting my Hunter's Vendetta book series. Along the way I received a lot of tips, hints, and suggestions from fellow writer Suzie Carr.

My husband's creative juices were reignited as well and he wrote his first novel in almost five years called "Welcome To Bore City," which is loosely based on his adventures in Cordoba and will take you on one hell of an emotional ride.

With a limited budget, I had to find a way to reduce the cost of publishing the novels. So I broke down two books into four novels, 164 pages each. This also allowed me to lower the selling cost to make it more enticing to potential readers.

The first novel in the series was published on October 2016 and is available on both Lulu.com and Amazon.com.

Now if you buy the novel through Lulu, I get more $$$. If you buy it through Amazon, I get considerably less cash. However, it's not about the money at this point. It's about exposing my stories to a broader audience.

Both novels are pocket book size so it's easier to take with you while you're on the bus, on the subway, or just sitting at home or laying in bed.

Getting the novels shipped to Argentina was a lot easier than I thought. We used FedEx and it got here in about two weeks. Admittedly, the novels did hit a bit of a snag on their way to Cordoba.

Customs temporarily held it in Buenos Aires under the pretense that the shipping information was incorrect, but they later rectified the problem and the books got here.

So here's a little intro on both of our novels along with the Lulu and Amazon links. You won't be disappointed. Also, feel free to share the info with your friends so they can buy the novels too. You can purchase them through Amazon, Amazon EU, and Amazon UK. If you're from any other part of the world and are having issues ordering from Amazon, you can buy the novels through Lulu.com. They'll ship anywhere.

Hunter's Vendetta: Silent Kill ($9.75)

The first book in the suspenseful Hunter's Vendetta series.

When Alex Westcrow left his tribe, and his lover, Kayden Hayes, he unknowingly left behind a dark family secret as well. Years later, his homecoming is marred by tragedy. Now he's the target of a silent killer, and the key to staying alive, rests in deciphering terrifying visions that foreshadow his death and those of everyone he holds dear.

Click here to order through Amazon.

Amazon

Click here to order through Lulu.

Lulu

Welcome To Bore City ($9.50)

Follow the life of a gay couple who moved from Manzana Grande City to Bore City. Experience every moment as if you were there. Meet Cinnamon, Hubby, and the iconic, Mr. Delicious. Sadness, satire, laughter, soft-core sex, friendships, humor, and poetic narratives await you in Bore City and there are some surprises along the way.

Click here to order through Amazon.

Amazon

Click here to order through Lulu.

Lulu

Meanwhile, read the 1st chapter of "Hunter's Vendetta: Silent Kill" for free HERE

Voting Abroad for the 2016 United States Presidential Election

This was my first time voting abroad and it was a huge learning experience for me. There were some obstacles along the way, but it was ultimately worth it.

I started out by registering at votefromabroad.org. Now I read that some states allow you to fax in or even e-mail your registration form. Unfortunately, New York wasn't one of those states. Trust me. I told the voting office in the Bronx via e-mail that I had some concerns that my registration form wouldn't arrive. I've had a few issues with people sending me letters in the past. It either gets here in months, or not at all, and I feared the same would happen if I sent a letter from Argentina to the U.S.

Once I completed the online portion of the registration process, I had to download a pdf version of the registration form itself. Then I uploaded it to a USB drive and printed it out at one of the local print shops.

After printing the registration form, it was just a matter of filling out the first five digits of my social security number, (the final four digits were already pre-printed), signing it, and taking it to the nearest post office in my host province.

They charged me $230 Argentine pesos (about $15.15 USD) to send a certified letter. I tracked the letter online, but after 5 days, the progress displayed in Correoargentino.com stopped when the letter reportedly left Buenos Aires.

Naturally, I was confused and upset. Had my letter fallen into some anomaly in time and space and vanished?

Where the hell was it? The rep at the local post office told me that it would take 8 business days. So far, it didn't seem like my registration form was going to reach its destination ever.

Then I remembered that the post office had warned me never to use tape to seal an envelope ever again, which I unfortunately did. They had me sign on the tape and told me that I should use glue next time, but that it would be okay. Now I wasn't so sure. What if they rejected the letter? The registration form wouldn't get there on time. Okay! Okay! Don't panic. DON'T PANIC! At least that's what I kept telling myself.

Well, it turns out that there's a drop down menu for the international country where the letter is going to. So I chose "Estados Unidos" and it redirected me to the USPS website. So I entered the same tracking number I was given by Correo Argentino and it worked! It showed the progress of my letter inside U.S. territory.

It showed the letter had been processed by the U.S. postal service in NY, but it was still in transit. So I waited a few days and then checked again and nope!!! It was still in transit.

I had just about given up hope on being able to vote in this year's presidential election.

Then I received an e-mail from the voting office in NY stating that my online ballot was available.

I had to go in and verify a few details, but fortunately not as much as the first time I registered.

Then, I simply downloaded the ballot, which also came with instructions on how to fill out and seal the ballot.

Once again, I made a quick trip to the local print shop. Then it was just a matter of following the instructions correctly to ensure my ballot wasn't voided. There were two envelopes. I had to date and sign the affirmation security envelope that would hold my ballot, and seal it with tape.

The second envelope was postage paid, but only if you're sending it within the U.S. So this certainly didn't qualify and I had to place the affirmation security envelope inside a regular envelope and then head to the post office and pay another $230 Argentine pesos (about $15.15 USD).

The NY Voting site, allows me to track my ballot. So I'll know when they've received it, even if the  tracking info from the USPS doesn't update to show that the ballot reached the voting office.

A week after I mailed my ballot out, I received a physical ballot in the mail. It's nearly identical to the ballot and two envelopes I downloaded digitally and printed, but since I'd already sent the other one out, there didn't seem to be a point in sending this one out too and risk my original vote getting tossed for "over voting".

So there it is. I did my patriotic duty from thousands of miles away, and I couldn't be happier. Now it's just a matter of waiting for the elections.

Lions, Tigers, And Dinosaurs! Exploring The Cordoba Zoo

The Cordoba Zoo has been entertaining visitors for over a hundred years, and it's easy to see why with the number of exotic animals, both land and aquatic. Oh, and did we mention dinosaurs?

We've had the pleasure of exploring the Cordoba Zoo twice since moving to Argentina. The first time was back in October 2012, when the price for admission was about $50 Argentine pesos ($3.28 USD), and then later in 2016 when the price went up to $100 Argentine pesos ($6.56 USD).

As you can see, there are a wide array of species. 

However, the zoo is not without its controversies either. There have been a series of protests from some, like local legislator Rodrigo de Loredo, who claimed that maintaining animals in captivity for the sole purpose of entertainment is wrong. 

In the zoo's defense, we never saw any form of abuse from the caretakers. The animals are well fed and the habitats are properly maintained. On the other hand, we totally get where animal conservationists are coming from. If someone locked me up in a habitat when I could be roaming free in the wild, I'd probably climb to the highest precipice and jump!

One thing you won't find at the zoo is food! The two times we went we noticed a couple of kiosks where you could buy snacks and drinks, but they were closed.

On the plus side, there were plenty of areas to take cool photos. 

King for a day...or in my case, well, you know.

If you're looking for an aquarium, then you're in luck. The sea isn't the only place where you'll find plenty of fish. It's certainly not Sea World, but it's still cool.

Careful what you pet under the sea!

They even do a show with a pretty smart seal, who loves doing tricks in exchange for some fishy treats.

Of course, you don't want to leave the zoo without visiting some creatures of Jurassic proportion.

What? You weren't expecting the real thing were you? Yeah, the zoo's budget isn't big enough to clone dinosaurs from fossils like in "Jurassic Park," but this is still the next best thing.

BYE FOR NOW!!!!