Did I read that right???
Was it really August 31 when I last posted???? OMG! I knew I was in a funk but seriously? Holy Moly!!
Wow, I really don’t even have an excuse for that except the funk and I’ve had my head down, trying to work amongst other things.
So, if there are any of you out there still following . . . THANK YOU!
We have a lot to catch up on, so settle in, get your coffee, tea, soda, beer, scotch on the rocks, . . . or whatever rocks your boat.
I guess I got some ‘splainin’ to do!
The short story – it’s been hell trying to overcome the side effects of the cancer meds, which apparently have a cumulative effect that worsens over time.
the longer-ish version:
I basically decided that my limited energies needed to be focused on writing and preparing for Penned Con, and the newest one, which you will hear about tomorrow and other requirements with the day job.
Alright Misty, fine! I’ll give a few more details for those who are curious if there is anyone listening anymore. It’s been a whirlwind! A whirlwind I tell you!
August was difficult.
September:
Trying to get my books ordered in time for Penned Con turned out to be a bleeding nightmare! First off, if you all recall I had this beautiful cover:
My great niece Savanna was the cover model whom I planned to use for the entire series. However, the image became pixelated in print with my ARC copies. Obviously, that wasn’t going to work. Then, there was the whole Createspace transitioning to KDP fiasco. So of course, I needed a new format file. It wasn’t just me, but every author transitioning to KDP.
I’m hoping to still use some images of Savanna in the future, but had to let this one go with great regret. However, my cover artist did a redesign and I love it.
Gorgeous, isn’t it? Then there were issues with the interior files, my computer was having a big crisis with running out of memory. Like I had time to transfer files and delete files while trying to meet a deadline! Why do computers pick the worst time for their breakdowns? I mean it isn’t like it doesn’t get enough attention daily!
Ergghh! September is the time they do maintenance on the pool at our local gym, so I had to find alternate forms of entertainment, I mean exercise!
September 9 through the 15th was our long-awaited vacation. I cannot tell you how badly I needed this! Well, I can. I needed it like I need air! Like a fish needs water! So the perfect combination of course, is the salt air!
Of course, do you think I got a complete reprieve from feeling sick? I wish! Wednesday was spent in bed at the hotel room. At least I could look out the window to the ocean and remind myself that feeling sick in Florida was better than feeling sick in the Midwest sauna we call home. I gotta be honest here, I thought when I finished radiation that it would be a relative straight line to wellness. Was I ever wrong!
Back home in the suburbs of St. Louis, I had a few days to pack and prep for Penned Con! On Tuesday my books still had not arrived and I was beginning to think this was going to be a waste of time, but they arrived on Wednesday!
Guess what else happened on Wednesday? Go ahead, you’ll never guess.
I drove my sister to the eye doctor, the retinal institute in South County area of St. Louis. While I was in the waiting room I got the notice that my books arrived – Yay! Then I looked outside at the blackening sky. It was so dark, the street lights came on at two in the afternoon. The wind was whipping around like crazy, and I was driving ridiculously slow because visibility was very limited. I told my sister we are going to have to pull off somewhere soon because I couldn’t see. ( She is blind in one eye and they had given her a shot in the other basically making her fully blind at that point)
The rain let up a little, but since it hadn’t rained in a while, I knew the roads would be slick so I was being extremely cautious. Then all of a sudden, there are cars stopped in the road in front of me. I hit the brakes! I managed to stop before hitting the car in front of me – whew! But then, an SUV hit me from behind/driver’s side pushing me into the third lane, which pushed me in the path of a tractor-trailer. As if that wasn’t enough, a pickup rear-ended me, then we felt a few more bumps as the cars behind him piled up. You can’t make this stuff up –
What was left of my car. It was a total loss. Both my sister and I got a very expensive ride in the ambulance to the ER.
Thank God we are both relatively OK aside from the trauma, bruises and anxiety, and well, the loss of my car. This was before the paramedics arrived, a nurse who had just got off work rushed to us to see if we were ok.
NOT HOW I WANTED TO SPEND THE REST OF MY DAY!
Well, that brings us up to the day before Penned Con 2018, and a good place to leave off. I’ll catch you up more the next time.
Until then, here’s a DEAL for you:
The Awakening
Write on my friends, write on!
quotidiandose 
Very busy! The accident looks so scary
LikeLike