Challenges at the end of 2015, and beginning of 2016

I was away from this blog for most of last year, so I didn't post a series of challenges I faced at the end of the year that extended into the beginning of 2016.

There was some good, of course. The anthology I co-edited, Decades of Dirt, was published in the late summer. Throughout the fall, we had several wonderful book signings and book presentations. One of my favorites was in Greenwood, Indiana, on Oct. 17. I think there were six of us on a panel in which we discussed writing, the anthology and our stories. We had a nice crowd that afternoon and I was well-pleased as I drove the roughly 20 miles home.

That is, I was pleased until I was about two miles from the house. It was at that point when the driver in another car failed to yield  the right-of-way and inexplicably turned left into my path. It was totally unexpected and we collided nearly head-on with me going about 40 miles per hour.

 

Both air bags in front went off, smoke filled the car, I couldn't open my car door (and thus was trapped inside) and I was nearly in shock. But when they arrived 8 minutes later, rescue workers determined I didn't break my neck or my back, and they were able to lift me into the passenger seat to get me out, and rush me to the hospital. My neck was killing me but, as I said, wasn't broken. However, I broke a bone in my left hand -- which made it difficult for me to type for weeks -- and I spent the night in the hospital as they monitored me for possible damage to my heart, which could have resulted in a heart attack.

Needless to say, the car was totaled. The impact bent the frame of the car from the front to the back on the driver side. Which meant, of course, my body absorbed energy strong enough to bend metal.

But I recovered after several weeks.

In December, just a week before Christmas, our furnace failed at the beginning of a cold winter. Two nights later, as we were considering our furnace options, we had a small electrical fire in the outlet next to my desk. We had to spend two nights out of the house and EVERYTHING in my guestroom/office was removed and cleaned.

In early January, we finally replaced the car that was totaled but by then I was having to mentally and emotionally prepare for surgery.

In the late summer last year, doctors determined that, once again, I had prostate cancer. Since I had radiation for cancer over the winter in 2009-10 -- it was my Winter Project that year -- I couldn't have radiation again. Surgery was the best of two poor options.

The surgery was the day after Valentine's Day and went wonderfully well. The surgeon, a tall man by the name of Dr. Large, was very pleased. Spent three days in the hospital, mostly because it took me that long to pass gas, but had a urinary catheter for FOUR WEEKS. (You can't tell it from the picture below but the catheter is why I was wearing a skirt.) Having a tube coming out of my penis for that long is beyond tiring.

Anyway, I still have challenges from the prostate surgery but I'm feeling much better. And the good thing is my PSA is zero and I can still write. But I was so consumed with the fall car accident, the furnace, the house fire and the surgery, I couldn't focus on a book outline about the Indianapolis 500 that I promised a local publisher. An opportunity lost but, as I am still among the quick, I will just have to grab another opportunity.

But life does get in the way sometimes.

So that's a little of what's happened lately. Thanks for reading and keep writing.

I'm back -- again

For the life of me, I have no idea why I can't keep up with my blog postings. I try but then, I fall behind and let it go.

But I'm back -- yet again. And will try yet again to keep up with this.

Since I was last with you, my Sisters in Crime chapter published an anthology which I co-edited with Barb Miller, a Muncie, Indiana, school teacher. The anthology is called Decades of Dirt, includes 15 stories of death and mayhem, and was published last October. All the stories have an historical aspect to them, though not all involve murders. (Most do.) Reviews have been good and sales have been okay up until this point.

Though it was the chapter's fourth anthology, it was the first -- and currently, the only -- independently published work. The chapter wanted to give its members a taste of self-publishing, with all its pros and cons.

You can get a print copy of Decades of Dirt on Amazon for $9.99, while an e-copy is only $2.99. I have both, of course. I'm very proud of the effort. And it's the first book on which my name appears on the cover.

I have a story in the book. My story closes on the book, in fact. the story is called Miss Hattie Mae's Secret. I am particularly proud of the story and in the near future will post an excerpt.

The chapter decided to return to our previous publisher (Blue River Press) for our next anthology, which is called, The Fine Art of Murder. It's currently being edited. I can't remember how many stories there are but it's around 15, give or take. All the stories involve some aspect of fine art -- and, if the title is correct -- murder.

I also have a story in the anthology and it's called Callipygian. (I'll wait while you go look that up.) It's about an FBI criminal profiler named Kendall Hunter who, while on vacation in Indianapolis, is drawn into the investigation of an art theft, and the murder of the chief suspect. I enjoy the story and I particularly like the main character. She's an interesting character to write because I love discovering who she is.

While this is the fourth story I have written with her, it is the first to be published. When we get closer to the October publication date, or thereafter, I will post an excerpt. Perhaps even a video blog posting.

More health news but that will have to wait until next time.

That's it. Thanks for reading and keep writing.