First Things First – My Health
The first thing I want to talk about is my health. I have alluded briefly a few times on twitter about what has been going on with my health, how I was feeling and some of the challenges i had been facing. I didn’t go into specifics, but I thought I would talk a bit more here on some of the issues I have been facing and how they directly face BeforeWeGo. Right after July 4th, I was struck down with a series of migraines. Really, it was more like one long continuous migraine that was a hell I could not escape from. I was left bedridden, and unable to lift my head off of the pillow. When I finally was able to receive some treatment, this was in week two, I was given a medication that got rid of the migraines. This medication made me so sick that I traded one hell for an entirely different one. I didn’t react well to it, it caused crushing tinnitus which I have mentioned on twitter. This makes it very difficult to read. I am still trying to get this medication out of my system. All of this comes around to problem three, something happened along the way with the meds or not being able to eat or something that my body lost pretty much all of its iron. I say pretty much all, as I am upright, but only barely. I’ve had two emergency IV’s with fluids and painkillers, and had a episode of emergency blood pressure because my body was about to give out.
But here’s some good news. I am getting better. It is slow and fraught with setbacks, but I am getting better. The tinnitus has receded. It is like a crashing wave leaving the shore. The iron is coming back, I am getting strength back, and everyday is a little bit better and a little bit brighter.
This certainly gives one a different perspective on life.
SPFBO
Even though my reading is down to a crawl, I am very much still reviewing and on Team Qwillery. This is full steam ahead. We are just finishing up the first teer of the competition and moving into the semi-finals. It has been such a great experience thus far. Even at this point early in the competition, I have found a bunch of new books I would like to review on my site and do #indiespotlights on the authors. It has been awesome.
#indiespotlight
Once I am back up to fighting shape I will be on a indie spotlight a week schedule. However it is more of a spotlight every two weeks at this point. They are still going strong though. The spotlights introduce new readers and lift up writers and I think it is one of the most rewarding things that I do. Also, along with the spotlights look forward to more author interview and guest posts. I love partnering with authors and getting their perspective on things.
Upcoming Reviews
In a sprawling mansion filled with peculiar treasures, January Scaller is a curiosity herself. As the ward of the wealthy Mr. Locke, she feels little different from the artifacts that decorate the halls: carefully maintained, largely ignored, and utterly out of place.
Then she finds a strange book. A book that carries the scent of other worlds, and tells a tale of secret doors, of love, adventure and danger. Each page turn reveals impossible truths about the world and January discovers a story increasingly entwined with her own.
A brilliantly imagined saga of honor, glory, and warfare, The Bone Ships is the epic laugh of a new fantasy from David Gemmell Award-nominated RJ Barker.
Two nations at war. A prize beyond compare.
For generations, the Hundred Isles have built their ships from the bones of ancient dragons to fight an endless war.
The dragons disappeared, but the battles for supremacy persisted.
Now the first dragon in centuries has been spotted in far-off waters, and both sides see a chance to shift the balance of power in their favour. Because whoever catches it will win not only glory, but the war.
Keith Nolan falls in love with a remarkable young woman from the past, talking to him on a home video she recorded in 1989. To keep their conversation going, he must find more of her tapes—while forces work against them both, and time is running out.
Fetching was once the only female rider in the Lot Lands. Now she is the leader of her own hoof, a band of loyal half orcs sworn to her command. But in the year since she took power, the True Bastards have struggled to survive. Tested to the breaking point by the burdens of leadership, Fetching battles desperately to stave off famine, desertion, and the scorn of the other half-orc chieftains, even as orcs and humans alike threaten the Lots’ very existence. Then an old enemy finds a way to strike at her from beyond the grave–and suddenly only one, faint hope for salvation remains.
Plus quite a few more.
So that’s the long and the short of it. I have some personal goals, I have two short stories that I have been playing with that I would like to try and get edited and published in a science fiction magazine. That would be a dream come true. I need to figure out how that works. The holidays are coming up and with that all the added stresses and joys that they bring. NaNaWriMo is coming up, and I might give that a swing. So what have you all been up to? What exciting things have you got going on?
You should definitely try for NaNoWriMo! One of these days I’m going to pick up a book at the store written by a certain amazing author who I sometimes get to buddy read with. Then I’m going to name drop like nobody’s business.
You are so amazing, thank you! Getting the confidence to step into the arena as a writer instead of a reader is scary. But what can they say, no. Yeah well, if I didn’t send it off it was a no anyways. So I haven’t lost anything.
Glad you’re doing better Beth. And glad you’re able to still get you’re reading time in. Can’t wait for the SPFBO updates.
It’s been really fun. Some great books this year!