No Round Two

Posted on by Nathan 33 Comments

My PET scan showed no signs of continuing (or new) disease. I won’t need a round two of treatments.

I still have a lot of recovery to get through – eating normally, getting some muscle built back, and regaining my momentum. I still have a few rounds of specialist visits in my future, but I’m definitely on the mend.

Status

I’ve started hashing through the beginning of the first new Ishmael book. The basic bones of the story are there. It just needs a through-line to bring it all together. I think I’ve found it. Fingers crossed.

Wizard’s Cat? Yeah. Still no idea. I don’t think it’ll be my NaNoWriMo project this year. I’m not ready to do NaNo yet.

What Am I Reading?

Not as much as I had been, that’s for sure. I’m at 228 titles for the year but I didn’t break any records last month. Of course, I didn’t spend whole days just napping and reading, either. Progress but I digress.

I got back into space opera again this month after trying a few samples. Quite a few actually. Some low-stakes litRPG and a few off the wall suggestions from various fans. Some interesting stuff, but the one that caught my eye was Andrew van Ardvark’s Katie Kincaid series. I’m three books in and enjoying it immensely.

Katie’s a bit precocious, reminds me a bit of Lee Anderson in Mackey Chandler’s Family Law series. Or April from his April series for that matter. She’s a trouble magnet and has to cope with being an outsider in everything she does.

Puts me in mind of young Ishmael, now that I think of it. More action in van Ardvark’s books but still that “coming of age” feel across the first three volumes (which is as far as I’ve gotten).

But don’t take my word for it. Grab a sample and see what you think.

Looking Forward

With the last of the diagnostics showing good news, I feel like I can actually breathe again. I’m not looking forward to the extra prodding from the ENT and GI specialists but it needs to be done.

I am looking forward to eating more normal food and getting back into writing. My brain is simmering on the Ishmael story and the cat is lurking around here somewhere. When I get enough focus, I suspect I’ll be stuck in good.

And I’m here for that.

Until next month, safe voyage.

Limbo

Posted on by Nathan 22 Comments

Not the dance. That edge state where you’re neither here nor there. Stuck in limbo.

I spent much of last month healing and resting. The endless grind of clinical oversight removed, days became cycles of feeding, sleeping, reading, and – occasionally – playing computer games.

Oh, and thinking about writing. The brain fog made for a lot of false starts and lost threads but I think I’m on the right path now.

Status

I’ve been disquieted by the new Ishmael books – especially the first one. Too much flipping about trying to find the story, not enough story. Thanks to a friend, I’ve worked through some of the issues and I think I like where we’re going.

Wizard’s Cat? Yeah. No idea. I don’t have enough clear brain space yet.

What Am I Reading?

Everything. Over 40 books in September. I recommended M C Burnell’s The Spider’s Friend in my newsletter a couple of weeks ago. I spent some time catching up on new releases and explored some new authors. (By “new author,” I mean somebody I haven’t read before – they’re getting harder to find.)

Seth Ring’s Titan series hit all the right notes for me in litRPG this month. A simple tale of an uber-rich guy stuck in a total emersion tank to heal his unique-but-potentially-deadly physiological condition. As one does. The plot revolves around learning the nature of the game, revealing layers within layers as Thorn and his colleagues learn about the world and their places in it.

As always, the characters drew me in. Thorn’s humanity – in spite of not being human – kept me turning pages and burning through the ten volume series.

But don’t take my word for it. Grab a sample. See what you think.

An aside: I’m always on the look out for a good series so I get drawn into litRPG. I also only read self-published works, so – more litRPG. I’m always on the lookout for good sf/f self-pubs, but finding new ones to recommend is getting harder. The downside of reading more than a book a day, I suppose. I suspect the rate will drop as I become more engaged with writing than reading. Something I’m looking forward to.

Looking Ahead

Mid-October takes me to the 90-day mark after treatments ended. The radiation and chemo have continued to influence my body so we’ve been waiting for it to run its course before I have my next screening exam. That’s expected to happen around the end of the month. That’s when I find out the answer the the most pressing question: What’s next?

I’ve got things I want to do, things I need to do, and things I’m pretty sure won’t happen.

For the moment, I’m stuck here in limbo taking short walks, trying to eat normally again, and letting my brain chew on story-telling time so I’ll be ready when it comes again.

Until next month, safe voyage.

September Sigh

Posted on by Nathan 22 Comments

The recuperation continues very slowly. I’m still not able to eat normally, but I’ve stabilized my weight loss. Now I just need to rebuild my stamina.

Status

I’m picking away at the first new Ishmael book. It’s going slowly because I have zero focus, but I’m using more and more brain on it. I think it’ll be worth it.

Wizard’s Cat is still on hiatus. Even if I had it done, Tom Tylerson is working on a long term project and wouldn’t be available to narrate until mid 2023 at the earliest.

What Am I Reading?

I’m still burning through books – 174 so far this year, 41 in August. Lots of series. A ton of litRPG stuff. I’m reading some more Michael G. Manning now but I’m going to recommend Honor Raconteur’s Case Files of Henri Davenforth series this month. I finished the last book a week ago but I keep thinking about it.

Basically a portal fantasy where the main character portals into a steampunky/fantasy not-Earth world and uses her FBI training to help the local magical examiner solve a series of cases. The characters are first rate. Fascinating world-building. Intriguing mysteries.

But – as always – don’t take my word for it. Grab a sample of book 1, Magic and the Shinigami Detective and see for yourself.

Looking Ahead

For the first time since mid-June, I don’t have back to back doctor appointments. Even after treatment stopped, I’ve been receiving IV fluids three times a week to help flush out my system. It’s nothing strenuous. It just means I’ve been hitting the infusion center for 90 minutes three times a week since the end of July. Add in the various other doctors, dietitians, and therapists, there haven’t been many days where I could just sit. That’s finally ended.

This month I should be able to nap, read, and write (I hope) without having to worry about what doctor do I need to see that day. I’m looking forward to some quiet, healing time.

Thank you all for you kind words and well-wishes. It means a lot.

Until next month, safe voyage.