My 2023 was a blur...

From one Annus Horribilis into another...?

So as I was looking for something in my blog, I came across my New Year's Eve wrap up from 2010 and I thought I'd just share this bit before launching into the same for today:

June wasn't hot, but it wasn't freezing anymore either, which was quite nice. I'm going to include July here as well, because there was one event that absolutely stole focus for all of us for the entire month. I found a lump in one of my breasts. I survived having what turned out to be a cyst drained, as well as a needle-core biopsy (google that if you want to be scared out of your mind) that showed absolutely nothing. Mind you, I'd planned my funeral in the six weeks from finding the pitch invader to the results of the biopsy, and I've never been so glad to hear a doctor say he recommended that I not come back to him again.

Yeah, so I think that was the bit of tissue that became Eugene, my breast cancer tumor. I have the gene mutation that won't stop cells from growing out of control, which is how Eugene came to be. But I think it is interesting that I thought THAT was awful. I've done so much more awful since then. 

So, January - June were pretty much status quo around here. I sold books and met wonderful people at the Atlanta Steampunk Expo and the Georgia Renaissance Festival and put in applications/made plans for many other events in the months to follow.

In June, I decided to be a grown up and finally get signed on with a new GYN since my insurance had changed who was in my providers list and I'd passed the 50 years old mark. I also attended ConCarolinas for the fourth time including the virtual weirdness that was 2020.

In July, I was diagnosed with Stage III-B breast cancer that had not spread beyond the tumor itself and some lymph nodes just behind it. I named it Eugene and started a long line of medical appointments as well as attended ConGregate 9 - which was far and away more fun. I started chemo on 31 July.

In August I continued chemo, started awful shots that jacked up my immune system, and waved goodbye to my hair. I will say, though, that experience wasn't as bad as others have experienced and I was expecting...but I'm glad it's over. 

In September, I continued chemo and changed from The Red Devil cocktail every two weeks to a lighter weight poison called Taxol that was administered weekly. I waved a one-fingered salute at those immune system shots with the switch. I also attended the Upstate Renaissance Faire as a vendor for the first time, since the 2022 faire was a monsoon and my tent tried to pull a Poppins so we had to pack up and head home. I met some really great folks and sold more books than I had at any event to date so...good times, if not a little hot.

In October, I continued chemo and attended Multiverse for the first time with two magnificent human sherpas and one canine salesman extraordinaire. A new show is always nerve wracking, and after a rough start (I showed up THIRTY MINUTES late for a panel that I was on...), it was an amazing time.

In November, I attended the Geekery Market in Concord, NC, for the first time. That one was so much fun - again with two amazing sherpas to help me - and I am so excited for the next one. I should have been selling/signing/meeting/greeting at CRF again, but that event has changed to something that doesn't work for out-of-town authors. I also continued chemo and got to have it ON MY BIRTHDAY, but that wasn't so bad - does everyone have an oncologist who lip-syncs to Stevie Wonder and dances in the middle of the infusion suite? No? 

In December, I finished chemo and rang the life out of that bell...for me and for our Ciaragh, who lost her fight with lymphoma. I celebrated Christmas, sort of, and watched SO MUCH AMERICAN FOOTBALL. 

So... what's next? Surgery in late January, possible radiation in February, and hopefully the grand return of my hair, eyebrows, and eyelashes. Then the reconstruction process continues, per "plastics" as the cancer center calls my reconstruction surgeon, in late summer/early fall and I am DONE. Dunne and Done. I promise there won't be too many posts like this because it's all kinds of TMI but fingers crossed that a year from now I have loads more fun stuff to report!

January 2024 Newsletter

Here we are at the start of a New Year, and my one resolution is to do better at this newsletter thing. Let's begin with a bit of a catch-up, shall we?

The second half of last year was filled with medial issues that I'm pleased to say are about 85% behind me...at least for now. There are two-three more hurdles to clear and I should be back to my normal level of chaos...and I am looking forward to that!

I'm still working on final edits on Hero, struggling through writing on the collab (that I still can't talk too much about), and re-discovering two YA novels that I found buried in my Nanowrimo folder. More on those later - I'd like to have them out by the end of 2024 but I'd also like to be able to fly and to speak all the languages and...and...and...

Old Lady Kaylee Frye sells books
at ConCarolinas

On to appearances/shows/signings in 2024: Those last hurdles I mentioned will keep me from being at ConPossible in February, but I have lined up two trusty sherpas to man my table with signed copies of my books. This is the Con formerly known as the Atlanta Steampunk Expo and I'm just gutted not to be able to be there this time - these folks are so nice and so welcoming!

Hopefully I will be able to attend the Dahlonega Literary Festival in March, but there will be more on that as January and February roll along. This will be a new event for me, so fingers crossed there.

I'm still discussing logistics with the Georgia Renaissance Festival for an author event there, so watch this space for more information. I'm hoping it will be scheduled before Georgia turns into the surface of the sun, but I grew up there so I know it could be hot there right now. 

Once I have heard from more events and shows I will add to this list. I'm hoping for a return to ConCarolinas and ConGregate. Again, watch this space.

Finally, I could not do any of this without you, especially now, and I so appreciate all of your support. Remember, if you want to help an author, one of the best ways is to leave a review - it helps other folks find my work and it gives me very important feedback that can only make future novels better.

Thanks y'all! Happy New Year!

Music Monday: Of Time and Bottles

This week starts a new round of infusion treatment for me and a new round of uncertainty. In that vein (see what I did there?), this song is speaking to me, because I'm not a real fan of being unprepared by design. I need to know what's coming, but you can't, of course. So when I was listening to this song as a part of my Nanowrimo 23 prep, the line "But there never seems to be enough time/ To do the things you want to do once you find them" really struck me. The first round of treatment I focused only on the treatment. I planned my life around it. And to some extent, you have to do that...but I haven't written anything since July's Camp Nano save my Very Short Stories on the bird app. That has to change. That will change. There is enough of me to do both. Let's do this. Hand me that bottle.

(lyrics on screen)