Today I finished up an important new chapter for Bound in Smoke. so I’m pleased about that. Next, I’ll start pulling the new threads through the other chapters. I’ll also discuss these changes with my editor shortly.

Broken Leg

My broken leg is improving, thank goodness. I’ve been cleared to walk more which is a relief because the inactivity has been driving me nuts. My next follow-up is later this month. I’ll have a repeat x-ray and see the podiatrist and hopefully get the OK to not have the walking boot. I’m doing the PT now.

Freddy The Macaw

Some of you may already know that this week we had to say goodbye to our macaw, Freddy. He’s been a part of the family for decades and it’s been gutting for all of us. The house is so quiet without him. I feel like I’ve lost a good buddy because, well, I did. I will always miss him.

Now that I can sit for more normal periods of time, I have been steadily working on Bound in Smoke. I have my opening revisions almost done. After that, I need to carry those changes and threads through the rest. Tuesday I have a follow up appt with my doc who I hope will say I need the boot for only a little longer instead of longer.

How’s everyone else doing?

Indeed  I am revising Bound In Smoke. However, on January 1, I broke my fibula in a fall (the non-weight-bearing bone in the calf) I suppose if you’re going to break a bone, that’s the one to break since the fibula tends to heal quickly and not need surgery. I have a walking boot for the next 4-6 weeks. So, I have had a bit of a break (hah!) from revising because 1. I have been in pain, 2) calling doctors and getting xrays. I am not supposed to walk unless necessary and it hurts a lot.

However! I expect to be back at the keyboard shortly. I have also had several ideas pop into my head while I am getting through distracting part of recovery. Acute pain has a way of messing with your train of thought. Also, my standing desk is stuck in the standing position. The new one arrived but needs to be assembled, which I cannot safely do at this point. I’ll have someone here shortly to do the assembly and removal of the old one.

I do have a new chapter to write that will address some issues and I’m excited to get to that.

1. An actual fan email is usually pretty brief.
2. Hate-your-book emails are usually quite long because the writer has a serious hate and needs to tell me EVERYTHING I did wrong.

The best defense against the AI book spam is to block the gmail.com domain. I can review from my spam filter and delete them from there. That way they never land in my actual inbox.

Anyway, real people who want to contact me, be assured that I do scan everything, but there’s always a chance that I’ll make a mistake, so if you don’t hear back from me, I’m sorry. Blame AI. If you are emailing any author, be aware that they too are being inundated by this crap.

Which means that I should shortly have the edits back.

I’m grateful for friends and family who are kind and generous. What are you grateful for?

Confession time: while I’ve been waiting, I snuck in a few updates and just sent him the updated MS.

Which means everything is on track.