Wow. I haven’t done this in a while. A really long, loooooooooooong while.
As most of you probably know, I was diagnosed with a recurrence of my breast cancer in early 2019. Scans midway through chemo showed I had a complete pathological response to treatment — no cancer. I was and remain NED (No Evidence of Disease). YAY! Lack of death is always appreciated, LOL. Unless you follow me on twitter, what you probably don’t know is, although chemo kept me alive, it fried my brain. The drugs I was put on to fight cancer the 2nd time were way stronger than what I had the first time through treatment, did a lot more damage to me on a cognitive level. And, just like chemo for my original dx in 2015, that brain fog lingered.
Learning to function on a day-to-day level was my first priority. I still can’t do a lot. Basic things. Essential things. For example, I have to set a timer every time I leave the kitchen when I cook because as soon as I walk out the kitchen door, I forget that I’m cooking. (My short-term memory is effectively non-existent.) I put recipes in acetate sleeves so I can check off ingredients with a dry erase marker as I gather them so I don’t forget I’ve already added salt 2 or 3 times. I have literally hopped into my car and forgotten where I was going and why I needed to be there while driving en route. Long story short, I invested years developing a whole raft of lifehacks to find a way around the parts of my brain that no longer work and what I still can’t do (example, manage my appointments), I rely on hubs.
Learning to write again…That took even longer, but ha, I finally figured that out too.
The file is due on my editor’s desk on the 1st. I don’t have the final for the cover yet, but I signed off on the mockup only yesterday. Formatter is waiting. I’ve kinda figured out how to distribute ARCs? Kinda. Here’s hoping, anyway. In related news, if you want to be part of the review team, give me a yell either in comments or via my email (kari AT karigregg DOT com) and I’ll make sure you get an ARC.
A new story’s coming!
