War to End All Wars Mini Tease #3

Val was delighted by part of this news at least. “You danced with Heinrich?”

Miranda might not blush as often as she used to, but when she did she still blushed like a champion. “No one else would. I was bored…”

“Did he grab your butt?”

“Valentine!”

So That Sucked Serious Blood Tentacle

 *sigh*

My AC died July 5th, obliterated by post July 4th firework residue, firmly etching that holiday as the worst of all holidays, not even close, no not even you New Year's Eve Dodge the Redneck and Gangbanger Bullets Extravaganza, sit the fuck down!  Used to love it--swimming, family, grandpa's burgers, tag football games that only ended when someone dislocated a shoulder...but now?  Hate it.  Loud, noisy, scares the cats, turns the valley into an asthmatic's worst nightmare even more than it usually is, and oh yeah, KILLS MY FUCKING AC.

DURING THE WORST HEATWAVE FRESNO HAS SEEN IN A FUCKING DECADE.

Maybe two.

TWO FUCKING DECADES.

When Britney Spears only sang about being a slave, but wasn't an actual fucking slave, that's how long ago!

 *sigh*

I survived miserably for five nights.  Not well, every moment a struggle, but...I kept going.  Saturday it was 110 degrees out and my body with its tiny bariatric stomach and lovely Scot-Irish What's the Sun? Genes had enough, I developed the first signs of serious OH SHIT heat exhaustion.  I don't know if my neighbors deciding to have a live mariachi band in a residential neighborhood until 3AM contributed or not, but I'm guessing it didn't help. 

Covered in wet rags and cold packs after two hours I finally cooled down and slumped into a restless sleep.

Sunday morning I could barely walk and decided to not fuck around anymore and went to the ER.

They were barely helpful, but...I got eight hours of free cool during the peak of the heatwave (115) they gave me obvious-but-fine-I'll-do-them tips and an IV, as well as warning signs on what to watch out for.  Spent the rest of the day in a Taco Bell, went home for a small miserable sleep in a house that wouldn't cool down past 90, and repeated at my uncle's place the next day.

Despite all this...Tuesday morning at about 2AM it got even worse in a terrifying escalation of symptoms, so...back to the ER.

*sigh*

New doctor.  They were...insultingly unhelpful.  I quote "your organs aren't failing yet, so there's nothing we can really do for you."

OH, I'M FUCKING SORRY ABOUT THAT, MY BAD!

I've only got uncontrollable body shaking and I'm so dizzy I can barely walk and hey, if I wasn't dizzy every muscle below my knee and elbow is cramping and spastic, and I'm so fucking smooth-brained it took me a whole minute to spell out my own name to the nurse, but no biggie!  Also I seem to have forgotten how to sweat, sure that's not important or on that list of shit you told me to watch out for.   How rude of me, I should have waited until my kidneys were giving out!

"Get some sleep and wet some towels to throw over you".

Oh yeah, why didn't I fucking think of that?

*sigh*

So I moved in with the uncle for three days to borrow his couch and luckily I somehow didn't get worse.  Thursday the new AC got put up and I'm finally back home.  I've slept about 12 hours a night since that last ER visit and I'm just to the point where the dizzy and cramping seems to have gone away, still can't go outside for longer than five minutes, even at 90 degrees.

I've also lost ten pounds in the last week...which is VERY not how my surgeons expected this shit to go at this point.

Obviously no writing has been done, this is the first time I've touched a computer ever through all that.  I'll probably need a week more of rest, then we'll see where we go from there.

I was just starting to think that maybe, just maybe I could get one of these books out to you guys before December rolled around, but it would probably take a miracle at this point.  So we're looking at February at the earliest.  If I don't self combust.  Which...is probably 50/50 at this point!

Part of me wants to change things up and switch over to the Vicky novel and put some time into that, readthrough, fix some problems, and reenter into the world of elemental politics, pretty dresses, and art collections.  But I also might just type the 69 (nice!) pages I have into the computer and keep going with THE BEST STUDENT ADVISOR EVER.  None of them have died yet, have they?!?!  Sure, one of them is raising up animals from the dead as pets, but you try to stop her!

Not necessarily boxing myself in to whatever you lot say, but...any desire on which you'd rather read first, Vicky Present Time Line One Month Before FM7 or Last School Story MEGA EDITION?

Anyway...I'm going back to napping...

And maybe I'll have some sugar free popsicles...

July-ish 2021 PURE INFERNO Quick Notes

 1.  Just a tad hot out here in California, well...the whole country really.  And the Artic circle apparently, which I'm sure is JUST FINE.

2.  Wrote a very acceptable amount this month, feel like I'm really making significant progress for the first time in forever.  [Cue Frozen music].  Like...I'm going to finish this book.  And the Vicky book not so long after it.  Which is how things are supposed to work when you're an author, but after the last few years in this quagmire of misery this is the first month I've felt like victory wasn't just possible, but it's going to fucking happen.  You almost start questioning yourself...did I really do this at least once maybe even twice a year?  Yeah, Richard, you did.

I mean...every novel I've ever finished has felt like a miracle at one point or another, but...so very nice to be back where I am and to feel like I'm reclaiming this career I sacrificed so much for.

3.  Still months of writing and editing for WAR TO END ALL WARS but...I can feel it now, it's not an idea, it's reality.  Also, I'm...me, I guess.  I'm sharp.  I'm thinking through all the angles.  I'm starting to remember bits and pieces of the series and how to connect them all.  I feel funny again and want to make people laugh and smile and feel all the wonderful emotions we humans are possible of.  And maybe a few of the horrible ones as well...

4.  Had a massive epiphany concerning FM7.  Seismic.  It changes nothing, but changes everything.  Heh.  More on this later.  Still thinking it through.  But...well...I guess I'll just tease you and say it cleans up some problems I had with the back half of the series.

5.  No delays and nothing has to be rewritten though, so don't freak out.

6.  July is stuffed with doctors sadly, so not sure if I can keep this pace up without getting distracted by REAL LIFE.  One year post surgery on July 31st so...they want their blood work and appointments and procedures and ARGH!!!

7.  Lost 160 pounds almost.  60 pre surgery, 100 post.  Walking a mile five days a week now.  Tried a bunch of different stuff but that seems to be the best for me.  Let my legs take the brunt and save my wrists and elbows for writing!  Need another round of new shirts probably.  3XLs are looking quite huge these days.  Food wise can pretty much eat anything I'd want at this point outside of sugary treats.  Still allergic to dairy and pork and nuts because of the stupid EOE throat thing, but...just had a whole black bean burrito for breakfast.  Yummy!  Without cheese...  😱  Stupid EOE!!!

8.  Was also the one year anniversary of my grandfather's death last week.  Tough.  Especially on my Mom.  Whole thing has been, but that week was bad.  You think you have it handled, and maybe you mostly do, but grief still hits you in ways you don't expect.  A favorite saying slipping from your mouth or a stranger at the store wearing a shirt that looks too close to one you've seen hundreds of times before...

9.  Anyone else watching the Euros?  Yesterday was CRAZY.

10.  Rereading Sanderson's Stormlight book 3 finally, so I can get back into that series.  Still have Abercrombie, Malazan, Hobb, and plenty more to catch up on!

11.  Stay cool!!!  Stay safe!!! Stay foul!!!

War to End All Wars Mini Tease #2

 A whole weekend to myself.

Just me and my old playground.

Consider the King Returned, Bitches!

Where the Elf women at?!?!

War to End All Wars Mini Tease #1

"How, uh...how long you been standing there, Boom?"

"Oh, just something about choking and chains..."