Tag: shingles

The Spanish Coin, Rescued?

In my H is for Historical Fiction blog post on April 10, 2017, I announced that I needed to make some major plot changes and rewrite my novel manuscript titled The Spanish Coin. I wasn’t sure I had it in me to do that. All is not lost, though!

The-Spanish-Coin-Rescued

 

I’ve brainstormed and come up with an idea for rescuing the book! I hope to start the actual rewrite by the end of the summer. I plan to retain the working title – The Spanish Coin. It won’t be the same story as the original idea, but it will still take place in the Carolinas in the years just prior to the American Revolution. This weekend I started doing deep character work on my protagonist.

I’m getting help!

Barbara Kyle’s “Your Path to a Page-Turner” program [https://www.barbarakyle.com] has been a tremendous help to me as I start creating the people who live in my novel. Andrea Lundgren, my writing coach, [https://andrealundgren.com] cheers me on and gives constructive feedback. I am also encouraged by the comments my blog posts receive on the blog itself and on my Facebook pages.

You have all been very patient with me on my journey as a writer. I hope we will all be rewarded someday with The Spanish Coin held together by a spine and two book covers!

Liebster and Versatile Blogger Awards

A few weeks ago, Andrea Lundgren nominated me for the Liebster Award and blogger YellowFuzzyDuck nominated me for the Versatile Blogger Award. While I was honored by both nominations, I had to decline due to my health.

I thought it only fair that I acknowledge the nominations in this blog post and explain why I couldn’t fulfill the requirements. I thought that telling this personal story might also serve as an explanation for anyone thinking that I’m taking too long to write a book.

CFS/ME

One requirement of both those blogging awards is that the nominee must tell some things about themselves that their readers probably do not know. Something that most of my readers don’t know is that I have Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. That’s its lame name in the United States. In most of the rest of the world it is called Myalgic Encephalopathy or Myalgic Encephalomyelitis. I was diagnosed in 1987. My energy level remained essentially the same throughout the first 29 years except for a very gradual decline.

Shingles

Having shingles (May 2016 until recently) has taken an additional toll on me, and I have been unable to regain the energy level I had prior to that illness. My right cornea is still not happy!

Energy slumps

I’ve had slumps before. I choose to believe that this is just a longer-than-usual slump. I choose to expect to improve any day now. That positive attitude has gotten me through the last 30 years. I am, by no means, an invalid. I don’t want to leave that impression!

My life at the present time

I am pretty much at home, though, because getting out and about is draining. For instance, a trip to the grocery store can land me in bed or on the couch for a day or two. I’m fortunate that writing is, for the most part, a sedentary occupation.

Having to rewrite The Spanish Coin is daunting. I love to write and I enjoy doing the research required in order to write historical fiction; however, that doesn’t mean it isn’t work. I refuse to give up, though!

Call to Action!

Please visit Andrea Lundgren’s blog, https://andrealundgren.com. Andrea writes insightful and informative blog posts about various aspects of writing. As my writing coach, she has her work cut out for her!

Also, please visit YellowFuzzyDuck’s Turtledesk blog, https://turtledesk.wordpress.com. This blog takes on a variety of topics and contains beautiful photographs.

Until my next blog post

I hope you have a good book to read. My blog post on Friday will be about the books I read during the month of May. I read some good ones!

If you’re a writer, I hope you have productive writing time. If you are still learning the craft of writing, you might want to visit https://www.barbarakyle.com and check out Barbara’s “Your Path to a Page-Turner” program.

Janet

How’s that 2016 reading challenge working for you?

On March 11 I blogged about the 2016 Reading Challenge offered by the Mint Hill Branch of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Public Library. I had already checked off three of the 19 categories and was optimistic about meeting the challenge of reading books from at least 12 categories this calendar year. Enter bronchitis, vertigo, shingles in my right eye, and now post-herpetic neuralgia from my eyelid to the top of my head. 2016 will be half over in a few days, and I have only checked off five categories.

To refresh your memory, here are the 19 categories from the Mint Hill Library:

A book that became a movie;
A book published in 2015;
A book with a number in the title;
A nonfiction book;
A Pulitzer prize winning book;
A book more than a hundred years old;
A book that might scare you;
A book set somewhere you’ve always wanted to visit;
A book set in the future;
A book written by an author with your same initials;
A banned book;
A book from your childhood;
A book with a color in the title;
A book based on a true story;
A popular author’s first book;
A book set in a different country;
A funny book;
A mystery or thriller; and
A book with a one-word title.

I hope your reading thus far this year has far exceeded mine. With my vision returning to normal, it’s time for me to play catch-up!

Please feel free to leave a comment about the books you’ve been reading and if you find a reading challenge helpful or interesting.

Thank you for your patience while I have been ill and unable to blog on a regular basis. Look for my blog on Fridays. That’s my plan for a while.

Shingles in Right Eye

Just a note to let you know that the shingles virus has transitioned into postherpetic neuralgia. My eye is healing beautifully, but the burning pain due to damaged nerves throughout the right side of my head is presenting quite a challenge and can last for months. I am still unable to read or do much at all, so my writing is almost at a standstill.

I hope to be able to resume blogging in a few weeks.