World's Worst Patient

Health is not valued until sickness comes. ~ Thomas Fuller

Confession: I make a horrible sick person. Horrible. It’s true. Most things I can suck up and just deal with, but being sick has never really been one of them. I moan, I groan, I whine ‘Why me? Whhhyyy??!!’ Thankfully, I’ve been blessed with a kick ass immune system so I rarely have to explore this aspect of my personality, but every now and again the ole immune system gets caught napping and kaPOW!

And apparently it took the mother of all naps Tuesday morning. I woke up feeling fine and dandy, but by 10am nausea set in, followed by exhaustion. I thought, meh, just an off day. I’ll rest up tonight and be right as rain tomorrow. Until the chills set in. Once I get the chills I know I’m in trouble. It’s like my body’s way of saying, ‘Girl, you best batten down the hatches, ‘cause there’s a storm comin’.’ And sure enough…

I ended up leaving the day job early and made it home by 4pm where I crawled into bed. I crawled back out when hubby and the boy arrived home but it was a brief sojourn. I couldn’t get comfortable. All movement made the nausea worse. My body ached. My skin hurt. When I finally crawled back into bed, the dog was hogging my side. I didn’t have the energy to remove him and he sure as hell wasn’t going anywhere of his own volition. I whined, possibly sobbed, then collapsed half on the dog and half on the six inches of space he left me.

I figured I would be better in the morning. I’m rarely sick more than one day. But apparently the immune system didn’t fall asleep, it took a hiatus. The next day the chills and most of the aches were gone but the nausea, dizziness and exhaustion had taken root. I couldn’t walk across the room without needing a two hour nap to recover.  I couldn’t stomach anything more than water and most times not even that.  I woke the next day after a restless sleep feeling even worse. How could this be possible? I called in sick to the day job for a second day. Hubby brought me home some Gatorade to replenish my electrolytes and potassium levels. I managed two small glasses before my stomach cried, “Enough already!”

This morning I felt a little better. The nausea has subsided enough that I had a piece of toast with my Gatorade for breakfast. I even emptied the compost bin. Although that left my knees shaking and my head spinning so I had to sit down for about an hour afterwards.  Still not well enough to make it into work. The last time I suffered an epic flu like this was around 1992, a little over 20 years ago. I’m perfectly happy if I don’t see it again for another 20. Maybe by then I’ll learn to be a better sick person, but I wouldn't hold my breath.

Snow Day!

"Laziness will cause you pain." ~ Slogan on T-shirt worn at the Vee Arnis Jitsu School of Self-Defense

We’re having a snow day on a Sunday, which really isn’t convenient at all. It meant my RWA Chapter meeting was cancelled and any plans I have for writing are nebulous at best with a nine year old running about. Even when he tries to be quiet it means he only sounds like half a herd of elephants as opposed to the whole herd.

I’m still reworking my outline for A Heart Betrayed. Today is my last day to outline because starting tomorrow I need to dive into the actual writing and then produce 30 pages a week until the first week of April in order to get the first draft down. I’m not sure how doable that is, but given I’m running out of time and still need to incorporate time in there for revisions, it’s going to have to be. 

Hubby suggested we take 5 day in April or May to go to Universal Studios with the boy. I looked at him like he had two heads and said something to the effect of, “Are you crazy?! I can’t go anywhere until I turn this book in May 31^st!” I then suggested sightings of me may be scarce between now and then and he might want to take a picture. We’re not looking at early June for the trip to the Universal. By then, I may need a few days away from anything resembling a manuscript.

But, because I like to heap a bunch of crap on myself at the same time, I have also embarked on a new job with an old boss and re-started my weight training and running program which sort of fell by the wayside over the summer. I figure if nothing else, the muscle building will give me the energy/stamina to manage the writing and the new job.

And that is about all that is new on this front. I’m going to sign off now and go finish that outline. Now that I’ve totally revamped it (yet again), it had better fall into place!

My 2013 Book Challenge

First book on deck for 2013.

"Fiction reveals truths that reality obscures." ~ Jessamyn West

This year I am determined to read 2 books per month for a total of 24 books in 2013. Now, I know that doesn’t sound like a lot. I’ve seen some people with goals of 50 or 100 books over the course of the year. I don’t know how they do it. I’m convinced these people either don’t sleep, or speed read. I’d love to be able to manage that many books. Then maybe I’d put a bit more of a dent in my TBR pile, because I know I will definitely buy more than 24 books throughout the year, leaving me no further ahead than when I started. But whatever. A girl can never have too many books. 

Given my inability to read at the speed of light, I will stick with my 24 book goal. And, since I never met a list I didn’t like to make, I’ve…well… made a list. I went through my TBR pile and picked out the 24 books I plan to read. Now I say planned because, as my goals group partner Anne MacFarlane asked, “What happens if you buy a book and want to read it right away?”  My incredibly articular response was, “Uh…then I’ll probably just read it.” The list isn’t written in stone so much as a guideline. The overall number of books read is the ultimate goal. 

So here is my planned but not written in stone list of books for 2013:

 

1. The Night Circus – Erin Morgenstern
2. The Dove Keepers – Alice Hoffman
3. Inside – Alix Ohlin
4. Mockingjay – Suzanne Collins
5. The Broker – John Grisham
6. The Litigators – John Grisham
7. The Life You Longed For – Maribeth Fischer
8. The House at Riverton – Kate Morton
9. The Rose Garden – Susanna Kearsley
10. The Lost Wife – Alyson Richman
11. Duchess (a novel of Sarah Churchill) – Susan Holloway Scott
12. The Eighty Dollar Champion – Elizabetth Letts
13. Silent In the Sanctuary – Deanna Raybourn
14. Falling Together – Marisa de los Santos
15. The Book of Negroes – Lawrence Hill
16. The Forest of Hands and Teeth – Carrie Ryan
17. Graceling – Kristen Cashore
18. A Storm of Swords – George R. R. Martin
19. Last Night In Twisted River – John Irving
20. Rebel Heiress – Fiona Mountain
21. Sarah’s Key – Tatiana de Rosnay
22. Emily Hudson – Melissa Jones
23. The Preacher’s Daughter – Cheryl St. John
24. The Dressmaker – Posie Graeme-Evans

First up is The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan.

 

So what about you - have you set any book challenges for 2013?

 

~ Kelly

To Sleep, Perchance to Dream...

“When you have insomnia, you're never really asleep, and you're never really awake.”~ From the movie Fight Club, based on the novel by Chuck Palahniuk

 

I feel like the walking dead.

I’m in the middle of a lovely bout of insomnia that has been going on for three weeks now. I’ve hit the point where I start giggling partway through a conversation. With myself. Or I wander off in the middle of someone else’s conversation because I’ve forgotten we’re having one. While they’re still talking. This can’t end well.

I’ve tried a few different methods that usually help break the bout and get me back on track: melatonin, hot bath/shower, reading before bed, Advil PM. My insomnia just laughed at it. I swear. I heard it. Oh crap…I’m hearing things now.

I figure it’s just a matter of time before my brain shuts down completely and I wander into a wall or a tree. Maybe traffic. I probably shouldn’t be driving come to think of it, but I’m too tired to walk.

Oddly, I’ve managed to meet my weekly goal of 30 new pages written. Granted, when I edit them this weekend I may find I’ve nothing but the scribbled gibberish of a madwoman.  Seeing as I'm off to Starbucks momentarily to do my editing, I guess I'll soon find out!

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

A Brand New Year

Cedar checking out the holiday action.

Okay - it's not quite a brand new year, but since I have decided to resurrect this blog and try to post more regularly, I figure the weekend is the best time to do that. And given we are supposed to get hit with a winter storm warning in effect for tomorrow, I thought tonight would be a good night to start. With gusty winds there's always the possibility the power could take off to parts unknown (probably Cuba if its smart) come tomorrow.

So here's a bit of an update since I've been out of the loop for a bit. I'm thrilled to report I have signed a two book contract with Harlequin Historicals. The first book is SALVATION FALLS (although I suspect the title will change, stay tuned) and will be released in early 2014. The second one I am working on now and is tentatively titled, A HEART BETRAYED. If some of you diehards from a few years back may recall, Salvation Falls was the book I did for my first NaNoWrimo. Both are western historical romances.

My deadline for A Heart Betrayed is May 31, 2013. I've completed the research and outline and now I'm writing madly to get the first draft done by March 9th. This is the first time I'm writing on someone else's schedule other than my own. Gulp.

In other news, I will be ending my tenure at my current job on January 17th and starting a new/old job on January 21st. I say new/old because my former employer made me an offer I'd have been a fool to turn down. It will allow me more writing time, and hopefully work out when it comes time to transition to working part time and writing full time. I'll miss my current boss, she's been great to work with, and the friends I've made there, but in the end I had to make the decision based on what was best for my writing.

And in exciting news - I'm currently planning a trip to Rome, Italy in 2013. I'm slowly working my way through my list of places to go. Checked off my list - Paris, New York City, San Francisco and Prague. Next up Rome. Then...maybe Croatia. Or England. Maybe Bulgaria. Who knows...

Meanwhile - let me take this opportunity to wish everyone a healthy, happy and prosperous 2013! Hope you all had the best of holidays and that the new year treats you right!

Just a reminder, if you're looking for me on the interwebs, here's where you can find me:

Website: www.kellyboyce.com (in process of being updated!)
Facebook Page: Kelly Boyce, Author
Twitter: @KellyLBoyce
Pinterest:  Kelly Boyce

And, of course, here. :)

~ Kelly