Random Paris Facts

Now that Paris has been out a couple of weeks, I thought I'd share a couple of random facts about it.

First, the guidebook that Angelo uses actually exists. When I was trying to come up with a title for the book, I stumbled across Paris A to Z on Amazon. It's out of print, but I was able to purchase a used copy. I had no idea why I needed it, but once I had it in my hand, I knew Angelo would dig it.

Second, I have had one person ask about the poems Angelo shows to Matt and Zach. The poems are both by Wendell Berry. The one about Matt's amazed moments is called A Wild Rose, and you can see it here. The one Angelo shows to Zach is called The Country of Marriage, but as he tells Zach in the book, it's not the whole poem. It's only stanza V. I applied for permission to print the entire stanza in the book, but never heard back from the publisher, so had to cut it. You can see this poem here.

My space pirate story, tentatively titled Blind Space, is not quite done. I finished the first draft and sent it off to my beta readers. I've heard back from some of them. At this point, I think I need to add one scene to finish it, but I haven't really felt up to it. Which sort of brings me to my last point…

I don't normally discuss personal stuff here on my blog, but I've decided to break my rule this time.

For the past three or four months, I haven't felt well. It's not that I felt horrible. It was more like chronic, low-key blahs. Mostly, I've been absolutely exhausted. All the time. Back in January, I went to the doctor and was diagnosed with walking pneumonia. But even after being treated for that, I didn't feel right. Some weeks would be better than others, and it never failed that about the time I'd decide to go see a doctor, I'd start feeling better.

Well, a couple of weeks ago, my husband and Heidi both convinced me to stop stalling. I finally went to the doctor. I found out that on top of not feeling well, I'd apparently lost weight and was running a fever. The doctor sent me for a battery of blood tests. Today, I heard back on those results. It's nothing horrific or life-threatening, so no worries. The first results indicate severe anemia. Apparently, there are many different types of anemia, and the next step is (you guessed it) more tests in order to figure out how to treat it.

So all in all, it's clearly not the end of the world. On the other hand, I also realize that this constant need to push myself, to write more, to do more, is more than I can handle at the moment. I don't just feel exhausted. I really am exhausted. In theory, I'll be starting some kind of meds or treatment or something in the near future, and hopefully I'll feel better then. But for now, I realize I have the right to say, "No more."

So that's kind of what I'm doing. No more. For the moment, at least. I'm not pushing myself to finish this story until I'm ready. I do have a release in about six weeks, and in the meantime, I'll have edits and such to do. I'm scheduled to do a couple of chats the weekend of April 30th, and I'll still do those. I'll still be around Facebook and Cupoporn and Twitter, but other than that, I'm sort of calling a time out.

TIME OUT!

I hope it won't last long. I hope in a few weeks I'm ready to jump back into writing full-speed, but for now, I'm taking a bit of a breather. Once I actually finish the space pirates, I'll let you know.

Until then, I'd like to say I'm thrilled at how many of you have contacted me to tell me that you loved Paris. I loved writing it, so it's really gratifying to know that the fun keeps growing. My next release is Between Sinners and Saints. It's tentatively scheduled for release on May 29th. I'm extremely excited about this book. I hope you all enjoy getting to know Jaime and Levi.

And just for the hell of it, I'll leave you now with this.