Hi Everyone! Welcome to March, which in my neighborhood is coming in like a lamb, refuting the old adage “March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb.” It did rain the first couple of days here, but the last two it’s been sunny and almost 70. Glorious. I’m actually behind on my spring cleaning gardening; lots of little shoots out there that make it harder to do the “out with old” cleanup. I’ll have to tiptoe around the canna lilies, and I honest to god just realized the origin of “tiptoe around the tulips” as I was writing that. *head smack*
My husband just had spine surgery on Friday and my life has pretty much been occupied with that since I last wrote you all. He had severe arthritis and stenosis of the L4 and L5 vertebrae. They went in and cleaned up the bones, getting rid of bone spurs etc, put in 2 rods and 4 screws and a cage around it all. 3 hour surgery. He didn’t have surgery until late afternoon, so I was at the hospital all day. And then, my husband came home the next morning. You read that right. He texted me around 8:30 and asked me if I could be there by 10. I thought he meant to visit, but then he called me on my way there and said to let them know when I was close because they would wheel him down and load him into the car. This is medical care in America now, folks. In and out, like a drive-thru burger. Also, I have come to the realization that hospitals exist almost exclusively for the benefit of the elderly, with the occasional one-off, like my husband, based on what I saw there.
He is doing great, actually. He literally walked around the night of his surgery. He’s using a walker but getting stronger every day. They said an 8-12 week recovery, though. No lifting anything for a while, or twisting or bending. His back hurts, of course, but the pain that sent him to the doctor in the first place is gone. It’s pretty amazing, truth be told.
While I was waiting during the surgery I managed to write a chapter in BRODIE. I got a chai latte at the hospital Panera (not my first choice of establishment, but beggars can’t be choosers.) Then I sat in the hospital atrium on a rainy day and said I’m going to write a chapter (it’s why I lugged my damn laptop there in the first place) and so I did. I also read several chapters in this great new writing book I just got, Mastering Suspense Structure & Plot: How to Write Gripping Stories That Keep Readers on the Edge of Their Seats* by Jane K. Cleland. My mystery writing bestie (J.D. Allen)* tells me Cleland is an excellent teacher/writer. But what I like most is that she applies the advice to all genres, including romance. So it’s not just for mystery writers. I think I do a good job, in general, of keeping the tension high enough readers want to turn to the next page to find out what happens, but it’s always good to brush up on technique and learn new things. I also love finding new names for something I’ve been doing already, like “bookends”, which is essentially a callback at the end to what opened the book. Example: in Prisoner of Love* (Brothers in Arms Book 8), the book opens with Very and Wolf rowing around on a lake and it ends with Very, Wolf, and Michael sitting in a boat on a lake. I love to complete a circle like that.
I also bought Cleland’s Mastering Plot Twists: How to Use Suspense, Targeted Storytelling Strategies, and Structure to Captivate Your Readers*; Steering the Craft: A 21st-Century Guide to Sailing the Sea of Story* by master storyteller Ursula K. Le Guin; and three writing workbooks to help me FINALLY put my Brothers in Arms series bible down on paper. So fear not, dear reader, I am actively working to create more stories for you!
See you next week! Thanks for reading.
My Favorite Things This Week:
While researching a writing residency (which was not for me), I happened to discover The Kenyon Review. You can buy individual issues (I bought Volume XLVI, Number 1, Winter 2024)) but you can also get a subscription. It’s full of wonderful nonfiction, poetry, short fiction, and some amazing original cover art. I’m enjoying it very much! I sometimes get so caught up in novel reading that I forget about some of the wonderful short fiction and nonfiction being published out there.
SCTV: Behind the Scenes* is my husband’s recovery reading. He’s Canadian, so he cut his humor teeth on SCTV. He’s super excited to read it.
Montchevre Thai Sweet Chili Topped Goat Cheese spread. This stuff is amazing and delicious, and addictive. So good!
*Amazon link. I may get commissions if you buy anything after clicking these.
Quote of the Week:
A hospital bed is a parked taxi with the meter running.
Groucho Marx