July #writemotivation and Surgery Wrap-up

The blog post wherein I am taunted by a coffee maker, am turned into a canvas by a maniacal surgeon, am stabbed with needles, am given a liter of fluid in half an hour, learned that a Bier Block is not a reference to alcohol, am sliced and diced and given pain meds, woke up with Oompa Loompa fingers, and sleep for 3 days.

But before all that, let's talk about July's goals. Somewhere along the way, July came and went. I wrote, I read, I cheered, I flailed, I had lots of feels about flailing, and I slowly got back into a groove before getting disrupted by surgery.

The last few days have been a blur...literally.

July Goals:

1. Try to write every day or do something involving writing (really didn’t do that in June and ended up flopping around like a dying goldfish) I did some writing, did a lot of reading, and did some critiquing.
2. Finish up my critiques. Yup.
3. Cheer my #writemotivation pals on. There was some cookie slinging going on.

I'm doing my best not to feel bad about my writing this past month. I struggled a lot and the last few days have been hard physically and emotionally. Who knew surgery would take so much out of a person.


August Goals:

1. Write every day. This will be hampered by the wrist surgery, but still something I need to strive for.
2. Blog once a week.
3. Cheer on my #writemotivation tweeps
4. Read two books
5. Participate in the Pay It Forward Giveaway (see button on the side-bar)

Now on to the insanity.

It started with the taunting coffee maker. I was dying by this point. I had not eaten since the night before and I had to sit and stare at the coffee maker at the surgery center's waiting room. It was torture.

The coffee maker...it taunts me.

There were two IV ports inserted into my body. One went into my left arm that delivered antiobiotics, fluid, the general anesthetic, and other meds as needed. While waiting for the surgery before me to finish, the nurse accidentally left the saline bag all the way open and pumped a liter of fluid into my body in about 30 minutes. Needless to say, I had to use the restroom a couple times before the surgery.

I've been marked. I wonder if I could sell his signature on eBay...

The marking was important because they needed to make sure the Bier Block did not interfere with the surgery. No, not Beer...Bier. A Bier Block is pretty cool. The put a tourniquet on your arm and an IV in the other end and numb the arm completely. The ended up putting the port on the inside of my wrist. The nurses loved my veins as they were nice and large and easy to poke.

The surgery went well. The doctor repaired the small tear and cleared out what he called "debris". I wasn't conscious, so I'm not sure of the details. I see him in a couple weeks, so I should get the details then. When I woke up, I had Oompa Loompa fingers as my hand was swollen and covered in orange surgery prep stuff. If I had been more conscious, I would have snapped a picture.

UPDATE: Forgot to mention that I dreamed that someone was playing Journey's Don't Stop Believing during the surgery. Reality they weren't. It was still weird.

I did get some Diet Dr. Pepper, but my stomach was not up to coffee at that point. And I actually didn't have any that day.

FYI: My arm isn't bent awkwardly, that is my knee in the lower left hand corner. My arm is resting on it.

It's hard to see in that picture, but my fingers are orange and very swollen. I was also pale and feeling icky. Mostly nauseous from the meds and stuff as well as fuzzy from the Hydrocodone. I slept for several days.

It's only a flesh wound! Had worse!

It doesn't look that bad here. Mostly because it is covered by something called a Steri-strip. I have to change the dressing once a day (the Steri-strip stays until it falls off or the doctor removes it). I'm learning to do things one-handed as most things are not possible or difficult with the right hand. You don't realize how dependent you are on everything working correctly until your without. I'm getting better, but sometimes I forget and over use the hand and it hurts.

The pain has been constant, but not overwhelming anymore. I took my last pain pill Sunday morning with Tylenol and the occasional Aleve filling in the gaps. I wear a sling when I'm icing it. Thursday, I see the physical therapist and I should be out of the brace in two weeks.

I'm lucky. We caught it early. If I had waited too long, it could have caused irreversible muscle and nerve damage. Something I'm learning is, if the joint isn't stable, there is something wrong. You would think it would be easy to remember, but I'm a guy and like to think I'm tough.

Oh, and the other hand has a nice bruise on it from the IV port...

Yes, it hurts to touch.

Anyway, looking for August to be a little better. Typing is only affected when the hand hurts too much, but that part is getting better daily.

'Till Next Time.

Cover Reveal: Nether Fire by Bonnie Rae

Today is a bitter-sweet day for me. Today is my cover reveal for for the last Bonnie Rae's Nether trilogy, Nether Fire. I've read all three books and loved them. She's an amazing writer and a good friend and I can't wait to read more of her stuff.

She's also been blessed with an amazing cover artist. So, instead of just posting the newest one, I'm going to show all three off at the same time...because they are THAT awesome.

I thought I had done cover reveals for her in the past, but for some reason I didn't. So I'm stealing the artwork from other places.

Nether Bound (book 1)

Nether Soul (book 2)

And now for the third one. Of the three, I have a hard time deciding on a favorite. I love the second cover, but the third one is pretty amazing too. Hell (pun intended), they're all awesome.

Nether Fire (book 3)

After being gravely wounded by her little sister, Ava awakes in Arcadia and the City of Angels isn't so welcoming. She is, after all, Lucifer's Angel of Death and she has only one mission. Open the portal between Arcadia and the Nether World allowing Lucifer's army to penetrate the gilded walls of Heaven. Too bad Arcadia has other plans. Before she has the chance to set Lucifer's plot in motion, they send her and Devon hurtling back to Earth. Now, stripped of their powers, the two must put aside their differences and race against time to save Christa's soul and the shattered remains of Mankind. If they fail, darkness will rule their two worlds and obliterate what is left of Earth. If they succeed, Ava could still lose everything.

Including herself.

So, what do you guys think?

'Till Next Time.

It's Just a Flesh Wound! and July 2013 #writemotivation number 4

So a few days ago, I had a post talking about my wrist injury. Well, the saga continues.

Last week, I had a doctor's appointment with family doctor. He took a look at my wrist and declared I had something called a Ganglion Cyst. The traditional treatment was to thump the offending cyst with the spine of a book. This garnered the name "Bible Cyst" as most houses had one (in the OOOOOLD days).

I'm not unfamiliar with this cyst. My sister had one when we were younger (same wrist even). It took surgery to repair it.

Anyway, I was sent on to the hand doctor. He took one look at it and said that I needed surgery. He said that "Ganglion Cyst" is a catch all phrase for these things. In my case, he said, I have ruptured the wrist capsule and am leaking fluid into an area it shouldn't be. Not only is it uncomfortable, it is pressing against the nerves. In other words, it hurts. It is also getting worse and if left untreated could cause permanent muscle damage.

Right now, I can't write with a pen or pencil for longer than it takes to write my name. I can, however, still type (which means I can write). If I couldn't, there are options. I can't really scrub things like dishes for very long. Chopping vegetables is painful after a few chops. Pressure on the back (Dorsal) part of my wrist is very painful.

So, I have surgery scheduled for Thursday (7/25). It's outpatient and should only take a couple hours (including recovery time). In preparation and I can't eat anything after midnight Wednesday. And when I say "anything" that includes liquids. So no coffee until AFTER the surgery. When they asked if I had any questions, I joking asked if they could give me some coffee when I woke up. We'll see if they follow through.

On to the goals:

1. Try to write every day or do something involving writing (really didn’t do that in June and ended up flopping around like a dying goldfish) I've been reading a lot lately. However, I did send out a couple chapters of Snapshot to a few people and have got super amazing responses.
2. Finish up my critiques. Had a wonderful Skype session with Tawney (the winner of my #fundsforFeaky auction). We talked about a lot of things (books, movies, story ideas), etc. I also did a crit for my wonderful CP and even read an amazing short story by another friend.
3. Cheer my #writemotivation pals on. Still cheering!

And now for today's dose of super cute gif.

'Till Next Time

July 2013 #writemotivation Update 3

So, a couple days ago, this happened.

My wrist has been sore for a while, but recently the stiffness turned into pain. It's to the point where I can't write by hand without pain (which I generally only do when writing shopping lists) and I can't fold laundry. Certain movements hurt. I have a doctor's appointment Tuesday. We'll see what he says. I've been wearing the splint for a week and it hasn't improved. I've also been icing it and taking anti-inflammatories.

The theory is that I hurt it at Wifey's bday party. We went to someplace called PowerPlay and I was using this mallet to try and ring a bell. I'd never been able to do that before, but this time I did. I only got 40 "tickets" out of breaking the top score. My thumb was sore from how hard I was hitting the strike plate (I was jumping in the air to hit it) and I ignored it (like the man I am). It was sometime after (maybe a couple days? I can't remember) that I noticed my wrist was stiff.

It got worse when I was getting out of bed one night to use the bathroom. My bed has high sides because it used to be a waterbed (got it on Craigslist so who knows). Anyway, I was pushing off the side to stand up and my wrist buckled. Which hurt (obviously). It's been getting worse and worse since that point.

The good news is that I can still type!

So here are my goals:

1. Try to write every day or do something involving writing (really didn’t do that in June and ended up flopping around like a dying goldfish) So far so good! Into chapter 3 and I just sent what I had to my wonderful CP, Bonnie, to see what she thinks.
2. Finish up my critiques. So this is done. I've scheduled a follow up skype session with the winner of my #fundsforFeaky auction.
3. Cheer my #writemotivation pals on. Still a little quiet on this, but I'm still doing it. Lots of awesome things happening for people and accomplishing their goals.

Also this last week, I got to go see one of my favorite authors, Tessa Gratton, talk about her new book The Lost Sun. I'm so excited to read this book. In addition to talking about writing, her new book, etc. She read part of her favorite book (and what really inspired her to write) Beowulf. Her version had the old English and Modern translation. It was also translated by a poet so it's more lyrical. Most translations make it prose and they lose the lyrical beauty. Anyway, from the part she read, I totally want to read it now (the version she had and not a prose one).

This isn't the best picture, but she moves around a lot when she's talking and I had to take the picture three times (and then my phone died). Anyway, if you haven't read any of her books, I highly recommend them.

After the discussion where she answered some really awesome questions, she had a book signing. I need to take a picture of what she wrote in my book. It's a continuation of what she wrote when she signed my copy of Blood Magic (her first book and my first experience with YA paranormal...like ever). In that copy (that I swear I have a picture of somewhere), she wrote "To that psycho freak who stalks me on Twitter." In my copy of The Lost Sun, she wrote "Still Stalking Me!".

I'll take pictures and post later because it's awesome. The reality is I don't stalk her, but I do admire her. She's an amazing writer and a wonderful person. I've had the opportunity to hang out with on multiple occasions. She is a local author and we are both part of a group of Kansas authors that meets regularly.

The last thing that happened this week was #PitchMAS. I wasn't going to participate because Hate Jacket is with my mentor agent. But, I decided to anyway. I ended up with three requests. One has been sent out, the other two will be soon. I did pitch my two picture books, but nobody seemed interested. Either I wasn't pitching them well enough or I wasn't pitching them when the few people interested in picture books were watching. It was a long shot on those two, but I tried.

'Till Next Time.

July 2013 #writemotivation Updates 1 and 2

Ok. Last week was super busy. Not only did I have two blog posts for other people (A cover reveal for Jennifer L. Armintrout and a post about the new look of Entangled Publishing Indulgence line). Not only that, but it was Angsty Tween's 12th birthday, my 15th wedding anniversary, the 4th of July and then it was Friday and I hadn't done a #writemotivation blog post.

Seriously, the world needs to slow down sometimes.

Anyway, here are my goals and progress for this month:

1. Try to write every day or do something involving writing (really didn’t do that in June and ended up flopping around like a dying goldfish) Doing really good with this. I have either written or read every day this month. Last Friday I think I finally broke through the wall and the words started flowing again. I've been focusing on Snapshot and making good progress. Might have to send some of it to my betas so they can tell me if it works or not.
2. Finish up my beta read (if I don’t finish it before the end of June). I sent a response to the author and am waiting for them to respond. In the meantime, I am doing a review of someone else's first 10 pages as part of the #FundsForFeaky auction. Hopefully I won't make them cry...too much...
3. Cheer my #writemotivation pals on. Sort of...need to do better on this. Last week was super busy.

And now for a cute animal gif...because...

'Till Next Time.

The New Look of Indulgence From Entangled Publishing

Today I get to do something a little different. Instead of just one cover, I get to post three new covers.

Why?

Well, the Indulgence Line of books from Entangled got a new look and they wanted to show off the new pretties. I've done several cover reveals for Entangled and I always enjoy helping them out, so it was only natural for me to chip in when they sent out the call to blogs everywhere.

So what is the Indulgence line?

Indulgence books are short contemporary romances. They are new, fresh, edgy, light, and whimsical and always have a happily ever after.

Make sense?

So here are a few of the new covers.

Famously Engaged, by Robyn Thomas

A chef and a rock star. They couldn’t be from more different worlds…
Rock star royalty’s favorite son, Jake Olsen, couldn’t help but interfere after listening to his future brother-in-law talk non-stop about his ex-wife, Beth Carlisle. Jake decides that the only way to get the groom’s mind off his ex-wife is to give her a fake fiancé.

Before Jake can convince Beth of his plan, he's forced to move in with her to avoid the paparazzi. Their instant attraction makes for a sizzling "first date", but soon Jake’s fame gets in the way and Beth wants out. Too bad Jake's figured out just why her ex is so obsessed with her, and he's afraid he's not going to be able to give her up either.

Now it's up to Jake to convince this chef together they make the perfect recipe.

Amazon: http://amzn.to/16KcgH1
Barnes and Noble: Coming

The Wedding Gamble, by Cindi Myers

Preschool teacher Laura Nichols is celebrating her birthday and sister's bachelorette party in Vegas. Being in Sin City is thrilling and she intends on tapping in to her wild side. Laura can't resist the added excitement that comes with saying yes when a hunky man off the street proposes...

FBI agent David Abruzzo has been working undercover as a thug to bring down the Zacolli crime family, but his cover depends on convincing the mob he came to Vegas for a quickie wedding. If they catch on to his plan, his cover's blown, and he's as good as dead.

Over the course of 48 hours, David and Laura use rollercoasters, glowing condoms, and exotic male dancers to stay alive and bring the crime family down. But it will take more than Lady Luck, one night of passion, and a little Vegas magic to turn their fake marriage into something real.

Amazon: http://amzn.to/13mhnyK
Barnes and Noble: http://bit.ly/11bhLAf

Dishing Up Desire, by Barbara DeLeo

Image consultant Blake Matthews is facing his toughest PR challenge yet: salvage the image of celebrity chef Kirin Hart. Once he does, he'll be able to acquire LA's most successful PR firm. But Kirin's no easy fix. She's stubborn about changing her comfortable homemaker image, and is being sued for sexual harassment by a junior staffer. She needs a PR lifeline fast. Only problem is Blake wants more than to make her over...

Kirin doesn't need a makeover--her fans love her as she is. But she could lose everything if the sex scandal and reputation that has followed doesn't get quashed right away. Kirin agrees to let model-perfect Blake work his magic for two weeks, but things get complicated when she can't deny the way her body flares to life whenever he's near.

Amazon: http://amzn.to/19PTKCs
Barnes and Noble: http://bit.ly/15ZJUWR

'Till Next Time.

Cover Reveal: Origin (A Lux Novel) by Jennifer L. Armentrout

My last cover reveal for Jennifer almost caught my screen on fire with the steaminess. If you don't remember, here's a refresher. This new cover, for her Lux series, is less steamy and more guy who will destroy the world to find the girl cover. Seriously, it's bad ass...but first...Jennifer.

#1 NEW YORK TIMES and USA TODAY Bestselling author Jennifer Armentrout lives in Martinsburg, West Virginia. All the rumors you’ve heard about her state aren’t true. When she’s not hard at work writing. she spends her time reading, working out, watching really bad zombie movies, pretending to write, and hanging out with her husband and her Jack Russell, Loki.

Her dreams of becoming an author started in algebra class, where she spent most of her time writing short stories….which explains her dismal grades in math. Jennifer writes young adult paranormal, science fiction, fantasy, and contemporary romance. She is published with Spencer Hill Press, Entangled Teen and Brazen, Disney/Hyperion and Harlequin Teen.

She also writes adult and New Adult romance under the name J. Lynn. She is published by Entangled Brazen and HarperCollins.

Twitter: https://twitter.com/jlarmentrout
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JenniferLArmentrout
Website: http://www.jenniferarmentrout.com/


And now...the moment you have been waiting for...the cover to Origin...



In 3






2





1




Boom.

Daemon will do anything to get Katy back.

After the successful but disastrous raid on Mount Weather, he’s facing the impossible. Katy is gone. Taken. Everything becomes about finding her. Taking out anyone who stands in his way? Done. Burning down the whole world to save her? Gladly. Exposing his alien race to the world? With pleasure.

All Katy can do is survive.

Surrounded by enemies, the only way she can come out of this is to adapt. After all, there are sides of Daedalus that don’t seem entirely crazy, but the group’s goals are frightening and the truths they speak even more disturbing. Who are the real bad guys? Daedalus? Mankind? Or the Luxen?

Together, they can face anything.

But the most dangerous foe has been there all along, and when the truths are exposed and the lies come crumbling down, which side will Daemon and Katy be standing on? And will they even be together?


Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13644052-origin
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Origin-Lux-Series-Entangled-Teen/dp/1622660757/
Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/origin-jennifer-armentrout/1114855732

'Till next time.