I'd meant to write this post up in November, like I have for the last 2 years, but I've been really low on spoons. I usually use this phrase only to refer to my mental state -- as a person with bipolar disorder, I sometimes run low on mental spoons, especially if I'm in a downswing. This year, it's meant a little more (or less, depending on how you look at it.)
Starting in October, I've been suffering from a chronic condition. The problem is hives, and by themselves they're about a six on the annoying scale. When they go away promptly. MOST of the time, it's not actual pain, just itchy and a bit of swelling that can lead to sore spots on my skin. But it's very hard to function when your skin feels like it's being poked with hot, sharp things all the time. And the medication used to treat it makes me exhausted. (Also I can't drink, and while I was never a full fledged alcoholic like Vin, his problems and situations didn't exactly come from nowhere -- which may be why if you ever wrote me an email or a review about how much you hate addicts, I didn't respond to you... because if you can't say anything nice...)
If I don't take the medication, I have hives pretty much constantly, although they'll move around. Sometimes my legs, sometimes my arms, sometimes on my torso. Once, really badly, on my face.
I haven't been responding well to conventional treatments. As soon as I go down in dosage, I hive out again. Because my husband's company got bought out, we're changing health insurance, so the series of shots couldn't be started until I had the new insurance. It can take anywhere from 2 weeks to 8 weeks for the injections to be approved, and then they're 1 to 2 shots every 3 weeks for three months. We're looking at May, maybe, before I start to be normal again? Ug.
Anyway, so... what did I do this year?
Stuff that Happened in late 2014 and all of 2015
- A Wanted Woman accepted by Vamptasy
- A Marked Man published by Vamptasy
- Cleis got bought out by Smart Books, which resulted in my getting several short stories back because they failed to meet their obligations. (Fair Game, Tanked, Dreaming the Hardest, and Live Every Second)
- novel Blues published by Torquere Press
- Dead in the Water came out on Audiobook format
- Deep Breath came out on Audiobook format
- Howling Bitch was published by Vamptasy
- A Wanted Woman was published by Vamptasy
- Living Proof finally released with Antimatter Press
- I put out the call for Strange Shifters anthology by Coming Together
- Cascade Failure accepted for publication in anthology Family Time by Torquere Press
- In The Closet published in Dirty 30 by Stupid Fish Press
- Fair Game, in Love of a Soldier accepted for publication, Circlet Press
- Heat Wave: Burlington accepted and published by JMS Books LLC
- Blood Cries Up, republished in Encounters by JayHenge Publishing
- Classic published by Torquere Press
- Celibate Cold accepted for publication by Torquere Press
- Vamptasy Press shed a bunch of authors and contracts, including all of mine
- found a new home for the Demoniac Codex and Forging of Souls with Gone Writing Press
- Sins of Angels written and accepted for publication by Gone Writing Press
- Antimatter Press shuts down
- Living Proof accepted for Encounters II anthology with JayHenge Press
- Finding Balance accepted for publication by Torquere Press
- Pistols & Guns re-published in Coming Together: Keeping Warm
This year was harder to keep track of than last year, with all sorts of publisher problems and reprints. I didn't do as much writing as I would have liked, only finishing one novel (Sins of Angels), even though I had five released. I did write and publish (or get accepted) a bunch of short stories and novelette length pieces.
I have a bunch of homeless stories now, primarily male/female couples... including an 8,000 word sweet-romance (no sex) steampunk story called Hold the Dirigible.
I also have "plans" to write a bunch of short stories this year with the idea of appearing in all or most of Torquere's anthologies. To that end, I've already had the first three of the year written and accepted, altho The Pricking of Tom Thumb was just accepted yesterday and I don't think it counts for last year.
On my plans for this year:
- edit Sins of Angels
- finish writing All that Jazz (60,000 novel)
- write Ghost Magic (60,000 novel)
- write 8 more short stories for Torquere anthologies (3 - 8k each) due the 15th of each month, 3 months prior
- finish Desire is the Key (short story, 3 - 10k due Feb 15)
- write 10,000 word novella for Men at Work, (follow up to Heat Wave: Burlington, due Feb 29th)
