I fear I have exceeded my allotted number of screams into the void.
We all know that May was rough for me. The month of June has largely been spent recovering from that. Well, recovering and attending a multitude of events. I’ve got some days off planned for July and I am REALLY looking forward to those. Especially now that more personal issues have been added to the list.
Late last night, just before 1AM, we noticed Minerva acting strangely. And given her age, that was enough to have us worried. We rushed her off to the ER (our second visit to the emergency vet in the span of a month), and spent a few hours there chugging coffee while the staff gave her a thorough examination. We don’t know how, but it looks like she’s hurt her neck. We have pain medication and a recovery plan for her, so fingers crossed that all goes well. If not, our senior lady will need a number of tests and follow ups.
As I write today’s blog post, I’m sleep deprived and my bank account is quite a bit emptier than it was before. Minerva is napping, and I keep checking in on her obsessively to make sure she’s okay. Under these conditions, it’s hard to remember all of the good that’s happened this month.
And despite the issues, I have had a wonderful month.
I’ve attended some truly wonderful events and had conversations with equally wonderful people. I worked on Skull Daddy II edits, From the Lake is turning into a fun project, and I’m making slow (but steady) progress on Throckmorton’s The King of Clowns. In fact, I met with my new critique group last night to discuss the opening chapters of my Throckmorton WIP. Their insight helped me come up with solutions for fixing problems, and they seem genuinely interested in the dark little world I’ve created for that one.
Although my personal life has been a struggle these past couple of months, my professional life is doing really well. I don’t think the Stephanie of 5 years ago would have expected to be where I am now. So yes, there will be publishing delays because of all of these emergencies I’ve been trying to survive, but it looks like the wait will be worth it.
So with that, I take my leave. I used to get only 4 hours of sleep each night when I was doing my MA, and somehow I completed the degree. But almost (or more than?) a decade later… I got 4 hours of sleep last night and I can barely complete a sentence.
Send Minerva good vibes if you’ve got some to spare. Stay Spooky!
