It’s the first Wednesday of the month and time for the
Insecure Writers Group. The purpose is to share and encourage. Writers can
express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those
who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe
haven for insecure writers of all kinds! A big THANKS to Ninja Captain Alex J. Cavanaugh for starting
this group and keeping it going. And to this month's awesome hosts Mark Koopmans, Joylene Nowell
Butler, Elsie,
and Lisa
Buie-Collard!
April 2014 is a month I’d rather not repeat. The day after
the last ISWG post I woke up with severe pain on the right side of my ribs. It
hurt to take a deep breath. Talk about scary. Probably not as scary for me as
for my husband when I woke him up with “you need to take me to Emergency.”
Our minds do crazy things when we don’t know what’s
happening to our bodies. It took me over half an hour to wake up my husband.
Why? Because I’m stupid. First, I figured I pulled a muscle and if I changed
positions—rolling over, walking, sitting in a chair—the pain would go away. Yeah,
right. Severe pain goes away by all by itself. Then, I tried more self-diagnosing.
I’m not a doctor, but I stayed at a Holiday Inn. LOL My son-in-law is a doctor.
Did I call him? Hah. As I said, stupid.
Long story short, I had—Surprise!—blood clots in my lungs. I
had pulmonary emboli before, after knee replacement surgery. Didn’t feel the
same so I didn’t recognize the symptoms. Scary, yes, but I was in the best
place, even though three days in a hospital is no fun. Coming home was great,
but was I ever tired. My doctor says he tells all his older patients (note, he
didn’t say old) that for every day in
the hospital figure a week of recovery. I can say he’s right. So the rest of
April was pretty much shot.
On top of that, I had a major glitch in releasing my newest book romance. After waiting almost two months for the cover, my designer
finally told me that because of health problems she couldn’t do it. I know all
about health problems so how could I be mad?
After a crappy April, I have two pieces of good news. The best is I
didn’t die from the PEs. (I’m rather glad of that. LOL) And the second is I
have a new cover designer, Rebel Ink
Designs, who dropped everything to work on the cover of my soon-to-be-released science fiction romance. And here it is:
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I have to say that May is starting out great.
Sorry about your health problems, Diane, and pleased you're all right now.
ReplyDeleteThe cover looks great and you're on track - very uplifting for May.
Thanks, Fanny. Uplifting, I like that. :)
ReplyDeleteGreat cover and sooo happy you feel better now !!!
ReplyDeleteThanks, E.E.
DeleteGoodness Gracious! Glad you got taken care of. Glad you didn't die! Your new cover looks incredible. As we say in Minnesota, "Uff-da!" Cheers to a better May, and summer, and more book sales!!!!!
ReplyDeletePlay off the Page
Thanks, Mary. Me, too!
DeleteMy heart goes out to you having had a similar middle of the night episode that ended up as a possible heart attack (atypical symptoms). Fortunately it wasn't but it sure keeps us on our toes! Glad you are okay....
ReplyDeleteThe new cover is gorgeous! Hope it's a best seller!!
D.B. McNicol
Romance & Mystery...writing my life
Why is it that middle of the night stuff seems scarier than in the light of day? Glad you're okay, too. Just visited your blog. Wow, you have had quite a life. Amazing.
DeleteSo glad you're getting up to par again and anxiously awaiting the new release. Great cover!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Lucy.
DeleteI'm so glad you're better, and I know I said this before, but it bears repeating: that cover is fanTAStic. I must have missed when you said that Florence did it - awesome job! Best wishes for a successful and healthy month of May!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Kristen. I LOVE what Florence did.
DeleteGood grief, woman! Taking half an hour to wake hubby, all the while with PEs? You're lucky to be here! Heck, you should play the lottery. You'd probably win! LOL
ReplyDeleteLovely cover. Best of luck with the new release! :)
IWSG #224 until Alex culls the list again.
LOL, Melissa. Yeah, I kind of heard that scolding. The lottery, huh? Good idea. Thanks for stopping by.
DeleteHoly cow! Sorry about the health scare and glad you recovered! And love the new cover! Best of luck with it!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much, Hart.
DeleteWow, those are serious medical problems! So glad you recovered well. Congrats on the new cover!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Lucinda.
DeleteI agree with Melissa, buy a lottery ticket. You are one lucky girl. And I'm glad! So are a lot of other people, I bet.
ReplyDeleteYeah, my family is happy. I guess I'd better go out & get that lottery ticket. :)
DeleteIt wasn't Retreat without you, Di! LOVE the cover and can't wait to read the book. Getting 'older' isn't for sissies!
ReplyDeleteI really missed Retreat. Yeah, getting older isn't a lot of fun--but it beats the alternative.
DeleteIt sounds like quite a few people had miserable Aprils! Sorry to hear of your health troubles, but I'm glad you caught it before it became more serious. You did the right thing by seeking help immediately.
ReplyDeleteThe new cover looks great. Wishing you a much happier May!
Thanks, Holli. April was not a good month. Oh, and I forgot about the snow. LOL
DeleteSo glad you got past April's scare and are back writing and blogging again. Your newest cover is awesome and I know the book will be, too. Look forward to reading it. Wishing you good health from now on.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Loralee. Your good wishes mean a lot to me.
DeleteWow, I'm sorry you had to go through that but I'm glad you're better now. That's an awesome cover right there! :D
ReplyDeleteS.K.Anthony: IWSG
Thanks, S.K. I do like that cover. :)
DeleteI'm so glad you're feeling better and missed seeing you at retreat. Sat next to Lana and we sent good vibes to you. ; ) Love the new cover and very best wishes Diane for a splendid May and awesome release!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Teresa. I felt those good vibes. They must have done the trick. :)
DeleteI'm so sorry you were in so much pain! I'm glad you're better though and May is looking up for you. April was also a hard month for me.
ReplyDeleteThe cover for The Chameleon looks great! I'm all ready intrigued just by the genre! :D
Thanks, Chrys. The pain didn't last too long. Wow. I'm not sure what they gave me in the ER but, holy cow, no more pain.
DeleteOh my goodness, that must've been so scary! I'm glad you're ok. Glad May is off to a better start.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Julie. May is going to be a great month.
DeleteHi Diane, nice to meet you. Sorry to hear about your health issues. Pulmonary emboli sounds scary. Thank God you are okay now. My mom too had her knee replacement surgery last year.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Rachna. I hope your mom is doing well.
DeleteSo thankful to hear you are on the road to recovery and congrats on your book cover!
ReplyDeleteThank you for your support.
Heather
Thanks, Heather. I appreciate your support, too.
DeleteI'm glad you're okay and I do love your cover. Congrats
ReplyDeleteAnna from Shout with Emaginette
Thanks, Anna.
DeleteWe're glad you didn't die from the PE, too! It's terrifying when our bodies seem to turn on us, and we've done absolutely nothing to deserve it. Delighted that May is looking up/
ReplyDeleteCongrats on the awesome cover!
VR Barkowski
Thanks, VR. I guess I sound pretty cavalier about dying. If I didn't, I'd probably be too terrified to do anything.
DeleteReally glad that you are still with us. Glad you are recovering well and love the new cover... also appreciate the excellent advice on my IWSG post - thanks.
ReplyDeleteTend to be stupid about my health sometimes - don't want to disturb my wife when my Multiple Sclerosis is trying to toss me out of bed or suffocate me. But when I end up on the floor it's harder to help me. Dreading ending up in hospital and yet still stay quiet... and stupid.
LOL Aren't we a pair??? I really didn't want to wake Hubs. I'm glad you like my advice. I hope it helped. Hospitals are not my fav places to be. But sometimes you just gotta go. Good health to you, Roland.
Delete