Month: August 2021

Covid Interruption

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About this time I should prepare my monthly update, but I’m putting that off until next week, and I didn’t blog last week because despite doing all the right things when we could and going above and beyond, having food delivered, not having seen family since Christmas 2019, and living like hermits, we’ve had Covid.

Of course, the husband knew the weak spot was his work. His supervisor allowed someone coughing and sneezing to stay — he’d done 2 lateral flow tests, both of which said negative. We’ve since learned lateral flow tests are only for people not showing symptoms. It understandably upset us, especially as we were due to visit family on the 19th for a week, and now do not know when we’ll be able to.

And double-jabbed person to double-jabbed person, to the husband, to me. Would interest us to know what strain it is. He got a PCR test right away. Unfortunately, not thinking, I didn’t arrange one at the same time and by then it was too late to do so. I could have had one sent to my home, but I was too poorly by then to post it back, and Test and Trace had advised for everyone in the household to isolate (though we’re confused by this as the regulations are changing, and so many ‘rules’ don’t seem to make sense). As I didn’t have a PCR test, they won’t add it to my medical records. Trust me, I KNOW I had. What that tells me is all those daily figures of infections are ‘only’ PCR positive results. Anyone who doesn’t know they’re infected or simply doesn’t get a PCR (and you may not even qualify sometimes) isn’t registered. So those infection numbers must be way down.

As to the question of how they developed these vaccines so fast, I had it explained to me they didn’t. They tweaked an existing vaccine, and that is all they do nowadays. And as for those saying you’ll just get ‘flu’, I can reliably state this is worse than flu. It’s truly horrible. I’ve had nothing like this and never want it again. Our breathing was fine, which was the main thing.

My symptoms started with a slightly dry throat and a barely there headache. Then I ended up with a metallic taste, especially icky when drinking plain water, though that’s the best thing to drink. Splitting headache, sometimes migraine level, 24/7. Painkillers took the edge off but didn’t block it. Head ‘full of cotton wool’. Sinus pain. Coughing (though intermittent. Flu-like ache all over the body, but also PAIN in large muscle groups — like thighs and biceps. Pain in joints, particularly elbows and knees. Flash pain — came and went throughout the body; I had it 3 ‘flash pains’ in my right foot during one night. It’s like it attacks any weak spot in the body — if you’ve an ache somewhere, you’ll feel it more. Loss of appetite. Nausea. Vomiting. Fever (mostly the husband; though my head was hot, I didn’t perspire). Sleeping sickness. Sleep is what we mostly did around the clock. Fatigue. Making a cup of tea called for another 2 hours of sleep. We shuffled around like a pair of geriatrics.

And yes, despite all this, I believe we did well. The worst of the illness lasted about 4 days. Once we ate, we got well, so my advice is don’t let it weaken you.

Looking ahead, I don’t know what we’re going to do. If there’s a chance of continually catching this, what might it do to you? And who wants to feel lousy several times a year? Flu… I can go 5 or 7 years without catching. This I can imagine catching 4 times a year without precautions, so how we’re all supposedly going to live with it only time will tell. For now, we’re left with an occasional dry cough and our taste has diminished about 20%. The thing I can taste the most is chocolate; just a pity it’s not permissible to live on it, eh?

Cosmic re-released

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Though I’ve posted this around elsewhere, I’m a week late announcing this on my primary site because of pressing life issues and I also felt last week’s blog was too important to overshadow. Originally published by Loose Id, I have re-edited this edition for greater characterisation and depth, but the story remains essentially the same.

Can three hearts break harder than two? While on a mission, the last thing the crew of the Sovereignty expects is to gain an addition crew-member, but when an unknown assailant attacks, Axel has no choice but to beam the stranger on board the spacecraft. Already in a sexual relationship with ‘Snake’, a rare species of alien, Axel certainly isn’t looking for another person to complicate his already challenging existence.

The trouble is he cannot deny his growing attraction to the newcomer, who is a striking and intelligent woman. Sela’s so intelligent she’s already worked out Snake is an alien and the two men are in a somewhat turbulent relationship. Still, Axel isn’t the only one who likes Sela. Snake likes her too, and Sela doesn’t appear to mind the idea Axel and Snake are lovers, especially after she sees them together… But can they truly battle their differences and natural distrust, while fighting a corrupt government and dealing with a zealot of a leader? One man, one woman, and one alien; two males and one female, all fighting corruption and their own desires. In a universe at war, it’s natural to keep secrets, but can too many confidences mean they’ll never find peace?

Available from all good outlets, but if possible, please consider purchasing directly from publishers (in this case, JMS Books — if in the U.S.) to support smaller publishers and authors.

There’s Plagiarism and Then There’s This…

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This week I’m not writing a blog myself but draw your attention to a blog excellently written by the author Mitzi Szereto. I know Mitzi’s work, and I know how she edits. She’s not an easy editor to please, holding high standards for work she accepts. These days she’s currently focusing on her True Crime series. I can assure you she writes nothing like the trash someone has put her name to. In addition, if the perpetrator has taken someone’s name, you can bet they stole the content.

This is an important topic for writers, publishers, AND readers because you don’t want to buy a piece of rubbish you believe written by your favourite author and mark them down for substandard work, when the work isn’t theirs. My advice, though I hate to complicate already busy lives, is to check author websites, if in doubt contact the author, as now one cannot take a listing even on Amazon as assurance of a legal and genuine product. You don’t want to hand over your hard-earned money to a criminal. It’s also identity theft and a serious crime. Yes, you heard right. There’s plagiarism and then there’s THIS.

Update July 2021

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Hi Everyone!

AT HOME:

Not a lot to report, unfortunately. I finished my initial acupuncture sessions, though it’s hard to tell how much they helped. I’ve seen some intermittent improvement and will probably have the odd ‘nudge’ as my acupuncturist put it to see if it makes a difference. At some point, if it doesn’t, I’ll stop, but at least I will have given it a fair go. Alas, at the moment, he’s had to stop for a short while for personal health reasons, but at least I got the initial 8 sessions in. The best thing was the side excursion to the sweetie shop on my way home.

FILM/TV:

Finished re-watching The Good Place a second time, and oddly I’d forgotten how much a box of tissues is necessary for the finale episode.

We’ve moved on to re-watching Star Trek: The Next Generation, just reached the end of the first season. I remember the show got better after the first series, so it will be interesting to see if I feel the same way this time.

Watched the third season of The Rookie and though I mostly began watching because it stars Nathan Fillion, it quickly became enjoyable. That finished, we started Prodigal Son, primarily because it stars Michael Sheen, but the first episode was captivating. Hope the standard continues.

Worked through the Fear Street trilogy, which has had mixed reviews, but really for the genre and style of film, we found them highly watchable with blunt but less gratuitous in your face violence than some non-horror movies. I’d like to try at least a few of the books. Of course, these are by R.L. Stine, most famous for the Goosebumps children’s books.

But what we’ve enjoyed the most are the Rurouni Kinshin films. Originally a manga series, the live-action movies certainly live up to the ‘action’. Blink and you’ll miss something. Staring Takeru Satoh in the role of Hitokiri Battosai (aka Himura Kenshin), the series contains five films: Origins (2012), Kyoto Inferno (2014), The Legend Ends (2014), The Final (2021) and The Beginning (2021). Kinshin, originally a kill-sword, fights with a reverse-blade sword, having vowed never to kill again. The actor does his own stunts.

READING:

The Last Guardian (a Jon Shannow novel), David Gemmell

At last in this book, the sometimes wandering feel of the first novel comes together into the story Gemmell wanted to tell, making more sense of the timeframe. I’d say it’s definitely necessary to read the first two books of the trilogy as a single book to understand the whole, and while there is a book three, these first two read almost like companion books, complete in themselves. I found the second volume easier to read than the first, perhaps because Shannow comes more into his own. He’s the perfect quasi-essential anti-hero because of his imperfections and culpable past.

Bloodstone (a Jon Shannow novel), David Gemmell

This last book in the trilogy clarifies the timeframe used in this trilogy and expands upon it. As I liked the second book more than the first, I liked the third book more than the second. The arcs of many beloved characters tug at the heartstrings in this one, and leave the reader with a sense of the complexities of Gemmell’s plot. Most importantly, Shannow is an unforgettable character.

The Corset, Laura Purcell

Written differently to Purcell’s first book (The Silent Companions) in first person, so with a different ‘voice’, still, this drew me in immediately. How best to describe Purcell’s work? Victorian gothic thrillers with supernatural slants, perhaps. Some books only reveal how well the plot works at the conclusion, and this murder mystery connecting two women from opposite sides of society is one such novel. This tale didn’t disappoint and pulls at the heartstrings. Despite not wishing to take on new authors adding to my To Be Read Mountain, I’m sorely tempted to continue reading more work by this author.

Shadowfires, Dean Koontz

A re-read for me as part of a book clearance.

Perfectly plotted with an antagonist worthy of the Resident Evil franchise, the one flaw in this supernatural thriller of the kind Koontz is best known for is its length. I would call it well-written but also over-written. Although there’s nothing wrong with all the information, there’s too much of it. I can’t help feeling trimming a few passages of character background would make for faster pacing. It’s like Koontz included all the details an author needs to know, but a reader doesn’t. This didn’t bother me too much as I’m used to reading epic fantasies, but I can imagine some readers finding it a bit of a slog. Plenty will love this, though, for it’s still a tense thriller with some wonderful characters.

The Elijah Tree, Cynthea Masson

There’s a poetic quality to this book that makes me want to love it, but I don’t. It’s too abstract, scenes flitting between the players in non-chronological order. The human stories at the depth of the book, the triangles within triangles of love and loss, are as despairing as they are touching, yet the mystical beliefs of the various characters and which supposedly carry the plot didn’t gel for me. As much as I felt there’s something beautiful about the writing, the story is painfully abstract, so I found it a slog. I neither like it nor hate it.

Survivor Song, Paul Tremblay

If looking for your average apocalyptic disaster infection outbreak story, this isn’t it. Instead, I stumbled into what the first-rate stories of this genre do best — focus on the survivors, this being the tale of two women connected by the shakable bonds of genuine friendship. While I wouldn’t call this book scary, it’s more effecting than that, containing true horror of a possible reality, not your average fairy-tale monster, reflecting light on the madness of humanity and the horror we watch and read in the safety of our darkened living rooms versus true adversity. Well-paced with ingenious ‘breaks’ in the narrative (gaps on the pages) that work on the emotions. The story of ’Nats and Rams’ is unforgettable. Painfully, tearfully, sorrowful.

WRITING:

I returned the galley proof to Cosmic, and got the initial draft of something I’ll simply call ST for now ready to work on — I don’t reveal titles until books are contracted, and though I seldom change titles, with this one I have once already. I have edited Cosmic and added to it, especially to increase the emotional aspect, though the story remains essentially the same.

Stay happy and healthy!

Sharon x