The Old Saying

 "I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired."

Despite being boosted and careful, I have COVID again. 

As if having Long COVID wasn't bad enough? I truly am sick and tired of being sick and tired. But COVID is not the chief worry right now. It's been a couple of months...

September began with a marvelous weekend at the Creatures, Crimes, and Creativity gathering. I had another opportunity to read at Noir at the Bar, and I gave them another pun-laced tale, this time about  "Abadi at rest." It was very well received with appropriate groans. 

I had much to celebrate. For the past two years, I kept saying, "I have a novel coming out." or "I sold a few stories to x, y, and z..." This year I had a table with all my books on display, and I sold 14 novels and a couple of anthologies. The best part of C3 though is always the people there. Every year more and more like family, and I just love this family.

Three more books will be coming from eSpec Books thanks to a very successful Kickstarter campaign:

 

I'll have stories in A Cry of Hounds and Other Aether, and I really enjoyed writing both of them. They'll be out in April in time for the Tell-Tale Festival, and if it's half as great as last year, it will be wonderful. If you're a fan of our fiction or of steampunk in general, even if you're just curious, register today and plan to be there.

The weirdness of September was our falling for a puppy scam. We got $800 in before pulling out and reporting it to the FBI and the Trenton police. Thankfully, Discover took our evidence and will not bill us, but it's amazing Facebook isn't supporting our report and the scammer is still there as Brittany Harper.

But I started October at the National Park Auto Show with Susan Tulio of Speculation Publications.

and at the end of the week, eSpec Books made a good showing at the Collingswood Book Fair at the start of October!

Meanwhile, throughout August and September, I gave an honest try at "respiratory rehab," which turned out to be exercising on a recumbent bike and walking a treadmill. I kept telling them my knees were bone on bone, and my feet kept going numb after 5 minutes of walking, but they kept pushing me, as did my pulmonologist. The old "lazy, fat woman, shut up and do it." Finally, my right knee gave out completely. I swore I had broken my fibula. I needed a wheelchair to get to my car. Went to Urgent Care, and they sent me right to Rothman Orthopedic Urgent Care. Rothman didn't bother with an MRI because the X-rays showed no fractures, just a bone spur on the knee causing havoc, and at my age, the only resolution would be a new knee.

So, it's now 3 weeks later, and I still can't put weight on my leg, but I can't see a doctor because I have COVID.

BUT!

Before I came down with COVID, Speculation Publications released Cry Baby Bridge, another fantastic anthology of utter speculation, which includes my piece Concrete Soul. I was invited to read for Galactic Terrors and the editors of Speculation Publications allowed me to read Concrete Soul, and Galactic Terrors allowed me to create my own video, which you can find on my website here.

And the launch was celebrated in high style at M.O.M.'s in Doylestown on Friday the 13th!

And COVID struck on Sunday the 15th.