Author Update - January 2016

I haven't written to you all recently so thought I would take a moment from frantic editing to do so.  2015 has been a very hard year.  I had planned to have book 4 - Pseudo-Dragon - out by summer.  My fight against cancer overrode that goal.

In the past year, I have finished first round of chemo, had a kidney removed and a full hysterectomy due to return of tumors.  In the midst of surgeries survived a wildfire that took most of our property. (not the house)  I have restarted chemo due to the metastasized cancer.  I have been in the hospital for a week due to side effect of said chemo.  Needless to say it has been a rough year.

Now for the good news, my last PET scan shows that the chemo has dissolved the tumors that were still left within me.  My doctor is reluctant to use the word remission due to the veracity of return that happened earlier this year.  Despite his reluctance, he did admit it looks like the chemo is working.

I did have some successes last year.  I put out one novel early in the year.  Pseudo-Dragon is the longest of the four and beta readers say it is by far the best of them as well.  I guess I will find out soon.  Pseudo-Dragon is up for pre-sale now and releases on February 1, 2016.  Needless to say, I am busy with last minute edits and polish.

My goals for 2016 are:  Write the final book in the series, put out the live write collection of fantasy short stories, and to get into shows and shops for book signings.  I am excited to be able to finally enjoy writing full time without the constant threat of stage 4 cancer.  I hope you will all continue to reach out and say hi!.  The support from all of you has been amazing and I can't wait to meet and speak with many of you.

Have a great 2016!
May Dragons ever inspire your thoughts, creativity, and balance.
Cheri

Finding One's Feet in Fantasy

Well as an update - I made it through surgery and although still tired and sore, appear to be recovering well. I find out tomorrow the stage of cancer and what it will mean for chemo, radiation, life expectancy and so much more.  Strangely, as a fantasy writer, I find these things intriguing.

Fantasy in the concepts of writing is defined as:  An imaginative fiction dependent for effect upon the strangeness of setting and or the characters.  So a new world, strange new beasts or even the use of magic or mind skills not perceived as common in our day to day experiences.

Writers have been playing with fantasy forever; for it is the realm of tales where good triumphs over evil and magic can rescue one from the hardships of life or even your own stupidity.  Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream or J.R.R. Tolkiens famous trilogy are examples of excellent fantasy.

Fantasy is a place where one can escape the trials and tribulations of day to day life and while the hero may not always win, you are given someone to root for and align with in hopes of a desired outcome.

So in the world of fantasy in which I thrive, my children and I named the cancer Bob.  Bob just had to go.  And from that slips a tale of fantasy in which our heroine is dealing with a most obtrusive and obnoxious suitor.  And though she has found ways to cut him from her life, the damages that he has left remain obstacles to overcome.  As she surmount challenge after challenge, our obnoxious suitor stays just out of sight, waiting to claim her for his own.  Will she rise up and slay him once and for all?  Will the trials and tribulations of his stalking be to much to overcome?  In that final battle, will he overcome her tenacity and stubborn resistance and claim her once and for all as his own?

See, that is the thing about fantasy... the only way out is through.  Until you read every sword clash, every monster overcome and every moment of triumph for our heroine, you do not know.  You have to read till the end.

I will see you all at the end.  Whatever it brings, we will read it together.  We will cry together. We will triumph or fall....together.

Life truly is a never ending story till the last breath is drawn and this writer plans to make sure her heroine breathes every last moment full of color, gratitude and love.  For is that not the stuff that dreams are made of?  See you at the end....