Covid 19

In January 2020 I went on a weekend away with my then girl-friend.  This was just as Covid19 was making the news.  We had a wonderful time together, as we always did.  There were a few glitches in getting her to WisconSIN, but when they delayed her plane for the second or third time, I’m like, I’m coming to get you.  I’d driven down from the Northwoods that morning, was in Milwaukee by the time her plane was to arrive, but there were delays in Chicago.  She was stuck and I had nothing to do but twiddle my thumbs so Chicago is a 90-minute drive, why not go get her?  (Sidenote, I made it in under 90-minutes). 

As I stated, we always had wonderful weekends together staying at the Pfister in Milwaukee.  It’s a wonderful historical piece and I’ll always be grateful that the Marcus family (think Marcus theaters) bought it and refurbished it to its former glory.  We loved staying there.

That weekend though, the girlfriend ended up with a cold.  It was that time of year and understandable since traveling, even wearing a mask, doesn’t mean you won’t get the requisite cold and ague.  She was so apologetic, but it wasn’t her fault.  We still had a lovely time together and I’ll remember it fondly.

Later that week, after she had left to go back home, I started to develop a cold.  I didn’t think much of it, again, the time of year, and she had been sick, so I was getting her cold, right?  Well, 6-8 weeks later, it wasn’t just a cold.  I had hot-flashes, night-sweats, sleeplessness, then too much sleep, naps, aches and pains, and all sorts of lovely side-effects.  I called my doctor at week five but according to her, I couldn’t possibly have Covid because it wasn’t in Milwaukee at that time.  Um, yeah, right.  I asked to be tested, they refused.

Well, once I got over my ‘cold’ I realized a few things.  I couldn’t sleep at night and then I was falling asleep all the time, unable to wake up.  I couldn’t concentrate, couldn’t write as a result, and couldn’t function as I used to.  Whatever that ‘cold’ was, it wiped me out, and I do mean wiped, me, out.  It was horrible.  Trying to get out books for my authors, do the accounting, even trying to do the Lesfic Bard Awards, was TERRIBLE!  I simply couldn’t function, couldn’t concentrate, oh look, squirrel. 

I had been doing audio books, getting them out, but those I could pause and take a nap and come back to.  The mental agility needed for those wasn’t the same as writing a book.  I did manage to squeak out two novellas, but that was all.  Almost nothing since.

I finally decided to go see another doctor.  But, after 7-8 months, guess what, there are no anti-bodies in my blood to show if I had Covid or not.  However, in my opinion, if it quacks like a duck, walks like a duck, and the after effects are just as ducky, it’s a duck.  The after-effects are almost always exactly what people have described.  The long-term effects at least.

It’s been a horrible year and a half; the depression was mind-numbing (what mind I still had).  The people who should know either didn’t understand, or refused to understand.  My friends and colleagues, for the most part have been understanding, and let me tell my story.  That’s another thing, I’ve always tended to repeat myself (the results of having raised children who didn’t always listen) but now, I can’t remember if I told people the same thing, over and over again.

So, I decided to self-medicate, because the professionals don’t believe me or aren’t listening to my complaints, and I need, desperately need, to write all these stories that have come to me.  Sure, I’ve gotten in a paragraph here and there, written down ideas, but stories, nope.  The mental faculties to sit down and write, obsessively like I have in the past, nope, that’s all gone.  I did have one day in spring 2021 that made me feel like I was back to normal, writing like I used to, but one day after a year of nothing?  That isn’t a good percentage.  So, I tried some things.  I even, when I went for an interview, stopped in the next state to pick up some legalized CBD and THC in things to try.  It didn’t work, I had some fun, but having never tried it before (where it worked), don’t know if that is normal.  Then, a fellow author and friend suggested something that I researched and tried, it helped, I can tell, and I was able to write.  Now, my doctor is saying, don’t take that, it interferes with your thyroid medication, sigh.  So, I’m off to experiment some more.

Meanwhile, I’m here to announce that I do have a book done and I hope to get it out soon, if I don’t go crazy from the after-effects of Covid.  Your understanding is appreciated.

She’s the best since Sliced Bread! Check out Cassandra Arnold

There is a funny going around Facebook that has Abby Crandon reading the phonebook, (thanks to EJ Noyes for that), which was responded to by Angela Dawe reading a dishwasher manual (thanks to Lee Winter for that). I couldn’t let it pass without letting you hear Cassandra Arnold reading, as she has for so many of my own audiobooks! For some reason my wordpress site won’t let me put it here but bonus, while you are listening (click on the blue link), check out my other audiobooks. I hope you find this as amusing as I did.

The phonebook read: https://ejnoyesauthor.com/the-phone-book-narrated-by-abby-craden/

The dishwasher instruction manual: http://www.leewinterauthor.com/gauntlet-accepted/

Sliced bread: http://kannemeinel.com/audiobooks.html

Long Distance Romance ~ An Audiobook narrated by Nicola Casey

If you suddenly and unexpectedly fell in love, wouldn’t you want to spend every possible moment with your new love?  Wouldn’t you want to spend time holding hands, touching, sharing emotions, and learning everything possible about each other and your new relationship?

What if your new love lived on the other side of the globe?  What if you had to deal with different geographic locations and time zones?  And what if every time you solved one minor problem another seemed to pop up?  Could you survive a long-distance relationship?

Eliza lives in Wisconsin, in the midwestern United States.  She is an independent businesswoman, who has finally achieved her career dreams and is determined to find the perfect woman for her.  Can she have it all?

Krystal lives in Austria.  She is rich, cultured, and bored.  She feels she has seen and done everything and life no longer holds any surprises.  One day, on a side trip during an excursion to the United States, Krystal walks into Eliza’s store and is swept off her feet and onto her backside by the feelings this woman provokes. 

Distance is no problem for a woman who owns a jet, but what of the women’s work and home responsibilities?  Both have fallen deeply in love and are fascinated, intrigued, and challenged by the other.  Will their dreams and their love be enough to keep them together?

Amor Pirata ~ Pirated Love in Portuguese

Lady Claire Von Hagen estava a caminho da ilha de Baleniesia, no Caribe, para se encontrar e se casar com o homem escolhido por seu pai. Lorde Von Hagen, governador da Baleniesia, governava a ilha e a filha com punho de ferro, e determinou que o casamento com o desagradável, porém rico e nobre, Sir Edmund Fitzhugh, seria mais vantajoso. Lady Claire navegava até Baleniesia para se submeter ao casamento quando seu navio foi capturado por piratas. Sua sequestradora, uma capitã pirata conhecida como Black Betty, tinha outros planos para Lady Claire.

Claire nunca experimentou nenhum tipo de amor e com certeza nunca soube das coisas que aconteciam entre duas mulheres. Black Betty lhe ensinou coisas surpreendentes e a liberdade experimentada com essa mulher junto com o amor em desenvolvimento, capturam o coração de Claire. Das ilhas do Caribe às costas do Canadá, e dali ao continente da África e do Oriente… Juntas, as duas mulheres vivenciam aventuras que antes eram apenas sonhos.

Elas sobreviverão aos perigos do alto mar e aos primeiros anos de um relacionamento inesperado?

Vetted Again ~ An audiobook narrated by Cassandra Arnold

Allyssa Herriot and her wife Fiona, are experiencing growing pains in this marriage of theirs.  From the large animal practice they established on their ranch, to the horse rescue, to their growing family…all will put strains on the marriage as well as themselves physically, emotionally, and economically.  Add in outside influences like the well-meaning friends, family, and volunteers and these things can add to the stress.

Trying to make a living on the remote ranch is hard enough, but in this modern day and age keeping up on the latest technology and ideas can motivate some and keep others from venturing outside of their comfortable little nest.

Will Allyssa and Fiona rise above the problems or fail not only at their marriage but at the businesses they have established together?

Join the continuing saga, a ranch, a rescue, a thriving veterinary practice and their lives as they juggle the things they are building together for themselves and their family.

Blown Away ~ An Audiobook narrated by Cassandra Arnold

Don’t judge a book by its cover!  Nothing, and no one, is EVER what they seem.

Ellen Christenson escaped from an abusive life, but can you ever truly escape the scars on your soul?  You try and move on, but life’s patterns tend to repeat until you have learned their lessons.

Ellen’s life choices bring her full circle to the scenes of her abuse, and she will need to deal with the past in ways she never anticipated for the healing to begin.  She must repair her soul and all the people she has devastated along the way.

Ellen hadn’t intended to end up in the high-tech world of Silicon Valley, but she finds herself the head of a start-up.  Cool, calculating, and efficient—this is the mask she shows to the world.  Few people, if any, know the real Ellen. 

Nearby San Francisco provides Ellen a never-ending supply of girlfriends, but are her internal scars concealing her desire to find that one special woman … a kindred soul … her soul mate?

For years, Ellen has borne the guilt of her decision to allow another to die for their sins.  Now, Ellen is blown away by the feelings and emotions she has suppressed for so long!

Recombinant Love ~ An audiobook release

While hiking the mountains and deserts of Arizona with her best friend, D.O.G., Ryley Graham hears a whirring noise.  Thinking D.O.G. has cornered a rattlesnake, she rushes to protect him and is blinded by a light seemingly coming from nowhere and everywhere simultaneously.

Waking up 510 years later, she is confused by the unfamiliar machinery and ‘people’ that surround her.  Skeptical when she is informed she is aboard a spaceship that explores wormholes, it takes a great deal of effort to finally convince Ryley she isn’t in a government-owned facility and part of some huge experiment or conspiracy.

Adjusting to the odd life forms that coexist on the ship, Ryley begins to accept that she can never go back to Earth 2015, and she begins to contribute her own unique knowledge and skills to their survival.  As Ryley makes new friends, one of them begins to stand out… 

Mercédès is a woman…half human and half android.  She is struggling to understand her human side and the odd feelings she is developing for this Earthwoman. 

Learning about love, and learning to love will be huge challenges as Ryley and Mercédès begin to forge a future.  What impact will it have when they discover the real reason Ryley was taken in the first place?

Vetted Further ~ An Audiobook narrated by Cassandra Arnold

Fiona Herriot and her wife, Allyssa continue nurturing and growing the large animal practice Fiona established on their ranch.  

From a near-fatal accident to a dream come true, they have weathered all the trials and tribulations that came their way, supporting each other every step along the way.  But when one of their dreams falls through and nearly derails their marriage, will they survive the fallout?

Dogs, cats, horses, chickens, and even llamas play a part in this delightful story.

Join Fiona and Allyssa for the continuing saga of two women, a ranch, and the thriving veterinary practice they are building with love on the high plains of Oregon.

Out at the Inn ~ An Audiobook, narrated by Allison Wonchoba

Along the majestic shoreline of the central coast of California lies a secret.  Leah Van Heusen has discovered an ancient house amongst some overgrown foliage.  The house is amazing and eerie.  Most women wouldn’t have taken a step inside, but Leah is intrigued and feels drawn to the old mansion.

After seeking out the owner and purchasing the entire estate for a single dollar, Leah wonders if she has taken on more than she bargained for.  As she begins the restoration, she learns who her real friends and real family really are.  What’s a few ghosts between friends?

Between repairs, upgrades, and the old house’s secrets, Leah has her hands full.  When she finds a hidden staircase, Leah realizes that coming to grips with her sexuality and dating are now the least of her worries.  Then, just as her beloved dream of running an inn is about to become a reality, she suddenly finds it is in jeopardy. 

Will Leah discover who is willing to kill for the inn and the immense fortune she has found in time to save her dream?

Filhos de Outra Mae ~ Children of Another Mother in Portuguese

Lidar com a morte da sua melhor amiga, segunda mãe de seus filhos e sua própria mãe já difícil, mas Gail agora também tem que lidar com a casa que comprou para ela e seus filhos viverem. É uma casa antiga e requer muito trabalho para a mãe solteira. Um novo lar, uma nova vida e novos amigos lhe trazem uma família que ela não tinha previsto ou planejado.

Gail está esforçando, tentando lidar com tudo quando Jackie entra em sua vida. Elas se tornam boas amigas, mas como Gail poderia saber que isso mudaria sua vida de um jeito inesperado…