UPDATE: The winner is…Laura Bowles!
*~*~*

I am just popping in to say Happy Labor Day to all of you U.S. residents! It marks the unofficial end to summer and is a national holiday—so the kids are home for the day! We’re keeping it lowkey. The SIL is cooking burgers on the grill. Perhaps we’ll have a movie night (we’re thinking Fall Guy). We’re sticking close to home and to each other.

If you’re celebrating, what are your plans? If you’re not a U.S. resident, do you have a similar holiday? Comment for a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card!

I skipped my usual end-of-month summation/plan yesterday. Who wants to recap the month from hell, right? Short-term goals are what I’m working on now, so I’ll just give you my weekly recap/plan to help me keep on track and let you know what’s up. Today, I feel focused/unfuzzy. That’s good. I even made a list of things I want to accomplish today. Lists are comforting to this former project manager. 🙂

Report Card

Last week…

1. I began chemo. It completely obliterated me for over five days. I know now that I can’t plan to accomplish a damn thing during my “chemo week.” Monday and Tuesday, not so bad. Wednesday and Thursday—gutting and exhausting. Friday, baby steps back. Saturday, take it easy, but get back to work slowly. I only have to do this every three weeks. Gah!
2. I accomplished nothing, workwise.
3. Other than on Monday, after chemo when I was still feeling a little bit of energy, there was no swimming. Pool season is now officially over for me. The water is too cool, and the weather has dumped a bunch of rain and leaves.
4. My daughter, the girls, and my SIL have been awesome. They did everything for me, keeping me fed, watered, and keeping me company when I wanted it. I’m very, very lucky.

This next week…

1. This week I’ll finally get the chemo port installed in my chest. I also have a blood draw so the doctor can monitor my progress.
2. I have a new story I want to wrap up, Ignition. It’s the fourth and last book in the Delta Fire series. I moved the release date to October 1st.
3. I’m working on editing for another author this week. I plan to finish by next weekend.
4. I’ll be editing a story I’m republishing that no one has likely read. Hope you like Westerns with quirky humor, plenty of kink, and a hint of paranormal. Once Upon a Legend is up for pre-order now!
5. Hopefully, I’ll get out of the house this week. I want to stretch my legs at the flea market. Start walking since I can’t swim.

Open Contests

On the Delilah’s Collections website!

1. In One Picture: Elle James’s “Sex, Spies, and Subterfuge” (Contest) — This one ends soon! Win an Amazon gift card!
2. In One Picture: A.J. Harris’s “Secret Garden” (Contest) — Win an Amazon gift card!
3. In One Picture: Darah Lace’s “Most Wanted” (Contest) — Win a FREE book!
4. In One Picture: Cindy Tanner’s “Mayday” (Contest–2 Winners!) — Win a FREE anthology—2 winners!

Here, on this site!

1. 10 Things to Bring to Chemo (Contest) — This one ends soon! Win an Amazon gift card!
2. Saturday Puzzle-Contest: Summertime Fun! — This one ends soon! Win an Amazon gift card!
3. Anna Taylor Sweringen/Michal Scott: Hannah Bond – The First African American Female Novelist (Contest) — This one ends soon! Win an Amazon gift card!
4. Gabbi Grey: A Little Risqué (Contest) — Win a FREE eBook or audio book!
5. Saturday Puzzle-Contest: Signs of Fall…? — Win an Amazon gift card!

UPDATE: The winner is…Pansy Petal!
*~*~*

What with all my drama-drama, pool maintenance kind of fell by the wayside this past week. It’s been a lot for my dd and the girls to keep going. We had storms this week, and unless you’re right on top of the pool, cleaning out the leaves, brushing it, shocking it, etc., it starts to green up fast.

With cooler weather arriving this next week, I think this summer’s pool days are over. I had hoped for at least one more week when I felt good enough to get in the water (which is TODAY), but now, I’ll have to give up that dream. LOL—yeah, I’ll mourn the pool. I’m that devoted to my daily swims.

The good news is I feel more like my usual self today. I’ll still take it easy, but maybe I’ll actually wear real clothes instead of laying around in a nightgown. Progress!

So, for me, letting nature take its course with my pool is the first solid sign of Fall. For a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card, what is it for you?

Thank goodness I had guests lined up this week to post; otherwise, there would not have been any content posted. Today’s the first day I actually feel like placing my fingers on the keyboard.

Monday and Tuesday, I already talked about. That was the honeymoon period. Sure, I didn’t feel great with everything zinging through my veins, but I could handle it. Then…

Tuesday. That afternoon, my cheeks and neck got fiery hot. I talked to the nurse, and she said it could be an allergic reaction, so take some Benadryl. Which was lovely. I took it and took a long, long nap. Just after midnight, early Wednesday morning, was when the real shit hit me.

Every muscle and joint, from my pelvic floor to the tips of my toes, hurt. I couldn’t sit still. I had to constantly rock or shake my feet. For the first 24 hours of that, I didn’t get even so much as a catnap. I relented and took some Hydro and got four hours of sleep, which was helpful, but I remained pretty dazed and uncomfortable throughout Thursday.

It’s Friday now, and it’s better, but all I want to do is steal naps all day long. I get up and shuffle around, then head back to bed. I’m trying to stay away from the Hydro and only use it at night so I can get back to a regular sleep routine. There’s only been light nausea, so that’s good, I guess.

It would be hilarious if I weren’t so miserable how I thought I could plan out my chemo and recovery days. I thought I was giving myself a very generous five days to get back to work. It’s actually blocked out on my calendar like that.

The family has been amazing. They check on me and bring me meals and drinks. It’s up to me to fight this thing, so now that I know, I have to “woman up.” I can do this. I’ll figure out the rhythm and how my body reacts. I’ll figure out what works when I’m tired and cranky because I can’t accept any pity parties from me. What purpose do they serve?

Hope this all makes sense. I’m just journaling at this point, getting it down so I’ll be able to compare it to what comes next. I watched Anne Rice’s Mayfair Witches, Season 1. I didn’t like it, but that could be grumpy me.

I wish everyone health and happiness—and much, much love.

When the going gets rough the tough…well, I don’t know what the tough do, but I tend to turn to my TV for some binge-worthy TV shows. Sure, I have other coping mechanisms that are a bit healthier, but sometimes you just need a good show to escape into. Here are 10 of my tried-and-true favorite shows when I need an escape in no particular order.

1. Being Erica: One of my all-time favorite shows. It has a character who gets to go back in time to re-do different moments in her life, but the results aren’t what she expects. Erica learns a lot and the show is so well done.

2. Geek Girl: I had so many people message/email me about this one because of my young adult Cecily Taylor Series where Cecily models and acts and dates her favorite pop star. Naturally I had to check it out and if you like mu Cecily books then you will like this one, too.

3. Only Murders in the Building: It’s one of those shows that appeals to a lot of different people/demographics making it one of the few shows you’re chatting about each week with people. It reminds me of back in the day when people would go to school or work and talk about what they watched the night before. It’s fun seeing who everyone thinks is the killer each season.

4. The Summer I Turned Pretty: I write YA contemporary romances, so I was eager to see this one.

5. The Mary Tyler Moore Show: Does it get any better than this one? Everyone is perfectly cast and I notice something different about it each time. I interned at a couple TV stations and it’s why my book Falling for a Star in the City is set in a TV station.

6. American Dad: Few shows crack me up like this one. Roger the alien and Stan Smith never fail to make me laugh at my worst moments. When my dad passed away, it was this show that got me through those dark nights.

7. Shadrach: A sweet family show when you want something cozy and calming to watch. It’s about a family that moves from the big city to the country when the father loses his company. A preteen girl narrates it and you see her and her family adjust to moving to the country where her grandparents live. I did a podcast where we interviewed one of the actors, Greg Allan Martin, on the show. You can listen to it here: https://open.spotify.com/episode/6gmphN51Yo1aJ4I7unDnW8

8. Bob’s Burgers: A sweet family show with humor and heart. This is a great choice when you don’t want anything too high stakes to make you anxious. The Great North is also a good choice for this.

9. Heartland: Set on a horse ranch, it’s a great family show in a peaceful setting.

10. The Hardy Boys (the newer version on Hulu): This updated version of the Hardy Boys is so good. I love how the incorporate the readers of the series from different generations by adding in the diner with milkshakes and ice cream sodas, the colors and feel of the seventies and eighties and the plot keeps you riveted.

Hope you enjoyed my list. I’d love to hear some of your favorite shows, too. Add them in the comments.

If you like shows and books that help you escape during a tough time, you might like my Cecily Taylor Series about a high school girl who gets a chance to have her dreams come true when she ends up an extra in her favorite singer/songwriter Andrew Holiday’s music video. From there, she begins an acting and modeling career as well as dating the singer, but she soon sees what a different world Andrew lives in. Can two teens from different worlds make it work? Check out this three book series that’s free in Kindle Unlimited.

Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/Can-Dreams-Come-True-Cecily-ebook/dp/B09VYS5G3S
Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Can-Dreams-Come-True-Cecily-ebook/dp/B09VYS5G3S/
Amazon AUS: https://www.amazon.com.au/Can-Dreams-Come-True-Cecily-ebook/dp/B09VYS5G3S
Amazon CAN: https://www.amazon.ca/Krysten-Lindsay-Hager/e/B00L2JC9P2
Amazon GER: https://www.amazon.de/-/en/Krysten-Lindsay-Hager-ebook/dp/B09VYS5G3S

About the Author

Krysten is an author, blogger, and podcast guest host for Michigan Avenue Media. She writes about friendship, dating, self-esteem, fitting in, fame, and values. Her work includes YA contemporary books, new adult, and middle grade fiction. Krysten’s book, Cecily in the City, won the 2023 Readers’ Favorite Award for best young adult romance. Her debut novel, True Colors, won the Readers’ Favorite award for best preteen book as well as the Dayton Book Expo Bestseller Award for children/teens. Competing with the Star is a Readers’ Favorite Book Award Finalist. Best Friends…Forever? is a 2019 Readers’ Favorite Silver Medal Winner. Landry in Like is a Literary Classics Gold Medal recipient and a 2020 Readers’ Favorite Bronze Medal Winner. Can Dreams Come True and True Colors are both Wishing Book Shelf Finalists. She received her BA in English and master’s degree from the University of Michigan-Flint.

Krysten’s work has been featured in USA Today, The Flint Journal, the Grand Haven Tribune, the Beavercreek Current, the Bellbrook Times, Springfield News-Sun, Grand Blanc View, Dayton Daily News and on Living Dayton. She is a frequent guest host on the Michigan Avenue Media podcast.

Website: www.krystenlindsay.com

UPDATE: The winner is…Deb Brown!
*~*~*

Hello Delilah and thank you for hosting me!

When I partook in Tea with Austen, the charity anthology last year, I was super trepidatious about moving into the realm of writing historical.  Especially Regency, for which I had only the movies I’d watched to guide me (and having read Pride and Prejudice in my first year of university—so long ago that I won’t mention years…).  My story in the anthology was of two seafaring sailors on Captain Wentworth’s ship.  One received news of an inheritance that set his life on a different trajectory than the one he’d planned.  At the Captain’s suggestion, he brought along another sailor—a mentor of sorts (as well as a secret lover)—with him.  I love An Uncommon Gentleman, and when the rights reverted, I added an epilogue and recorded the audio with the amazing Michael Ferraiuolo narrating.

When I heard the wonderful anthology folks were doing a second Austen anthology, I signed up right away—and then panicked because I had no idea what I’d do next.  Persuasion is my favorite book—even though I hadn’t read it until the time came to write my story last year.  The movie with Ciaran Hinds and Amanda Root is one of my all-time favorites and ones released in the years since don’t touch it as far as I’m concerned.

Okay…so this year… I tapped Plot Whisperer, who is a HUGE Austen fan.  After she thought for a bit, she came up with a story that connects with Robert Ferrars.  He has a minor role in Sense and Sensibility, but an important one as he winds up marrying his brother’s former fiancée—Miss Lucy Steele.  He’s described by Austen as a coxcomb.  Who better for my story than a dissolute young Lord whose friends with said coxcomb? Oh my God, I had so much fun preparing to write this story, especially after watching Emma Thompson, Hugh Grant, Kate Winslet, Greg Wise, and the late Alan Rickman (isn’t he fabulous?) in my favorite movie version.  I also watched the BBC mini-series of the story, which helped because the character of Robert appears in more scenes in that production.

I had my set up.  Plot Whisperer whispered a fabulous plot—which includes a valet taking a hand to the dissolute young Lord in my story.  Another interracial gay romance.  Another fun Lord and Valet story.  More fodder for my readers and a way to pull readers of gay romance into Austen world and a way to pull fans of Austen into the world of gay romance.  Just to give you an idea, the stories in the anthology go from sweetest to, uh, raunchiest. (Or just sexiest…)  With my BDSM and gay sex, I landed at the end of the tome.  Quelle surprise.

Anyway, I hope readers check out the charity anthology—available in both Kindle Unlimited and Amazon.

Thank you for hosting me, Delilah!  As a thank you to one lucky commenter, I’d love to give an ebook or audiobook copy of An Uncommon Gentleman to the comment “Random” chooses.  If that winner doesn’t want that prize, I can arrange something else from my back catalogue from any of my three pennames.  Good luck!

Tea with Austen: A Historical Romance Collection for Charity Inspired by Jane Austen

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that any hot-blooded reader must be in need of a hero in a wet white shirt…

Grab your fans and parasols and join our party of Austen-inspired ladies and gentlemen for tea, scones, and the latest on-dit, in this collection with part of the proceeds going to Breast Cancer Research.

Authors:
Heather Scarlett
Jeanine Lauren
Carrie DiRisio
Sharon Michalove
Angela Kady
Frannie Holmes
Riana Everly
Diana Lloyd
Emma Brady
Gabbi Grey
Kathleen Ryder
Cecilia Rene
Bianca White
Clyve Rose
Lisabel Chretien
Grace Hartwell
MaryAnn Clarke

The anthology will only be available for a limited time.

Links:
Universal Link: https://books2read.com/tnrc2024teawithausten
Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0CR43CGK2
Add it to Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/204445471-tea-with-austen

About Gabbi’s “A Sensible Gentleman“ inside Tea with Austen

Kenneth

As the heir, I have always done whatever I please. My conquests are legendary, and my concern for others negligible. When I meet our new servant, though, I discover someone who won’t bow to my whims. I will admit, I’m intrigued.

Walter

As the new valet in the household, I am aware of my precarious position. Still, work isn’t everything. When I meet the son of the manor, a demanding brat, I set aside my concern for my employment to teach the young man a lesson about respecting those around him.

A Sensible Gentleman is a 10k-word graphic and racy gay romance Regency short story set in Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility world, with a headstrong young brat and the valet happy to put him in his place.

Warning: explicit consensual sexual content

About Gabbi Grey

USA Today Bestselling author Gabbi Grey lives in beautiful British Columbia where her fur baby chin-poo keeps her safe from the nasty neighborhood squirrels. Working for the government by day, she spends her early mornings writing contemporary, gay, sweet, and dark erotic BDSM romances. While she firmly believes in happy endings, she also believes in making her characters suffer before finding their true love. She also writes m/f romances as Gabbi Black and Gabbi Powell.

Some of you have asked me to post about my journey. This first post is long. Sorry about that. But the end will make it worth it, I think…

Yesterday was my first chemo day. I arrived at 8:30 in the morning, and I was the last patient checked out at 3:00 in the afternoon. An hour of it was meeting with the doctor, because he likes to check in with you when you begin and answer any questions you have. He monitored me throughout the day to see how my chemo was going. The techs took my stats. Then I headed down to the treatment room. There were five chairs, all mismatched, all different colors and conditions. This treatment room is only used on Mondays by clinic workers that come from their main hub in Hot Springs to help out their patients in Arkadelphia. So, I could have cushier accommodations if I was willing to make the drive, but this is so convenient I’m grateful. I chose one of the two fully functioning chairs and waited as they put in an IV because my chemo port isn’t yet installed.

The boring part—all the meds!

They started a saline drip then disappeared to bring in a multitude of bags they’d be changing in and out throughout the day. They gave me Benedryl for any allergic reactions, something to reduce stomach acid/reflux, steroids, something else (no clue), and I was feeling pretty good. The Bendryl made me feel sleepy so the first hour and an half I dozed happily in and out. Then came the biggie, a 2.5-hour drip of a cancer med, Taxol. As soon as it hit my arm, it burned. I asked if that was normal, the tech frowned, undid the drip and rinsed it out then reapplied it, just to make sure everything was going into my arm the way it was supposed to. The burn was still there, but not as strong, and it warmed up my arm as it shot through my body. Inside a minute, I felt it at the back of my throat. It was acidy, metallic, and just in general tasted like battery acid. After that, they put in the second cancer med, Carboplatin, for another 30-minute drip, followed at last by Jemperli, a monoclonal antibody/immunotherapy drug.

More interesting part… I guess

When I arrived in my treatment room, there was only one other person there. He looked to be in his 70s and had a long, Duck-Dynasty beard. He was very chatty. Very. He asked me where I was from because I didn’t talk like him. I told him I was an Air Force brat who joined the Army. Since I ended up in Arkadelphia, he thought I must be all right then. He told me all about his cancer journey and how he’d been told he wouldn’t live very many months, but he’s seven years into his treatment, and God cured him. He knew exactly when it happened. The preacher prayed over him, and he felt his light sweep inside him. The following week when he returned for a checkup, the bloodwork showed that the cancer in his bone marrow was completely gone. His treatment was very short. I’m thinking he is on immunotherapy now for maintenance. Before he left, he asked if he could pray over me. Now, I’m not religious, I’m spiritual and I’m open-minded. I told him I would appreciate it. He gave me a prayer that was warm and personal, asked for God or the drugs to cure me like they had him, and I smiled afterward and thanked him. As soon as he left, I could see some others filtering into the room, so I grabbed my headphones.

I am an introvert. A hermit. That one conversation “peopled” me out. I spent the rest of the day listening to music or scrolling through Twitter (I refuse to call it X). Wi-Fi inside that building sucked, so I really regretted not pre-downloading a movie and a book, given how much time I had in that chair. The only exercise I got were short walks to the toilet.

I got bored and hungry and didn’t want my snacks. So, I messaged my daughter around lunchtime, and she drove back into town to bring Wendy’s spicy chicken sandwiches and drinks. We enjoyed spending the time together—and she had made me promise to call her if I needed anything. So, I didn’t feel one bit guilty about it. One nice thing was that we got to witness a patient ringing her bell to symbolize that she had beat her cancer. It turns out, my daughter knows her, and was really happy to witness that. There were lots of smiles and clapping. And wistful sighs.

When my Taxol (the kickass cancer drug) was running through me, I got very, very hot. I noted that the other had blankets on, and I was regretting wearing sweatpants because I was roasting. The tech brought me wet paper towels to cool my face, and I sucked down bottles of water. I was scared to death I wasn’t reacting well to the chemo and that they’d have to rejigger my plan.

An hour later, I heard the tech in the hallway say, “Hey, the thermostat says it’s 81-degrees in here!” When he came back inside, he gave me a lopsided smile. “That wasn’t just you.” Whew.

By the time I was done with the drugs, I was done for the day, or so I thought. My daughter was in the school line, waiting to pick up kids, so I had to wait outside for a few minutes after they locked up the clinic to transfer all their equipment and load up for the trek back to Hot Springs. I’m sure I could have waited inside, but I was eager to be OUT.

Aftermath

I was so happy to be home, sitting in the AC, hearing my noisy family and dogs. I sat for a little while, trying to get motivated to head downstairs to my apartment. I have an office, my living-bed area, and my art room downstairs. I like it there. When I need to work or have some quiet time, I retreat there. I have only my cat and the two bunnies in the art room. They don’t make much noise.

I changed out of my sweats into my nightgown and just laid down to take a nap in my cool sheets when the 15-year-old stuck her head in the door. “Hey, Nina, I don’t want to bother you, but you did say to nag you about the pool…”

I had issued orders that, while it was still warm enough, I wasn’t going to miss a day in the pool, no matter how much I might grouse about fatigue or whatever. I grumbled but told her to give me five. So, five minutes later, I was back upstairs, shuffling outside to the pool, thinking I would only last a few minutes before I’d have to head back to bed because chemo sucked the juice out of me.

An hour later, I reluctantly left the pool and headed to the shower, feeling completely rejuvenated. I didn’t go straight to bed. Instead, I ate Domino’s Pizza with the family talking about their days. Completely normal.

So, Day One wasn’t so bad—just overlong. The key is HEADPHONES. Kill the time with something that interests me, so I don’t count the 30-minute drip bags. I know Wednesday is supposedly hell-day for the nausea and fatigue, but I’m ready for it.

The Picture

Around 10:00 last night, when I was finally ready to sleep, the 15-year-old poked her head in the door again. She asked if she could give me something. I waved her in and sat on the edge of the bed.

She was carrying that bear. I barely remembered it. If you’ve been following me for any length of time, you know that she’s the girl who’s had cancer three times in her leg. Her shin bone had to be replaced with a cadaver bone, and her own marrow was encouraged to grow and fill it. She’s been cancer-free for several years now with some nodules they keep an eye on, but she held onto her cancer bear. She apologized that there are worn spots on its it shoes and fur, because she rubbed the bear whenever she couldn’t sleep when she was scared. She wanted me to have it. Her mom followed her inside the room and went to the bag of goodies the clinic had given me as a welcome gift. One of the gifts were the “fighting pretty” gloves in my cancer’s pretty teal color. She carried the bear and the gloves to my desk, took the picture, and said they were to stay on my desk until I’m cured or in remission.

Sorry this was so long. But I thought I’d share some details for anyone else who might be facing this or know someone who is. Just keeping it real.