Update on Chaos and Metastasis is on Sale

Dec

2013

Chaos went in for his weekly checkup with the oncologist yesterday. She was amazed at his recovery. His mouth and tongue are 100% healed, and most of the hair loss has finished. Also, he got a little bit of airflow back through his right nostril. He looks so good, in fact, that she rescheduled his next checkup for next month. However she left the feeding tube in as a precaution, even though he’s only getting his meds and a bit of water through it now.

Around the home his behavior has definitely brightened. His appetite came back with a vengeance. He’s back to his old tricks of dancing between my legs while I cook and sniffing in the garbage can. On Saturday the wife and I decided to take the dogs for a walk. Chaos did great. He bounded along beside us, stopping only to do his you-know-what. When we got home, we figured he’d be exhausted. Instead, he picked up a ball and wanted to play fetch. He hasn’t wanted to play since the weekend after he had the biopsy performed. Yet there he was, running and jumping with an energy we hadn’t seen in a long time. My wife teared up she was so happy. I was so inspired that I wrote over 4500 words that day, finishing up a story that had been percolating in my head for weeks.

In other news, WolfSinger Publications is holding a sale for the holidays. All their titles are 25% off, including Metastasis. Details can be seen here: http://wolfsingerpubs.com/HappyHolidays.html. As you know, Metastasis is a very important anthology for me. Its theme hits close to home for my family. Over 60% of all proceeds from the sale of Metastasis are being donated to the American Cancer Society.

If you have already bought Metastasis, thank you so much! Please take a few moments and write an honest review someplace like Goodreads or Amazon.com. Small publishers rely on the word of mouth generated by reviews to make sales.

Here’s hoping that the year finishes on a strong note for me. Since I’m feeling so motivated I think I’m going to brew a batch of my porter this weekend. I call it “To the Black”. It’s a Firefly inspired porter where I use ginger in place of finishing hops. It makes for great holiday drinking.

Update on Chaos – Nov 18th, 2013

Nov

2013

Radiation treatment is not something to be taken lightly.

When my wife and I sat down with the oncologist a month ago, we thought we understood the worst that could happen. We chose the line of treatment we did to minimize the potential side effects. It didn’t matter. Continue reading →

Update on Chaos- November 9th, 2013

Nov

2013

Chaos has completed his 10 radiation treatments. For the first week there was no observable change in his behavior or symptoms. By the weekend, however, his energy level had bottomed out. He did nothing but sleep for the majority of the time. When he did move, you could tell it took considerable strength. His breathing became worse. Ragged. When he slept his snoring could be heard throughout the house. I was terrified but the doctors assured me that what he was going through was absolutely normal. The tumor’s first reaction to radiation treatment is to swell, causing the increase in symptoms we observed. He was tired because a) he was being put under every afternoon and b) MedVet allows their patients to roam free in the back room. So when he wasn’t under, Chaos was playing with the other dogs and interacting with the staff. The combination of both tuckered the old guy out. Continue reading →

For the Love of Chaos – Beginnings

Nov

2013

The bear of a man looked at the tiny brown and white puppy in his arms, and I thought for sure he was going to cry.

“Aw,” he said, “I was kinda hoping you were gonna take Cowboy. Gus here has become my teevee-watchin’ buddy. Haven’t ya?”

He tickled the corgi under his chin and the puppy’s big brown eyes came up and met his. The breeder blinked and thrust the little dog into my step-son’s waiting arms.

“Good-bye, buddy.” Continue reading →

Update on Chaos, Oct 26th, 2013

Oct

2013

We took Chaos to MedVet yesterday afternoon for a consultation with their radiation oncology department. They gave Chaos a thorough examination and went over all his recent medical records, including the x-rays and blood work. We then sat down with the head of the department for the next two hours and talked about the cancer and our options.

First off, they showed us the CT scan of the tumor. Continue reading →

Metastasis Interview and an Update on Chaos

Oct

2013

A few weeks back I was interviewed by writer/editor Rhonda Parrish regarding my story in Metastasis. The interview has been posted on her website this morning. You can check it out here.

Also I wanted to share how Chaos is doing. The biopsy results came back. He has a nasal transitional carcinoma. This is a malignant cancer for which there is no cure. It tends to claim dogs pretty fast if left untreated. Already we’re seeing changes in Chaos energy level. When he breathes, he sounds congested. Luckily, chest x-rays appear to show that the cancer has not yet spread to the other parts of his body. We’re taking him in to see an oncologist later this week to discuss treatment options. I understand that radiation can be used to temporarily halt the progress of the disease and shrink the tumor, thus giving a dog better quality of life for the time he has left.

What doesn’t help, though, are the dozens of “doctors” pushing forward quack theories on the internet. There is no shortage of fiends who will use your fears and lack of knowledge to push their political views and untested herbal products on you. I don’t have time to get into it now, but I’m super fucking pissed at some of the stuff I’m reading.

For the Love of Chaos

Oct

2013

I tuned out the techno-babble coming from the doctor’s mouth and down the phone line.

“Pay attention,” a voice inside my head spoke, “this is important.”

I paced across my kitchen and looked out the back door again, trying to recall what I was looking for. “No. He’s not talking to me. He’s talking to someone else.”

“No,” the voice said. “This is happening to YOU. Your dog is dying.”

Continue reading →

Press Release for Metastasis

Oct

2013

WolfSinger Publications is pleased to announce the upcoming release of

METASTASIS: An Anthology to Support Cancer Research.

“Walk with us.” -Jay Lake

Walk with us as we explore the world of cancer as seen through a speculative fiction lens. Hold our hands while we venture into the world of what-ifs. Take a journey at our side as we experience the full spectrum of what cancer has to offer. The light, the darkness.

Within these pages you’ll meet a woman who adores her cancer as a lover, another who sees it as her ticket to immortality. We’ll meet a boy willing to do anything to save his mother and another with superpowers. There’s a witch who uses magic to fight against the beast ravaging her friend’s body, a cat whose capacity for love is unparalleled, a damaged musician, aliens, a goddess butterfly and so much more.

These are not easy stories to read. This is not a comforting collection that will wipe your fears away and make everything all right. It’s not that kind of book. These stories will make you cry, but they’ll also make you laugh. They’ll touch you and stir emotions. These stories aren’t all fun, but they are important. All of them.

Edited by Rhonda Parrish, this extraordinary collection of speculative fiction revolves around the theme of cancer. Including work by award-winning and bestselling authors including Jay Lake and Kevin J. Anderson, these 26 stories and poems tell tales of pain and hope, love and loss, fear and strength.

Cancer scares us. There is so much we don’t know about it, but it’s out there, waiting to strike. This anthology attempts to strike back by supporting research that will develop new treatments and, eventually, find a cure.

WolfSinger Publications, the editor and contributors combined are donating a total of 62.5% of all proceeds to the American Cancer Society.

Metastasis is scheduled for release on Oct 15^th, 2013. It will be available through Amazon.com and other online retailers, and can also be ordered through local bookstores.

Metastasis

Edited by Rhonda Parrish

Print ISBN: 978-1-936099-54-2

Print Price: $14.95

eBook Price: $6.95

For more information please contact the publisher at editor@wolfsingerpubs.com

Metastasis Release Date

Aug

2013

I just got word that the official release date for Metastasis, which features my story, “Next Placement”, is October 15th. I’m very excited for this anthology, and I cannot wait to read the other stories!

My Summer Vacation by Stephen Lickman, Age 40

Aug

2013

If you’re into nerdy stuff and feel like there is no place you can go to fit in, you really need to head to Indianapolis when GenCon is in session. I’ve been going off and on since the late 90’s, when the wife and I were hooked on Legend of the Five Rings and the con was still being held in downtown Milwaukee. The past two years I’ve gone with a group of my buddies (the wife, like me, has long since lost her love of L5R and no other game has capture her imagination). However it was just this year that I learned that there is a whole other side of GenCon, the Writer’s Symposium. Continue reading →