Sober January has come and gone. And, despite the misgivings I expressed in my previous post, I made it through without incident. However, there was one day, a Saturday, where my friends were gathering at a local brewery. I RSVP’ed as a “no” for the meeting since I didn’t want to put myself in the way of a Peterbilt truck worth of temptation. Yet, the thought of having a beer that evening wormed its way into my head and would not get out. I just really wanted the experience of drinking a beer. Not for the sake of inebriation, but more for the ritual: the bouquet of hops, the tickling of carbonation mixed with the a mouthful of sweetness. Then I remembered reading somewhere that non-alcoholic beers were having a moment. So, I Googled “non-alcoholic beer”.

I’m not sure how to remove the link, but I no longer have a Twitter account. I have no interest in being part of Elon Musk’s plans for that site. From what I can tell, he has turned it into a social media tire fire in the short time he has been in control of it.

You can, however, find me on Instagram now. I am beerandmonsterswriter. It has been forever since I tinkered with the layout of this site, so it might be some time before I can remove the Twitter link and add one for Instagram.

Also I have a new portrait up on the About Me page. The talented Kayla Chandler of Ghost Possessions photographed me at the Dark Market several weeks back. I am so pleased with how the photos turned out and I just had to use one of them for the site.

That’s all for now. Thanks for checking in.

Whoops. It seems I’ve let this place get a bit dusty, doesn’t it? I hope to change that in the coming weeks. In the meantime, for those that do not follow me on Facebook, here is an update on Faylinn. She went through surgery back in February. While she recuperated at home we awaited word on her biopsy results. Despite what I wrote in my last post, I should have purchased a lottery ticket on that day or submitted a story to Clarkesworld, because luck was with us. The tumor was benign. Her surgeon sounded just as relieved as we were. He kept saying, “I never get to say this.” Her recovery since then has not been easy. After all, they shaved her belly and split her open like a dead tauntaun. She has developed a small problem of incontinence, but that could just as well be due to her age more than the surgery. We are managing it with medication. She is pretty much back to her old, opinionated self. And for that I am beyond thankful.

But, still. Fuck cancer.

Several weeks ago, our regular vet detected the presence of a tumor in Faylinn’s bladder. Immediately, we made plans to visit a specialist at MedVet. On Friday, we met with the specialist. The news that came out of her appointment is of the bad, good, bad variety.

The bad: Our vet was correct down to the dimensions and location. There is a tumor on the front of Faylinn’s bladder.

The good: An assortment of tests did not detect any additional tumors in her body. Her lymph nodes, lungs, and the rest of her bladder are all clear. We caught it before it metastasized. Also, for the vast majority of bladder cancers in dogs, the tumors grow close to and along the tubes which lead down to the kidneys and the urethra, making surgery impossible. In Faylinn’s case, the tumor is at the front of her bladder in about as perfect a spot as it could be for surgery. It should be a straightforward operation to remove the tumor with no complications.

The BAD: Unless we are winning-lottery-ticket lucky and the tumor is benign, removing it will not cure the cancer. Without some sort of secondary treatment, our little nurse will be crossing the rainbow bridge in a year.

When Chaos was diagnosed with cancer, I went into full denial mode. Not about the disease, but about his chances of recovery. I documented my thought process through that runaway wagon cart nightmare on this very site. That experience. . . I still struggle to process it. I don’t know if I can go through that wringer again, nor do I think I could subject Faylinn to the level of suffering Chaos endured. I am trying to be realistic about our chances and to start processing the grief now.

Fuck cancer.

Two years since my last update. In case anyone is checking this website on a regular basis, I want you to know that I am still writing. Progress has slowed due to personal issues. However I was invited to join a project at the start of the pandemic. It is an opportunity I’ve been dreaming of since I was a kid and I am a super excited about it. The final details are still being hashed out, but I hope to have an announcement by the time the leaves start turning yellow.

Yep, still alive. Still writing. Nope. No sales. However, my friend Marianne started a new podcast about horror movies called Marianne’s Macabre Movie Review. It’s a tongue in cheek show where she picks a film then has a few of her friends over to watch and discuss it. She was kind enough to have me on as a guest commentator for the first episode. On it we discussed the J-Horror equivalent of Freddy vs. Jason, Kayako vs. Sadako. You can subscribe to it on I-Tunes and follow it on Twitter @MacabreReview.

NOTE: The episode was recorded around the same time this website was last updated. So you’ll hear me be all excited about being eligible for the John W. Campbell award. Clearly, I did not get nominated =). Also, the anthology mentioned is no longer available.

Steven M Saus, head of Alliteration Ink, is putting together a charity anthology to raise money for Greg Campbell, a writer, Navy veteran, and single parent. You see, Greg recently lost everything in a house fire. This fire happened not long after his wife died. I can’t imagine the strain such back to back tragedies would cause. Greg’s relatives set up crowdfunding campaign to help get him back on his feet. The details of it can be found here.

I’ve put my money where my mouth is and donated to the cause. More than that, I’ve given Steven permission to reprint my story, “Fangirl”, in the anthology. Even if you already own a copy of Sidekicks!, I urge you to consider purchasing this anthology. Those who contribute $25 or more will receive a copy of Life After Ashes. This book will have stories from over 50 authors including Lucy A Snyder, Nisi Shawl, Gary Graunbeck, and Tobias Buckell.

More details can be found on Alliteration Ink’s tumbler page here.

The fundraiser only has 17 more days left. After February 2nd, the book will not be available again. Even if you can’t afford $25, please consider donating what you can. Thank you!

In case you missed it, part two of my saison reviews was posted on The Tipsy Techie last week.