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[As usual, three weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.]

Health getting better. Doc took a look at what they had done, and how it was working, so doubled up on the steroids.

I have never been on steroids like this. Sleeping was functionally impossible. Nurse agreed and said it was like being on crack or meth. Do not recommend.

After three weeks, I have finally started to heal. And figured out how to get more than 2-3 hours of sleep in a 10 hour stretch.

And REALLY powerful dreams, because I’m never dropping into darkness when I sleep right now. Hopefully, in another ten days, it will be done and I can return to some normal state.

Whatever that is.

Went out to Krain for breakfast. Had to review the entire menu, because there is a chance I have developed a new food allergy and that’s what’s causing this. Per Fabulous Publisher Babe™, many people do at roughly my age. (Just turned 55 two weeks ago.)

So I have cut dairy, eggs, and coffee entirely out of my diet for the next 2-3 months. After that, I’ll add dairy back in first and see if I have a reaction. Probably coffee after that. Then finally eggs.

Got a call in to a dermatologist to get in, but I have no idea when they will get back to me. Presumably, they can run some tests, because in 2 weeks, my skin might be clear and I’ll be back to doing Tai Chi and things.

I have had to stay out of the sun for a month. Haven’t worn socks. Hardly worn shoes. Nothing but shorts. Weird diet. Weird sleep.

New me, whatever that means.

By the time some of you read this, it won’t matter, but there were issues with the Warlord of the Spinward Reaches pre-order on Amazon and they canceled it at the last minute.

Here’s the new link: https://www.amazon.com/Warlord-Spinward-Reaches-Corsac-Book-ebook/dp/B0D8ZWVJWC

It’s live, and folks have been buying it two days early. Get yours now.

WRITING: Crossed 40k on the second Red Branch novel. Silver Eagle. Planning to drop those in the spring, for a June 2025 book fair in Enumclaw, WA (The Beer Walk), along with a bunch of other thriller stuff.

Think I’ll be done this week. Target was 55k, but this feels more like 50 or so. After that, Heather #3 wants to be written. Then possibly Corsac 7, so I can drop a bunch of military space opera next fall and summer.

With the Amazon fuckups, I may lose my ability to put up pre-orders on their platform. Or rather, I have to petition to get it back, but odds are pretty good, as we’ve never done this before.

We’ll see.

Why it matters™: the four books of Air Pirates of Cyrenaica are up for pre-order, but I may not be able to load Science Officer 14/Exile until the last minute, and this might be your opportunity to start looking at one of the other distributors. I’d like Amazon to be a much smaller portion of my overall sales. That means places like Barnes and Noble, Walmart (Kobo is their library), iTunes, or directly from the KRP shop, which is where I make the most money anyway, because everyone else charges me 30-34% and I only pay 1-4% when you buy direct.

Anyway, chaos here. And ongoing. Hopefully resolved at some point, but I’m not holding my breath today.

Hope your monday has Air conditioning, or a solid roof, depending on your geography.

shade and sweet water

b

West of the Mountains, WA

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