So Much for a Quiet Summer

Holy crowded brain, Batman! I’ve got so much going on and so much to tell you I don’t even know where to start, so I’m just going to jump right in and hope it makes sense. And if it doesn’t, you’ll get an inkling of how my husband feels on a daily basis and can you believe tomorrow’s our anniversary? For eleven years (sixteen total) this man has endured my chaotic disco ball of a brain.

If you’ve read my Alex Paige mysteries, you’ve heard that phrase before. Write what you know, right?

Anyway… Wednesday I saw Dr. S. for my 5-year post-treatment checkup and yay! Good news! I’ll see him in six months (not a year, as I’d thought), and then we’ll switch to annual visits. The best news, besides being c-free, is that I get to stop taking the darn estrogen blocker in 35 days.

Now that’s cause for celebration, which Jim and I did, bopping around and enjoying being together.

And then when we got home, I read my journal entries from the day of my first mammogram through a few days after my diagnosis. Why would I do that to myself? Because I’m recording them in preparation for my book, Diary of a Cockeyed Optimist.

Yes, it’s hard. Yes, I cried. And I’m also laughing. Both at my excitement at getting my first mammo in a pink truck, and at my life now. I’m living the life of my dreams and it’s because I made choices, big and small, after getting that diagnosis. Those choices have led me here.

That’s what the book is about. Not woe is me, cancer sucks. It does. You’ll see that, if you read it, but it’s not what it’s about.

Anyway… I said I’ve got a lot going on. Next week is the Midwest Travel Network Annual Conference. I’m speaking. My topic? Substack! It’ll be geared towards travel writers, but the advice I’m getting translates across topics, so I may host a webinar at some point. It’d be free, of course. Would you be interested in that? I’ll drop a poll below.

The conference is in McHenry County, Illinois. I live about a mile south of the border, and was a resident for five years. I even wrote most of their previous visitors guide! From Tuesday through Saturday I’ll get to explore like a Local Tourist and learn from friends like Michelle Murray and Veronica Bareman.

The week after that, I’m speaking about Route 66’s centennial at Wilmette Public Library. It’s at 1pm on the 18th if you want to join me.

That weekend, June 20-21, I’ll be at both the Kenosha HarborMarket and the Kenosha Book Festival. And then on the 23rd, I’m at Waukegan Public Library talking about road trips from Chicago.

Tired yet? But wait, there’s more! June 25-29, I’ll be at the American Library Association Annual Conference. Peril on the Peninsula will be on display at the Independent Book Publishers Association’s booth. I’m a member, and membership has its privileges. Because I signed up to participate, I also get to attend, and I’ll hear the likes of Rachel Maddow, Jill Biden, and Wayne Brady.

SQUEEEE!!!

Did you think I was done? Well, there’s still one more day in the month. That’s when my friend, who’s moving later this summer, will come spend the day with me. I see bookshops and crystal stores in our future.

While all of that is going on, I’ve got freelance editing and ghostwriting.

And the most important project of all is my Diary. It’s hard and fun and uplifting and cathartic. I’d love your support to bring this into the world, and all it takes is a quick follow. And if you’re so moved, a share with your friends.

Before I go, if you want to know a little more about me, check out this fun interview with Alyssa Lund. She featured Peril on the Peninsula in her ReaderCrate subscription service, and we chatted about my path from travel writer to novelist and more!

Happy reading (and viewing),

Theresa