My Butterfly Cancer

Since I have a Kindle countdown in the UK scheduled to start on Saturday, I'm going to take this opportunity to shamelessly plug one of my books. My Butterfly Cancer is my personal memoir, portraying the battle I fought just last year with a life-threatening illnes: leukemia.

To explain leukemia in basic terms, it is a condition in which immature stem cells in the bone marrow never mature; they never become oxygen-bearing red blood cell, infection-fighting white blood cells, or platelets (responsible for blood clotting). They just sit there in the bone marrow, taking up space and crowding out normal, healthy cells. Initial symptoms can include fatigue, weakness, shortness of breath, easy bruising, easy bleeding, and colds or flus that just don't seem to go away.

My memoir was intended to be an inspirational hope to others who are suffering from cancer or other life-threatening illness. After all, when we initially heard my diagnosis, we were sure it was a death sentence. I'm sure others have felt that way too. Even though it was the hardest thing I've ever done, I tried to face each morning with the thought that I was going to fight another day.

Be prepared for raw, heart-wrenching emotion and bald honesty. One reviewer said "I could see it all in my mind, all too clearly." She lost a husband to leukemia on Valentine's day of this year. Another reviewer wrote: "She bares her soul and does it so eloquently...I cried in sadness and in joy."

So come and join me through the course of this journey, and find out how the butterfly effect took over my life, one small interaction that started an avalanche that culimated in me becoming a self-published author!

Am I the same person I was before cancer? Definately not, and I doubt I ever will be. I still have bad days. I still have pain from scar tissue left behind by a secondary infection. I'm still underweight, and I'm still waiting for my hair to return. Some organs don't work as well as they used to. That includes my brain; I think my memory may be irrevocably damaged.

But I'm still alive. I'm still here, and I never gave up. It was a life-long dream to get my stories published. I've tried many times, sent manuscripts to publishers myself (and most never even bothered to send a rejection letter), to hiring an agent, to self-publishing Once Upon a Western Way digitally two years ago. But cancer was obviously the catalyst I needed, that, and the gentle urging of an old friend. Am I sorry that I lost the person I used to be? Not anymore! There's my cover for My Butterfly Cancer. The second pic is my first post-cancer ride on my horse, Athena, July 4, 2014! What an independence day for me!

Reviews Do Help (and Hurt!) Authors

When you hear the word review or feedback, often you might think of a product you purchased online at eBay or other auction sites. Perhaps you've even left feedback for DVDs or games you've purchased. But reviews are important to authors, too, as well as to potential readers. I encourage everyone who purchases books to leave reviews for them.

But reviews can hurt authors too. As I was browsing the Masquerade Crew's blog looking for tweets I could use as part of the tweet exchange program (I think I talked about this in my Promotions post), I came across one that deeply disturbed me.

This tweet was about an Amazon review. The reviewer claimed, "I bought it by mistake so I thought it deserved 1*". Not only that, but this same reviewer had 3 OTHER reviews that read almost the same thing! I checked out all of them.This person had 22 total reviews; they were either 5* claiming "excellent, loved it, etc.", or they were 1* saying "terrible, waste of money, hope Amazon pulls this, etc."



Not only is this kind of review completely insensitive to the author, but unneccessary. Amazon has a seven day return policy on books, even Kindle books. I know, because I had one refunded myself (I hoped it was because someone bought the Kindle version when they wanted the print). If you'd bought the wrong size jeans, you wouldn't leave such a review with the jeans company would you? No, you'd return to the storefor a refund or exchange, wouldn't you? Even if the reviewer decided to read the book she accidentally bought (or if the 7 day period had expired by the time she realized it), she shouldn't have left a review like that.

Writing reviews are more difficult than you might think. Even if you didn't like the book, try to pull something good from it. In other words, say something like "people who enjoy fantasy stories might truly enjoy this book". If the book is full of glaring grammar and typographical or formatting errors, you might gently suggest having someone edit it. In other words, remember that authors have feelings. Often, we're just as sensitive as painters, photographers, or other artists.
 I'll leave you with one last thought. Keep in mind that reviews can and do help authors, especially independent authors without the might and backing of big publishers (who can afford to pay for reviews). But if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all!