Pollen, Pain, and a Published Book

Well fuck it, let’s talk about the book some more, because, you know, it beats the alternative.

What’s the alternative, you politely ask?

Pollen. Of course. The irritation de jour.

I had surgery on Friday. Surgery to fix my face. I’ve talked about that already. They sliced me open from my bottom lip down to my chin, following the original tear from the accident. Clean this time. Controlled. They removed scar tissue and stitched it all back together.

And because they were working on my mouth, they ran the breathing tube through my nose.

So yeah… my nasal cavity is not exactly thrilled right now.

Now add Albuquerque pollen to that. Because I decided to stay down here another day. Brilliant.

My face is not used to Albuquerque pollen. Hell, I’m not used to Albuquerque pollen anymore. And breathing? Yeah, that’s more of a suggestion than a function at the moment. I’ve been doing all the things: Allegra. Mucinex. Saline spray. Flonase or whatever the hell it’s called. Still can’t fucking breathe.

So yeah, I’m very much looking forward to riding back to Santa Fe, where a neti pot with my name on it is waiting like some kind of nasal exorcism.

See? Aren’t you glad we didn’t spend the whole time talking about this shit?

So yeah… the book. And So, She Rose is out. It’s live. Loud and proud and all that.

The morning after surgery, I opened my email and there it was, a message from Kindle Direct Publishing saying it was live. That might not be the exact wording. I’m working off memory here, and let’s just say that’s a little suspect right now. And I’m not digging through my inbox to fact-check it because… you get the point.

You upload the files. You hit publish. Then it goes into this 24–72 hour review window where people behind the curtain decide if your shit passes.

First time through? Rejected. So the artist worked their magic, we fixed what needed fixing, ran it again…

…and this time it stuck.

So yeah. It’s fucking live.

And I’m not gonna lie, I’m pretty damn excited about that.

I’ve already got the same team working on the Survivor’s Guide, so that’s next.

As for what comes after that? I’ve got ideas. Loose ones. But I’m not putting them out here. Because one thing I’ve learned is this: When the universe calls, my job is to listen. I don’t get to decide what comes next. I just write it when it shows up.

And when it does? Yeah, you’ll fucking hear about it.

Still better than talking about allergies, right?