This one comes from Harlequin Historicals for my full Western novel, RENEGADE.  I was expecting this rejection actually.  I not only found a similar book plot already published with them, but I knew it wasn’t long enough.  Used to be a book’s word count would be calculated at 250 words per page, even if there were only a few words on the page.  Now, however, its simply actual computer count, just like at ePublishers.  I couldn’t readily find this information on HQ’s website, so I’d assumed it was still at 250 words per page.  I didn’t figure out I was wrong until after I’d submitted the book.

Anyway, I have to say I’m excited to have this book back in my clutches.  I’m going to read through it and see if it needs more.  I love this book.  It flowed out of me when I was writing it, but I do believe there are parts that can be beefed up to further develop the characters, their relationship, and the plot.

I’m thinking maybe Samhain or Carina for this one.  But because both of those publishers already have a submission of mine pending, I might wait to see what they say before submitting another book to them.

Don’t want to bog them down with a bunch of submissions.

Figure Champagne has a LOT of my books already, with more to come this year, and Cobblestone only does erotic romance these days.  If I write for Cobblestone, it’s got to specifically be hotter, written just with them in mind.  Samhain hasn’t released one of my books in a long time and Carina is new territory I’d like to explore.

So, we shall see. 

~~Becka

As you may or may not know, I was surprised with a Kindle for Christmas.  It had been on my wish list forever, but I never thought I’d actually get one.  I was giddy when I held it in my hand.  It’s a little odd being an eBook author and NOT having an eReader.  I hate reading on the computer!

All that aside, I probably never would have bought one for myself.  The price is steep at $250.  If you can afford one, however, I highly recommend getting one.  I have no experience with other readers like the Sony or the Nook, so this won’t be a review that compares these devices.

To start, the case for the Kindle is about $30 for a good one.  It’s actually very resilient and sturdy enough to withstand abuse.  I’ve dropped my Kindle and the case protected it perfectly.  Also, I bend the front cover behind the device as I read.  So far, I’ve had no issues.  This particular case is very well-made.

The Kindle boasts long battery life, and boy does it have it.  The only time it uses power is when you change pages.  Once the page is displayed, it doesn’t take any more power to display the text.  I’ve literally left it on my shelf for days untouched only to turn it on and be pleasantly surprised it still had plenty of charge.  And everything Amazon has boasted about their e-ink is true.  This device is not backlit.  If you’re going to read in bed, you’ll need the light on to see the display.

You can change pages with either hand, and you can flip to the previous page if you like.  It’s so thin and light, that it’s a dream to hold.  In fact, if you curl up somewhere, you don’t have to move to turn pages or adjust the book to prop it open.  I love this, personally, because it’s hard for me to hold a normal paperback these days.

The display has 16 shades of gray.  But even though it’s not in color, book covers still look really good.

Amazon’s Whispernet is just awesome.  You can shop Kindle’s bookstore either on the device, or directly from your computer.  If you buy books on your computer, they’re downloaded to your Kindle automatically.  Go pick up your eReader and the book you just bought is already there.  And this is done with no subscription, no monthly fee, no tethering to a computer, it’s merely a service of Amazon.  It also works anywhere, using cell phone relays to download books rather than sometimes-sketchy wi-fi.

Almost more than the device, I love Amazon’s Whispernet. 

The Kindle makes me want to buy all the paperbacks in my to-be-read pile in eBook instead.  I’ve seriously had the thought that I’d rather read on my Kindle than pick up a paperback these days.  I have mad love for this device.

In fact, one of the only dings I have is the fact it’s not a touch screen.  I’ve been spoiled by my iPhone.  You mean I gotta use buttons?!?  LOL  I’ve heard one of the eReaders out there is a touch screen, but a friend of mine mentioned it’s not as fluid as the iPhone.  I think that would probably drive me batty too.

While it’s expensive and not a touch screen, I would recommend it to anyone thinking of getting one.  It’s got the capacity to hold 1500 books.  WOW.  Can’t pack that many in a suitcase!

All in all, I give the Kindle 4 1/2 stars, dinging it for price and no touch screen.  Good job, Amazon.  You’ve become a pioneer in making eBooks cool, and that makes this eBook author rejoice.  Suddenly, with eReaders like this, it makes us justified in what we do.  EBooks are no longer a chore to read on the computer, and are only gaining in popularity.  Win/win for everyone!!

~~Becka

Since I don’t have any book/writing updates, I’m blogging again on my wrist.  Today marks the halfway point of my conservative treatment.  Two weeks down, two more to go.  Aside from accidentally popping my DH in the face in the middle of the night (which I have no knowledge of lol), I’ve been adapting fairly well.  It was hard at first to get used to doing everything one-handed, but it’s a little easier now.  I’m sure by the time I’m ready to get my cast off, I’ll be a natural at one-handedness.

Bad news is, my wrist doesn’t feel any better, even in the much more comfortable cast.  Sometimes, it will be good to me all day, only to randomly start hurting in the evening, despite the fact I haven’t done anything to facilitate the pain.  Other days are just bad days where it seems I’m popping pills all day.

I’m a little concerned, because the Ibuprofen says not to take longer than 10 days, unless instructed by a doctor.  I guess this counts as “being instructed by the doctor”, but it still worries me.  I doubt my pain will magically go away when this cast comes off and in fact, there’s no doubt in my mind I’ll need to wear a splint, since the doc mentioned physical therapy.  I highly doubt he’ll take off my cast and send me on my way.

But who knows, their office didn’t even give me a sling for this cast-beast, after all.

I’m skeptical this treatment is going to work for me.  If it would, you’d think I’d be feeling better.  I don’t know, maybe it’s the fact I haven’t been able to bend my wrist and its aching because of that.  I mean, I’m not a doctor.  But I don’t think so.  Had a handful of meds for breakfast this morning and I’m feeling somewhat better.

I don’t care if I have to wear a splint after this cast, I just want the cast off!  The bent elbow and trash bag showers have lost their mystique.  LOL  Only light at the end of this tunnel is knowing I now only have two weeks left rather than four.

~~Becka

Over the past few days, I’ve noticed my cast was really loose.  It caused me a LOT of pain because I could move my hand in there.  My hubby told me to call the doc, because I might need a new cast and its better than going the four weeks and doing it wrong.

So I call and the receptionist tells me if the cast is loose, I need to come in.  So I go, and the nurse wants to ask the doc’s opinion.  She leaves me for a bit, then comes back to take the cast off, because I’m going to get a new one anyway.  She wanted to ask the doc about splinting instead, so I could have it be tighter.

I’m in the middle of washing my arm – feels so good! – when he comes in.  He seems annoyed my cast was off.  Then he goes into explaining how they don’t have a full arm splint and why I needed the cast with my arm bent, to prevent looking at my palm, and to prevent the side-to side motion of the wrist.  I told him I understood that, but that there was a lot of play in my cast, which hurt when unscrewing the lid to the milk jug, etc.

I was shocked at his look of shock.

Doc: “You’re not supposed to do that!”

Me: “Well, I didn’t pick up the jug, I was just taking off the lid.”

Doc: “Doesn’t matter, ANY action of the wrist, even small ones, won’t allow it to heal, and I can’t send you to the hand surgeon until we’ve proved this treatment didn’t work.”

(Basically, even if he thinks this won’t work, he’s gotta do it first.)

Me: “I have no problem wearing the cast, it’s just that it was so loose that it allowed for the side-to-side motion.”

Doc: (somewhat mollified) “Okay, then I’ll see you back in a few weeks.”

But now I’m kind of mad because no one told me I couldn’t do ANYTHING with this wrist.  The lady who put on my first cast even told me she’d give my fingers some room to grab things…  True, she’s not the doctor, but it would have been nice if someone (re: the doc) outlined what was expected in the first place.  All he told me was it would be hard, I’d need people to help out, and I’d have lots of physical therapy after.

SIGH

So, doc leaves, and the nurse puts on cast #2, and all the while I’m thinking the doc just chewed me out (dramatics added for effect) for doing the right thing by coming in and changing my cast.  Even the nurse said sometimes the arm shrinks in there, swelling goes down, etc., causing the cast to get loose.  I just feel like the doc thinks I’m whiny.  The splint wasn’t even my idea and he marches in there as if to tell me I will wear this cast, by gawd… (again, dramatics added).  And I was a little miffed that he couldn’t see the evidence of my loose cast for himself because the lady had already taken it off.  It was like he thought I was being whiny and there probably hadn’t been anything wrong with it.

I understand his decree of total rest, I do.  But if I’d been TOLD THAT in the first place, I might not have had so many issues.

Still would have needed a new cast, though.

I decided to go purple with the new one.  But I’ve still got glitter!  It’s much skinnier than my first one and it feels SO MUCH BETTER!  Oh my gosh, night and day difference.  Can’t move anything around in there.

Doc’s probably off some place shaking his head that his patients are dumbasses.  LOL  Or maybe he woke up on the wrong side of the bed.  He *was* wearing a full suit, whereas the other times I’ve seen him, he was business casual.  Maybe he was stressed about something.  Maybe I just blew it all out of proportion.  But I’ve got news for ya, doc.  NO ONE wants this wrist healed more than I do.

And that’s a fact.

I did notice that while my elbow was somewhat tender, I could bend it all right once I was out of the first cast.  But my wrist – forget about it.  It hurt to just hold it while the nurse prepared the new casting material.  My ulnar side was much more swollen that it had ever been.  This does NOT bode well for getting the cast off in 3 weeks…

My daughter said, “Wow, Mommy, your arm looks much skinnier in that cast!”  I said, “I wish the rest of me looked skinnier.”  One of the nurses going to lunch in the parking lot snickered as she overheard me.  LOL

Anyways, here’s to doing/holding/carrying/twisting/lifting absolutely nothing until February 9th.  For all intents and purposes, I’m one-handed.  And yes, I’m typing one-handed right now.  Yes, it IS a giant PITA.

Pic of purple cast:

~~Becka

Since there’s not a lot of posts/blogs/forums/stories online about casting treatment for a TFCC tear (read: there aren’t any), I decided to document my experiences here.  Besides, I’m sure some of my readers are curious as well.  All the posts will be categorized with the tag “TFCC Tear Treatment” if you want to find the entire saga easily.

You see, all the info online that I can find, even the stories of others with this malady, have had the surgery or scheduled one.  I haven’t found anyone in a cast for non-surgical treatment, but as I understand, that’s the default treatment.  If the TFCC cannot heal itself, then you get the surgery.  But I haven’t found anyone who’s healed with casting alone.

So we’ll see if this works.  If anyone reading has found my site and healed with casting and physical therapy let me know!  I’d love to hear your story.

Okay, so not quite one week in my full-arm cast and I can safely say this is a pain.  Showering is an adventure with trash bags and duct tape, and yes, I have fashioned for myself a wire hanger itch-scratcher.  I’ve bent the wire in half so it looks like an elbow, I’m not ripping up the padding in my cast, don’t worry about that.

My doc’s office didn’t give me a sling so after a few days of intense pain at holding it up, (I was crying, making my kids cry in the process) I went out and bought one myself–The Ultimate Arm Sling, if you must know.  Aside from that, the Aleve wasn’t doing anything for me.  since it seems as if my doc’s office is determined to torture it’s patients, they said to try Ibuprofen with some scattered Tylenol and some Vit-C, as Vit-C has been shown to help speed healing (I guess).

The sling has helped A LOT, but the cast is so heavy, it hurts my neck to wear it all the time.  When I’m sitting I prop it on a pillow and when I’m doing chores, I’ll wear it.

The Ibuprofen and Tylenol seem to have helped better with pain management than the Aleve.  Of course the sling is also a big help.  When you’re holding up the cast with just your arm muscles, it would seem you are also engaging the ligaments in your wrist, as mine was on fire after just a couple of errands.  So be wary of that if you have this injury with a big heavy cast.  The point of the huge full-arm cast with the bent elbow is to prevent supination of the wrist, or twisting your arm to look at your palm.  But it’s so hot and uncomfortable!

I get this cast off on February 9th, and after that is PT, so we’ll see what happens afterward.  I’m wondering if the casting is nothing more than a “smoke screen” for health insurances to cover the surgery, to prove they did “conservative” treatment first.  I seriously have not found any stories of anyone in a cast for a TFCC tear.  Everyone with a story online talks about surgery.

Here’s hoping this works for me.  I have no idea how big my tear is, but I’ve got to wonder if it got bigger over time, as my pain before I went to the doc was getting worse, not better…  My fingers and strength in my left hand are so weak now.  I don’t know if that’s because the cast is preventing the wrist to compensate for their weakness or what, but just taking the lid off the gallon of milk is a chore.  I can’t hold on to anything to chop for dinner, either.  Not just because its awkward, but because there’s no strength.  And when I try to hold something harder, I feel my wrist pop and slide, like the bones aren’t stable.

That’s a bit scary for me.  I have just over three weeks in this thing and I’m only feeling a little worse than when I got it on–with the strength in my hand, and the bone popping.  (Gross, I know)

Anyway, I don’t know if I’ll need a brace after the cast but probably, considering I’ll need the PT.

People online talk about how you don’t really heal 100% from this injury, about how your wrist will always be weak.  Mine’s been weak since I was 13, now it’s gonna be even moreso?  I’m 35 now and already falling apart.  Lovely.

Until the next update.

~~Becka

First, the good news, Champagne Books recently bought BLACK ANGEL, one of my fantasy manuscripts!  It will be released in October of ’10.  Here’s my page for more info on it:  http://www.rebeccagoings.com/fantasy/black-angel/ I’m very excited about this one because it’s very different than anything I’ve done before.  Can’t wait!

Now for the bad, HQ Historicals Undone R’d THE FALL OF JERICHO.  They gave me a constructive letter, however, and I beefed the story a bit and sent it off once more.  I decided to give Carina Press another go with this one since they have a “quiet” open call for historical manuscripts over there.  I say “quiet” because the info isn’t on their website, they sent it out to various blogs to go “viral” I suppose.  So we’ll see what happens over there.

They have said they now have a lot of readers, so it shouldn’t take too long to hear from them.  If they R this one, I’ll send it to Samhain Publishing.  If THEY R it, then it’ll go to Cobblestone Press.

So, Plan A didn’t work out, I’m on Plan B, and I have C & D in line as well.  Gotta be prepared. 

Anyhow, that’s my news for now.  Hoping to hear good news!  Too many rejections lately.

~~Becka

After weeks of pain, my Doc is confident my pain is due to a tear in my TFCC, better known as the Triangular Fibrocartilage Complex.  It’s a collection of ligaments and cartilage on the outside of your wrist that allows for mobility of the joint and helps hold everything together.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tM_O2cnlgh8

I had a bit of swelling along with bouts of going numb in my pinkie and ring finger that would sometimes go up my arm like someone smacked my funny bone.  So just to be safe, the Doc sent my to a neurologist to see if I had Ulnar nerve entrapment.  But my test was normal.

So my ortho did one more test with me after I told him exactly where the pain was.  He grabbed my ulna and radius and moved them back and forth, opposite of each other.  OMG what a weird combination of strange, creepy and tickly.  I could feel the weakness in there.  He did it to my right wrist and everything felt fine.  That cinched the diagnosis for him.

He told me I had two options.  One is to get a full arm cast for four weeks followed by physical therapy afterward.  The other was to go to the hand surgeon, get a painful dye injected into my wrist to see where the tear was on an MRI–then get casted for four weeks followed by physical therapy.  LOL  Well, since I didn’t want to go any longer without what seemed to be the only form of treatment, I decided to get a cast.  Talk about a shock!  I totally wasn’t expecting that.

So as you can see, I decided to have fun with it.  I got the pink, and the lady was nice enough to give me spray-on glitter!  Figured the only way to stay positive with a full arm cast where my arm is bent for 4 weeks on top of a small baby, 4 other kids and a house to take care of (not to mention my writing) was to have a little levity with the situation.

Now we’ve got to get used to the adjustment.  When I broke my wrist as a kid, I had a full cast for 4 weeks then too.  I remember getting it off and not being able to fully extend my arm for maybe a week after that.  It was painful.  I also remember the pain of bending my wrist for the first time.  Doc said, “Yeah, you’re not 13 any more.”  Hence the PT I’ll need.  **shudder**  But it’s not just because of the cast, the PT is also to help the TFCC strengthen and regain mobility.  Not looking forward to that.

I’m hoping this mode of treatment works.  The only other treatment is surgery to suture the tear.  Now, it’s an out patient procedure, but it still hurts like hell and can take weeks/months to recover from.  DO NOT WANT!

So, that’s the news from this end.  No writing for me for awhile.

How did I injure myself, you ask?  Well, I don’t really know.  It’s been hurting since early December.  The only thing I can think of is when I pushed myself off my couch three or four different times and felt something in my wrist like someone plucking on a guitar string.  It didn’t hurt at the time, just felt odd.  Shortly thereafter my pain began.  That may or may not be how it happened, but it probably was.

However, good news!  Champagne Books just bought BLACK ANGEL!  That’s my fantasy novella about the hero with obsidian black skin and wings!  I love that story and will be proud to see it with Champagne!  Woohoo! 

~~Becka

When I was 13 years old, I was riding home from school on my bike.  I had a book in my right hand because I didn’t have a backpack.  Then I hit a patch of gravel.  Couldn’t stop the front wheel of the bike from jack-knifing and down I went, breaking my fall with my left hand.

Of course, that fall resulted in a multiple fracture.  I’d broken three bones in my wrist and hand.  The bone in your hand that goes to your thumb, one of the larger bones in your arm (not sure if it was the ulna or the radius) and one of the many little bones in the wrist itself.  Doc said I must have hyper-extended it.

All these years later, I’ve had problems with it.  My thumb especially.  I can’t straighten it fully like I can with my other thumb.  And it aches so much during cold weather.

Last month, my wrist really started hurting.  I thought huh, weird.  Maybe I’d strained it somehow, but it wouldn’t go away.  When I was wrapping Christmas gifts, it really started to hurt, and one day when I was mopping with my twist-head mop, I thought I was going to die.  That’s when I knew I should get a wrist brace.  So my hubby got me one and it felt wonderful, but the pain wasn’t going away.

To make a long story short (too late) I made an appt. with an orthopedic surgeon.  Saw him today and got some x-rays done.  Good news is, there is nothing wrong with my bones.  Bad news is, thus begins the hypothesizing on what it could be.

I’d done some research online and latched onto something called TFCC, where the “triangle” of ligaments in your wrist gets a tear, making for pain along the outside of your wrist, the ulnar side, the side with your little fingers.  It hurts when you rotate your wrist, even for mundane things like turning a doorknob or starting a car.  And forget about holding that gallon of milk.  Well, my pain wasn’t exactly like that.  The sharp pains came every now and then, but mostly, it just ached, up the ulnar side of my arm and along my little and ring finger of my left hand.

Doctor spent about 20 minutes with me doing different wrist tests, and he asked if it was tender to the touch.  I told him yeah, but deep down, like it was underneath something.  So he dug on down in there, and yup, he found it!  He asked if my hand/arm had ever gotten numb.  I told him not all the time, but it sometimes has that weird, dull sensation after you hit your funny bone when it aches.

Then, he bent my arm and did a few more tests, then informed me he thinks it might be my ulnar nerve.  You see, when he bent my wrist, he hit my ulnar nerve at my elbow (where you hit your funny bone) and I didn’t have a reaction.  No reflex.  Well, hardly one.  I barely felt pins and needles in my pinky.  So, he thinks I have a pinched or compressed nerve in there.  Which makes sense, since it’s not sharp pain, but more like a dull ache that buzzes.

So, next Monday, I’m going to a nerve specialist to see where the problem with this nerve is.  If it’s in the elbow itself, my ortho. surgeon can take care of it.  If it’s compressed in the wrist, I’ll have to see a hand surgeon.  Seems to me it would be weird to be in the elbow if my wrist is what’s hurting, but I’m not a doctor, and I have no idea how nerves work.

Anyway, they’re going to stick electrodes in me and send pulses into my nerves to see if the problem is elbow or wrist.  He said it’s not pleasant.  But I have every confidence I’ll live through it.  It cannot possibly be as bad as the time I had to rotate my broken wrist on the x-ray table to be perpendicular to the table.  Despite having 5 children and enduring labor pains and a broken ankle, tailbone, and big toe, I still believe that one wrist x-ray with that radiologist torturer was the most painful event in my life.  I was screaming in there, I remember that much.

However I do believe it’s in my wrist.  Things just don’t feel “right” in there to me, and even the doc was feeling my tendons and such for a few minutes with his furrowed brow.

So for now, I’ve got to wait another week and keep wearing my brace when it gets to be too much to bear.  Like right now, for instance, writing on my laptop with my arm resting on the table, further compressing that nerve.  UGH.

Well, that’s the saga.  No writing this week at all.  Might not be for a while to come.  We shall see…  I just hope it’s not really messed up in there.  Don’t want any surgery.  Especially with a nerve.  Scary stuff!  I’ll keep y’all updated.  In the meantime, I’ve got another week to get through.  Joy of joys.  :-/

~~Becka

Sad, I know.  Was hoping for it, but it didn’t work out.  However, I opted to jump immediately into my Plan B, which was sending RIDE THE LIGHTNING to Samhain Publishing.  Keep your fingers crossed my editor over there likes the story.    But now, this means another long few weeks of waiting.  Good news is, the rejection came through on Dec. 31st, so I’m starting this year off without one looming on the horizon.  LOL

I haven’t written in awhile, but that’s not by choice.  The holidays and the celebrating eeked their way into my routine.  I’ll be more than happy to go back to my routine on the 4th!  THE VIPER PRINCE is on page 150 right now, about 29K.  I’m loving it so far!  Still have a long way to go, so I’m thinking this one will be a full novel.  The plan for this one is also Samhain Publishing.  Seems right up their alley.

Anyhow, that’s the scuttle from this end.  Hope you all had a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.  I know I’m looking forward to 2010.  With all these stories I’m writing, SOMEONE’S gonna want to publish them, right? 

~~Becka