| 9.6 :: Another brief hiatus (w/Update) |
| Written by KG MacGregor |
| Monday, 06 September 2010 23:56 |
|
After a year-long odyssey of drugs, therapy, injections & imaging, I've finally scheduled back surgery for later this week -- a double spinal fusion. I've been assured my golf game will not suffer much, which is great news because it's been suffering mightily for about 30 years. I want to say to all who have written or posted comments over the past year that I really, really appreciate your kind words of healing & encouragement. I'm especially grateful for all the success stories, since that's where I see myself once I've gotten the recovery & rehab behind me. I haven't entered this decision lightly, and I made sure to put myself in the best possible hands. If you can spare a warm vibe for patience & restraint, please send it telepathically to my partner Jenny. If you've met her, you already know she's a saint. I don't know how long it'll be before I feel like logging on again, so I hope you don't forget about Mother Load, which will be released October 19th by Bella Books. I just proofed the final typeset galley and send it off for printing, which means everything is on schedule. The ebook will probably be available a week or so early. [UPDATE: The surgery went just fine, the post-op pain was everything they promised and more <g> and I'm now back at home making progress every day in terms of walking around and gaining some in-home independence. I'm still a long way from getting out & about, but give me another month or so. My goal is to make it to Opening Night of this season's Miami Heat at the American Airlines Arena downtown on Oct. 29. Thank you for all the encouraging notes & good wishes.] Speaking of ebooks, there has been a lot of discussion recently among authors about the problem of ebook piracy. It's affecting all of us, whether at Bella, Spinsters, Bold Strokes, Intaglio, Regal Crest, Blue Feather, Bywater, Phoenix Rising & Brisk ... like I said, all of us. We try to alert one another whenever we find someone's ebooks posted on filesharing sites, and we're working together to post take-down notices and report copyright violations to site owners. You may not realize that getting an ebook taken down from a filesharing site is a major, major hassle for the authors, and it isn't always successful. Even when it is, the books usually pop up again within hours. Authors are growing more discouraged every day, and some even say it's affecting their desire to write. Most of these thieves don't view what they do as theft, because to them an e-file isn't really a "thing" since it doesn't cost anything to reproduce. The cost however is in lost sales, and those add up pretty quickly when people start trading one $12 ebook around to their circles of friends and/or torrent sites. From a technical standpoint, there isn't much we can do to prevent these thefts of our work. Our only real line of defense is to ask our readers to help us push back, to have the courage to say "No thanks" not only to the anonymous filesharers, but even to friends who think it's no big deal to send out copies of their ebooks. Tell them you respect copyright and prefer to buy your own. If we don't find a way to beat this back, I'm afraid we'll lose a lot of lesbian voices who write especially for us. I'm still working out the story details for my next project, but I've settled on a name: Rhapsody. Best to all, and I'll be back to blog as soon as I can. Comments
(10)
written by fbsloane , September 30, 2010
Hope all went well with your surgery. I had mine in 1991 and waited four years to have it done, so I know the drugs and imaging story. It was one of the best things I ever did for myself and although you may not be playing for awhile, it will not hurt your golf game. Good luck and I know every day it gets a little easier.
written by CoolNik , September 21, 2010
Firstly, tremendous news about your sucessful back operation; I had a similar operation 10 years ago and it was the start of a new lease on life!! Don't forget to continue with your exercises, even now it makes a difference if I am unable to exercise for some reason.
As I live in NZ, ebooks have opened an affordable channel for me (and friends) to purchase books of interest in a timely and cost-effective manner. I would be very disappointed if it is not an option for authors, particularly new authors, to publish in ebook format, but I do understand the reasons. The difference for me is that to order a paperback from an unknown or new author, the postage cost of approx. $30US, means I would not be able to afford them whereas for that amount I can order 2-3 ebooks. Is there any sort of DRM that can be attached to ebooks, similar to CD/DVD's? I do hope that something can be worked out as ebooks have opened up a new world of previously unknown authors (not you whose works I already knew and enjoyed!) that I have discovered have a terrifc talent.
written by MC , September 19, 2010
hi KG,
i'm so relief after reading your update! Get well soon woman! You made the right decision and i'm glad to hear that you're on the highway of recovery  hope to hear from you soon, mc
written by Karen W , September 12, 2010
Best wishes for a speedy recovery! Best wishes to Jenny, too, for her role as caretaker and helpmate in your recovery process.
Will be looking forward to "Mother Load", as I really enjoy the Shaken series. Thanks for your blog regarding the piracy issue. Well put! It will take all of us to shut down these illegal sites. I can't believe they don't see the harm it is doing all lesfic. But until they see the error of their ways, please know that we all so appreciate your writing talent and the stories you weave for us. Thank you. Get well soon! KW
written by Julia , September 10, 2010
I wish you the best of luck and God bless during your surgery and rehab. My mother passed away this past Sunday and I wanted you to know while I set by her bed watching her take each breath I read 2 of your books (the only two I hadn't read) and it helped me escape the realty of the cancer that was taking her from us. You have a great ability to help others by writing in a matter to which they can escape. Keep up the great work. I'll fight ebook piracy in every manner I can.
written by Marie , September 09, 2010
Good luck on your upcoming surgery and I hope you have a speedy recovery. Sorry to hear about the theft and file sharing of ebooks, not only for you, but all the other authors as well. I'm hopeful that true fans that love your works and others will buy the books rather then steal them. Again, good luck
written by Michelle , September 07, 2010
Hi Kg,
I wish you well on your upcoming back surgery, and hope you have a speedy recovery. I'm sorry to hear that people out there are stealing your works. It's unfortunate that things like this happen. I have read a few of your books, and have since purchased the Shaken series. I'm sure these and your many others will keep be entertained until to have an opportunity to write more. Best of luck to you in your recovery.
written by Michelle , September 07, 2010
Hi Kg,
I wish you well on your upcoming back surgery, and I hope you have a quick recovery. I just purchased your Shaken series, after having read a few of your other novels, so I'm sure these will keep me busy until you have an opportunity to write some more....Best of Luck to You |
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