On Friday, I got an infected cyst about the size of a golf ball removed from my lower spine. I wish I could post a picture here because it really did look like an alien, but I’m afraid most of you would immediately puke. It was so big, the doctor had to remove it in the OR instead of his office, and it required a five inch incision. I’ll spare you the pic of my stitches as well. When he took out E.T., it was even more HUGE! I asked if I could take a pic (I have a thing for pictures now that I’ve joined Tumblr and Instagram last week), but apparently it’s illegal to take pictures in the OR (learn something new every day).
I’m a COMPLETE BABY when it comes to doctor stuff, which is why the cyst got so big in the first place (and I’m a workaholic & didn’t want to miss teaching or meeting my 18 Things trilogy deadlines). Of course, they’re testing it for cancer, but nine times out of ten the cyst is benign. But someone in our writing community is not so lucky and is suffering with cancer now. Please read about how you can help below. And please, for the love of all chocolate and coffee, make sure you take care of any medical issues straight away. If you need encouragement to do so, just ask me to send you those pictures.
“We all know how fragile life is, especially when faced with a life threatening illness.” ~Nic, Flirty and Dirty Book Blog.
Fiction introduced us. Reality binds us together.
Stephanie Thomas—co-founder of The Indie Bookshelf—has been diagnosed with an aggressive form of brain cancer called glioblastoma. Stephanie isn’t only a blogger; she’s a loving wife, and mother to three young boys.
In the independent author community, we have an extraordinary network of fellow authors, and readers. A special group of people who bridge this gap—helping authors connect with readers—is book bloggers. These men and women dedicate hours upon hours to reading and reviewing our works, and spreading the word to help us reach new readers.
Now, one of these women needs our help.
100% of the proceeds of the Rise Up anthology (volumes one and two) will go directly to Stephanie and her family to help them on this unexpected leg of their journey together.
Inside the pages of this collection, you’ll find amazing works of fiction. But please remember the reality, and help support Stephanie and her family.
Included in Volume Two of this collection are the following novels:
Rise Up Vol 2
* 1. Always There – Carol Ann Albright-Eastman
* 2. Republic – Charles Sheehan-Miles
* 3. Seeds of Hate – Melissa Perea
* 4. In The Fields – Willow Aster
* 5. Bar Crawl – Andrea Randall
* 6. Totaled – Stacey Grice
* 7. Running from Forever – Ashley Wilcox
* 8. Crossing Paths – Melanie Stinnet
* 9. Going Home – Rhonda Dennis
* 10. Never Goodbye – Kerri Williams
* 11. Without Boundaries – CJ Azevedo
* 12. Binds – Rebecca Espinoza
* 13. The Forgotten Ones – Laura Howard
And if you’d like to give these wonderful authors a ‘like’ on Facebook for being so awesome, here are their links:
https://www.facebook.com/CarolAnnAlbrightEastman
https://www.facebook.com/CharlesSheehanMiles
https://www.facebook.com/authormelissaperea
https://www.facebook.com/willowasterauthor
https://www.facebook.com/AuthorAndreaRandall
https://www.facebook.com/staceygriceauthor
http://www.ashleywilcoxauthor.com
https://www.facebook.com/AuthorMelanieStinnett
https://www.facebook.com/authorrhondadennis?fref=ts
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Kerri-Williams-Author/347733968580393
https://www.facebook.com/pages/CJ-Azevedo-Author/348248455274917
https://www.facebook.com/rebeccanespinoza
https://www.facebook.com/LauraHoward78
I hope you support this cause . . .it’s wonderful to see our own coming together, as they always do. I’ll try to be about as much as I can this week, but I’m visiting my dad in West Michigan & he lives in the woods, so WiFi is a bit tricky. If you happen to be near Grand Haven on July 26th, I’ll be doing a reading & book signing at The Bookman (you’ll remember the book store plays a prominent part in my books if you’ve read them!) at 11am. Fingers crossed that some people show up!
Jamie Ayres 
I got myself a copy last week, and I can’t wait to start reading. I hope your tests come back negative and that Stephanie gets all the support she needs.
Jamie, I trust that all the test will clear you of any danger. How terrible for your friend, Stephanie. My prayers are with her and her family that this campaign will raise the much needed funds to get them through this ordeal.
It’s great those authors got together to do that for Stephanie.
And here’s praying no cancer for you!
Surgery and associated ‘stuff’ is no fun. Hope you’re all better soon. 🙂
Hoping your test comes back good. Great how everyone’s banded together to help Stephanie. So sorry to hear of her cancer.
With my slow internet connection, it took me a while to like everyone’s page, but I’m looking forward to the new connections. Good luck to you too!
All best to you as you heal. And to Stephanie as she battles. So thankful for her supporters.
Take care of yourself, Jamie!
What a wonderful thing that all those writers got together to help a writing friend. I’ll definitely be checking it out.
wow, sweetie. i hope you are doing well.
and so sad to hear about a fellow mom writer/blogger, but happy to hear about this opportunity to help!
What a wonderful way to raise money and I’m so sorry Stephanie’s going through this.
Yikes, a cyst. Hope you’re healing and rested.
Wow! I’m so sorry you had to have surgery. I hope you’re well now, a week later, and I will keep you and Stephanie in my prayers.
I knew you were hurting but I didn’t know why. Now I know. So glad your through the hard stuff and on the way to mend. A good reminder to have things checked out sooner rather than later. As always, i’m always a {{hug}} away!
Ouch! Hope you’re recovering well and fingers crossed for a negative result. My thoughts are with Stephanie – love the collection that all those lovely authors contributed to 🙂