Hello? Is this thing on? It’s been weeks … or maybe months at this point. Either way, it’s been too long since I’ve been here.
I’ve been working non-stop for the last seven weeks, but not on anything interesting. While taking a break from SVM fanfic to get my third book ready for my release date (December 28th!! So soon!), my house decided to remind me that being a homeowner sucks ass. When you combine sixty-year old clay sewer lines and sixty-year old tree roots, you get a basement full of raw sewage.
Yep.
I’ve spent the last seven weeks moving everything out of half of my house, ripping up all the flooring (including waiting for a disaster crew to come in and take care of all the asbestos – did I mention the age of my house, because yeah…), cleaning everything with lysol, hiring tile setters and carpet layers, and dealing with my insurance company on a daily basis.
Needless to say, I haven’t had time to write regularly, but that hasn’t stopped this story from forcing its way out of my brain in the five minutes I have with my computer. So on Friday I’ll put up a little blurb for Relapse (sequel to Detox) and hope like hell that I’ll be able to spend some quality time writing. Not today. Today I’m sanding walls and priming. Goody.
I miss you all and hope you’re all safe! ❤
MySecretOFanFiction 
The only thing worse would be if your dog rolled in said raw sewage before you got home. How do I know that? Yep, it happened.
Glad you are back and can’t wait for Relapse!
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Oh god! That would be awful!! Thankfully both of my dogs stayed out of the basement during the ‘level 3 contamination.’ Lucky me, I only had ONE disaster to clean up. Hugs to you for surviving your awful experience! Thanks for commenting, I love hearing from new readers. 🙂
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Yeah I can’t wait to see where your taking this……I’m glad to hear from you again…..
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Life got so much more complicated!! I need to catch up on your story, too!! I’m hoping the sequel is the happy ever after everyone wants. 🙂
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Oh my! I can’t imagine. And I thought a backed up septic tank was bad. Looking forward to the story.
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I think anything that involves poo is bad news. 🙂 Cleaning up the mess was just the beginning, finishing the remodel has taken weeks. I’m so done! Thanks for the encouragement! I’ll write soon!
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Do what you’ve gotta do. RL takes over occasionally…
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So true. No matter what I plan, RL rears its ugly head. The good news is that I’ll have a cozy basement when I’m done. 🙂
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If your near Seattle I’d help
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Aww, thanks! I desperately need help, but that’s what family is for, right? 🙂
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Oh, that sounds awful!! I’m so sorry you’ve had to deal with that but excited for a new story.
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Thanks so much! It’s been exhausting. I’m hoping to move furniture back in this weekend!! One day at a time, right? 🙂
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Exactly! That’s all you can do. Good luck!
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Two of the walls are primed. Today we paint and then I can start putting a few things back! Woo!
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Awesome! I bet that feels good!
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We’re finishing painting tonight! I’m soooo tired!!
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I bet!
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Nothing is ever simple. I should stop saying things like ‘finishing’ because it just encourages the evil paint fairies to make everything go wrong… What I’m saying is I’ll be painting tomorrow, too! Yay?
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Oh no! Hopefully you’ll be done in time for Thanksgiving!
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I’m not making any promises! 😉
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Oh my goodness,you have had a mess on your hands. My heart goes out to you.
And I’m very excited to hear about the sequel. I loved Detox and will be eagerly awaiting this addition.
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Yes, it’s been messy and the freezing temps here haven’t helped (since everything is outside while we work!).
I’m glad you’ll be along for the ride! Thanks for the love!
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Missed you girl! Sorry to hear about your literally shitty house problems. Hope things start to look up for you soon. Can’t tell you how excited I am to hear about the sequel to Rehab and your new book. Looking forward to reading both!!
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I’ve missed you, too!! It’s weird to go from constant interaction to nothing… I’m going through withdrawals. 😉 Thank you so much for supporting my book and sharing the love for my new story! ❤
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oops! Detox not Rehab:p
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🙂
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I’m excited for the new story but I’m sorry you’ve had to deal with all the house crap (pun intended!) 😀
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Yeah, it’s terrible! Please consider this a reminder service to have your sewer pipe cleaned! 😉 I’ll have a description up next week!
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Sorry to hear about your home begin so s…….
Your work is always worth for.
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Thanks for the love! My house is nice and clean now and almost ready to move back into. Once we finish moving things, I’ll have my writing time back! 🙂
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Oh God! Not that we should have clicked the “like” button, but there’s no “I’m so sorry to read about this nightmare” button! I have friends who have gone through this and have seen firsthand what a mess you’ve had to deal with, and then there’s the paperwork! How have you not had a nervous breakdown? I had this happen in an apartment I lived in, and I was in the basement apartment. Had to move out for a couple days. So you had to clean all this yourself? No Disaster Restoration Service? Then of course you found the asbestos… I would have found a spot in the yard & started drinking, heavily. You are one strong, persevering lady! So now it’s all close to complete just in time for the holidays? That saves time, huh? Time for a book launch party too!
WOW! So, how was the rest of you Fall? LOL! 🙂
I’ll be looking for the new book this weekend or next week, and I’ll be so happy to see you come back! You’ve been missed! I’ll try to put some time aside to finally read “Detox.” I’ve been thinking about you & wondering how you were! I’ve got editing, editing, editing that’s keeping me busy so I’ve been thinking about how it was going for you! Obviously, much busier than you’d planned! Looking forward to the new story & the book, but mostly knowing all is well when you & the family are back in the house!
Have a Happy Thanksgiving! Relax & enjoy! 🙂
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I laughed out loud while I read this! You’re the best. I’ve actually thought (on more than one occasion in the last two months) that I should definitely start drinking. Tonight was one of those nights when we were painting and for some inexplicable reason, the paint dried too quickly and started peeling off the wall. It just won’t do to scream ‘For Fuck’s Sake!’ I have standards, after all. Not sure why at this point. The only good news in all this is that at least the sewage was our own. No weird diseases floating around our basement. It’s the only highlight.
We did have a recovery team come in and remove the contaminated carpet/flooring/everything else that happened to be touching the floor. It was great to have someone else do all the heavy lifting (and asbestos removal), but then things went south when the guy started hitting on me. A lot. I tried to be nice, but that only encouraged him. So I put an end to it with a ‘I hope you’re not taking my friendliness for flirting’ comment. He’s been a lot less helpful, needless to say, and didn’t apologize for all the god damn holes he made in my walls while putting up the plastic sheeting/containment system for the asbestos. Hence all the patching and painting, cuz that’s just what I wanted to do. Right? Oh, and the carpet installer didn’t wash his hands after using the toilet, so now my brand new carpet has his dick hands all over it. It’s been a real treat.
My book comes out December 28th, and I’ve been so busy dealing with moving, tearing things up, patching, sanding, priming, and painting that I haven’t planned a proper launch party. That needs to change. I just wish you all lived closer so I could celebrate with people who actually read my stuff. I know you’ll celebrate in spirit!
Sorry for whining. It’s been a long couple of months. I’ve missed you, too! I hope you have a relaxing week and give your poor eyes a break from all the editing! I’m baking pies tomorrow, so that’s my break from painting. It’ll smell a lot better, that’s for sure!
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OH MY GOD! If anyone ever earned the right to scream “For Fuck’s Sake!” I think you have, at least 100 times over! Oh my! Then the idiot puts holes in your wall while putting up plastic sheeting for the asbestos? Because he’s too busy hitting on you and thinking you’re responding? Um…did he think you borrowed the husband and kids? And I don’t even want to think about the carpet installer; I mean, he knew why all the work was being done, right? Just yuk.
Some treat. What in the world is wrong some people? What am I saying?
For some reason, I thought the book came out on Nov. 28th. There are too many 28th occasions for me to keep track of!
You poor thing! This is not at all the way you’re supposed to be spending this time year, but on a positive note, you won’t have any cleaning to do before Christmas! While you’re doing all the painting, you can plan the launch party in your head! It would be nice if we all lived closer so we could celebrate with you! You know I’ll definitely be celebrating in spirit!
You are NOT whining! It’s called venting, and feel free to vent any time! That’s what friends are for! I hope the pies did their job and scented the house with their wonderful scent as they baked!
I hope you & your family had a wonderful Thanksgiving! Just imagine the stories you’ll have for years to come, laughing at the antics of the guy from recovery team, the carpet installer, and the paint drying too quickly, everything. All of you will really will laugh about it, and maybe some of it will end up in a book!
It’s great to have you back! 🙂
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It’s great to have you back, too! Despite the fact that the new story isn’t done (nowhere near! I actually had an epiphany to rewrite the first chapter the other night! I must be crazy!) I couldn’t stay away for any longer. I think I was going through withdrawals.
Thank you for listening to me venting. If I can’t share stories about Dick Hands, Hole-maker/Creepy Asbestos guy, and stupid paint problems, I think I might explode. It’s been a lot to deal with but I have been laughing through most of it. Dick Hands is a running joke around our house. It’s pretty hilarious!
Luckily, I don’t have to plan a launch party, since my bestie is doing that for me. She’s the greatest. We’re going to karaoke and sushi! So sing your favorite song REALLY loud just for me! Party time!!
As we move things back into the basement, the rest of the house will become less cluttered, which will help with my general anxiety about things being out of place. This is also giving us the chance to donate a bunch of stuff we don’t need anymore, so that’s good. 🙂
I’m volunteering for the next couple of days, but I’m hoping like hell I get chapter one sorted by Friday. I’m working hard. I promise. 🙂 Thanks for making me laugh!!
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