Preview Chapter: Cast in Wisdom

December

Posted in Elantra, Miscellaneous, chapters.

I have managed to fail to correctly step off a bus — on a day when there was no snow, no ice, no rain, and the sidewalks were perfectly normal. Apparently I tripped over an invisible turtle on the way out.

I landed on my left elbow and knee.

This has, apparently, caused a compression fracture in the elbow — although it must be minor because I was sent home from the hospital with an all clear, and someone phoned me 2 days later with a less clear – which is to say a phone call from an orthopedic surgeon letting me know that the intern on duty Monday evening missed a small compression fracture in the elbow while looking at the X‑rays.

Everything is therefore being done with one hand — and as I’ve not finished necessary revisions, this has slowed work down enormously. The timing is terrible.

I’m a touch typist. I don’t think about typing at all when I type. I think about the words and the sentences and the tone and the voice — but never about the typing. This… does not work well with one hand. At all.

So: panic and no, I’m not done Christmas shopping or Christmas prep.

HOWEVER: I was asked by Giusy for a preview chapter of the new Cast book, and yes, it’s that time of year. And someone might as well be less gloomy about the state of my writing than I am at the moment >.<

The first chapter is here.

34 Responses to Preview Chapter: Cast in Wisdom

S.M.F. says:

December 20, 2019 at 11:30 am

Oh no! D= /sends Healing Vibes
julie terry says:

December 20, 2019 at 11:36 am

I’m sorry about your arm and knee. Feel better!
Thank you for the chapter 😁
NixLee says:

December 20, 2019 at 11:38 am

So sorry to hear about your predicament. It seems like Kaylin totally overtook your body in that moment. I could even see her as read your words. I hope you’re not in a lot of pain.
Thanks for submitting the first chapter. It gave me a spurt of excitement (and joy) that I cannot describe. So looking forward to this book ‑and Severn’s. Really extra pump up to know that there will be more than one. I love him so much!
Kira says:

December 20, 2019 at 11:48 am

Sending massive healing your way!

I too have tripped over invisible turtles and wrecked myself as well as strained my achilles tendon NOT falling while ice skating.

I’ve also broken my rib sneezing too, if it cheers you up.

I have the book on pre-order, so I’m super excited for Cast in Wisdom to come out!
Carol Duffy says:

December 20, 2019 at 12:04 pm

Oh no! Sending all good thoughts your way. And thank you for thinking of us in the midst! 🎄 I have managed to trip over nothing more than, apparently, my own feet for what little comfort that may bring.
Dan Pierson says:

December 20, 2019 at 12:14 pm

Oh no indeed! Sending yet more healing vibes and invisible turtle repellent.
Nina Meyer says:

December 20, 2019 at 12:15 pm

I am so sorry you are hurting. The turtle s should wait their turn. Sending you healing thoughts. Thank you for the preview. I hope you have a Happy Holiday.
Andrea D Smith says:

December 20, 2019 at 12:56 pm

Hope you feel better soon. Being injured is going to make it so difficult to finish shopping, maybe Amazon 😊 Thanks so much for the 1st chapter.
Crystal says:

December 20, 2019 at 1:10 pm

Gah What a way to end the chapter. I just finished my reread so I’m ready for more. Hope you get to feeling better quickly. It’s a sucky time to be laid up even a little bit.
Joey says:

December 20, 2019 at 1:18 pm

Oh, no! Hope you are quick to heal! Did you get good pain meds?
Julianne Single says:

December 20, 2019 at 1:22 pm

I hope you feel better quickly and ortho let’s you use you arm again. Know all about stupid injuries from random falling. Thank you so much for the preview chapter looking forward to the release have had the book on preorder since it was available for sale.
Seana says:

December 20, 2019 at 1:22 pm

So Sorry to hear about your injury! I have broken and dislocated my elbow (at the same time!) so I literally feel your pain. I will say that once the arm is immobilized, it is still possible to do things, however, probably not typing with any speed… :(
Maybe you could try one of those speech-to-text apps and dictate some pages?
Wishing you speedy healing and a joyous holiday.
Thank you for the early Christmas gift of the chapter- I am so looking forward to this next book!
Hanneke says:

December 20, 2019 at 1:24 pm

Thank you for the first chapter; I’m enjoying the anticipation waiting for the book to arrive.

I’ve had a small fracture in my elbow, one with two small cracks but nothing broken all the way through.
One crack was in the face of the joint itself, the other on the side, and healing bone produces a bit more bone than was originally there. That meant the excess inhibited the movement of the joint, once the crack in the joint’s face healed. This is not meant to scare you, if yours is in the same spot, but to tell you that a small operation to scrape the excess away was enough to regain the mobility in the joint.
I was scared by it at first when I couldn’t bend my elbow beyond 90° nor turn it much, because I had an old orthopedic surgeon tell me I needed to learn to live with the diminished mobility, or he could saw off the whole top of that armbone. A second opinion led to the small operation to scrape off the excess, and that worked fine. So don’t let some old surgeon bully or scare you about it, and rest assured you can and will get your mobility in that arm and hand back!

After three weeks I could start to hold a pen again and gradually use my fingers more and more, but it took six weeks for the bone to heal fully, and then later another couple of weeks for the operation.
Steve Faught says:

December 20, 2019 at 1:36 pm

Rest, heal, enjoy the holidays. We’ll all be here when your done. ❤️
Charlene says:

December 20, 2019 at 1:42 pm

Amazing first chapter, finally a promotion! It’s great seeing Kaitlyn get some recognition for her work. Hope you feel better soon. Thank you for the chapter before the holiday!!!
Joyce Ronquillo says:

December 20, 2019 at 2:08 pm

Can I laugh at the invisible turtle while yet weeping for your predicament? When I cracked my left elbow falling off a woodpile when old enough to know not to cling to the face of a pile of logs, I fell (no pun intended) back on a tried and true Southern tradition, i.e., I depended on the kindness of strangers for the heavy lifting. It’s really too bad that won’t work for your writing. I hope your family can pull more than their share of the work for Christmas. thank you for the chapter; I am so looking forward to January. Heal fast.
Vicki Ferguson says:

December 20, 2019 at 3:11 pm

Those darned turtles, always appearing where you least expect them! So sorry you tripped over one and messed up your arm. Typing must be a real b&*%h. Can you try the voice operated typing? That might be the only way at this point, at least until the elbow heals. Geez, I’m really sorry! Hoping you heal well and fast! Blessings and a Merry Christmas/Happy New Year!
Judy Dulle says:

December 20, 2019 at 3:26 pm

I’ve missed Kaylin and company. So looking forward to this book
Zia says:

December 20, 2019 at 3:57 pm

I’m sorry to hear of your injury and I’m hoping your recovery is both smooth and speedy. Being limited to one arm is never enjoyable and (at least for me as well) it tends to slow everything down because things I do unconsciously suddenly require thought because the previous method no longer applies.

I hope you have a wonderful time during the holidays despite of your injury!

Thank you very much for the first chapter preview! I’m really looking forward (as always) to the release, so I cannot wait to get to the end of January. Granted I also don’t really want any more time to vanish as quickly as it has been so I’m trying to decide how I can accomplish both.

Happy holidays to you and your family and I hope that elbow heals quickly and well.
Anna Wick says:

December 20, 2019 at 5:41 pm

Rest and relax, it will heal faster. We can (barely) be patient, right? of course reading the first chapter made it a tiny bit harder. I see rereading in my future.
Tchula says:

December 20, 2019 at 8:22 pm

Oh no! I’m so sorry you had a fall! A cracked funny bone sounds very unfunny. I hope you heal quickly and well, and have lots of help to get through the holiday season. Use it to get others to do tedious things like gift-wrapping – I know I would, ’cause it’s my least favorite chore this time of year. If it isn’t rectangular or square, it gets a bag, end of story, haha!

I hope 2020 is a healthy and happy year for you and yours, and thanks for thinking of us with the early chapter! Merry Christmas!
Karen L. Durst says:

December 20, 2019 at 9:32 pm

I did that. Slipped entering a Pizza Ranch. Had an impacted radial head fracture. Worked 3 weeks before it was diagnosed. Anyway, they don’t cast those fractures, but you may need some PT to get full range of motion back. Be positive, it will heal. Maybe get a dictation system for your computer. Talk and let it type. And Merry Christmas!
KScappace says:

December 20, 2019 at 10:16 pm

Thank you. I’m sorry about your elbow. I hope it heals well.
Estara Swanberg says:

December 21, 2019 at 3:12 am

I am so sorry to read this, and wish you speedy healing as well as a restful Christmas time after the holiday and a Healthy New Year.
michelle says:

December 21, 2019 at 9:03 am

@everyone: Thank you all so much :). The fracture is in a “good” place, according to the doctor; the wrist is not fractured so, in his opinion, the majority of the current pain is from radial motion and damaged soft tissue, ligament/tendon. But, given the fracture location, he felt that movement — WITHOUT WEIGHT, ahem — was necessary. No lifting for six weeks.

Pain, apparently, will take three months to go away entirely.

… I may have told him that he had one job when I entered the office.

“You have one job today. It is to tell me that I can type, and that pain from typing does not damage the bone. I don’t care what else is said – but you MUST tell me that.”

Intelligent soft tissue issues necessitate way less typing when there’s pain — but… I’ve had RSIs before, and I know how to avoid falling off that cliff.

So: I am very late with revisions, and it’s xmas but I am now feeling more hopeful.
Elizabeth Strick says:

December 21, 2019 at 11:28 am

So happy to hear you got good news from the doctor.

Here’s hoping you have a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Jo-Ann Pieber says:

December 21, 2019 at 9:47 pm

Well, the only silver lining I can see is that you Might take this as an opportunity to go slower and Enjoy your holiday season? Probably too much to hope for, but I do wish you’d not feel the pressure to meet all of our, your publishers and your own expectations so keenly. I do fret a bit about how much you seem to push yourself. I know — I don’t ‘know’ you…and perhaps what I’m saying is too personal — but I Feel as if I know some part of you through your treasured writings…and like the Jewel that has been my constant companion for much of the past year (a re-read top to bottom, front to back…whatever), I am guessing you feel responsible in some ways for everyone. When injury and pain insert themselves it might just be — time to focus on something else? Take care of yourself. Enjoy your holidays and the loved ones around you. I, and I really think I’m safe in assuming that ‘we’ the readers, really want this for you and we Will be here, yes Anticipating with joy, but also Confident that what you do write, when you can, will be some of the best writing we have ever read. That I think grants you the space or time or breathing room (or whatever it is I’m trying to say) to focus on healing, focus on yourself and loved ones, and just… Being for now. Thank you for the privilege of sharing a bit of a your world — fantasy, real, and both. Happy Holidays!
Elaine says:

December 21, 2019 at 9:57 pm

So sorry to hear about your fall and fractures! Invisible Turtles are more dramatic than tripping over the pattern in the carpet; the pain is still pain. Praying for rapid and complete recovery.
Vance Marker says:

December 22, 2019 at 5:11 pm

I’m so sorry to hear you’ve been injured! Prayers for a very speedy recovery and no residual problems arising therefrom!!!

I hope you and yours have a very Merry Christmas and a great start to the new year!!
Bridgett McCain says:

December 22, 2019 at 5:55 pm

Thank you. Marry Christmas and I hope you heal completely and quickly.
Melanie Allen says:

December 23, 2019 at 9:09 am

Ouch! If they but a cast on it, you should be able to use your hand-fingers to type, not as fast but with both hands… hope you heal quickly and completely
Tarun Ramakrishna Elankath says:

December 27, 2019 at 12:41 pm

That really sucks. Sending some good wishes your way. Where I come from it is not surprising to trip and fall from a bus since it is always hectic and the drivers are impatient.

Sometimes it is not unusual to trip over the tread-grips in those low-floor buses especially if the grips are malformed and uneven. Check if that was the case. If so, then you need to mentally condition yourself and give some extra vertical space to your foot step on entry and exit.
Kitiara Trueflight - Green says:

December 30, 2019 at 3:56 pm

Michelle. You likely don’t remember me — though the time you replied to soemtjing I said I screamed so loud that my husband lost his hearing so did half my college classmates. A joyous scream tho. He is used to a lot of those screams whenever I see something about you or your books. — I printed that reply to me and framed it. Because you are my hero and I feel like you are an older wiser version of me. Your writing processes and the way your mind and anxiety affect you and your writing are so much like me that I wonder if you look in my window a lot lol. Thus you are my greatest hero because I feel a lot like a twin younger version of you, and you give me hope of being able to finish the books I’ve had in my head since I was eight but have never gotten fully onto paper. Anyway. I was immensely freaked out about your fall. Would you believe I had nearly the same fall about five years ago? It was raining and I’m naturally a clutz zilla. Anyway my husband was dropping me at the entrance to my library which might as well have been where I live because I spent more time there than at home. I didn’t realize how close to the curb I had gotten when he pulled up and as I stepped out my right foot got trapped between the car and the curb and I fell onto my right knee and arm. And that arm has three inches of muscle mass missing at the elbow from the car wreck I nearly died in in ’07. And a pinched nerve. The leg is also badly scarred . So when I fell directly on that arm and leg in the rain it messed me up for months. I tore something in my knee Dr said. But in have autism tho we don’t know where I am on the spectrum so I really didn’t understand his explanation. I do know I still even now have Tons of problems with that knee. So when I heard you fell I know all too well how you feel. My husband also wanted me to tell you that he understands too. He’s heard me babble about you since our second year together (and we have been together ten years in may 2020) so he feels he knows you very well lol. But your my hero and I want to tell you that your in my prayers and I really hope you heal much faster than I did when i got a stress fracture in my left foot two years ago. Was my first broken bone and ever. Dr said eight weeks to heal. It took me eight months. So I realy hope you feel better soon. No one should have to deal with such injuries.
Giusy says:

December 31, 2019 at 6:00 pm

I finally have my laptop back and can say:
thank you-thank you-thank you
you don’t know how much I love kaylin and how I start to jiggle as I stat reading a new book!!
Happy New Year
Giusy