So yesterday, my Kicking Cancer’s Ass memoir released! On all available sites. Okay, on Amazon. Kindle version and Paperback. It’s also available on Kobo.

Have you added it to your TBR list on Goodreads yet?

Plan A was to also have it available on iBooks, B & N, and Smashwords, but… life got in the way.

It’ll get there soon, and that’s good enough. Note: It is now available EVERYWHERE.

I’ve gotten a little sidetracked from blogging and the finishing touches, by friends who needed time and attention, including one who began her own breast cancer journey in June, and is now trying to wrap her mind around a body disfigured by a missing breast, and then two weeks ago, a face disfigured by the removal of a “small” bit of basal cell carcinoma that turned out to be more extensive than they thought. So I’ve been supporting her as much as I can, with phone calls and visits.

I’ve also spent priceless, delicious time with friends, family, lovers. And that’s kind of the point of this cancer journey of mine, that life is short, and people are the most important thing. There will always be time to struggle with the technical difficulties that come with trying to format a book for different e-versions and print.

FWIW, WordPerfect is still out there and still a MUCH better program than stupid Microsoft Word, especially if one wants to have different odd and even page headers, but to suppress the headers on the pages where chapters begin.

Except that when you convert a .doc to WordPerfect, Word will corrupt the file during the conversion process, as a final “Up yours!” Asshole.

I got it done (I think) and paperbacks are ordered for my upcoming books signing on October 15 at Jenette Bras in Old Pasadena.

Here’s something else that got in the way… Mah toof hab an owwie.

Yes, although I take very good care of my teeth, including thrice yearly cleaning and I JUST HAD dental work to replace an aging crown in July, another tooth decided to blow up on me. Pretty much within a 24-hour period.

It’s hard to concentrate not just when your jaw hurts like a mo-fo, but infection in da face also impacts da brain. They kinda hang out together, you know?

Luckily, one emergency root canal later, it’s about taken care of now (thank you, antibiotics!). Like my breast cancer journey itself, just one more unexpected detour.

But in honor of my dental distraction, here’s a short excerpt from the chapter titled, appropriately, Bring On the Metal Hook!

EVERY TIME I HAD A DENTAL APPOINTMENT, I started off with high hopes. First, that I would get there on time (almost never). I am traffic-math challenged, and in L.A., traffic seems to grow worse every trip. Second, I hoped that Pat, my dental hygienist, would be impressed. I worked so hard at polishing the parts that were not-so-good the last visit. I tried to use dental picks and floss to get the gunk out of the crevices, polish well… 

And every time, Pat would find spots I’d missed, places I’d neglected. One would think, that for as long as I’d been conscientiously working on it, my teeth would be flawless. But no.

One would also think that my writing, which I’d also been working on for decades years, would be flawless. And at every critique group meeting, somebody would get out the metal hook and start poking and fire up the drill to root out the rotten parts…. 

If you write, does your editing process feel like a root canal? I can’t give you painkillers over the Interwebs, but here’s the music I picked for that chapter:

What songs would you choose to illustrate time with your dentist – and critique group? Leave a comment and tell me about your suggestion, or your recent life detours.