Incidentally Noted...

I'm in the final editing pass of this same novel -- the second half of which I'm really raking through the coals -- and Crunchy still urges me on. Almost every afternoon, he curls up on the floor next to the tote bag where the manuscript rests, reminding me to work. (His napping somehow keeps me from being lazy. Talk about inverse proportions!)

Let's give Crunch his day in the sun. (Roxie already had hers outside on the deck this morning -- a perfect 69 degrees!) Vote -- and vote often -- for my loyal companion now through Sunday July 13th.* Tell your pet-loving friends and family, too.

*The winner goes into a final show-down next week with Thursday's winner.

It started on my hands, just a dot here and there, ala topical dermatitis. At first, I thought I had managed to get a bit too much sun. (Yes, I'm photosensitive too.) But I couldn't peg when I'd been in the sun enough to trigger a rash. And then it began appearing in places where I hadn't sunned myself. (No, not where the sun don't shine. My torso, which hasn't seen the sun yet this summer.)

Its spreading pattern was different than a photodermatitis rash. The spots on my face were a touch too weepy and elevated. The spots on my right arm grew into distinct patches.

Eczema. Yuck.

I was born with the condition and spent my first year in bandages. I've had two huge systemic outbreaks in my life where large patches covered my body and I needed a course of prednisone to overcome it. While this outbreak isn't yet that extreme, it might become so if I don't get treatment.

So I wait. I shower enough to keep my skin free of sweat but not so much that my skin dries. I rub cortisone cream on spots when they flare. I try to stay out of the heat and sun. And I faithfully continue to wear cotton clothing, something I've habituated thanks to a lifetime of skin problems.

Still, tomorrow can't come soon enough!

You may have noticed my Twitter disappeared from this site. After much patience, I decided it wasn't worth the effort, waiting for Twitter to load. It just slowed down this website too much.

Maybe you've noticed the additional site links above. Why did I mess up a good,crisp design? Simple: very few people were visiting the inner content of this site. (Look at that Good Reads section for how far I'll go in providing you with content. I want to give you a reason beyond this blog to stay connected with me -- and content is what makes that happen.

Speaking of which, Inequities received a glowing review from colleague Ashley Lister at Erotica Revealed. I'm so pleased when a reader or reviewer looks outside his preferred parameters for a good read and develops an appreciative relationship with a selection. Now, I suspect that, as an erotic fiction reviewer, Ashley is a tad more explorative and adventurous than the average reader, but it's heartwarming to see that he enjoyed Inequities' tale. It's a risk to write, knowing that you could get panned for the effort. But it's a bigger risk not to write when its your soul that would wither in the wake of creative denial.