Hi everyone. I haven’t been around for a while. There’s a reason for that: On March 18, 2010, I was diagnosed with invasive breast cancer.

This (literally) threw me down for the count. It was the last thing in the world I expected to happen to me. I’m healthy, young, not at risk in any way. My mind was completely blown. It still is, really, except now I suppose I’m staying true to my British roots by forming a stiff upper lip and facing this thing head-on.

In this midst of all this, the book that I’m so proud of, A TOUCH OF SCANDAL, released. It’s been so surreal…such happiness and excitement surrounding a book release in the midst of this daze of fear and confusion about cancer.

I’ve been through two surgeries in the past month. Next, I’m probably looking at chemotherapy, radiation, and hormone therapy. Possibly more surgeries. Despite all of this, my prognosis is very, very good. I will beat this.

So here’s the deal: I might not be online as much as I used to. This has sent my world spinning and I’m still working on setting it to rights. As I told one person, my life completely changed with the words, “It’s cancer.” Fortunately, I have a great family and lots of support from my friends. I might lose my hair, and I might go into early menopause and suffer some weird side effects from the treatments. It’s hard to say what the next few months are going to be like for me. But there are a few things I do know: I’m going to keep writing books. I’m going to keep reading and supporting my fellow authors. Most of all, I’m going to watch my three young kids grow up, and someday I will know my grandchildren.

Thank you to all who are reading this: My readers, my friends, my colleagues…please keep in touch. And if you have a prayer or a positive thought or any kind of light to send my way, I’d really appreciate it.

hugs,
Jennifer

I just found this while doing my endless research about servants’ lives.

It has been frequently observed by travellers and men of experience that comfort is a term only understood in England and scarcely applicable to the habits of any other nation.

From:

The Servant’s Guide and Family Manual

By Katherine Golden Bitting
Collection on Gastronomy (Library of Congress, 1831)

I have to say, I love the vanity of the English during this period!
So…hmmm. What do you think? Was she right?

Though my books generally are more about characters than they are about actual historical events, I spend a great deal of time researching the historical backdrop. When I researched A HINT OF WICKED, I spent a lot of time neck-deep in divorce and separation laws of the period, and I read some really interesting case studies! I blogged about one of them today:

My Book Addiction and More

Come by to read the wild story of the 3rd Duke and Duchess of Beaufort’s nasty divorce and comment to win a copy of A HINT OF WICKED!

Also, just a reminder, through June, the publisher is offering A HINT OF WICKED in ebook format for just $1.99 (or even less). Check the Sony eBook store, Books on Board, the Kindle store, the iPhone App store, Fictionwise (where it’s only $0.85 for club members! WOW!), or anywhere ebooks are sold.

An average day in Jennifer’s life:

6:30: Mr. Haymore wakes me up. I’m not very happy about this and I turn over and try to go back to sleep. He’s forced to yank the covers off me and drag me to the shower.
7:00: Get the kids dressed, breakfast made, lunches made. Make sure everyone’s backpack is ready to go.
8:00: Drive carpool. Me and six kids in my car. Fortunately, I’ve discovered that books on tape is one way to calm them down. We’re currently listening to Lemony Snicket’s The Grim Grotto. Poor Sunny!
8:30: Go to the post office, run to the store to buy a birthday card for the preschooler’s teacher.
9:00: Take the preschooler to school. We arrive late, as usual.
9:30: Get home, finally get a cup of coffee and open my emails. As always, there are bunches of time-consuming issues to deal with and responses to make.
10:30: Finally get to work. Today I’m finishing up edits on a manuscript. I’d like to finish before picking up the preschooler. I don’t.
12:30: Pick up preschooler.
1:00: Pick up the two boys early from school and hurry them home to brush their teeth for dentist appointment.
1:30: Dentist appointment. I have computer propped on my lap in hopes of finishing the edits (I don’t).
3:00: Leave dentist, expressing disappointment in the oldest’s toothbrushing capability. He has four cavities. FOUR!
3:15: Run around like a chicken without its head looking for the middle child’s gear for baseball. He needs about 20 different items for these games, and never can find about half of them. Nor can the oldest find his fencing gloves (which I told him to put in a safe place!).
3:45: Arrive at baseball game in the cold. Bundle up and set computer on my blanket-covered lap in hopes of finishing edits (I don’t). Supervise the oldest doing homework while the game starts. The preschooler finds a friend and is occupied.
5:30: Mr. Haymore arrives at game, which is going fairly well, despite my son having a tantrum because he hasn’t gotten a hit. I immediately leave to take oldest to fencing class.
6:00: Fencing starts. My computer battery dies and there are no plugs (hence I’m still not able to finish those blasted edits!), so I watch my son fence instead.
7:30: Arrive home from fencing. Make dinner, get everyone ready for bed.
8:00: Deal with broken vacuum cleaner. It’s a true family affair as we debug the problem.
9:00: Kids are in bed, I’m exhausted, and…

My writing day begins!!

I mostly write when the house is quiet and no one’s around to use as a distraction. Last night, though, I was sooo tired. Instead of writing 3000 words (my goal) and finishing the edits, I wrote about…oh, zero and got through only about 2/3 of the edits. By by nine, I just couldn’t face any more, so I took a respite and watched the Oscars (Mr. H. DVRed them for me while I was off somewhere writing). Unfortunately, they cut off just as they were about to announce the winner for best actress. I could have cried. Thank goodness for internet…but it still wasn’t the same as seeing it live (well, DVRed, but live to me, anyway!).

Maybe I’ll get that 3000 words written today… Sigh! I tell you, some days I think it’s a miracle I’ve managed to write anything at all…