Sunday, April 21, 2013

Publishing Plans

Dear Fellow Literary Lovers,
I absolutely can't wait until someone agrees to take on my memoir manuscript.  I'm not sure anyone is going to be able to contain either me or my excitement.  I always knew that I had a book in me, but ten years ago I knew I hadn't come across the life experiences yet that would magnetize female memoir readers.  I knew I had some experiences that would provoke discussion, but not nearly enough to fill a memoir.  It wasn't until 2009 when my dad called me while I was vacationing in Hilton Head Island, S.C. that the bells and whistles started.  He had called to ask me about some symptoms he was once again experiencing.  Dad had already successfully fought a rare lymphoma diagnosis in 2003.  When he informed me he had swelling, redness, and itching in the very same area where the first lymphoma was found, it was like a pair of cymbals clanging.  I knew my dad's lymphoma was back and this time we were in for a real knock down drag out fight.  It occurred to me at that moment that this was the beginning of the journey I would take that might lead me to uncovering the experiences necessary for an incredible memoir.  I wasn't mistaken or at least I don't think I was.
Dad's Anaplastic Large Cell Lymphoma (rare) came back with a stage four diagnosis. For those not initiated into the cancer experience, this means you are at the end game; it's serious; get your affairs in order; and hope for the best, but prepare for the worst.  Even though he required chemo, he would also need a stem cell transplant.  This meant six weeks in a stem cell transplant hospital.  At the same time, my mother had been diagnosed with ductal carcinoma in situ and had undergone surgery to remove the area of breast cancer.  She had also endured thirty four rounds of radiation.  She delayed telling me about it because I had just encountered my fourth eye surgery to try and slow the progression of Uveitic Glaucoma and losing my eyesight. 
On top of all this, my sibling identified as transgender.  She was in the process of becoming a he.  It threw our immediate family for a real loop.  And the kicker is that no one else in the family knew what was happening.  So I was dealing with my dad having a stem cell transplant inside a university hospital for six weeks and family and friends attempting to come by and see him; however, my sibling was there and he was dodging all these visitors.  It was a nightmare.  To make matters even more intriguing and stressful, my husband was liberated from corporate America while I was at the hospital with my dad.  No kidding.  He took the bus to work one Monday and was told he wasn't needed anymore.  Talk about a kick to the teeth.  He had informed the CEO that the hair-brained product plan some engineers had hatched was not conducive to the laws of Physics.  He offered another product plan that would be cutting edge, doable in a reasonable time frame, and profitable. He wasn't about to support a plan for product development costing thousands if he knew it was dead in the water from the start.  He wasn't going to waste investor money on a plan like that either.  And presto!  He was canned.  Typical, greedy corporate America.  He went on to start two companies of his own and they have both been successful, but it was gut-wrenching.
So my memoir doesn't lack for drama as you can tell.  I'm just waiting for a publisher to identify with it, get behind me as an author, and let's get this party started.  This dixie diva author is ready to rock.

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