Here it is—the cover for Snow and Starlight (Wildest Alaska, #2), CGIS Special Agent Chase Santee and Anya Alexyev's story. For health reasons, I’ve only written three chapters so far. But already, these two are striking sparks off one another.

What can I tell you about the story?

For starters, the book opens with Anya’s first day at her first real job. She’s just joined the staff of the Kodiak Courant as a reporter, leading her headlong into a conflict with Chase.

The two of them are so much fun together.

Watch for an excerpt soon!

 ***

Writing is my profession. But prolonged health struggles have kept me from writing since I finished Fire and Rain (Wildest Alaska #1). In fact, the last third of that book was written when I was in hellish pain. Not one to miss a deadline, I forced words out of myself with tears running down my face day after day until it was finished because I felt so awful.

I shared with you last month how I passed out, hit my head, and got a concussion. No one was able to say why I passed out, despite many scans and tests. But the cause was likely a series of UTIs and related infections that I've been battling again and again since July.

I've seen specialists and had every test imaginable since July, and it seems that chemotherapy for breast cancer in 2014 has caused long-term damage to the organs in my pelvis. That damage has left me vulnerable to infection and something worse—constant nerve pain in my bladder and all of my female tissues.

I haven’t shared this until recently because it’s rather personal. It seems that treatment for estrogen-positive breast cancer can damage cells in the body that have estrogen receptors—which includes every tissue in a woman’s pelvis.

What this has meant for me is an inability to write or really function because I'm grappling with pain that prevents me from sleeping. My sister was here in September because she'd come to help me navigate doctor visits and the emotional struggles of constant misery.

The medical bills have been horrendous, and my not being able to write due to exhaustion and pain is going to have a long-term impact. I do have a new treatment plan, but it's a long-term plan, with recovery expected in roughly six months.

One day a couple of weeks ago, author Toni Anderson got in touch with me about an unrelated topic, and I fell completely apart. I told her everything. The next day, author Katie Reus contacted me to tell me that she, Toni, and Kaylea Cross had put together a Go Fund Me campaign to help me cover medical bills and lost work time.

As hard as it is for me to ask for or to accept help, I’m deeply grateful to Kaylea, Katie, and Toni and to all of my friends and readers who have contributed to the campaign. It’s hard enough to deal with a serious health issue. It’s another to face hardship as a result.

For more information about the campaign or to contribute, click here. 

My deepest and heartfelt thanks to everyone who has reached out with encouragement and donations to help me through this. You give me hope.

As for when Snow and Starlight will be released, I just can’t say. I have had a few good days over the past week, so that's encouraging. The specialist I'm seeing said I'd have more good days and fewer bad ones, and her words are what I'm holding onto tightly right now.