Purgatory's Pit of Doom

soulcascade · May 10, 2012

Morning pit. And also ((pit))

RedScylla said:
Just everybody be on the lookout for my left lung under the couch. His name is Cletus. He's smallish for his age and a little shy.

madderblue said:
I thought it was a throw pillow. Sorry, Red, here you go. Little bit of drool. I'll wipe that off for you.

and again

I have awful lungs too. Lots of pneumonia and bronchitis as a kid. A couple years ago I went in and the doctor looked at my x-ray and said, "Have you had TB?"

Eesh that's pretty bad...

This is good to know. I was blowing up balloons a few weeks ago and challenged my husband and son to blow one up with a single breath to see how much lung capacity we all have. Son (who plays trumpet) was impressive. But I lost to my husband who has smoked a pack of cigs every day for thirty freaking years. I nearly cried. Now I'm doing lots of deep breathing and long walks. Still can't walk up the stairs without getting winded though. ((Madder)) like just wtf right?

RedScylla said:
Oh, and there's a Pittish fact: TB is associated with so many creative types, because it creates these magnificent, nearly hallucinatory fevers. Before I knew I had TB, I was really enjoying the early stages--this rich, hazy, magical, aphrodisiac fever every night around 10 pm. I wrote like a fiend for 5 or 6 hours a night, then crashed by dawn. Then, bummer, found out I was gonna have to get treated.

Interesting! And lol Red! Only you could get annoyed at having to 'give up' your epic fevers

SteveCordero · May 10, 2012

Mornin', Pit

The body is a magical thing in how it can heal itself, but not just enough because it is always susceptible thereafter which caused it injury.

Red-Green · May 10, 2012

Uf, Mrs B. that sounds rough. Glad you're doing better, but I imagine respiratory problems in adulthood are even harder to deal with. Not used to it, I mean.

It's like I have a friend who wants me to visit her in India & in years past I wanted to if I could get the $ together. With the rise of multi-drug resistant TB tho, I realize how foolhardy a trip like that would be.

Catwoman · May 10, 2012

How ironic that a lot of us in the Pit have had crappy childhoods and/or crappy parents, as well as illnesses...

kellion92 · May 10, 2012

Hugs to all of the Pitizens, for ailments past and present.

I had a pretty good childhood, good parents, and good health, so I have no justification for my Pittishness. Well, except that I see things the way they REALLY ARE!

soulcascade · May 10, 2012

Catwoman said:
How ironic that a lot of us in the Pit have had crappy childhoods and/or crappy parents, as well as illnesses...

+1 Cat

JBuck · May 10, 2012

Hi guys.
Just wondering if anybody has experienced this before.
I've just been to the doctors because a sun spot on the back of my hand (originally a pale brown) is now suddenly raised, red and itchy. Doctor wants to removed it because she said the dramatic change worries her. Anyway, I'm happy for her to remove it asap. But, I'm just wondering if anybody has had this experience and the outcome?
I'm having a bit of a panic attack and thinking the worst.
Googling doesn't help either. I keep finding stories like mine with the worst outcome.

Red-Green · May 10, 2012

JB, my advice is not to go looking for other people's stories. That's more likely to induce the panic attack, because oh boy, are there bad outcome stories out there. Wait for the doc to take the thing off and send it for biopsy. Trying to diagnose from other folks' anecdotal experience is asking for trouble.

(And I got no good endings. I wear a hat every time I step outside, because of my family's experiences with skin cancers.)

kellion92 · May 11, 2012

(((JBuck))) Red gave good advice. Get the biopsy -- that will tell you what it is. And try not to worry too much -- the sun being so strong, it's probably a rare fair-skinned person who won't have "something taken off" now and then, which is how we put it in my family.

Amarie · May 11, 2012

kellion92 said:
(((JBuck))) Red gave good advice. Get the biopsy -- that will tell you what it is. And try not to worry too much -- the sun being so strong, it's probably a rare fair-skinned person who won't have "something taken off" now and then, which is how we put it in my family.

yes, this is me too. I had a red, itchy spot taken off my hand last year and it turned out to be just an age spot. As my dermatologist says, wisdom spots come in many forms.

soulcascade · May 11, 2012

(((JBuck))) Nothing to add, you've already gotten sound advice. If you're comfortable, though, please do keep us in the loop

SteveCordero · May 11, 2012

Mornin', Pit

{{{JB}}}

hester · May 11, 2012

(((JBuck))) Do not panic. Step away from the keyboard.

A few years ago I had a brown spot on my upper arm that started growing darker (it also took on some black specks). Based on what I read, I assumed the worst. I'd also add that there's quite a bit of skin cancer in my family (mostly basal and squamous cell carcinoma).

My derm removed it and did a biopsy--it was benign (I think he said it was a keratosis, which is caused by sun damage, but it's not cancerous).

Try not to worry--you're doing the right thing in having it biopsied. Let us know what happens, and more (((hugs))),

Snappy · May 11, 2012

(((JB))) Do NOT read stories online. They will only make you panic more. Trust me. Let the docs do there thing and please keep us in the loop. *whips up batch of maggotinis* Too early?

kellion92 · May 11, 2012

I saw that PJ H00ver just sold two books to T0r. This is the kind of story I find inspirational. She debuted a series with a small press, Cbay Books. Then when her agented novel S0lstice didn't sell, she self-published it. And now she has sold that novel and another one to T0R. http://pjhoover.blogspot.com/

I really love how she has taken control of her own career and defied a lot of conventional wisdom. I don't know how easily duplicated her path is, but I'd love to do the same.

soulcascade · May 11, 2012

Kellion now THOSE are the types of success stories I like to hear

kellion92 · May 11, 2012

Because I'm debuting with a small press, I love stories about writers who debuted small or self-published and later went on to bigger things. Sometimes debut status is treated like virginity, but I don't think that publishing a book (or having s3x, for that matter) ruins anybody. I'm not holding out for a white wedding.

Red-Green · May 11, 2012

kellion92 said:
Because I'm debuting with a small press, I love stories about writers who debuted small or self-published and later went on to bigger things. Sometimes debut status is treated like virginity, but I don't think that publishing a book (or having s3x, for that matter) ruins anybody. I'm not holding out for a white wedding.

Besides, nothing saying you can't have a white wedding further down the road.

As someone in the same boat, I've stopped believing that "debut" status is as valuable as it was treated in the past.

soulcascade · May 11, 2012

I think publishing is changing far too drastically for the ole 'white wedding' to hold the same weight it did a few years back. Sure peopel still cling to that 'ideal' but IMO, if you have the stamina to sub to small editors directly, do it! I think the publishing 'dream' is too hyped

silver76 · May 11, 2012

RedScylla said:
As someone in the same boat, I've stopped believing that "debut" status is as valuable as it was treated in the past.

Debut is valuable? To who?

I'm not finding it's doing me any favors.
(((JBuck)))

Amarie · May 11, 2012

RedScylla said:
As someone in the same boat, I've stopped believing that "debut" status is as valuable as it was treated in the past.

I don't think it's very valuable either, except for the very tiny number of authors who make the buzz list of the big publishers. The average reader could care less. It might help for YA because of the bloggers who do the debut author challenges, but that world is changing fast as well. Holding off just doesn't make sense any longer.

kellion92 · May 11, 2012

I could see how it would help if I had been able to get in one of the debut groups like 2K12 or Ap0ca1psies, but those were already set long ago. Otherwise, experience is usually good!

And if any publisher uses my small press sales numbers against me compared to Big Six sales figures, well, that's just silly.

silver76 · May 11, 2012

i tried to join the apocolypsies- i was too late

Maybe we should start our own pit-debut group?

SteveCordero · May 11, 2012

The career build is the key. A big debut puts you at a higher starting point, no doubt, but that doesn't create longevity, which this business is all about.

I don't think it's merely anecdotal to look at authors such as Br0wn & C0llins who had smaller debuts and built themselves up, Br0wn especially.

The bottom line is, if you can get the big debut--fantastic, make the most of it. If not, it's not career suicide. In fact, it's the career norm.

kellion92 · May 11, 2012

I try to just support all the books of people I "know" and books I just like. I do feel left out of the debut clubs *sniff sniff* but while those groups get you a little bit more reach and visisbility as the members promote each other, there is probably quite a bit of overlap in their networks.

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