Alice Duncan's Newsletter

February and March

 

Oooookay. So February and March were a couple of odd months. For one thing I found out the reason my left hip has been giving me so much trouble lately. For a long time now, when I sit at the computer earning my living every day, when I stand up, I have to hang on to a piece of furniture until the pain in my left hip stops shrieking long enough for me to move again. The dogs don’t understand.

I didn’t understand either, until I finally managed to finagle my way in to seeing a pain doctor in Alamogordo. There’s a pain clinic in Roswell, but my former doctor’s nurse seemed incapable of getting the clinic the proper records for me. Grrr. I now have a new doctor. And soon (glory be!) I’ll have a new hip. I know it’ll hurt. But from several reports, hips are much easier and more successful than knees, which is a good thing for me since the only parts of my body that don’t hurt are my knees. I have no idea when the surgery will take place. Anyhow, the hip will hurt considerably less after I get it replaced and the surgery heals. I hope.

Then I went to see the eye doctor, hoping at least to get a new pair of glasses to cheer me up. But nooooo. I have to have the cataract in my right eye removed before I get any new glasses. Phooey. At least the cataract surgery is relatively simple. I know this because, after I had surgery to repair a detached retina in my left eye in 2011, I got a cataract in that eye as it was healing. So I had cataract surgery then, too.

I tell you, my body is falling apart at the speed of light. Doesn’t seem fair to me, but then, what is?

Anyway, toward the end of February I attended Left Coast Crime in Phoenix. I can’t honestly say I had a great time because I didn’t know anyone, and because I was in pretty awful pain. However, I did get to meet several of “my” authors (authors whose books I’ve edited), including Jeff Markowits (who write about the funniest mysteries I’ve ever read); Fankie Bow (who writes funny mysteries set in Hawaii, and who is a lovely woman); and Mike Befeler, who not only writes good mysteries, but who also writes Frontier Fiction. I also participated in a panel called “A Funny Thing Happened…” I’ve gotta tell you that, when I joined the panel, moderated by Simon Wood, and which included Jess Lourey, Catriona McPherson, and Johnny Shaw, I thought... Well, never mind what I thought, because it’s a trifle profane, but I was horrified. Here was I, this little old crippled lady hanging out with a bunch of KIDS! I’m not joking. However, it seemed to go okay. People laughed, and I guess that’s the important part. I also got to have lunch with my son-in-law’s sister, Kathryn, and their mother, Margie, which was mega-fun. And I got to see some old pals, so it was all right, taken all in all.

Left to right: Catriona McPherson, Johnny Shaw (who is extremely tall), Simon Wood, Me, Jess Lourey.

Jeff Markowitz and Me (I'm on the left, in case you couldn't tell)

Left to right: Me, Kathryn McIntire, Margie Paull

 

After the conference, I drove to California, where I spent my first night at my buddy Byron’s house in Yucaipa (or Yucaypa, if you’re my GPS’s Suri) or Yucapaw, if you’re Byron. What a perfectly lovely ranch he has! He also has a gigantic paint horse named Scout, and three dogs, one of which is a pit bull named Harley, who thinks he’s a lap dog.

 

After that I moseyed on up to Pasadena and West Hills, where I saw bunches of friends and ate lots and lots of stuff I can’t get here in Roswell. My grandson, Riki, my friend, Lauren, and I pretty much ate all the sushi in Pasadena. It was gooooood. Also met with some old dancing buddies at Mort’s Deli in Tarzana. That was good, too, and it was wonderful seeing folks I haven’t seen for ages.

Left to right: Art Aratin, Colin Cowans, Stephanie Cowans, Nicki Aratin

 

Then I came home and got sick. Sigh.

But things are muddling right along now. I’m still in dreadful pain, but I see a light at the end of that particular tunnel; and one of these days, I’ll be able to get a nice new pair of glasses, too.

I’ll get in touch with everyone who won a copy of the audiobook, SECRET HEARTS, individually. At the end of April, I don’t know what I’ll give away, but I’ll think of something. If you want to enter this indefinite contest, please send me your name and home address. My email address is alice@aliceduncan.net. Thanks!

 Please visit my web page at www.aliceduncan.net, and if you’d like to be Facebook friends, here’s my Facebook page info: https://www.facebook.com/alice.duncan.925

Thanks!