We were going full steam ahead with a couple of new books and then life got in the way. If you follow me at all, you know my constant companion, Harvey the Downtown Doxie, was an ever-present part of my life and my writing. Well, on a routine vet visit, his blood work revealed that he was in acute renal failure. He was almost 13 when the diagnosis came and it was pretty bleak. A special diet and lots of meds were prescribed and he didn't "act" sick at all, but a follow-up test a couple of weeks later revealed his numbers were exponentially worse, so the meds were not working.... it was too late. We had "two weeks, four if you're lucky."
Our world came to a screeching halt. He seemed normal. He was his playful, loving normal self but we knew what was coming. I spent every moment with him. Hanging out, cuddling and playing with new toys and old. He normally got a new toy once a week and a special Bark Box subscription once a month, but the frequency increased. It was all about Harvey and he loved the undivided attention. We watched a lot of Netflix and Prime. If the weather was decent, which it was this spring, we spent many hours on the patio, his favorite place. If "four weeks if you're lucky" was luck, I am not sure what to call us but blessed seems inadequate. We got 18 more weeks with our boy! He was perfectly normal until the last week, the last couple of days, really. His health and zest for life plummeted and we knew it was time to say good-bye, no matter how hard it was.
To say I am lost without him, is a monumental understatement. Its been weeks without him and I still look for him. When I pause my writing, I glance back at the chair behind me and he's not there. I am pushing on without him and the new book is dedicated to him. We are now in the second round of edits and should enter the final third round in a few weeks. The scheduled summer launch, of course, will not happen but I am hopeful for a late fall/Holiday release. We are working on the polishing of the story and the cover design and all the other things required to get a story from my head into a printed form for readers to enjoy. So stay tuned!