Latest On The Nocturnal Nina Blog
The Things I Should Do
Nina Crespo welcomes guest blogger Lynn Cahoon, author of the Tourist Trap Mystery series, to the Readers, Writers and Wellness blog event.
We all have a list. Lose ten pounds. Exercise more. Eat more fruits and vegetables. But as we all know, life gets in the way.
For me, right now, life is kicking my butt. I just got off deadline, have another book due before end of year, and work a day job. Finding time to walk the dogs can be a struggle, let alone find time to go to the gym or put a fitness video into the DVR.
Yet I know, it’s those things that will help me reach the items on the list. And, I know one more thing. As a breast cancer survivor, I have to prioritize my health, just like I make my daily word count.
In 2006, we moved from Idaho to Illinois. I got a new job, and then, when my insurance kicked in, I scheduled appointments with all new doctors. I even got a mammogram. When I got the letter in the mail saying everything was okay, I almost threw it away unopened. I shudder to think what would have happened if I had.
Because it wasn’t a thanks for coming in letter. It was a return for more tests letter. Within a week, I had been diagnosed. I had cancer. I also had a new job with little to no vacation or sick time. I didn’t qualify for the short-term disability program as I hadn’t been there a year. In fact, I didn’t even qualify for the federal family leave act because of my short tenure. My employer could have said, sorry about your luck and come back if you live.
But they didn’t. They worked with me through my surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation that year. When I hit a year, I actually had leave allowing me to get paid when I ran to doctor appointment or to get blood drawn. At the end of chemo when my body was totally exhausted, I was admitted to the hospital for three days. The day after I was released, I returned to work. Because I had to – Financially and mentally.
2007 was the year of cancer. So 2008 became the year of fun. But still, I wasn’t living healthy.
So I started walking. And then I added fruits and veggies to my diet. I cut out most alcohol. (I still enjoy a beer every now and then.) These small steps helped me lose most of the weight I’d gained during the year of cancer.
Since that time, I’ve had gains and losses. But I’ve learned a few things I’d like to pass on to you.
First – Practice Turtle Thinking: You know, slow and steady wins the race? This hint works for weight loss and writing. I’m always more excited to write on days where I know where the book is heading. Developing a daily writing habit makes me a healthier writer. Developing a daily exercise habit makes me a healthier person.
Second – Practice Scale Living: Not the bathroom scales. You need to balance your life. For me it’s a mixture of work, writing, me time, family, and fun. Typically fun gets the short stick in my house. My husband and I bought four-wheelers for our anniversary and we’ve spent a summer having fun. You don’t have to go to that extreme, but really, when was the last time you did something like fly a kite or go swimming?
Third – Love Yourself Today: Good or bad, heavy or skinny, you need to accept who you are today to move past the fear of becoming a better version of you. I can’t count the number of times I’ve held off buying a new coat or a pair of jeans until I lose weight. Be the best person you can be now. And later.
After surviving breast cancer, I have one boob (can I say boob here?) that’s bigger than the other. I have scars from surgery and the port where they took blood. Mentally, I have other scars. Walking into the hospital for my semi-annual well baby checks, I always worry. Is this the time they’ll find something strange. I’m by nature pretty positive, but not on those doctor appointment days.
I’m a different person than I was in 2006. Now, I’m a survivor.
So, readers, your turn. What one thing are you going to stop beating yourself up about today?
USA Today and New York Times, best-selling author, Lynn Cahoon is an Idaho native. If you’d visit the town where she grew up, you’d understand why her mysteries and romance novels focus around the depth and experience of small town life. Currently, she’s living in a small historic town on the banks of the Mississippi river where her imagination tends to wander. She lives with her husband and four fur babies.
Mission to Murder available on Amazon and Nook
Lynn Cahoon Amazon Author Page
When a Crisis with Your Health Adds New Life to Your Characters.
Nina Crespo welcomes guest blogger Linda Bond, author of Alive at 5, who will be kicking off the week-long Readers, Writers and Wellness blog event.
Readers love to relate to the characters they are reading about. Give your hero a flaw that makes him a little less than perfect, and he’ll seem more real, the kind of man a woman can fall in love with. Give your heroine a problem she’s too embarrassed to share, and you’ve made her more relatable.
Twice in my life I’ve faced debilitating health problems, one more life threatening than the other, but both found their way into my writing. In my just released romantic suspense novel Alive at 5, my heroine Samantha Steele suffers panic attacks. This is a big problem since her profession is to report the news on the air, and the panic attacks hit right as she’s about to go live.
It’s a struggle I had to work through personally. Imagine sitting on the anchor desk and your heart starts to race, you begin to sweat, and your mouth goes dry, making it hard to read the stories rolling through the TV news prompter. Nothing like losing your **** in front of thousands. It’s humbling.
I had to learn to breathe and regain control over my hijacked thoughts, which would start 
racing around like bumper cars on jet fuel. Now, when something happens live on the air, I know how to slow down my thoughts and my breathing before they start affecting my ability to do my job. Making Samantha Steele work through her panic attacks, something she had to overcome both with and without the hero’s help, gave her one more layer of depth, and one more flaw the reader can connect with.
My second health crisis happened three years ago. A diagnosis of breast cancer at 44. It brought me to my knees and challenged me in ways I’d never imagined.
In my current work in progress, EYEwitness, my heroine is a 28-year-old woman who had a double mastectomy after a breast cancer diagnosis. Like me, my heroine watched her mother die from breast cancer and only wanted to dance with this devil once. What the heroine didn’t count on was the physical and emotional scars that come with fighting cancer and going through invasive surgeries to remove your breasts. When her first love comes back, she hides her scars and the truth, thinking her first love couldn’t love a less perfect her. Working through that emotional internal war is what makes my heroine grow.
My hope is to use this book as a platform to show women that scars are not ugly and do not make you ugly. They are badges of honor, bravery and courage. And for many, they are the tattoos that symbolize a win in a battle for your life. My husband tells me I’m sexier today than ever before. And I’ve learned to embrace that as my new truth. I’m still writing EYEwitness, but I know my heroine will too.
Linda Bond ~ Her romantic side is a thrilling place to be.
Linda Bond is an Emmy award winning journalist by day and an author of romantic adventures by night. She’s also the mother of five, four athletes and an adopted son from Cuba. She has a passion for world travel, classic movies, and alpha males. Linda currently lives in Florida, where the sun always shines and the day begins with endless possibilities. You can become a Bond girl and share in her continuing adventures at www.lindabond.com.
Linda on Facebook: /AuthorLindaBond
Linda on Twitter: @AuthorLindaBond
Alive at 5 now available!
http://bit.ly/Aliveat5Amazonlink
http://bit.ly/Aliveat5BandN
http://bit.ly/Aliveat5iTunes
http://bit.ly/Aliveat5Kobo
Reading, Writing and Wellness
Reading, Writing and Wellness will be the featured topic on my Nocturnal Nina blog the week of September 29th-October 3rd. I’ll share guest posts from fellow authors Linda Bond, Lynn Cahoon, Marcie Kremer, Selena Fulton, Megan Morgan, and Amanda K. Byrne.
Take a mini break from your busy day, and enjoy their thoughts on how reading a good book, writing a great story or making room for balance has added happiness, laughter and valuable lessons to their lives.
Wellness is important to me, and like many, I’ve experienced health issues and disappointments. Instead of telling you the details, I’ll share the truths I’ve learned on my personal wellness journey.
** As long as the body has breath it strives to heal itself.
** Beliefs can create biology as well as my circumstances.
** It’s hard to move forward if I’m always looking back.
** Never confuse inconvenience with impossibility.
**I am. I will. I can!
Number four is a challenge. It’s easy to prioritize plotting the next story over a nice long walk or a trip to the gym. Bad habits show up on my doorstep the same day my characters decide not to cooperate. Convenience versus what’s good for my body and mind tempts me in the midst of tight deadlines.
I’m embracing the challenge because I realize I’m a work in progress. Life is an unfolding journey. Instead of dwelling on the past, I give myself a good hard nudge in the right direction. I take another shot, another step, another chance. You can, too. I believe in you. Let’s do this!
Need more inspiration? Stop by and read the guest posts featured September 29th-October 3rd. In the mean time, enjoy life and all the good things that happen at night!
I Want It
Find out what I want on my final stop of the TAKE ME IF YOU DARE blog tour. Thank you to Just Contemporary Romance for hosting my guest post, “I Want It.”
I’ll be back in a couple of weeks to share a few thoughts. Until then, enjoy the night!
Best Birthday Ever
Thank you to Toni Linenberger and Kate M. George for hosting my guest blog post. Stop by Kate M. George’s site to read Best Birthday Ever and an excerpt from TAKE ME IF YOU DARE.
Would you dare?
I’m still out and about promoting TAKE ME IF YOU DARE. Please read my guest blog post, “Would you dare?”, hosted by Ramblings From This Chick.
I’ll be back to share my adventures. Until then, dare to enjoy the night!
