July was a month.

It began with me cleaning and doing yardwork like a madwoman, trying to catch up on everything I’d let go while I finished up Dreamer. That morphed into “the worst case of poison ivy” my doctor had ever seen, followed by steroids, followed by gaining back a bunch of weight I’d dieted off.

Then I caught my son’s summer cold, which settled in my chest, producing the most horrific rattling wheeze when I breathed out and making my voice sound like I smoked multiple packs of unfiltered cigarettes first thing every morning.

I was just coming off of that on Wednesday, feeling a little more like my old self now that I’m not scratching myself raw and coughing up the insides of my lungs when BLAMMO. I was car number two of a five car pileup on my way home from work that night. My car was trashed, and now I’m working off a case of whiplash.

On the upside, I started the month by finishing and submitting Dreamer to my editor, and ended it with the announcement of my Advanced Reader Editions coming out. So instead of a sucky month, it was more like a slimy suck sandwich on really, really tasty bread.

I guess I could look at it all as valuable life experience. I can now write a character who’s itching, coughing and survived a simultaneous front and rear collision.

I’m thinking that particular character drinks a lot. I’ll live vicariously through them because I can’t have a margarita since I’m on muscle relaxers. *grumble*

Sometimes you just have to laugh when you feel like crying. Or write when you feel like doing both. Here’s hoping that August swings the other way. And by that I mean “better” – not “and it gets worse from there.”

Cross your fingers.