Two weeks of intense karma

Blazing Reader,

It's been an intense two weeks:

On Saturday, August 17, my mother (who lived down the street) was admitted to ICU with end-stage lung disease.

The following Wednesday, she passed away at 12:20 am with me at her bedside (see My oldest proofreader is dying).

The same day, my assistant and housekeeper fell sick, followed by a serious accident on Sunday, resulting in a hospital stay.

With her out of commission, I suddenly found myself caring for her three-year-old daughter (who is super adorable).

I went from caring for a woman at the end of her life to caring for a little girl at the beginning of hers. It's nice to stay balanced.

My impromptu babysitting was followed by a trip to the big city for my mother's visitation, funeral and burial.

Getting back home on Wednesday, I discovered my assistant won't be able to return to work and I need to find a replacement.

And then yesterday morning, while running, I was leaping over a bench — you never know when you might need to do this (see chapter "91. COVID Breakout" of Much Ado About Corona) — and I landed on a hidden log, which rolled forward, causing me to sprain my ankle.

As a result of all these mishaps, I must delay the release of my next novel, All the Humans are Sleeping. While I could hustle and get the book proofed and formatted by the September 11th release date, I would not have time to finish the promotional material. Plus, I have an eerie feeling my run of intense karma hasn't fizzled out yet.

So scratch off September 11th on your calendar and I'll let you know when All the Humans are Sleeping will be available.

Stay sane & read great books,
John C.A. Manley

PS I have over 200 emails in my inbox and will respond to everybody soon. Thank you to anyone sending condolences about my Mom's death. You can see a picture of her and read her obituary here: https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/brampton-on/barbara-manley-11950704

John C. A. Manley is the author of Much Ado About Corona: A Dystopian Love Story, the forthcoming All The Humans Are Sleeping and other works of speculative fiction. Get free samples of his stories by becoming a Blazing Pine Cone email subscriber at: https://blazingpinecone.com/subscribe/