Update - Month of Living Heck

Every single person in my circle of friends seems to be having their life go to hell in a handbasket.  Dying parents, major health issues, transportation issues.  Employment issues.  Disability issues.  And while several people are either available, or can drive, OR have two working legs, I am the only one in the group who actually has all three.  At least so far.

So me?  I got sick this weekend and I can't tell if it's A) a reaction to a rabies shot, or B) a sinus infection or C) because the same day as the rabies shot I spent all night in the ER with a friend.

This all after a whole week of sleep deprivation due to minor and miscellaneous causes.

And my lips are numb, which may be a symptom of a dreaded side effect of the rabies shots... or just because when I am stressed I suck on my lips and make them numb and chapped.  Probably the latter, because there is no "progression" but....

It would be really nice if Scruffy the Feral Cat would show up for brunch tomorrow to display one more time that he really and truly is not showing any signs of rabies a full two weeks after he objected so strenuously to being taken to the vet to get his own bite marks checked out.  He was in the pink on Day 11, which should be good enough, but I would really rather see some confirmation before I discuss whether I can forgo the second booster shot.

(And yes, these are boosters. I've had rabies shots before, because of bats in the belfry. And no, this is not an April Fools post.  Sigh.)

This is just one way of saying... there will be no "Story Notes" for A Fistful of Divas until Thursday.

For the rest of April, I'll be doing some light blogging - once or twice a week - before getting on with the next serial.  In particular I will be talking about Fictional Characters and their Relationships with Breakfast.

I was inspired to write about breakfast because of an article in The Guardian, about what various famous fictional characters eat for breakfast.  (The Sexiest Meal)  That article is from a reader's point of view -- finding clues about the character within the story.  And that's plenty fun.

But it's a fun thing for writers to talk about too, for two reasons:  One is that we don't always tell the reader everything we know about a character, and it's fun to reveal little "extras", such as how a character relates to food. The other reason is that considering a character's eating habits can be a great way to develop a character.

So next Monday, I'll introduce the subject, and challenge those of you who are bloggers (both readers and writers) to write about your favorite characters and their breakfasts, (or other food).  Then I'll have a series of posts about the characters from each of my series.

Then, on April 29, (make that May 2) I'll post an introduction to The Case of the Misplaced Baroness, and we'll be off to the races again with another serial.

See you in the funny papers.