Marc Hamlet

The best I can say is I really liked the plotting. Plenty of twists and turns pushed me to read to the last page. It’s the perfect material for a film series.

The worst I can say is that Suzanne Collins writes a bad narrative. I can’t remember how many times I winced when there was less story telling and more story synopsis. The other thing that dug at me was that the tale is suppose to be told from Katniss’ perspective. She’s narrating not in a voice of a girl living in Appalachia (which is quite distinctive) but in a more formal style of someone heeding The Elements Of Style (Strunk & White).

Having put that down in print, I must add that the final chapter and epilogue are quite satisfying. Katniss and Peeta are damaged inside and out, but they manage to keep their demons at bay with love and a determination to live as decent people.

Jason keeps linking to my blog, and I have nothing to show for it.

My Oncologist switched me from FOLFOX to Avastin this week. We’ll see if I end up with kidney damage or some other such nasty thing.

Sales for The Capable Man have, as expected, been slipping since its initial launch and the occasional freebook offerings. Of all the people I know who claim to enjoy the novel, I can’t get any of them to write an Amazon review for me. Is it really that difficult? I ask because I’ve never once written an Amazon review.

I’ve also been asked how my next project is going. Well, I stalled out. It seems to be a combination of job and medical uncertainties. I must admit, I took my time with some reading and watching crime dramas on NetFlix. And with “Game Of Thrones”, “Mad Men” and “The Killing” starting up again, I’m going to have to manage my time better.

But still, A Tolerance For Pain has a storyline fleshed out and a goal to reach. All I have to do is get there.

The Capable Man was available free last Monday. I gave away 355 ebooks. It’s still enrolled in Amazon Prime for lending as well. I don’t know how this will effect my sales, but I’m hoping for more reviews, at least.

And on the subject of reviews… If you’re in my social network and have read the novel, what’s keeping you from going on Amazon and saying something nice? Really, guys, c’mon!

Had a CT scan on Monday, saw the Oncologist on Wednesday. The Radiologist found two very small spots in my left lung that’s most likely cancer. They probably developed from Summer into Fall last year when I had no effective chemo treatments.

Looks like I’ll be doing some radiation therapy in about three to four months, depending on how soon the new areas are contained. It’s hard for the doctors to ascertain the size of the two tumors in my liver because they’re surrounded by dead cancer cells thanks to the radio-embolization. Luckily, my CEA count is still pretty low, meaning there’s not a lot of growth activity.

So, as soon as I’m done with the FOLFOX regimen, I’ll be spending the year on Avastin treatment and next year probably on a clinical trial. There’s also a new drug about to be approved that they want to try. Two to three years on chemotherapy–yippee!

Blog posting has slipped my mind this past month simply because–well, I don’t know why.  But, pathetically, I’ve held onto this one too far into January for a New Year’s post.

Anyway, for some good news… The Capable Man is now available in print! Yes, it’s pricey for a paperback but that’s print-on-demand for you. Now maybe my sisters will read it.

My birthday’s not until Saturday, but I’ll be with holiday-making. I’ll be an aged 53 and happy for it. This year, I decided to grow a moustache to celebrate the fact that my 16-year-old son is sporting one. My wife will laugh and call it a “pornstache” as she did that last time I did this, but so what.

I had my last radioembolization Thursday. It all went well. We’ll see where my CEA level is at next week. Due to the gamma rays I’m currently emitting, I have to sleep by myself and can’t hug my boys for more than three seconds at a time. I should be all clear by Christmas morning, of course, and that’s what counts.

I was going to have another round of FOLFOX this week, too, but I had a sudden reaction 15 minutes into the Oxaliplatin infusion. I developed a cough because my windpipe was constricting. I really wanted a vacation break from the chemo anyway, but hopefully I’ll be back at it in a couple of weeks and an RF ablation will not be far off.

Honestly, I think I’ve had enough of blogging about my two liver metastases. It’s gotten downright boring. There are subjects I find far more interesting like NASA’s Kepler discoveries and the research with CERN’s Large Hadron Collider. I also have two great kids who are growing and maturing despite their autistic behaviors; and, I have a challenging job I enjoy doing.

I know I’ve complained about how horrible the chemo side-effects are, particularly the powerful Oxalyplatin. But after my first radio-embolization and first cycle of Oxalyplatin, my CEA count dropped from 87.0 to 35.9. Now, after my second cycle, it’s at 14.6! So, I feel a lot better about the whole mess.

I’ve got another radioembolization coming up and–if the trend continues–the two liver mets will be small enough the apply a radio-frequency ablation to burn away what’s left.

I’ve been continually chiding myself for choosing the 3-week Xeloda over the less severe, 2-week 5FU pump. Luckily, my oncologist is going to get that switched soon. I’m not crazy about spending two-and-a-half days with a chemo pump, but I’ve done it before and I can do it again.

Unfortunately, I’ve written next to nothing these past two weeks or so simply because I’ve been obsessing over what’s going on in my liver. I let myself be distracted by cable tv and odd, little indie movies. It seems I’ve lost my focus on the story I was planning to tell. What did I do two-and-a-half years ago to fix this problem? Oh, yeah, stop acting like I’m dying because that ain’t happening anytime soon.

And for those of you who have completed The Capable Man, where’s your review on Amazon or B&N? Seriously, guys, I could use some more reviews.