Out of Action

I've been a bit quiet lately. Not only on the blogging front but also in various other regards. I've not been well.

I won't go into details but it's a condition that has been very uncomfortable and energy sapping.

Now, I'm two weeks onto recovery from an operation to make me better. The surgeon promised me four weeks of agony. Those were his exact words. I paid an extra consultancy fee to have him repeat them and he did. Nevertheless, I proceeded with the surgery even though I felt a great deal of apprehension.

So far, his words ring true. After two weeks I'm getting out of the agony stage and into the severe discomfort zone.   His four week promise makes me feel like I'm ahead of the game.

Not much writing gets done when I'm in pain. The new Jenny Parker novel, Limited Liability, was put to bed beforehand and the fourth novel, Critical Analysis, has begun well but has been taking a back seat to my physical preoccupations.

Blogging, as you might imagine, has been the least of my worries.

A friend remarked that he was sure my latest engagement with medical science would end up being written into one of my books. He's right, of course. Everything that affects me, affects my writing. All experiences, painful or not, are useful references to be accessed when needed.

A couple of years ago, I had a minor operation on my ear. Feeling braver than I really am, I elected for a local anaesthetic. This was a mistake. The sensation of someone hacking at my ear with a sharp knife wasn't at all pleasant. The intense pain afterwards was also memorable. Anyone who has read Proceeds of Crime will now know where I got that gruesome scene with Wasiewicz from.

I suppose many writers would call this 'research.' Though I doubt even the most dedicated would inflict injury on themselves in the quest for authenticity. All I have to do is remember what it's like to be in pain and convey that to the reader.

So I expect some character is in for a lot of suffering when I get back to it.

Meanwhile, I have to say that the ointment they've given me is dynamite.