Running From Publishing

The excitement continues to roll as the date of publication for Running From Cancer  looms nearer. I think another book title could be Running From Publishing. It's such a confusing world I know nothing about.
It wouldn't be the first time I whirl-winded headfirst into something completely out of my element. I wonder how painful this hard landing might be?
The next two books should be much easier to get out, I'm hoping.

My pink and black camo pants have arrived from California  I ordered size 9/10 as comments said they ran small. I normally take a 5/6.  Sure enough, they are like a comfortable girdle. Perfect length and they DO fit, just tighter than I like for being on a stage. Never know when a zipper is going to blow out from a last minute 'panic-carb.' In front of how many people???

I plan to dress in these pants with Mom's black ball cap with the pink cancer symbol on the front and Fredericton, N.B. on the back. Black army boots for walking the tracks at the multiple relays across the north over May and June, together with my first CIBC run-for-the-cure t-shirt I got in 2006 in Prince George. It was my first cancer run and I was more interested in seeing if I could last the 5 km than I was about talking to people about cancer. I donated to the 'good cause' not realizing what that meant.

Now that I do, I'm determined to help others wake up and see the big picture. After giving three cancer-related speeches in the past two years, there has been enthusiastic replies to my offers to speak at the various relays in northern B.C. The Relays start in May and end in June.

Cancer is here people, and its determined to stay. Which it will, continuing to mow us down until changes are made. Remember when we all used to smoke cigarettes?  Same thing. It took years, but the change came. Now the smokers are the minority in Canada. Maybe we can do that with the cancer numbers. Reverse the rise?

I bought yellow paint for the wood easel I will be propping the HOPE sign and stuffed buddy Homer, from the book, on to take with me across B.C.
 There has been pricing for a stand-up banner with the book cover on it for promotions,business cards with the book logo and book display holders and I still need to get professional pictures taken. That will be hard this week when my face connected with some hard snow on Sunday and it looks like Barry punched me in the face. It's very big, very purple and a pound of beige 'white-out' only makes it look worse.








My name is Sergeant  DebiLyn Smith of the army against cancer and I fight back... Ha.

All this is why I haven't phoned or written or had anyone over lately.
Thanks for your patience! xo

New Web Site Changes

A large thanks goes out to my guru web site master programmer  Bill MyersRetED DSD WTD, who has patiently sorted through the change of mind, typo riddled, lah-lah land suggestions for up-grading the website at www.debilynsmith.com

I found  the Alphabetical Cancer Prevention tips everyone commented on were getting buried beneath the other blogs, never to be found any other way except by date. Hmmm. When did that tip on what kind of water is best to drink appear? What year was that even? See?

So Mr. Bill has given us another area to click on to get right to where we want to go. W is for water, L is for lemons, t for toxins. It's up and ready to try. I have a few changes to make to up-grade some of the blogs- I hope to get to that soon.

On the book front, the cover details have been handed over by the designer and are now mine to copyright.

Today I received a very generous and helpful discount from my local bookstore, Countrywide Printing in Houston on two easels to take with me for my Relay for cancer  Fight Back speeches. The one easel will hold Homer- my mother's stuffed bear that helped my sister Kim and I through her passing. Homer was at my side for the cancer ride and will remain beside me as long as I need his help. The easel will also display the "Hope" sign a twelve year old girl from Burns Lake painted and donated to the Terry Fox run and annual fund-raising auction. I told her when my book was published, her painting would travel with me to help spread the news that yes, there is hope. You can quit running from cancer and stand up and fight back. Now would be a good time to start. Before you get cancer.

A second easel with a roll of paper so I can write down the key points of my talk. This will eliminate the paper I usually hold in front of my face. The one I drop, or that will blur in and out of focus in my stage fright phase.
The pink cammo pants, and black army boots from e-bay are on their way and once here, I go for a hair cut and professional pictures for the posters. I want to keep my hair short for  when I face others going through  what I did. I used to hyper focus on women's hair, not able to get over how beautiful it looked on them. I don't want that to happen to someone I am trying to get through to. I want them to hear the encouragement, the hope, the strength that I will try to pass on.
Because I believe cancer CAN be beaten.
And I believe the rising number of cancer deaths can be slowed down or reversed if people learned to take a harder look at what it takes to win this war. Never forget that you have to kill cancer before it kills you. It's never too early to start fighting.

Running From Cancer is Finally A Real Book

Thanks to everyone who took the time to vote for the upcoming book cover of Running From Cancer. It was a fantastic adventure where I opened a "contest" which was sent out through a company called 99designs to all available designers. It seemed like most of the contestants were young adults from all over the world who submitted their interpretation of my work. One jacket cover had two big breasts with one looking like it was cracking up, another had a picture of two red cherries connected by a stem, but one of the cherries (breast) had come off the stem. Intuitive and brilliant. I got to personally talk to and work with the designers which is embarrassing at times when you don't know exactly what you want. They would make a change and I would not like it and would feel like quitting before asking for yet another change. But it all worked out and I am so pleased that so many of you chose the one I liked best as your first or even second choice.

The cover with the pink vortex in the background and the woman running away from it ( a few thought she was running towards it, possibly towards "the light" as in death) was confusing to many and even though it took second place, I think it was more for the brightness and less pinkness of it all.

The next stage to get this book off the ground is a trip to the "hairdresser" or interior book designer. She will start all the paragraphs and words in the right places, check all the quotation marks go the right way and change the font and sentence length among 100 other things you couldn't possibly imagine. It gets to her March 15th for 2-4 weeks before returning to me in a PDF "upload-ready" file. Then I can take the cover file, my ISBN and bar code files and the text files and upload them to an e-publisher (Amazon Kindle) and a  publisher/distributor Lightening Source or?? I will purchase 500 books to hit the road with in May and June across B.C. to promote during cancer fundraisers.

I have a choice of two speeches I give at the fundraisers, one a wake-up call from Sergeant DebiLyn Smith, who has come to kick your butts into cancer fighting warriors. The second is a" look what happened to me and why do you think it won't happen to you" talk about the raging "forest fire" our bodies can no longer stamp out when our immune systems aren't running optimally.
I have already picked up some Adivan. Public speaking is up there with bikini waxing - I fret until the time comes and then feel ill as it happens. I also scream inside my head at both.

For sure everyone will be advised when Running From Cancer is available, I imagine in an e-book format on Amazon.com first.
It's getting hard to sleep for the excitement of the book becoming something I can hold and sniff and sleep with. We are already working on editing the next book called Your First, in my Running From Mystery series.
And just think, I have cancer to thank for all of this. Life is so funny sometimes.

Canadian Cancer Society Pairing Service

I'm going to have to look at revising this blog site so people can find previously given  information easier.

Case in point, the Canadian Cancer Society number to talk to another survivor. Someone asked for it and I can't remember the date the article was filed under.

So here it is again.

The CCS have trained volunteers who have been through cancer. For free, you can be paired with one of the survivors who has gone through close to what your situation is. These people can give you tips, tell you what you may be facing and possibly just give you the chance to talk to someone who really can understand. The phone number for this service is 1-888-939-3333. Even if you're done treatments, it is never too late to talk to someone about what you have and may still be going through.

"You only have to be alive to grow cancer. You only have to be dead to get away from it completely."

I hope to have my book Running From Cancer out soon which can also give you insight into a cancer patient's world. Stay tuned...

Leftover Quinoa? No Worries!

leftover quinoa fried" rice"

There is no rice in this recipe, but the quinoa comes out tasting just as good or better than if you had used rice. This is the healthier option and one that is handy for leftover quinoa.

ingredients

3 cups or any significant amount of leftover quinoa cooked and chilled

4 TBSP olive or coconut oil divided

2 eggs or egg whites beaten with a fork

1 TBSP water

1 onion minced

1 garlic clove minced

2 stalks celery diced small

other vegis you have like zucchini, carrot, green or red peppers diced fine (optional)

leftover meat diced (optional)

¼ cup frozen peas

1 TBSP soy sauce

Chopped fresh cilantro (optional)

instructions

This is made like your favourite fried rice recipe, or use mine:

Mix the eggs with the water. Heat 1 TBSP of oil in a small skillet and cook the egg without stirring. Flip once. Remove from heat and place the egg on a cutting board and shred or slice into thin short strips. Set aside.

In a wok or large frying pan with sides, heat the remaining oil. Add the onion, garlic, celery and optional vegis and stir-fry until they are soft. Add any leftover meat. Heat through.

Add the chilled quinoa and frozen peas. Keep stirring until the quinoa is heated through, adding a TBSP or two of water if it sticks to the pan. Sprinkle with fried egg, soy sauce and optional cilantro. Serve!

A Healthier Option recipe

Two Year Up-Date

We have hit another celebratory marker. It has officially been TWO YEARS since my last  breast cancer  treatment of  radiation in Kelowna in February 2011.

If it weren't for the scars on my side, one would never know I had traveled the cancer causeway. The scars on the breast do not plague me, it's the scar beneath my natural arm-pit that leaves a lingering soreness. I've stopped trying to do chin-ups as where the lymph node mining occurred, it's still feeling slightly swollen and tires easily.  I'm told that may never change. I am regularly swimming and bouncing on the rebounder to keep the puffy-feeling at a minimum.

My post-treatment meds have changed a few times trying to find a lesser of the symptom-evils. I was started on the Taxoxifen and Zoladex until they were sure I was into full menopause. Worried about the side-effect of possible uterine cancer, I had my doctor switch me to Letrozole. Same symptoms with aching joints like you have arthritis, constant hunger and no libido. Not happy with that, I switched to another drug called Aromasin, but the symptoms felt worse than before, so I switched back. The aching I can handle, we will have to live for three more years with the libido issue I am sorry to say. Yes, we're having sex as often as before, but with less enthusiasm on one side. I count ceiling tiles a lot. But, the two years flew by fast enough to surprise me when the day came and went. There's hope.

 I have a surgery date for breast reconstruction in May 2013. Dr. Kurz of Prince George is going to replace over a half cup of missing breast with a silicone implant. My bras keep unhooking mid-sentence which my face must reflect. It's funnier to see than to experience. Try re-attaching your bra from beneath your shirt while in the drivers seat trying to pretend like  nothing is going on. Now try it with a sore side.

As for the rest, I feel like I am back!My hair is thick and shiny, including the hair on my legs and unfortunately my face. I am healthy and still exercising faithfully, although I am still at only 90% of me. I think that's because I'm finding I don't care as much anymore. I  am at my goal weight and there's no need to try and get any "fitter" at this stage. I have learned to slow down. That's what cancer did for me.

My non-fiction memoir has morphed through half a dozen titles, the latest being RUNNING FROM CANCER. It has been professionally edited and now goes to a line and copy editor for fact checking, libel issues, and final proof-reading. I had a publisher interested but have heard from other authors that the company is over-extended. Meaning I wouldn't be getting the full value of the marketing necessary to expose this book nationwide. Their largest print run was well below what I want to see. I either need a larger publishing house, impossible to reach without an agent, or I can self-publish. Seeing as I've paid for a content editor and then a copy edit, it is starting to look like I should go the self publishing route. I'm not 100 % sure though and have letters out to two agents at the moment. If they want to run with it, I could keep writing the latest book called Running From ADD. It would be so handy if we could see the future and know which road to take.

Writing the cancer memoir was almost as hard a journey as the dilemma was. It was therapeutic in the sense that I released the locked-up  poison with rehashing the painful memories. It also served to remind me of  the joys of love and acceptance, of having to get to the bottom of me before I could rise up out of the mess.Of all the people that enrich my life.

The next step after the editing will be book jacket design and copy for that as well. The words on the outside of the book far outweigh the ones inside in degree of importance  And as author Maggie DeVries told me, "be prepared to defend every word of your book." I am already finding that to be true.

It's a long process, getting  a book published. Besides,I never did do any-thing the easy way. It just wouldn't be my style.

Thanks for hanging in there with me.

Sinful Chocolate Macaroon recipe

Attention to Coconut Fans!

Heads up- there's a new recipe under the Healthier Options on my blog site at www.debilynsmith.com.

It's called Sinless Chocolate Macaroons. Nice and chocolaty,  chewy and sweet by using dates not sugar, these gems are made without flours or fats. Simple and delicious, not funny tasting or fall aparts.

I dare you to try and eat just one!