My great intention of getting my latest work completed before Christmas was knocked out of the water when the cancer decided to take over my life the past couple of months. While the November scan showed no growth of the tumors, the skin on my breast was saying otherwise.

So, in November, I went through three weeks of radiotherapy, which affected me much worse than expected, with a trip to the emergency, and the rest of the time too sick to even drive (I am forever grateful to the school mums who did the pick ups and drop offs for me).

On the final day of radiotherapy, I suddenly had excruciating pain in my left femur head. A couple days later, an X-ray showed a tumour had caused a hairline fracture in that area. I was taken into surgery to have a rod and a couple screws inserted. Two weeks later, I was back on that dreaded table, having another week’s worth of radiotherapy (to kill off any remaining tumours in the femur).

At the end of that radiotherapy, both my physical and mental health was at an all-time low, with me sitting on my comfy recliner binging Netflix (OMG – Ginny and Georgia – one of my favorite shows ever!), as all my bones and joints stiffened up and I became so sore I could hardly move. My memory was so bad I thought I must have early dementia, and every time I sat down to write, my mind went blank.

I was sent for a full body CT with the fear the new treatment wasn’t working, but when I got the results a few days later, it turned out the cancer was looking the best it has in a long time!

I asked my oncologist, ‘but why the sore bones and joints?’ – she answered exercise!

I said, ‘but the memory loss.’ Her answer – exercise!

I said, ‘but the tiredness and depression.’ Her answer (you guessed it) – EXERCISE!

Well, I’m happy to say after only three days of exercise I now feel the best I’ve felt in months.

Most importantly, I can write again.

So, my next blog will be coming with some fantastic news, plus I’m going to start adding reviews of books I’ve read – to make things a little more interesting for you all. So, if you are an author of diverse science fiction, dystopian, low-grade fantasy, or paranormal, please contact me so we can sort something out.

Bye for now, and wishing you the best year ever.

P.S. If you would like to know what the fantastic news is now – then sign up to my monthly newsletter.

The first one is that I have had not one but two publishers interested in my latest WIP (work in progress), and I’m just waiting for the contract to peruse before making my final decision. I am really excited because this WIP includes many diverse characters, fulfilling my passion for diverse characters in fiction.

Some have asked me why having diverse characters in fiction is so important. I have both a simple answer and a slightly more complex one.

Simple answer: We live in a diverse world. When I walk down the street, I don’t see only white cis-gendered able-bodied males. No. I see people from many cultures and different shades of skin, different body sizes, different genders and sexualities, and different abilities – both physical and neurodivergent. So, unless I’m writing science fiction about a bunch of clones, I believe all fiction should involve diverse people.

Photo by Pascal Bernardon on Unsplash

Complex answer: Adding onto my simple answer, most people like to see themselves, or at least someone they can relate to, in the stories they read. Put yourself into the shoes of someone different from you – different culture/ sexuality/ gender/ ability, and so on. Then read a book where the main character is a white cis-gendered male and see how it changes your reading experience.

I’m excited that publishing companies are finally starting to publish books with diverse main characters and books written by authors of diversity. It is our way to help bring our world to an understanding and acceptance of others.

As for my third piece of news – I’m still not quite ready to share that with you yet. However, I will give you a hint: it’s something to do with a new indie book I hope to be publishing soon . . .

The Kamin household has been pretty crazy the past couple of months. First my eighteen-year-old got Covid, for which we all had to isolate for seven days; then a week after we were allowed out into the world again, my twelve-year-old came down with it.

This has meant 24/7 parenting (no school), homeschooling, and trying to write with a multitude of interruptions. Somehow in all that (and with a few bouts of being bedridden due to side effects of my cancer treatment) I managed to write a 7,000 word short story to submit for an upcoming Dystopian Anthology, finish the final edits on my latest WIP (work in progress), and research over 60+ agents to submit my latest manuscript to.

If you want to learn more about me and my author journey, please check out my Tik Toks here: https://www.tiktok.com/@kristykaminauthor

My favourite book I’ve written so far:

@kristykaminauthor

Reply to @yourlocalslytherinbxtch #Inverted #cerebralpalsyawareness #disability #disabilityawareness #cphero #somnium1 #books #booktok #booktokers

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Well, not quite. But close enough. This will be my final blog for 2021.

December is crazy in the Kamin household, especially this year. We have had two graduate high school and one graduate primary school, which meant preparing for graduation nights, a prom, as well as preparations for my twelve-year-old’s new school next year. Having cerebral palsy means a lot of organising the months leading up to starting a new school. On top of that, we have had meetings for the NDIS upcoming reviews, and end of year appointments.

In regards to my writing, I have been liaising with my Beta readers on my latest WIP; having interviews for my latest work ‘The Amber and The Rose’ in the Moonlight Anthology; marketing; and working on the first draft of my latest WIP.

In between all of that, I’m having as many rest breaks as possible, as cancer slows me down, and if I don’t have regular breaks then I simply crash and burn.

I have to add here that I also recently completed reading the first book in a series by author, Natalie Cammaratta, called Falling and Uprising.

Although this book took me a few months to read, that was only due to the extreme lethargy I have been experiencing with my cancer treatment. This book really is a page-turner, and I enjoyed every moment. It’s a dystopian, but different to most I have read. It was fast-paced and really drew me in and I can’t wait to start on the sequel.

To learn more, go to Amazon, or subscribe to my monthly newsletter.

And on that note – if you would like to be eligible for freebies, competitions, or to hear from me personally, simply subscribe to my VIR club by clicking on the ‘Join Here’ circle at the bottom of this page.

I wish you all an amazing Christmas/ Hanukkah/ Kwanzaa/ Omisoka/ Holiday.

I am so excited to announce that my Vampire short story (titled The Amber and the Rose), will soon be available to purchase in the new amazing anthology by Nightshade Publishing, LLC; Endless Moonlight!

Click here to preorder

In the meantime, I am on my final edits of my latest work in progress and am on the look out for beta readers. Please email me at kristykaminauthor@gmail.com if interested.

My family and I went away for a week long beach holiday, graciously paid for by the Cancer Council. We had a wonderful and relaxing time. I needed some radiotherapy before we left, and so the first couple days I was pretty unwell, but after that things were much better. Although the cancer is there all the time, with tumours in the bones, other than tiredness I often forget I’m ill at all. My husband and children do a good job of keeping my thoughts occupied, and my writing takes me away to other worlds where there are cures for cancer and people of all abilities/ races/ genders/ sexualities are accepted.

So what are the surprises? you say. Well, there have been a few. Firstly, I was asked to speak on a podcast – details coming soon. The two presenters were amazing and really helped to make me feel comfortable (although I feel I could have done a better job of advertising my latest book).

Secondly, Somnium won another award – this time a Five Stars Readers’ Favorite award, of which I am super proud of.

Thirdly, I’ve had a short story approved for a new anthology coming out next month by an amazing publisher! It will be my first traditionally published work, and I’m extremely thrilled about it. For now, that’s all the details I can give, but I will tell you more as soon as I have the go ahead from my Publisher.

In the meantime, I’m going through one of my final edits of the first book in my latest series which I will be submitting to agents. I’m very excited about this latest book which although it’s a dystopian, it’s a little different to my past writings. There is a ton of diversity in it, and the main character is a mum with cancer (which of course I have a lot of experience with).

Stay tuned for updates, and Happy Halloween!

The long-awaited sequel to Somnium is officially available for purchase in both Paperback and eBook (links below). It’s been a long time coming, but I believe it’s worth it. Anyone interested in a signed copy can join my VIR club for more information.

I hope you all enjoy the sequel, and I have a special Somnium surprise coming soon, so stay tuned…

Purchase eBook here:

Purchase Paperback here: