FROM THE BLOG DIARY OF EMILY HUNTER

Entry #2: July 17, 2013

So this week, the assignment is to be a little more forthcoming.

Yeah, assignment.  This blog isn’t entirely my idea.  And while I am getting credit for listening to my therapist and actually starting it (not something she was entirely sure I would do), the goal is to not hold back.  So I guess I should re-introduce myself.

My name is Emily Hunter.  I have been diagnosed with schizophrenia.  Specifically, my files say "auditory and visual hallucinations and nihilistic delusions."  Currently I am in partial remission.  (How’s that for forthcoming?)

In simpler terms, I am fucked up.

Now notice that I’m not saying the government is out to get me.  I am not currently wearing a tin-foil hat.  Schizophrenia is not something that is very fairly represented in popular media.  We aren’t all rocking in corners, babbling incoherently, and screaming at shadows.  (I have lived with those people though, and some of the stories they tell are better than anything you’ll ever see on TV.)  I can hold a conversation, I can hold a job.  I keep track of my own medication (Clonazepam twice a day for anxiety, clozaril, one in the morning, four at night, and one shot of haloperidol and a blood draw every two weeks.  The chloropromazine gave me a fever when I was 21 and put me in the hospital for a week and a half.)

Here’s what they don’t tell you about anti-psychotic medication:  It’s good for your mind, but shit for your body.  It makes you feel drowsy, achy, constipated, and just generally miserable.

I seem to be breaking records for forthcoming.  Hi, I’m Emily and I can’t poop sometimes.  Nice to meet you.

So yeah, sometimes I see things.  Sometimes I get confused and think strange thoughts.  The meds help, as much as I hate to admit it (and especially since Dr. Harper is reading this.  Hello.) Although I do hate the way they make me feel, but I guess it’s better than some of the fucked up nightmares I used to have.  Sometimes while I was awake.

Sometimes I would see thi

Okay, per the rules I can’t delete anything, but I don’t have to keep typing either.  That’s enough forthcoming for today.

E

Hello everyone!  It’s been nearly two weeks since I’ve sent you and update and for that I’m sorry.  I’m here to remedy this but in the interest of those of you who are future sensitive, MINOR SPOILER ALERT AHEAD!

Chapter Five has turned out to be a bit of a bugabear which is hilarious, because it involves a fight with a bugabear.  Which is the problem.  Apparently, I’m very much out of practice in writing a fight scene and sadly I’ve hinged the second quarter of the novel on what happens in the fight so I REALLY need to nail this scene.  I think I’ve got the framework finished and now just need to add the paint that is descriptors around the nouns and verbs I’ve already written.  The plan is to post Chapter Five next week and get back to weekly updates.

SPOILERS AVERTED!  So, to wrap things up, spoiler free.  Chapter Five should be going up next week.  Should be back to Weekly updates after that.  I’m finding the task of marketing this project while trying to write the book is extremely difficult and maybe ill-advised but I will soldier on as best I can.  If you like what you’ve read, please comment and share the project on all of the social medias!  The more we get the word out, the more I can focus on the writing and less on the marketing.  Either way, thank you all for your support!

Salutations, friends!   Happy Monday to all, and to new followers, welcome to the Resistance!

Onto to the updates: this weekend I attended The Small Press Expo for the first time and had a blast, and discovered #Inktober.  I’ve never been much of a painter or drawer, but I’m gonna give this produce-one-ink-piece-per-October-day a shot with quotes from Resistance Rising.  If you aren’t already, find me here, on Instagram, as I take up a new challenge, and to see more insights and character quotes, beats and moments from throughout Resistance Rising.

In the present scheme of things, I will be posting more chapters this week!   Also, if you enjoyed the audiobook-style recording of the prologue (take a listen here!), then rejoice, for more is coming, thanks, again, to Audible narrator, Benjamin Cairns.  Chapter One will be available this week...maybe more!

Looking further ahead, I will be on the move in the upcoming days and for those of you in the DC/Maryland/Virginia area, I would love to see you!  This coming weekend happens to be jam-packed with events for the book community in this area!  Starting on Friday, September 23rd, I’ll be at Jirani Coffeehouse, located in Manassas, VA, for part of their monthly event, Spilled Ink, at which I - along with other writers and creatives - will be reading our work publicly.  In my case, it will be a segment from Resistance Rising to continue to spread the word.  If you’re in the area, come out, say hello, and have a listen!

Then, there’s The Baltimore Book Festival, The National Book Festival, and Fall For the Book, all of which have rockin guests and panels lined up this year.  I will be attempting to attend as many of those as I can.  Hopefully, so will some of you!

Thank you again for your support and interest.  If you’re still on the fence about this book, I’ll  be following this update with a bit more history about the project, which I hope will convince to make that pre-order!  If you’ve already pre-ordered, you can still help by leaving a review and/or recommending Resistance Rising right here on Inkshares.

Cheers!

Robin C. Farrell
Editor & Writer
DUO Media Productions
robin.c.farrell@gmail.com