From Kayelle:

For three days I’m sharing stories by various authors about
how they or a family member faced cancer. Reading their posts is inspiring and
touching. The importance of friends and family, and having a support system is
vital. From what I’ve read, the key to success includes being able to ask for
help — and then being willing to accept it. It’s a lesson I’ve had in my own
life during various times. I don’t accept help well. It’s something I fight
with all the time. I’d like to think “I’ve got this” — but sometimes
I don’t have as good a grip as I thought I did. I have a friend who’s dealing
with cancer right now. My business partner’s brother just died from cancer. It
affects all of us. Reading these helps me understand better. I hope I’m even
half as good a friend as those you’ll read about in this series.

I’m presenting these as an opportunity for the authors to
share their real life stories, as well as their fictional ones. Links to follow
the authors and to purchase their books are provided.

Today’s authors are Lloyd A Meeker, Mackenzie Crowne, and Marjorie Belson.

— 

In June of 2003, I went on a four-day
bike ride to raise money for AIDS services, and apparently the tumor in my stomach
(which I already knew about) started to bleed under the strain of covering close
to 100 miles a day. I soldiered on because, well, because it’s manly to soldier
on, until a month later a pulmonary embolism slowed me down and sped up the stomach
surgery. At the age of 55 I spent my first night in a hospital. It was the beginning
of my new life.

That night, hopped up on morphine,
I got a very clear message from myself. I’d always Carpe diem! said I wanted to write novels.
I’d even started one when I’d come out eight years earlier. The message I got was
that if I was serious about writing novels I’d better get busy, because I was now
on bonus time and there was no telling how long I’d have.

Since that night, writing has been
my creative priority. That means I’ve not done a bunch of other fun things, but
I’m set on getting down as many stories as I might have to write before I say good
night. I had another cancer diagnosis and more surgery in 2004, but I’m now ten
years clear and working on my fifth novel.

I am so grateful for the cancer that
forced me to refocus my life and own my new mission. Since my diagnosis I’ve lost
a niece and several friends to cancer, so I know not everyone is lucky enough to
get as far as I have. In spite of everything, the last eleven years have been the
sweetest and finest of my life, and I’m not done yet. If I can make it through,
I know others can, too.

It hasn’t been a joyride, exactly.
If you’re dealing with cancer now I hope you have someone you can lean on when you
can’t be strong all on your own. My husband Bob held me and encouraged me and let
me cry when I was so afraid and full of despair that I couldn’t think right. Let
someone who loves you help hold you on course, help you focus on what matters. I
wish you every success on your journey. Never forget, countless brave souls are
cheering you on—you won’t be the first to win, but you’re in great company!

Genre: Mystery/Suspense

The Companion

Shepherd Bucknam hasn’t had a lover in more than a decade and
doesn’t need one. As a Daka, he coaches men in the sacred art and mystery of sexual
ecstasy all the time, and he loves his work. It’s his calling. In fact, he’s perfectly
content—except for the terrors of his recurring nightmare and the ominous blood-red
birthmarks on his neck. He’s convinced that together they foretell his early and
violent death.

When Shepherd’s young protégé is murdered, LAPD Detective Marco
Fidanza gets the case. The two men are worlds apart: Marco has fought hard for everything
he’s accomplished, in sharp contrast to the apparent ease of Shepherd’s inherited
wealth—but their mutual attraction is too hot for either of them to ignore.

Shepherd swears he’ll help find his protégé’s killer, but Marco
warns him to stay out of it. When an influential politician is implicated, the police
investigation grinds to a halt. Shepherd hires his own investigator. Marco calls
it dangerous meddling. As their volatile relationship deepens, Shepherd discovers
his nightmares might not relate to the future, but to the deadly legacy of a past
life—a life he may have to revisit before he can fully live and love in this one.

Dreamspinner http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=5243

Amazon http://www.amazon.com/Companion-Lloyd-Meeker-ebook/dp/B00M28O24S/

Website http://lloydmeeker.com

Twitter https://twitter.com/LloydAMeeker

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/lloyd.meeker

Amazon Author Page: http://amzn.to/MBe1gp

—

Believe it or not, I experienced many
encouraging moments in my battle against stage III breast cancer. Yes, I’m a survivor.
I say that now, proudly and with conviction, but that wasn’t always the case. When
I was first diagnosed in October 2007, I looked upon the many survivors I met and
didn’t feel I deserved the title. They danced, victorious,
on the

It’s said a person doesn’t get cancer,
a family does. I agree with that sentiment, but the statement is incomplete. The
author forgot to include friends. Mine were with me every step of the way as I navigated
the abyss to join those survivors on the other side. My friends helped in so many
ways, but one in particular makes me smile to this day. My protocol included several
radical treatments, including chemo. When I mentioned dealing with the certain loss
of my hair by purchasing a few hats, my girlfriends promptly planned a Mad Hatter
party and, in the midst of surgeries and debilitating treatments, sixteen awesome
women lifted my tired spirits with an evening of silliness and love.

In the end, thanks to my friends and
family across the country, seventy-four hats were presented to cover my soon-to-be-bald
head. They ranged from a gorgeous creation one might see along the promenade at
the Kentucky Derby to a ridiculous monstrosity in the shape of a turkey. I still
have the few I wore proudly during my battle and donated the rest to a local breast
cancer center.

Obviously, my girlfriends rock, but
there is a deeper lesson I hope this post imparts to those of you fighting your
own battle. That is, the importance of accepting help. With a cancer diagnosis,
it’s only natural to internalize your focus, but cancer affects more than just the
patient. It touches the lives of everyone who loves them. Don’t get me wrong, fighting
this battle sucks, but friends and family have it worse in many ways. They stand
on the sideline, watching helplessly while you do what’s necessary to beat this
senseless disease. They need to help where they can. Let them. You’ll be glad you
did.

In the meantime, stay strong, breathe
deep and take each step as it comes. I’m dancing on the other side. I’ll see you
there.

Mackenzie Crowne

A Song For Sophie

Will one night of passion convince Sophie she’s woman enough
for Beau, or destroy their friendship and his budding belief in true love?

The Wild Rose Press http://www.wildrosepublishing.com/maincatalog_v151/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=242_175_141&products_id=5458

Amazon http://amzn.com/B00ES5J6LW

Barnes and Noble http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/a-song-for-sophie-mackenzie-crowne/1117745990?ean=2940148830238

Amazon Author Page http://www.amazon.com/Mackenzie-Crowne/e/B007YH4QZ2/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1

Website http://mackenziecrowne.com/wp/

Twitter https://twitter.com/MacCrowne

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/MackenzieCrowne

Goodreads http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5821344.Mackenzie_Crowne

—

Undefined and vulnerable, I often
felt as if I were crashing backward through space, and found myself slipping into
a post-operative depression after my bi-lateral mastectomy on August 2, 2001. In
order to keep what remained of my sanity, I returned to work too soon, but misjudged
the level of my stamina, as well as the fact that much of one’s life is uncontrollable.

My first day back at work: September
10, 2001.

How could I, as well as thousands
of others know that the next day, September 11, 2001, evil men with twisted minds
had marked my city, New York, as a site for mass destruction, and would take perverse
delight in their slaughter of innocents. In seconds, a still autumn sky would become
animated with flames and smoke, choking the air with the sickening smell of lives
dissolved.

My response to the news of the first
tower being hit was one of disbelief. After the second plane crashed into the second
tower, I knew my city was under attack. My first

The relief in being alive was tempered
by the overwhelming loss of so many in a matter of minutes. Like countless others,
I watched television, transfixed by its unrelenting coverage of our nation’s greatest
catastrophe. So many had survived personal tragedy only to be brought down, the
victims of time and place. Humbled by a world gone mad, I offered my prayers for
the souls and families of those who’d perished. In an instant, I’d become an insignificant
speck and found it difficult to justify space for my personal trials.

While struggling to make sense out
that which made no sense at all, I made an effort to accept that each step of my
own unpredictable journey was a sign for me to live my life responsibly. I believed
that I’d been given a chance to redefine my soul and thereby grant myself a sanctuary
from the world in which I had come to dwell.

For me, as for many of us, each step
forward was painful to take, but the need to move forward was far greater than the
pull to go backward. Unless I accepted that my life had been deeply altered, I could
remain trapped, frozen in a world of memories.

In truth, I’d been granted the opportunity
to redirect and renew my faith in myself and in my ability to move to a level of
profound and urgent awareness of the potential richness of my life. Cancer had attacked
my body and challenged me in my entirety to face my life as it was and to decide
whether I would choose to self immolate or rise again like a Phoenix.

Website: http://nothingispromised.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NothingIsPromisedbook

Powells Books: http://www.powells.com/biblio/1-9780990388807-0

Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/nothing-is-promised-marjorie-e-belson/1119840920?ean=9780990388807

Amazon : http://www.amazon.com/Nothing-Promised-Marjorie-E-Belson/dp/0990388808/ref=la_B00MEX1V54_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1412304858&sr=1-1