Dear Readers,

Thank you so much to everyone who reached out when my son was pulled into oral surgery last week. Many folks shared stories about their own experiences with autism (my son is 17 years old with a diagnosis on the autism spectrum as well as one for intellectual disability.) Everyone has been so kind and generous, so I wanted to share a little bit more about how things turned out.

Part of my son’s autism is that he has serious sensory issues. Things that just bother neurotypical people are experienced by him as severe pain. All of which is why stuff like dental fillings must be done while he’s under full anesthesia. Which means an operating room. And that means waiting for a room to be open, which isn’t easy in the age of COVID.

Long story short, it was great/scary news that we could get Max in last week. The ‘tooth work’ part wasn’t scary, but the whole operating room and anesthetic thing freaked me out. I basically went ‘out of my mental office ‘for a while, which screwed up my release for Angelfire, and that cascaded throughout the whole year. I’ll post my new release schedule tomorrow. Thanks once again for all your understanding.

The good news is that Max is back! He ended up having six fillings and one tooth pulled, as well as a proper cleaning. Whew. I can’t help but wonder if Max would have needed so much work done if we could have gotten him in right away, versus waiting due to COVID. My heartfelt appreciation to everyone who’s been vaccinated, your sacrifice helps the community in ways you can’t imagine.

Max isn’t the kid I expected, but he’s the child I needed and the absolute center of my world. My son is just a purely loving and happy soul. There’s no guile or evil in him at all. In terms of anger, he sometimes makes a grimace-face but has never had a full-blown tantrum. The so-called odd stuff he does are usually attempts to regulate his sensory input so he can connect with others and navigate his world. Take this picture, for instance. Focusing for the camera is tough, so Max needs headphones, a fidget in his hands, and some lip-licking. This extra input stops him from–as the doctors put it–losing his hands and feet from his body image, which is a fucking terrifying thought. Imagine you suddenly can’t feel body parts. Total nightmare. Max figures out ways of dealing with it. The kid is my hero.

That said, being the parent of a special needs kid is a lot of extra wear and tear on the nervous system. I write fantasy books to take a break from stress. I’m so fortunate to have readers out there who enjoy what I create enough so that I can do this as my day job. Thank you once more.

So, that’s more detail on what went down last week. Again, I truly value your support.

Now, back to writing Angelfire!

-CB