It's true and I'm very excited.



House Report, the first book in the series, should be available in June 2011, with the second book, Evening the Score, coming out in July.

I have lots of other projects this year, so we may not get the third book out until the New Year, but we'll try really hard not to keep you waiting too long.

The most exciting news is there should be a new Kate Carpenter available in early spring, after all have books have been re-released, called Ghost of a Chance. It's an exciting supernatural read, as Kate meets Cam's parents for the first time, and some of his older (and dead) ancestors, as well.

We're planning a really exciting book launch - if you want to come, send me an email and I'll get you on the invitation list!

Long Time No See

Hey everyone, mostly recovered from writing and producing my play ... and now back to the world of books.

Follow us on Facebook on any of the groups:

Deborah Nicholson fan page
The Pain Diaries the movie and more
The Pain Diaries a love story

We will try and keep you posted on everything come out. But in short:
1. The backlist will be published in e-book format this year, with the first one out in June.
2. There will be some new independent novels and short stories coming out. Look for MIND GAMES, a medical thriller, in the fall, and A VERY BAD DAY, a creepy little short story to appear this summer.
3. For all you die-hard Kate Carpenter fans - Book 6 is almost done. So hopefully you will see it early in 2012. A GHOST OF A CHANCE, A Kate Carpenter Mystery. And thanks for waiting so long.

Talk to you soon,

Deborah

Working HARD!!!!

Hello Everyone,

The Pain Diaries is set to make it's world debut in Calgary May 13, 2010 (during the Canadian Pain Society's conference). To make that happen I have to raise $100,000.00 over the next six months or so.

Well, I can't do it all, though I've tried. So we are temporarily moving this blog over to our Facebook Group (The Pain Diaries) in order for me to focus my efforts on producing the play over the next several months.

I think this blog is important, and would love to see it eventually taken over and run by patients, as an important tool for people with chronic pain to be able to reach a community of their peers, and I hope someone will be inspired to step in and take it over.

Until then, please join us on Facebook: The Pain Diaries. We will keep you updated on what is happening and keep some discussions going.

If you are able to help with running the blog, marketing or fundraising for this project, please contact me on Facebook.

Thank you so much for all you support, I look forward to meeting you all on Facebook and next May.

Deborah Nicholson

Mondays with Marlene

In my humble opinion ...

When I was a young mother, many moons ago, I took a winters worth of Yoga at the “Y”, and enjoyed it thoroughly. The slow, controlled movements really worked all of one’s joints and in fact when we finished a class by lying down and relaxing, I often fell asleep. Now that’s relaxed.

I haven’t done Yoga many, many years, but am going to start again this coming fall/winter. I will be starting with some trepidation because of the injuries from the car accident, but knowing there are many different types of Yoga, I will start gently, doing what I can, then work from there. Obviously one of the things I remember well is the relaxing part, which can be powerful medicine. As you no doubt know, there is growing scientific evidence that there is a strong link between our thoughts, attitudes and emotions, and our mental and physical health. In other words, we can use our mind to help manage the symptoms of our chronic condition. That gives us a lot of power, but we have to learn how to use it.

While I was in the hospital last year I had to face the possibility of some pretty serious spinal surgery and a possible variety of results, some not so pleasant. I knew I was going to have to really focus on getting well and keep myself calm, so I asked my daughter in law, who teaches Yoga, to help me with my breathing, relaxation techniques, imagery and anything else she could think of that would help me get through this minefield of possibilities. Cutting to the end of this story, everyone, me included, was amazed at how calm I was through the entire process and how I kept my thinking positive. I visualized my spine healing and myself walking through a forest, or on a beach, which are my favourite things to do. And it worked.

I still have issues to deal with, but every single day, I thank the Universe for giving me another day on this beautiful earth and that is how I manage. One day at a time.

Give thanks and live each day as fully as you can. It works.

My Next Project

I wanted to drop in and give a little thanks to all of you here for your support over the past two years of researching and writing this play. We're starting to work on production now, with a debut slated for May 2010 in Calgary. Stay tuned.

Currently, I'm writing a novel online in a contest. If you're interested, you can check it out at www.textnovel.com and it's call The Full Moon People. If you like it, cast a vote for me by pressing the thumbs up icon.

Thanks for following along and we'll keep you posted on the play.

Deb

Big News

Calgary Writer Wins Prestigious National Award

Calgary writer Deborah Nicholson has won Canadian Pain Society’s inaugural Pain Awareness Award (2009). Ms Nicholson is the author of the Kate Carpenter Mysteries series (Severn House).

Ms. Nicholson, a medical transcriptionist with Alberta Health Services Calgary Chronic Pain Centre (the largest pain centre in Canada), spent a year interviewing caregivers, patients and their families in order to learn about chronic pain and its impact. The play, The Pain Diaries, took another year to complete. In this two act play Nicholson uses humour to tackle the very difficult and misunderstood subject of chronic pain.

She says “I couldn’t stop thinking about these people and their stories, they haunted me. I had to find a way to bring this to the public, so we could start to understand how lives are altered by this misunderstood condition.”

The contest was adjudicated by a national panel of pain experts, whose comments include:

“I would give this first place out of those presented, because this is so powerful. It will be even more powerful when presented …”

“ …the story of a person suffering pain and its consequences for her and her family. It’s told with humour and candor. The hand‐down winner for me”.

The award is sponsored by Biovail Pharmaceuticals Canada and will be presented in Quebec City at the National Conference on May 29, 2009. The play will be presented at the 2010 National Conference, which will be held in Calgary, Alberta. There has also been interest in staging it in Australia, also in 2010.

Mondays with Marlene

In my opinion ...

Sexy, Sexier, Sexiest

There used to be a bunch of jokes making the rounds about foreplay. They were usually pretty crass and we all laughed, especially the women, because often they seemed like a page out of our lives. You know – that old “slam bam thank you ma’am” thing. As we grow older, foreplay is often as much fun and enjoyable as intercourse, and if we’re living with chronic pain, there are times it’s the only way to go. So how do we keep this important part of our relationships alive and well? Good question.

Because of the physical demands intercourse puts on our bodies, it may be time to check out the lay of the land, so to speak. Let’s do what we always wanted to do – try something different; be adventuresome. Try spending more time on foreplay and less on actual intercourse. In other words,” kill the slam bam thank you ma’am” approach to sex. Spending time arousing your partner and giving him/her pleasure while in a comfortable position, your intimate time together can last longer and actually be satisfying. By recognizing that our minds and bodies are linked, we can increase the sexual pleasure we experience through both physical and cognitive stimulation. It sure sounds like fun to me and I know your partner will agree.

There’s lots more to talk about and I’ll be doing that in future columns. In the meantime, my advice to you is practice, practice, practice.