I have begun this post in my head countless times. Still, it remains unformed, incomplete, and elusive. When I underwent treatment for cancer last year, I knew things would not be easy. But, though the doctors give you some warnings, they do not tel you the whole story. Rather, the story unfolds. And for each person, it is a different story. Now I do prefer a story where I do not know the ending from the outset, but I think in this instance, I would have preferred a more predictable story. I would have liked more cause and effect. Instead my story was more cause followed by effect after effect.

The most disconcerting effect for me was that suddenly reading and writing disappeared from my life. I could not concentrate; words would not come easily. For someone who reads a book a dy and writes a daily blog post, this hole in my life seemed gargantuan. And it remained a chasm for a long, long time.

Lately, I have been able to navigate the world of books again. And the writing is returning slowly. But anyone who knows me knows I am not the most patient person (what an understatement!) in the world. I want to be back, reading a book a day and writing that daily blog post. Realistically, though, a large part of each day is still dedicated to gaining strength and playing "catch up" from those months where I spent too much time in the hospital.

I hope readers will be patient (and maybe some of that will rub off). There is so much going on in the world of children's and YA literature right now. Do I have opinions? You bet. And maybe, just maybe, they will start appearing here on an irregular basis.

Finally, I want to thank all of you for the get well wishes, for the chemo caps, for the cards, and for all the other things that brightened some really dark days for me.