J. Michael Jones

I hope this will be my last health update for a while, but I left things a little on the negative side. My local doctor reduced my nasty chemo by a third a week ago. I’m already starting to feel some better. I can function for the early part of the day before the cloud of exhaustion sets in. I met with my myeloma specialist today in Seattle. She, like me, was very pleased with the cancer numbers being in the normal range. She is going to further reduce the nasty drug next cycle by a total of 50%. Then (which gives me a little hope) if I have not recovered from the side effects, she will reduce it by 75% total. But, she does want me to stay on this combination for life, but is willing to completely stop this nasty drug if it is ruining that life. Thanks for your interest and support.

On Writing

Beta Listener?

My novel, The Stones of Yemen, is in the process of the final editing and prep for publishing. I’m still pitching it to major publishing houses, but am prepared to go to a smaller one if needed. The goal is being published by the end of the year. This week we have been working on the audio book. I have below the book’s introduction and the complete first chapter in MP3. If you have a moment and are so motivated, I would be interested in feedback on the quality of the recording. You don’t have to listen to the whole thing, just enough to get a taste for the quality of the audio (I’m not asking anyone to critique the writing). But you are welcome to listen to the whole first chapter. If you listen, and have comments, positive or negative, you can leave them in comments or send me a private message (ristrettorain@gmail.com). Thanks in advance