I have no words. Or I have too many words. My heart is and has been heavy. Buffalo and now Uvalde. In 10 days. And all the other countless tragedies in-between. And before so many other cities, so many other schools, so many other families hurt, so much hate and so much pain.
Parents, brothers, sisters, grandparents, friends shopping… Children learning and laughing. Teachers dedicating their careers and many times their personal lives to the kids they’re teaching.
Let’s come together for an hour of guided writing exercises designed to offer comfort while deepening craft. My intention for this time is to remind ourselves of the sustaining force of creativity while raising money to aid two organizations that are doing vital work.
Make yourself a cup of tea, find a place to settle in that feels good to you, and join me for a quiet hour of writing together. I’ll give you a few prompts, we’ll share some images or sentences in the chat, and then we’ll leave (hopefully) more grounded and connected to ourselves.
In light of the recent gun violence in Buffalo and Uvalde, 100% of the proceeds will be split between Everytown and Sandy Hook Promise.
Wishing you happiness, health, laughter and lots of love! And the magic of books to read and maybe write for when you want or need to get lost or found or understood (or maybe gain an unterstanding) in a story…
Today, I explain why I won't be posting new episodes regularly, share great new about my latest biopsy (no signs of recurrence, YAY!), an update about the month of December (so many things: Vella, writing immersive videos and more) as well as three newsletters for writers. Oh and I have a new book up for pre-order # Most Eligible Scrooge (how awesome is that title?)
Mentioned in the episode:
Three newsletters for writers I recommend:
– Leslye Penelope – Footnotes: Inspiration & actionable ideas to help you master your craft, overcome your stumbling blocks, and grow as a writer: https://read.lpenelope.com/footnotes
– Roni Loren's Academy – 30 days romance prompt challenge: https://www.fearlessromancewriting.com/news/30-days-of-romance-writing-prompts
– Better-Faster Newsletter: Join the Better-Faster Newsletter to get the “Dear Becca” coaching column! Every day, Becca gets new emails or comments asking “what happens if I…” And while she might answer a question in one place, not everyone sees it. So “Dear Becca” was created to answer some of the coaching questions Becca gets publically, in order to help everyone. It’s live coaching! Only available through the Better-Faster Newsletter. https://betterfasteracademy.com/newsletter/
Abbie Emmons Immersive Writing Sessions: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLV6pMftb_QTlF4zMNj42GE3A84o4PZOnP
As always:
Ask me a question (per email: authorelodienowodazkij AT gmail.com or by leaving me a voicemail: https://anchor.fm/elodie-nowodazkij/message)
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Visit my website: http://www.elodienowodazkij.com
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Thank you for donating. Thank you for sharing. Thank you for your support!
Not only did our team reach its goal, we also were named #LightTheNight’s Greater Maryland’s “Rookie Team of The Year”.
Thank you to our friend and teammate, Sam, who not only raised money for our team but also recorded the video live as it was announced on Saturday evening. You may hear her very adorable baby in the background.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rzNYSDwcMDQ&feature=youtu.be
You can ask The Chemical Engineer, I was pretty emotional when it was announced, as I had no idea…
As per LLS: Your fundraising for LLS make a difference in the lives of blood cancer patients by supporting:
Research – Since our founding in 1949, The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) has invested nearly $1.3 billion funding nearly all of today’s most promising advances, and bringing us closer to cures.
Patient Access – LLS is the leading source of free, highly specialized blood cancer information, education and support for patients, survivors, families and healthcare professionals.
Policy and Advocacy – Our nationwide grassroots network of more than 100,000 volunteers advocate for state and federal policies that benefit patients .
First of all, I hope you’re all doing well and keeping safe. As you may have seen, I’ve been raising money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. And thank you so so so very much to everyone who has already donated.
Both The Chemical Engineer and our friend, Sam, joined our team. We’re very close to reaching our team goal of $1000 (anything above would be amazing, of course), but Alex hasn’t reached his goal of $200 yet. And that’s where this post comes in.
$300 helps fund one week of LLS-sponsored group support for families dealing with blood cancer treatment.
$500 helps defray the costs of treatment-related travel for a patient.
$1,000 helps fund general lab supplies for seven weeks to help LLS-funded researchers conduct laboratory work needed to develop blood cancer treatments.
$6,000 funds the work of an LLS-funded research fellow for six weeks.
$10,000 allows a donor direct funding of one of nine disease-specific research portfolios.
Alex is quite busy these days. He’s always quite busy but even more so for the past few months, and he doesn’t have much extra time to fundraise. And this is where I and this post come in…(especially as I’ve already reached my goal. Thank you again to everyone who already donated!)
Well, I turned one in a way yesterday. I celebrated my second birthday. A year ago, on October 7th 2019, I received my stem cells back as part of the autologous stem cell transplant.
We celebrated that day yesterday. October 7th. It is my second birthday. And every day, I am grateful. Fine, maybe not all day every day but at least three times a day. 😉 And celebrating those milestones is important to me, to us. So, yesterday, we took a stroll in the park with Plato the Dog. I had a pumpkin spice latte with the creamer I had gotten from Target in curbside pick-up. Alex picked up food at our favorite restaurant. And I even had a candle on my cake.
And if you can, enjoy the sunshine outside your window, or the rain pattering, or just take a moment to breathe or check in on someone you haven’t checked in a while, or ask for help if you need it, or take some time to enjoy your favorite dish, and be kind to yourself…
I turned one yesterday—in a way. And I have plans. And pumpkin spice latte.
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Re-sharing with the correct link 🙂 For the donations already done to the previous thank you SO MUCH!!!
September is Blood Cancer Awareness month, and this year I’m going to do several things, including my first Light The Night with the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, which is virtual this year. You can help me by joining my team or donating here. My goal is to raise $500. You can also share this post ormy team page with your friends and family, on your social media. If you’d like to share one of my social media posts, you can find them on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin.
Long story short: I was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma in October 2017 and went through several treatments and went through an autologous stem cell transplant almost a year ago. I’m currently in remission. It still feels surreal to type this. And I just want to find ways to make sure no one else has to go through those countless treatments. And if they do, that they have the support I had.
Financially. Emotionally. Physically.
And that more people become aware of blood cancers and the symptoms. And that a cure is found. And that people can find the help they need. Your donation will help. And you joining my team to raise money for LLS will help too.
Oh and another thing you can do? Register to be a donor for BeTheMatch.org. I’ll be soon doing a virtual registration drive for them. But you don’t need to wait to help save a life.
Long story long: I was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma in October 2017 after months of feeling unwell, losing weight, having back pain. It all started with pain as I had a sip of wine back in November/December 2016. I thought back pain was just the way it was. I didn’t exercise enough. I don’t sit or stand straight enough. Fast-forward to a doctor’s visit, a lot of physical therapy, another doctor’s visit and then another. And well, the tumor I had in my chest was now probuting out of my chest wall. Fun times.
When I had my biopsy, I couldn’t lay down all the way because the surgeon was worried about me not being to breathe due to the mass. Which was about the size of half a gallon of milk. When we got the results of the biopsy, we were actually happy. Because Hodgkin’s was a much better outcome in our mind than the other possibilities. I was told and knew from research that I would have 6 months of chemo and then should be okay. After 2 months of chemo, we would do a PET scan and that PET scan would ideally be clear.
Well, it wasn’t.
After 2 months of chemo every 2 weeks (4 different chemo each time), my PET scan wasn’t clear.
I went for a 2nd and 3rd opinion (both gave me so much hope and I’m so grateful to them), and changed care. My current oncologist and his team make me feel like I’m an integral part of my care, and they gave me that hope I mentioned and I was able to start therapy as part of their comprehensive care which was oh so helpful. I changed chemo regimen. Did 6 more months of chemo. Had a clean scan through treatment and an iffy scan after.
That iffy spot ended up being okay 3 months later (as my oncologist had said it would), but another spot showed up. So more watch-and-wait. And then another PET scan. And then a spleen biopsy. And then radiation. And then another PET scan. More watch-and-wait for another spot. And then another PET scan. And then another biopsy. Which didn’t get enough tissue. So another biopsy, this time a mediastinoscopy. And then Hodgkin’s was confirmed. So onward with immunotherapy for several months. Another PET scan.
And then the decision to go through an autologous stem cell transplant. Preparation for that, including placing of another catheter and then cell collection. And then time to go into the hospital.
High-dose chemo for several days. And then my cells were given back to me. And then sepsis, high heart rate (in the 200s) where I needed to get a shot to reduce the heart-rate and there were a lot of people around my bed when that happened as they prepared the paddles to put on my chest…just in case. I could spend more than 300 words on that particular experience. 😉
And then I got better. Still couldn’t eat much or taste but slowly got better.
And then I started immunotherapy maintenance treatment.
And then I got a clean scan.
And then I finished maintenance treatment during Covid-19. My first treatment ever without my husband by my side as caregivers weren’t allowed in the cancer center.
And then another clean scan with something in my nose. And then another clean scan with still something in my nose but smaller. And then a nasal endoscopy, which was weird but very reassuring.
Oh and shingles.
And plenty of therapy sessions.
And quite a few tears.
And a lot of laughter.
Help me make a difference, click here to join my team and/or donate to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society for #LightTheNight and/or to join my team. Thank you!
I light the night as a survivor, as a supporter of everyone touched by blood cancer being the patient or the family or the friends, and in remembrance of so many people. Too many people, including Melissa Baker from Australia who was a light herself on the Hodgkin’s Refractory group, and passed away at the beginning of the year after so many years of treatment. I didn’t know her personally, because I don’t interact much on the group. But she was such a bright spot. Just like so many others. Lost way too fucking soon. I think of them and their families and their friends and their loved ones often.
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I’m used to explaining how to pronounce my name: both my first and last name. I’ve done it for years.
A few weeks ago, Trish Doller tweeted about how helpful it would be for authors to have a pronunciation guide for their name.
Authors, when you're updating your websites (because @MissDahlELama says so), add a pronunciation guide for your name. I made a fancy little recording, but even just a phonetic pronunciation is very helpful.
Some days, I do believe it would have been easier to go with a pen name for more reasons than one. Other days, I’m happy I decided to publish under my name. Lots of pros and cons. But I digress. Today’s post is about how to pronounce “Elodie Nowodazkij.”
“Elodie” is a common French name. And I may just have spent ten minutes looking at a graph showing its popularity per years. According to data extracted by several websites from l’Insee (National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies), I can share with you that there were 83 babies named “Elodie” in 1900, while 7118 babies were named “Elodie” in 1981. And I was one of them. It actually reached a peak in 1988. So you could say my parents started a trend. 😉 Based on this data, 58 babies were named Elodie in 2018.
Outside of France, it is not a very common name at all. I usually tell people, it’s like, “Melody without the ‘m’.”
For my last name, “Nowodazkij”, well it’s harder because one doesn’t pronounce all letters. The “j” at the end is silent for example. And for the little story, it’s spelled like this because it was transcribed that way from Cyrillic to German when my husband immigrated to Germany when he was a kid.
So, for those of you who are wondering how to pronounce “Elodie Nowodazkij”, you can listen to me below saying it (or you can click here).
At some point, I was thinking of starting a 5-minute podcast on “How do you pronounce…?” And ask authors to tell me one story about their name.
I might still do that…
Thanks for reading (and listening)!
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…even though I still haven’t convinced The Chemical Engineer that my birthday should be a national holiday 🙂
Yesterday, I welcomed 39 with a lot of gratitude, a walk in a not-too-humid Maryland summer day where we saw a dragonfly, and very delicious food. The Chemical Engineer cooked some of my favorite dishes and surprised me throughout the day…I’m grateful and I’m lucky in so so many ways. Thank you so much for all the birthday wishes! I truly appreciate them ❤
Here are a few things you can do to celebrate my birthday (I know it was yesterday but maybe it’s a birthday week? ;-)), I’m trying to raise more awareness about BeTheMatch.org and how one can become a donor. While I’m so lucky to be in remission after my autologous transplant, there are a lot of people waiting for a donor transplant and you could save a life. 🙂
I’m looking to organize an online BeTheMatch donor drive (I’m in touch with one of their volunteers and will share more details soon) and if you’re interested in helping me brainstorm, don’t hesitate to reach out.
And if you’d like to support my writing: don’t hesitate to: sign up to know when Fear Me, Fear Me Not will be released as an audiobook (https://forms.gle/KEkvvdNcjeJQTaSF9 ) read my books, leave reviews for my books (links to my books can be found here: https://elodienowodazkij.com/my-books/)
Again, thank you so so so much!
❤
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Et je dois avouer que c’est un vrai tourbillon d’émotions.
Pourquoi ? Pour plusieurs raisons…
Je n’écris pas en français…je ne l’ai pas traduit moi-même…pas toujours facile à accepter
Au cours des deux dernières années, j’ai reçu beaucoup de questions concernant la publication de mes livres en français, me demandant pourquoi je n’écris pas en français, pourquoi je ne traduis pas mes livres en français…
Une partie de moi souhaitait le traduire moi-même. J’ai essayé de le faire avec mon livre Un Seul Rêve et je sais que j’ai fait beaucoup d’erreurs. Ce livre-là est actuellement avec ma famille pour correction et cela m’a pris énormément de temps pour le traduire. Et je me suis rendue compte que cela n’est peut-être pas une bonne solution pour moi.
Mais cela reste dur à accepter. Apres tout, je suis française, ma langue maternelle est le français. Il y a des années, j’écrivais en français pas en anglais. Je rêvais de publier un livre, de publier des livres, de devenir un écrivain.
Mais honnêtement, cela fait maintenant 15/16 ans que je n’habite plus en France ou dans un pays francophone. Wow, quinze, seize ans…le temps passe à une vitesse incroyable. Et écrire en anglais me vient plus facilement. Ce n’est pas facile à admettre mais c’est la vérité.
Trouver un traducteur/une traductrice
Trouver quelqu’un pour traduire mes livres en français ne fut pas facile. Je suis un peu difficile parce que je souhaite vraiment que la traduction capture le style et la voix de mes protagonistes. Et cela est très subjectif. Dès que j’ai lu le début de la traduction d’Edith, je n’ai eu aucune hésitation. Je suis tombée sous le charme de sa traduction et j’avais comme un sentiment que c’était exactement ce que je cherchais.
Je n’ai aucune envie de répéter la chorégraphie d’un ballet. C’est pourtant ce que je devrais faire. Je monte en demi-pointe pour esquisser un relevé.
Je n’ai plus envie d’être Emilia Moretti – danseuse classique de seize ans qui répète chaque mouvement jusqu’à la perfection, de manière quasi-obsessionnelle. Mes genoux se fléchissent au-dessus de mes pieds et je descends en plié.
Je n’ai plus envie d’être cette jeune fille qui crie sur tous les toits qu’elle s’en fiche d’avoir été adoptée, mais qui essaie de retrouver ses parents biologiques en douce.
Je remonte sur la pointe des pieds.
Je n’ai plus envie de penser à Nick, le meilleur danseur de L’École des Arts de la scène (et le meilleur ami de mon frère), dont je suis désespérément amoureuse. Je veux danser pour tout oublier.
La peur de publier en français
Publier dans ma langue maternelle est angoissant. Bon, il est vrai que publier dans n’importe quelle langue est angoissant et passionnant tout à la fois.
Ma famille et mes amis qui ne lisent pas l’anglais vont pouvoir lire mes livres…et s’ils les lisent, qu’est-ce qu’ils vont en penser ? Et puis il y a aussi une autre question : et s’ils ne lisent pas mes livres ?
Beaucoup de questions…
La peur de ne pas rentrer dans mes frais.
Publier un livre soi-même coûte de l’argent. Faire traduire un livre coûte de l’argent. Pour l’instant je n’ai que 5 précommandes de mon livre sur Amazon (le système KDP avec lequel je publie me permet de voir combien de personnes ont précommandé mon livre). Et pour pouvoir rentrer dans mes frais, je dois vendre au moins 250 eBooks…donc pour l’instant ce n’est pas gagné.
Si je ne rentre pas dans mes frais, je ne peux pas continuer à investir dans des traductions…donc je me mets peut-être un peu beaucoup la pression sur ce point là.
Se rendre compte qu’au moins un de mes livres va être disponible dans ma langue maternelle 🙂
Même si j’angoisse, je suis vraiment impatiente de voir mon livre sortir. J’ai adoré écrire l’histoire de Nick et d’Emilia et je croise les doigts pour que vous les aimiez aussi 🙂
Et comme toujours, je suis très reconnaissante à mon mari, ma famille, mes amis qui continuent de m’encourager ! Merci !
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And the magic of books to read and maybe write for when you want or need to get lost or found or understood (or maybe gain an unterstanding) in a story…
Elodie Nowodazkij 