Sorry for the long silence. As it turns out, I ended up going to my doctors several times and spending a couple thousand dollars on tests, only to find out on my own due to a home test, after I suddenly developed flu-like symptoms, that my sister and I had contracted Covid for the first time.

Cue both understanding why my symptoms were so weird, and also, existential panic.

I think my weakened immune system was trying to fight off the infection for over a month until it finally built up enough to cause flu symptoms. I’m not sure how I contracted it, but I’m pretty sure it was me who brought it home, probably after a clinic visit (my first symptoms were two days after a clinic appointment).

In any case, that’s the bad news. Covid finally got me and Andrea, and we’re slowly on the mend. A lot of my scary symptoms have stopped in favour of normal ones. We’re both vaccinated, so that saved our lives. I’m much better than she is right now, but by next week I think we can try to test and see if we’re in the clear.

However, the universe is about balance, and you have to take the bad with some good, so while I was going from doctor to doctor trying to find answers, I found out that I was nominated for a Nebula for the second year in a row! I’m so delighted and shocked. Last year, Bishop’s Opening was nominated for Best Novella. This year, Tantie Merle and the Farmhand 4200 is nominated for Best Short Story.

I won’t lie. This made me feel so much better at my lowest times. I’m so moved that people loved the story I wrote to bring a little joy into the world. I never expected this response, but I’m so grateful to everyone who read and voted for it.

I can’t sit up long, so I’ll end here. I hope you have a wonderful day and a better weekend.

Until we meet again, stay thirsty, my friends!