Jackie Lau

Did not realize that CityTV is playing the American broadcast (with Canadian commercials) until my husband pointed it out.

Dad apparently hates watching baseball so much that he won't watch any of tonight's game or even check the score. Says he'll learn the score in the morning or from the cheering lol

Thank you for your replies. I've gotten a so many comment, DMs, and emails in the past two days I can't reply to them all, but I appreciate all the thought.

We have set up our antenna to watch sports for the first time since the Super Bowl.

Love, Lies, and Cherry Pie and Time Loops & Meet Cutes on shelf at bookstore

There's a small bookstore in one of the hospitals on Hospital Row. (Not the one where I'm being treated, but nearby.) I visited it a few weeks ago and took this picture of my books in the romance section.

It's too early to know if the chemo/immunotherapy is helping, but my body seems to be tolerating it OK (for the most part), and I'm excited to sit in that stupid chair every week b/c it means maybe I'll get better, even if a part of me struggles to see that happening.

They have referred me to a psychiatrist at the hospital and assured me that the wait won't be 6 months, but I'm not hopeful that will help with the depression. (Maybe the anxiety?)

Mentally, I'm not feeling that great and have been asked multiple times if I have a psychiatrist. Honestly, it has been tough not to laugh at that...psychiatrists are hard to get here, though I did have one to for years.

Historically, this type of cancer does not have the best prognosis compared to some other types of breast cancer, but treatment has improved in recent years, and a decent percentage of people have no cancer left after this treatment regime.

...to feel the lump in between tests.

So maybe, because it can grow so fast, I couldn't have found it much earlier anyway. I've seen other people online say it seemed like theirs came out of nowhere.

In fact, for ages 40-49, they're still not recommending you automatically get mammograms, just that you talk to your family doctor about it.

So...do you your self-examinations.

The type of cancer I have is aggressive, and apparently, it's not uncommon for people who get regular mammograms...

I'm annoyed with myself for not finding it earlier, but mammograms are not available here until you're 40, unless you're high risk (which I wasn't) or find a lump. And they only lowered it to 40 (from 50) within the past year.

I saw my family doctor later that day, got the ultrasound, mri, and biopsy three days later on a Friday, and I was able to get prelim results on the Monday.

The whole thing was so fast and shocking. I'm 40 and have little family history of breast cancer.

TW: for additional cancer details.

I was diagnosed b/c I felt a lump. I had no other symptoms. From the time I called my family doctor to my initial diagnosis, it was only 6 days, which is ridiculously fast. (Everyone in my family who works in Ontario healthcare was shocked by the speed.)

I can focus on getting better without worrying about how to afford everything.

Please donate to mutual aid funds and food banks if you can.

In the meantime, you can read my extensive (lol) backlist and talk about my books if you like, but please don't worry about my financial situation! Most things are covered by provincial healthcare, and we can handle a decrease in my income.

There will be no new releases for the first half of 2026. Hopefully, I'll have one or two later in the year, but I don't expect to have any news on that until late spring.

I'm still writing (it's a good distraction!), but I have time/energy for about 50-70% of what I usually do. I'm prioritizing the writing itself, rather than other things. I won't be doing virtual or in-person events for the foreseeable future, and I may not respond to emails.

I will have about six months of chemo/immunotherapy, which began two weeks ago, followed by surgery and radiation.

As a result, my writing career has become less of a priority, and my mental health has taken a hit. There may be fewer emails and social media posts in the next several months.

Since I had to wait for the full pathology, as well as additional imaging appointments, my husband and I still went on the trip, but much of my life is now consumed by weekly chemo and other visits to the hospital.

An update about me and my publishing plans for 2025-2026:

In early September (specifically, they day before our first overseas vacation in seven years), I was diagnosed with breast cancer.

Husband is not impressed that I can get my heart rate to 140 from anxiety alone.

TORONTO BLUE JAYS FOR THE WIN

The Toronto Blue Jays take two of three from the defending World Series champions in their home stadium. It’s a dominant 6-1 Game 5 victory.

The Jays are coming home to Canada 🇨🇦 with the chance to win the World Series on Friday. Buckle up folks.

He is, instead, a 59-year-old Long Island wine importer named Bill DeBlasio, who merely responded to an email from a journalist seeking his views on Democrat Zohran Mamdani’s policies. “I’m Bill DeBlasio. I’ve always been Bill DeBlasio,” DeBlasio said in an interview conducted Wednesday evening through his Ring doorbell in Huntington Station, Long Island, from his current location in Florida. “I never once said I was the mayor. He never addressed me as the mayor,” DeBlasio told Semafor Wednesday evening. “So I just gave him my opinion.”

I’m crying

www.semafor.com/article/10/2...

If you're a queer Texas author of adult or YA fiction & you have one of your books on hand that you'd like to sign & donate to a silent auction bundle for Equality Texas, DM me?

The event is Nov 15th so it would need to get in the mail ASAP, or in Austin area I can pick up.

Reposts appreciated! 🏳️‍🌈

Time to resurrect one of my favorite things Over Here: let me know about a book you either have out now or one that's up for folks to preorder, and I'll repost to boost it! 📚💜

Magically Generated Now available! Amazon | Kobo | B&N | Apple | Google Play | Smashwords | Goodreads A jaded woman falls for her sunshine neighbor in this cozy Christmas romance. Nora Blackburn is suspicious of e…

My latest release is Magically Generated, a Christmas romance novella with hot buttered rum, festive snow animals, and a touch of magic.

A jaded woman falls for her sunshine neighbor as mysterious snow sculptures start appearing in Toronto parks.

We don't do it much in my family, but the idea of not being aware that other ppl do this? As an adult? So bizarre.

The Underworld: Journeys to the Depths of the Ocean From bestselling author Susan Casey, an awe-inspiring p…

I don't read a ton of non-fiction, but I'm almost done The Underworld by Susan Casey and really enjoying. (Am reading it for research purposes, sort of.)

Photo of large letters spelling "Toronto" in front of Toronto city hall. Blue sky.

out and about today, despite lack of sleep