Vi,

Your story about the feisty women sounds great. Your observation about my illness making me look or feel older is also very astute.

I think the day that my hairdresser asked if I was retired, I was using a cane. I don't manage the pain very well because I can't take pain killers -- only occasionally. So I just rest and try to stay off my leg, which is very frustrating!

My first book was all about how to recover from a total hip replacement. The second book sounds a lot more serious than it really is. Obviously, the subject matter is serious but I did try to add levity and develop my characters in a way that would not make the book horribly depressing.

Your work sounds great. Good luck with it :-)

Sigrid