What I Do for Health Insurance Rant

Funny that health insurance should be our topic today. I'm in the process of navigating the travesty that passes for healthcare in these United States. I'm up for a hip replacement. I'm going to physical therapy first because I'm a firm believer that strengthening muscles around a bad joint might delay the necessity of surgery and if it can't, it will only speed the recovery from said surgery. But. Today, someone who works in a teaching hospital associated with a local university sat me down, looked me in the eye and said, "Get a second opinion." I must have looked blank. She shook her head at me and said, "Listen. Everyone in a medical specialty is making a Porsche payment. Don't be someone's Porsche payment."

I don't know whether to laugh or to cry. You'd like to believe that healthcare is there to care about you, but all too often, I find that isn't the whole story. Or even most of it. I think long and hard about the story of getting a hip replacement in Portugal. Surely you know this one. It goes:

For what it would cost to get a hip replaced in the USA, I could move to Portugal for a year, rent an apartment for that time, see all the sights, learn to speak Portuguese, even. Then I could have my hip replaced in a state of the art medical facility, pay cash, stay for two more months to recover, and STILL have paid less that what a hip replacement in the USA would cost.

We're all being taken advantage of in this country. Health insurance feels like a scam that could finally put a Nigerian prince to shame. Still. The alternative is ruin. So. We carry health insurance. I'm lucky. My partner is employed by a company involved in the healthcare industry so our insurance is -- reasonable. They don't like me much because I'm kinda complicated. They like to come at me from time to time with tsking letters about what providers I choose to see because I'm not impressed by their doc-in-a-box preferences. But for the most part, we get along while eyeing one another with distaste and distrust. Their current 'it's a benefit' shill is trying to assign me a nurse to 'help' me manage my healthcare. The sales person who called to get me to accept the 'benefit' made the mistake of mentioning that the nurse could give me all kinds of information about where I could go to get care. Heh heh. Yeah, no, nameless health insurance company. I'm not playing your game of asking permission to manage my own well being, thanks. 

There are a few reasons that I might one day leave the USA to live elsewhere but let me assure you this Machiavellian structure we call 'health care' is right at the tippy top of the list

The Good and the Bad of Writing

 Health Insurance

Last week I was invited to a friend’s house for lunch because she wrote a book!!! She had so many questions about next steps and her options. It got me all excited talking about the book world and how unique it is! 

Sadly, it’s not all champagne and chocolates and health insurance, our topic of the week, is one of them. 

I’m blessed to have a husband with a corporate job that provides medical coverage. My chronic disease isn’t very common, though sadly it seems to be on the rise, and requires specialists and what feels like endless lab testing. So yes, we pay my providers well for being out of network. It’s part of life. 

I don’t want anyone to jump into the book world and be blindsided. Which means authors need to talk about what it’s really like being an author. The good and the bad. And being mindful of healthcare costs while weighing the pros and cons of jobs and careers is important. 

But let’s not let the negatives overshadow the positives. Talking with my friend brought me back to my beginning and reminded me how excited I was to learn all about the book process and discover communities of people working towards the same goals. Listen to the words to the wise comments, but don’t let it diminish your joy! 

May your weened be filled with words and maybe some eggs!

Announcing My Mentoring Patreon! Also Health Insurance

 Exciting news! I've officially opened my Patreon: Jeffe's Closet, A Mentoring Community for Newbie, Intermediate, & Expert Authors. The Patreon leads directly to a Discord community where all kinds of conversations will occur. I'm super excited to make this into a vibrant community. Right now the Discord is open, but pretty quiet - which means you'll get a lot of personal attention from me. Come and join in!

As far as our topic this week, what we do for health insurance, I self-insure. As a full-time author, I have no employer to provide me with health insurance (or other benefits). My husband took early retirement from his career and was insured through them for quite some time, though each year the premium was sucking up more and more of his retirement stipend. Soon we were going to have to pay in - ugh! Then the concierge health insurance service became available through SFWA (Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association). SFWA collaborated with other writers' organizations to make this service available to our members. I was able to transfer my husband onto insurance via the Affordable Care Marketplace - and both of us together ended up paying over $1K LESS EVERY MONTH. I'm a fan! Thank you, Obama - seriously. 

Health Insurance: It's Private

 This Week's Topic: Health Insurance

It's likely you, dear readers, don't want to endure my lengthy diatribe on the rapacious US Health Industry, our longstanding corporate death panels, the staggering increases in insurance premiums so the insurance companies can rake in over $350Billion in annual revenue, private equity firms crippling private practices with undue administrative burdens, how the hulking medical complex routinely punishes the unmarried, nor my objections to religious groups operating medical facilities (thus imposing their beliefs on anyone seeking care).

Instead, I'll share what I --a single, self-employed, not-incorporated-- author does about the necessary evil that is health insurance. I have private insurance that is not through the ACA Marketplace. I got it after I left corporate, before the ACA was a thing. It is not part of a guild-sponsored program, so I can't speak to whether those are cost-savers or not. Naturally, I did (and continue to) look into plans offered by the ACA; however, aside from ridiculously high deductibles, the bigger problem is finding doctors who accept that insurance. I'm fortunate to live in a city where hospitals and medical specialists abound, yet it is still a struggle to find practices that accept ACA-provided insurance. Alas, my health insurance is more expensive than the mortgage I have on a 3br townhouse in an urban historic district in a major metro area. This year (last week, as matter of fact) my insurance company informed me of a 30% increase in my premium. 

30% Increase
30%
The national inflation rate
that incited political and cultural warfare was 7% by comparison

Funny how insurance companies send out those premium-increase notices after the ACA Marketplace open enrollment closes, eh? Yes, it makes me incandescent with rage that we have no recourse. Yes, I'm aware that the ridiculous congressionally-sanctioned robbery that is health insurance is all that stands between me and bankruptcy caused by medical expenses. Yes, I know there are tax deductions that can be taken, however, one still has to pay the premiums even if book sales are at rock bottom. 

Do I wish our federal and state governments would overhaul our healthcare system? Gods yes. Health Insurance is the greatest fraud and extortion perpetrated upon the US population.

Photo Credit: Pexels

As the release of my debut, A Realm of Ash and Shadow, draws near, there are three things I’ve learned over this past year that I’d love to share with other authors at the same stage of this journey as I am.

3 Things I Learned as a Debut Author

Learn to Slow Down

You’re going to be pushed and pulled in many directions. It’s inevitable. But you need to learn how to slow down. You can take time for yourself and recharge in the ways that recharge you best. Sometimes that’s self-care; other times, that’s losing yourself while drafting another book.

For me, it’s Saturdays on the couch with a book or binge-watching a show with my husband. Maybe for you, it’s Tuesday nights on Fortnite, or it’s Thursday mornings at Target.

Whatever it is, slow down and relish in the peace of it.

Embrace Rejection

Often, writers believe that once you sign with an agent or sell your book and you’re finally, FINALLY, being published, the rejections just… end. They don’t. They keep coming, and staying positive can be hard when you’re constantly being told no. Or when you’ve put in so much effort to market your debut, and you don’t make any lists. Or when you host a book event with twenty empty seats.

Or when negative reviews inevitably come in, and it feels like a personal attack.

I remember the first one-star review I ever received on my debut A Realm of Ash and Shadow. My chest felt tight, and my cheeks were hot. It was brutal. But I let it hurt, leaned on my husband and writer friends, and then I… got over it.

Not everyone will love your book, and it’s best to accept that sooner rather than later.

Create A Routine

Amidst all the hecticness of debuting, you will want to create a routine. Currently, I’m fortunate enough to freelance part-time while I focus on my career as an author. But it wasn’t always like this for me. Before I cut back on my client work, I was working full-time, drafting a sequel, and going through the entire pre-publication process for my debut.

It was so incredibly draining that I had to make cuts somewhere.

So, I cut back on my client work and forced myself into a routine that looked like this:

Morning:

Before I even start my working day, I enjoy some me-time! I take a long walk with my dog, brew coffee, and scroll on social media. Then, I dive into client work. I spend about three hours doing as much as I can to get all of my client work finished because I can’t focus on debuting or drafting if I have other deadlines looming over me.

Midday:

I always, always, try to remember to eat lunch. Sometimes I think I’m a workaholic, and I can sustain myself on iced coffee. It’s not good for me. (It’s not good for anyone, really.) Then, after lunch, I start working on all things debut. This looks like answering emails, creating social media graphics, calling indie bookstores to see if they’ll stock my book, etc. I also focus on building my author platform. So much goes into debuting that it’s hard to keep up.

Afternoon:

Once I’ve done everything on my schedule for my debut, it’s time to sprint! I most look forward to this part of my day because I love drafting and working on my craft.

All that to say, not every day goes perfectly. Sometimes there are fires I have to put out for my clients, and it cuts into the time I’ve allotted to draft. Sometimes I end up deviating from my routine altogether. But I always go back to my routine because it allows me to set boundaries and focus on what’s most important during those time frames instead of stressing about everything all the time.

Compartmentalizing is the best!

All this to say… you can and will survive your debut year as an author!

I hope these three things I learned as a debut author are helpful. Do you have any tips for debuting? I’d love to hear them! Feel free to comment below or come let me know over on Instagram @laraonfire.

Lara Buckheit is the author of A Realm of Ash and Shadow: https://books2read.com/aroaas. She holds a Bachelor's Degree in Communications from Wilmington University, is a 2021 WriteMentor Mentee, an avid writer (and reader) of spice, and one time she met Taylor Swift's dad. She started writing at a very young age, mostly fanfiction centered around women with swords and men with devilish grins. And she hasn't stopped since. When not writing, Lara can be found drinking tea, hustling for her day job, and reading from her endless TBR pile. Lara currently lives in Charlottesville, VA, with her husband, dog, and thirteen houseplants named after fictional characters.

What I'm Learning

 I was referred to a biofeedback specialist who is training me to state shift. Shifting from fight or flight states to relaxed but alert states. NSDR / Yoga Nidra are the method by which that shift happens. The video is a 10 minute NSDR session designed to shift you out of your head and into your body for a little while. You reset your nervous system, restore energy, and heighten focus. If you suffer chronic pain, this is also a balm that might not cure all the discomfort, but which will certainly lower the volume a little.

 

 

 

 Yoga Nidra is another version of NSDR (so is self hypnosis). If you need a longer break or a longer session to help draw down pain or high stress, you can find sessions as long or as short as you like. I like Ally Boothroyd's ad-free channel.She offers an array of yoga nidra sessions.

 

Biofeedback is teaching me that all this time, I've been doing life wrong. Turns out you're supposed to rest. The modern worship of business and SO MUCH WORK TO DO is actively bad for our health and in my case, is likely a major contributor to chronic pain conditions. The hardest homework I have from biofeedback is learning that I need to structure my day around rest and that my productivity increases when I do. I hope this is useful to someone besides me - because honestly - establishing this new routine is at that all-consuming stage. I think I'll go listen to one right now.

Sisyphus and the 2nd Arc

 This Week's Topic: On My Mind

On my mind this week is when to surrender to a WiP that just won't come together. Regular readers of this blog know I'm a skeleton plotter: Two or three bullet points per arc, per chapter to ensure I have a cohesive plot from beginning to end. 

What is currently plaguing me is that I have the 1st, 3rd, and 4th arcs mapped. I'm dying in the 2nd arc and have been for [mumble, mumble] far too long. The problem, of course, is if I don't have-- what I affectionately call-- "the arc of failures" mapped I can't claim to have the beginning or the end truly set either. Because the problems the characters face can change who is involved and how the ultimate goals are achieved, I have introduced a villain's pov, removed the villain's pov, added allies, removed allies, shifted the setting from mountains to a river valley, revamped the rules of magic more times than I have fingers and toes, and, well...

 [huff, huff]
[tantrum flails]
[frisbees notebooks, note cards, and laptooo--No, no, not the tech!]

I know full well I've wasted too much time trying to resolve this problem, which harkens to the classic decision point of knowing when to cut losses versus clinging with desperation determination to overcome the obstacle to savor the sweet, sweet joy of triumph. 

Dear readers, I am weak. I cannot quit this torment. Day after day I try coming at the problem from a different angle, a different POV, a different age, a different conflict, and yet... I am Sysiphus this second arc is my stone. 

[waaaah]
[sulk]
[picks up notebook, starts writing in pen pencil with big eraser]

The (Real) Rise of Skywalker

 

Be forewarned — spoilers ahead.

First, let me preface this with one thing: I absolutely hate stories where the villain redeems themself through death.

I loathe it. It’s the easy road. It’s a cheap way to tie up loose ends without actually putting in effort.

And I despise Disney for doing it to Ben when they could’ve done SO. MUCH. MORE. with his character.

So today, I’m going to share what I would’ve done with Ben’s character post The Rise of Skywalker…

Ben (as Kylo Ren) did a lot of things that most people would consider irredeemable throughout the trilogy. To name a few: he merc’d his dad (Han Solo), he ordered the slaughter on the village of Jakku, he destroyed the Hosnian System, and, at times, he was an entitled little shit.

But before he was Kylo Ren, he was a child who was manipulated to the dark side by someone literally inside his head. He needed help and the people he trusted most (his parents and his uncle) abandoned him to the voice, to the dark side.

It really was quite tragic.

So what would I have done with him?

I would’ve had him fighting side-by-side with Rey so death wasn’t an option. They would’ve defeated Emperor Palpatine together along with the help of some Force ghosts (and maybe Anakin’s ghost would tell Ben he’s so proud of him for overcoming the dark side, and we’d all cry…), and once Palpatine was toast, Ben and Rey would’ve kissed and laughed and realized that keeping hope alive in other people is a very real thing that has magnificent outcomes.

Afterward, Ben would’ve become the notion behind the film’s title by doing everything he could to right the wrongs he committed (while going to therapy). He would move to Ach-To (where the Jedi Order was founded), and he would train the next group of Jedi. He would give back endlessly/tirelessly until he earned the trust of those around him and he would’ve stood on the right side of history in the next inevitable battle against the dark side. And during that battle? Ben would wield Anakin’s lightsaber (not Rey) and all would be right in the galaxy.

 

                         

Can you tell I’ve thought a lot about this? Haha.

In my debut, A Realm of Ash and Shadow, there is a character who shares traits with Anakin/Ben Solo. He’s messy and could really benefit from a really tight hug and years of therapy. But I wouldn’t dream of killing him off to right the wrongs he’s committed. Instead, he is working every day to be better, to do good, and to atone for what he’s done. And dare I say, he actually apologizes.

A non-death redemption arc for Ben Solo would break the cyclic notion that in order to be forgiven for all the wrongs that a character had committed, they’d have to die. But stories shouldn’t be that black and white. They are shades of grey. By giving Ben Solo an actual redemption arc, writers would instill hope that people can change, they can do better.

So what do you think about my redemption arc for Ben Solo? Would you have preferred if he lived and trained a new school of Jedi? If he made amends without dying? Let me know in the comments or over on Instagram @laraonfire!

And if you’re looking for any ideas on what makes a good villain, Alexia has you covered in this blog HERE.

PHOTO CREDITS: All images are from Google Images.

Lara Buckheit is the author of A Realm of Ash and Shadow: https://books2read.com/aroaas. She holds a Bachelor's Degree in Communications from Wilmington University, is a 2021 WriteMentor Mentee, an avid writer (and reader) of spice, and one time she met Taylor Swift's dad. She started writing at a very young age, mostly fanfiction centered around women with swords and men with devilish grins. And she hasn't stopped since. When not writing, Lara can be found drinking tea, hustling for her day job, and reading from her endless TBR pile. Lara currently lives in Charlottesville, VA, with her husband, dog, and thirteen houseplants named after fictional characters.