I'm sure many of you have noticed my extended absence from updated entries. Well, this time I have a really, really good excuse: I was diagnosed with Grade I Follicular Lymphoma last month.

This week (tomorrow, in fact), I'll be meeting with a second lymphoma specialist to talk about some options for treatment. That might include chemotherapy, or radioimmunotherapy (no, I did not make up that word), or a period of "watch and wait" to see how the disease progresses in my case.

I won't be posting much lymphoma news in this space. This space is reserved for my joys and passions: reading, writing, pop culture and what-not. Lymphoma does not count as one of my passions, and probably never will.

I have, however, been keeping a somewhat-daily account of my lymphoma journey online to keep family and friends updated; it's at www.tlhines.com/lymphoma, if you're interested.

If you're wondering about my health, and scared of the word "lymphoma" (I certainly was), let me reassure you: I'm going to be around a good, long time. The particular kind of lymphoma I have tends to be very slow-moving, so I may have several years before the disease even progresses and needs treatment.

In the meantime, my good pal lymphoma has sucked up a lot of valuable time--time I should have been spending talking about my new book, The Dead Whisper On, which should be on the shelves in a matter of weeks. I'll be rectifying that in the next several days; look for some new content, and a new contest, related to the book (and the new single by PivitPlex, inspired by the book) very soon.