ELAINE VIETS - Sunday Update

ELAINE VIETS - Sunday Update

Keep those prayers and positive thoughts coming!

Elaine's husband Don reports good news this morning. Elaine is out of the medically-induced coma and off the ventilator - two big steps.

And - she is talking! Sometimes just a couple of words, sometimes a short sentence. As you can imagine, fatigue also plays a big part in this stage of recovery.

The doctors are cautioning that there is still a long recovery ahead, but compared to the original diagnosis, her progress is "astonishing".

She will be in ICU for awhile, until they get a better handle on the cause of the stroke.

Now - here is what we can to do help:

1. Keep sending positive energy through prayers and candles and anyting else you can think of.

2. Post messages, which we will get to Don for Elaine, or send a card. Sarah Strohmeyer is collecting them and will get them to Elaine:

Elaine Viets
c/o Sarah Strohmeyer
45 State Street, Suite 210
Montpelier, Vermont 05602

3. And here is the big one, and no kidding here: We need to help Elaine sell her new book, "MURDER WITH RESERVATIONS" so she can focus on healing. Elaine has helped so many people in her many years in the writing business - whether as a journalist or a novelist. We need to pitch in and make this book a big success. More details, but mark your calendar for May 1st, and let's storm the bookstores.

So - good news - GREAT news - so far. The doctors are optimistic, so we can be too.

Comments

[michele]

This is such wonderful news!

[William Simon]

Oh, man...that is GREAT news.

[J.D. Rhoades]

Thanks for keeping us posted. Best wishes to Elaine.

[Pamela James]

Thank you for letting us know and all well wishes go to Elaine. Love, Pamela in Kansas

[Rebecca the Bookseller]

Just got more confirmation that Elaine is doing well from Marcia Talley, another great author and friend.

Here is Marcia's suggestion, and I could not have said it better myself:

As for helping Elaine, her main concern -- and she has expressed this herself -- hooray! -- is that her new Dead End Job mystery, pub. date May 1, will fall flat without her being available to promote it. So, instead of buying food or sending flowers, I'd recommend that everyone contact his or her local independent bookseller and order two copies of MURDER WITH RESERVATIONS, and encourage everyone they know to do the same. The best present in the world for Elaine would be a spot on the NYTimes bestseller list.

***

And for those of you who do not have your own independent book store, here's a link to mine:

http://www.mysterylovers.com/index.php?target=products&mode=search&subcats=Y&type=extended&avail=Y&pshort=Y&pfull=Y&pname=Y&pauthor=Y&pean=Y&match=all&cid=0&q=Murder+with+Reservations&x=0&y=0

[Jan Kurtz]

Woo hoo! What terrific news! :-) :-) :-)

Jan

[Andy Straka]

I just returned from vacation and heard from Nancy Damon at the Virginia Festival of the Book about Elaine's stroke.
Our family is lifting you and Don up in prayer, Elaine. Thankful that the prognosis is looking better.

Andy

[Kerry, the Martial Tart]

Great idea, Rebecca. Will it help to order from the big chain, too?

[Leann Sweeney]

WONDERFUL NEWS. Her talking is SUCH a good sign. Still sending positive energy her way. And of course the book buying binge is not something anyone has to really talk me into. :-)

Leann

[HollyD]

I'm glad to hear the good news. She and her family will remain in our prayers. I've already ordered her new release from my local book store. And Michele, I just finished your latest and loved it as I have the previous ones.

[Carole Nelson Douglas]

So sorry to hear about your stroke, Elaine! At least by the time I heard about it you were reported to be doing remarkably well. But, why not? You _are_ remarkable!

My thoughts and prayers to you and your family at this stressful time. Two of my friends have had serious strokes recently, both older than you, and they have done amazingly well in recovery. So I know you will cope with the grit of an ex-reporter, the damn-it-all persistence of a fiction writer, and the grace of a Sister in Crime!

MURDER WITH RESERVATIONS is on my gift list!

Rooting for you every step of the way,

Hugs,

Carole (and cat kisses from Midnight Louie; very macho cat kisses, of course)

[Rebecca the Bookseller]

Kerry - No need for the New York Times count - Mystery Lovers is a reporting store.

Not all stores report, so that was a good thing to ask!

[Kerry, the Martial Tart]

Thanks, Rebecca -- that's the kind of inside skinny that really helps. Elaine, the good vibes are still heading your way!

[Bill Crider]

Thanks for the great news!

[Mike Schrand]

Elaine,

Just wanted you to know that we're all thinking of you here at KWMU and we're still going to be pushing your book during our Spring Fund Drive, though I know you won't be there.

Our best wishes to you, Don and the cats!

Mike Schrand

[Mike Schrand]

Elaine,

Just wanted you to know that we're all thinking of you here at KWMU and we're still going to be pushing your book during our Spring Fund Drive, though I know you won't be there.

Our best wishes to you, Don and the cats!

Mike Schrand

[Lucy S.]

I'll like to buy Elaine's latest book, too. I live in Seattle, WA. Is there a way for me to find out which local stores would be reporting for the NYT Best Sellers List ? I will buy it there then.
(I am assuming Amazon purchases do not count toward the NYT list. Is that true?)
Thanks in advance for any info on this.

[Charles Jaco]

Elaine's many friends and admirers here in St. Louis wish her Godspeed and all the very best. She is, and shall remain, a class act.

[Jen Vido]

My thoughts and prayers are with you Elaine.
Get well soon!
Jen :}

[bob burke]

The members of my bookgroup read Dying in Style. One guy complained about the "hot pink cover" and having to ride the bus to work, trying to avoid the looks from other passengers. Elaine turned it into a posting on the blog. I drove about a little over a hundred miles to attend her signing for "Murder Unleashed",at mystery lovers book shop. I wish Elaine and her husband the best and pray for a speedy recovery.
I will be buying two copies of her book when I go to the mystery festival.
I wish I could think of the perfect words to say for Elaine. I'll be promoting her books here in northern Ohio.
Get well soon Elaine.
The guy who is not afraid to read 'hot pink covered books'
bob burke
twinsburg ohio

[Jackie Griffey]

Woderful news, Elaine - I know flowers aren't allowed in ICU but you are surrounded with someting better - all of our love and prayers and these 'pep' talks :-) to keep you company.
Can't wait to read MURDER WITH RESERVATIONS!
Love,
Jackie Griffey

[:Liz Peck]

Wishing you the best in your recovery - you know how many fans you have and "we've got your back". I, too, am a former St. Louisan & that's what attracted me to your mysteries - when I saw your familiar name on the bookshelf. Prayers and warm thoughts are with you, from Liz in New Mexico