Frock Ovarian Cancer: Fund Research and Save Lives

If you have been thinking, "Karen has been sharing a lot of lovely frocks, I really must donate to the Frocktober Fundraiser", TODAY IS THE DAY.

That's because the Oamaru1 Rotary Club are matching donations, dollar for dollar up to ten thousand dollars! And ovarian cancer research really needs that money.

I look like a delicious, beautiful lolly wrapper.

I probably don't have to explain that health issues that affect mainly women are chronically underresearched and underfunded, and this is a particularly glaring gap. Here are some grim statistics, courtesy of my partner in frock crime, Rowena:

  • A pap smear or cervical screening does not detect ovarian cancer - these are for cervical cancer or the virus that causes cervical cancer, respectively. Currently, there is no accessible, accurate early detection test available for ovarian cancer.
  • Most people with ovarian cancer are diagnosed in the advanced stages, when it becomes difficult to treat.
  • Ovarian cancer makes up a quarter of gynaecological diagnoses, but accounts for half of gynaecological deaths.
  • For people diagnosed with late-stage ovarian cancer, even after a patient is considered in remission, there is a high chance the cancer will return and become resistant to treatment.
  • And, shamefully: Ovarian cancer is one of the least funded of all cancers funded by the New Zealand government's medical research fund. It is estimated that if nothing changes, there will be a 70% increase in ovarian cancer deaths by 2050.

If you can, please donate (and donate today to make it count twice!)

Book News:

  • I have a shiny new cover for Persephone in Bloom and am working through the Aphrodite Unbound cover now! Hera Takes Charge to follow. If you enjoy the Olympus Inc. first covers by Alison Cooley (as I certainly do) and want to own them in paperback, I recommend buying them soon - I'll be relaunching this series when I have all the covers ready to go, and at that point the paperbacks will change too!
  • Am I contemplating hardcovers for the Olympus books? Yes. But that's another plan, with some special bells and whistles (and a Kickstarter campaign) to make sure they'll be worth the effort!
  • Patreon: I have dropped a new Sparks and Recreation short story for Bonus Content Patrons: "Territorial" is a glimpse at Laurence's world, as our favourite werewolf boy next door tries to negotiate between his own feelings, his wolf's desires, and the appearance of new people in Charlie's life. As ever, join my Patreon for regular bonus content, occasional eARCs and a monthly serial I may as well admit right now I plan to launch next month2.

What's Karen Been Reading:

  • Cinder House, Freya Marske. Still on my Marske binge! A gorgeous novella, queer in all senses, and sensual too. A girl who is a ghost who is a house, terrorised by a practically evil stepmother and a viciously evil stepsister, meets a cursed prince, a wily fairy, and a powerful sorceress. Strange, beautiful magic.

Beautiful, dangerous things.

  • A Reverie of Roses. Thea Hawthorne's Esk is one of my favourite magical worlds, a city of mists and storms and rivers, where everything feels liminal and aesthetics are magic. In this sapphic novella, prickly painter Nora is trying to capture the likeness of sparkling socialite--and terrible muse--Lisette, who employs some absolutely infuriating antics under the guise of sitting for a portrait, like, genuinely, I was so mad at her. But in a storm-bound house party, where our couple get absolutely drenched, it all works out to a satisfying conclusion for artist and muse alike.
  • The Ugly History of Beautiful Things, Kate Kelleher. I find material culture fascinating, and beautiful material culture even more so, but yeah, there is and always has been a lot of suffering involved in the production of beautiful things. Do not get an engineered stone counter top! Kelleher recounts the terrible history of lovely objects in lovely prose. I was particularly interested in the chapters on silk, glass, and perfume, but they're all thoughtful, insightful, and informative.

And that's it for this time! Tune in next week for an exciting event that fantasy lovers, in particular, are going to want to watch out for...

Love, Kate.

That Healey Girl is the weeklyish newsletter of Kate (or Karen) Healey, a romance and speculative fiction author who lives in Ōtautahi, New Zealand and shakes plots loose by wandering along the river. Feel free to share the newsletter with anyone you think would like it.

  • Join my Patreon here for early reader copies of everything I publish and monthly bonus stories!
  • Free books here.

1 My hometown! The migration point of my maternal ancestors! This feels significant even though it is purest coincidence.

2 STEALTH ANNOUNCEMENT, rewarding those who read to the end of my bullet points.