After much reflection based on the new knowledge that Words From A Wicked Woman would have to re-earn its search engine rankings should it move from the current host, WordPress.com, to any new host, I had to make the safe and conservative decision. We are staying put for the time being while Wicked Woman Magazine (WWM) is launched and gets on its feet. Therefore, the usual URL, http://thewickedwoman.com, will work and bring you to this blog hosted on WordPress.com. Since the magazine is an outgrowth of this blog, it doesn’t make any sense to make the blog more difficult to find. It is a taste of the type of articles that will run on WWM once it goes live. There are a couple of tidbits on that score.

I’m working with a very talented graphic artist, (who just happens to be my cousin), to create a distinctive, ballsy logo. I do not want to shy away from the “wicked” in Wicked Woman Magazine. Indeed, I want to embrace it like the little sister I didn’t know I had. The reason is that “wicked” means so many things these days and when someone asks, “What’s wicked about women?” I want to say, “Everything!” Furthermore, there are a whole lot of males who love wicked women and we love them right back. A wicked woman is hot no matter what she looks like because she is her own, unique person and is comfortable in her own skin. She’s ambitious, subtly seductive, fierce, independent, passionate, comes in all colors, races, religions, ethnicities, nationalities, sizes, sexualities and gender expressions because, let’s face it, we are all beautiful. However, for a truly wicked woman, beauty isn’t only skin deep. A wicked woman is smart and intelligent. In fact, she’s probably the smartest person in the room, although she’s far too gracious to say so herself–unless she’s given no choice. Then, she’ll sting the competition and take over to get the job done, whatever it is. A wicked woman is a woman both men and women love in as many variations of love as there are women. She knows when to back off and when to speak up. Remember, listening is a skill, too. It is a rarity to have someone who listens well.

As one might imagine, trying to decide on a logo that says all of the above and more in “shorthand” is not easy. Nevertheless, it’s coming along a lot faster than I thought it would and I’m very pleased and excited.

Most regular readers know that my mother died in February 2012. To say that her estate is a mess would be one of history’s greatest understatements. In addition, I was admitted to one of the local, world-reknown hospitals that I’m hella lucky to have close by last week due to the worst headache I have ever had in my life. I’m already on very strong pain medication. Therefore, there is no way on earth I should have been at a 12 on a pain scale of 1 to 10, but I was. Furthermore, I’d had this headache for three or four days by the time I gave up and called the cousin referred to above regarding the logo and asked him to take me to the ER. I had no choice. All I could do was lay in my bed with the lights off and scream. Clearly, all was not well. Given that my mother died of an aortic aneurysm, the thought of having an aneurysm I didn’t know about in my brain more than crossed my mind. (No pun intended.) Thus far, that isn’t the case, but I could have easily stayed in the hospital another couple of days. However, I told the appropriate personnel that I was better because my girls had been home alone for 36 hours without food, water or outings. I couldn’t let that go on.

The reason I mention this is I’m probably going to end up with a diagnosis of migraine headaches. I am also scheduled to undergo a revision of a knee replacement I had in 2010 the first week of August. I cannot begin to explain how frustrating the need and long wait for the surgery are. I still need to get one more test because I think the surgeon missed something that will end up being very important. Whatever the case, I have no idea how long rehabilitation will take. Between the replacement and rehab for the replacement, I was in the hospital for 3 1/2 weeks. A couple of days were probably added because I caught pneumonia and had a partially collapsed lung. I’m doing all that I can to prevent my autoimmune system from going into overdrive again. If these last two months are any indication, I should be both physically and mentally stronger by the time I have surgery.

In speaking with some members of my family, they correctly state that I have a lot on my plate and hesitate to add anything else. That isn’t the way I work. I have fibromyalgia, yes, and it is a whole pain-in-the-neck by itself. Now, add to that the other physical issues I have, my mother’s estate, trying to get the money to launch WWM and a few other things and most people would be overwhelmed. I am and I’m not. If I had one thing that continuously weighed on me I’d be in much worse shape than I am. Instead, I’ve got many issues weighing on me. My biggest issue these days is sleep. Between the headache that is just under the surface; various aches and pains in my joints and muscles; trying to take care of a house I honestly never realized was this big; three canine family members in various stages of maturity and all with a sense of humor with which they like to slap the human around, and; Mom’s swamp monster of an estate, there just are not enough hours in the day. I was actually going to sleep until this afternoon, but I have to put some things together for the estate’s attorney by 8:30a this morning. The good thing is that I am in no way bored–AT ALL! The bad thing is that I need an assistant in the worst way, but can’t afford one. I cringe when I think of the fact that I’m going to be sent home from rehab with a home health worker that I’ll have to deal with when I need someone here. The thing is that they don’t just go away and leave you alone when you want to be alone. They are like shadows with their own minds. Something tells me I’ll end up rehabbing myself a lot faster than anyone will expect because I just can’t take having someone hovering over me.

I would be lying if I said I don’t think my various challenges will not affect the live date for WWM. I can’t see a situation where it wouldn’t unless I had an editor I could conference with while in bed. Again, it’s a financial restriction that cannot be overcome at this moment. I am, however, going to try to bring in another writer as a freelancer starting with the first issue. That issue was supposed to go live by the end of Q3 FY13. It is possible that it won’t go live until mid-Q4 FY13. I’m really going to try to get it out in time for Christmas gift giving season, but at this point, that is a goal and not a promise.

Overall, I’m just tired. Other than that, I know that it is a question of rolling up my sleeves, giving myself time to think and set strategy, write the business plan that’s been swimming in my head for over a year and do the best I can. I know that remaining on WordPress.com is the best decision given what I’m facing even though I could use the click-through ad dollars that could be earned elsewhere. It simply isn’t enough to move and lose whatever search engine position we’ve earned since 2007.

In closing, all I ask is that you all hang in there and know that I may well ask you to help in a guerilla marketing campaign that can be successful if executed properly. I honestly look at this as a joint effort between me, TWW’s readers and, possibly, a freelance person or two. This is doable! That is what I believe. That is what I know.