Posts Tagged ‘cancer’

The Review That Shook Me

Posted: July 26, 2023 in Novel, Review, Scary Stuff, Writing
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How many of you follow booktubers?

If you don’t know what those are, they’re YouTubers who mostly review books. There’s a whole bunch of them devoted to horror. I’ve been following one for a while now. Pax Panic. She was funny, she was enthusiastic, she loved horror and you could tell that, even though her channel was small, it would grow.

I say “was” because she passed earlier this year. Some time ago, she announced she had cancer and was undergoing treatment. I, and the rest of her following, rallied around her, offered her our support. I think there might have been a fundraiser for medical costs, but I’m not sure. Anyway, she went through treatment, and we hoped that was the end of it. But we soon learned that the treatment didn’t take, and she posted that she only had a few months to live.

Obviously, we were upset. We kept watching her and supporting her.

And then a few months ago, her husband posted that she’d passed. And just writing it, I’m feeling a little teary. I don’t get teary-eyed often, but I feel like crying just typing this. She was an amazing person, and it fucking sucks that she had to die so young.

Anyway, her husband said that she recorded a bunch of videos prior to her treatment and death, and that he would be uploading them in her memory. Which I and her other followers appreciated.

And today, a video was uploaded to her channel, a video with reviews of multiple books. One of the books was The Pure World Comes. My Gothic horror novel.

I’ve posted the video below. If you want to watch just her review, it’s from 3:12 to 5:52.

Followers of Fear, I was not expecting this. I sent her a review copy of The Pure World Comes a while ago, and she left a review on Goodreads, and I thought that was that. I never expected that she would include it in a video, let alone one after her death. And she delivered it full of such love for the story and for the concept and how I played with both the Gothic elements and the Victorian elements and the scientific elements.

I appreciate all my reviews (except for ones like the one from a troll who wanted to make fun of me over something in my biography). But this one had me shook emotionally. It was so sweet and unexpected and it really hit me emotionally. These videos always make me feel a little sad, because Pax is no longer with us, but this one…it just amplified both my sadness and my gratitude. Hands down, one of the best reviews I’ve ever received for one of my stories.

Pax, wherever you are, thank you. This meant so much to me. I miss you, and I hope that right now, you’re reading all the scary stories you can dream of.

If you’re at all interested, I highly recommend checking out Pax’s channel and her other videos. She left a lot of material and there’s probably going to be more in the weeks and months to come. It’ll be heartbreaking, but it’ll be worth watching.

And if you’re at all interested in checking out The Pure World Comes after watching Pax’s review, I’ll include links before. For those unfamiliar, it’s a Gothic horror story about a maid in Victorian England who goes to work for a mad scientist. As Pax said, it’s got Gothic with Frankenstein mixed into it.

And if you like what you read, please leave a review online. Positive or negative, I love reader feedback, and it helps me and other readers as well.

That’s all for now, my Followers of Fear. I’m still kind of shook, but I’m taking it in stride. I’ll also be heading to bed soon. Until next time, good night and pleasant nightmares.

The Pure World Comes: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple Books, Kobo, Goodreads, Audible, Chirp, BingeBooks, LIbro.Fm, Storytel, Palace Marketplace, Hoopla, Vivlio, Smashwords, Thalia, Scribd, Spotify

Buckeython 2015: Thank You

Posted: January 25, 2015 in Living and Life, Social Activism
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As you know, I’ve been raising money for Buckeyethon, an annual fundraiser Ohio State does in order to benefit juvenile cancer research. People who raise the minimum amount of money get to go to a 12-hour dance marathon, and every year more and more people join up and more and more funds are raised.

This year I raised more money than I’ve ever raised before: $313, donated from 10 generous people. This is also more than the $250 minimum we had to raise this year. I’d like to name and thank the people who’ve helped me reach my goal:

  • Beth Tucker
  • Diane Stemper
  • Michele Ungar
  • Anna Wilkinson
  • Wendy Mohr and Wendy Ungar
  • Michael Ungar
  • Angela Misri
  • Vicki Miller
  • Chad Foust
  • Sarah Strasser

Thank you for your generosity. You not only help me, but you help many, many children and adults who are fighting a terrible disease every day and wanting to live their lives cancer-free. So hats off to you! I really appreciate what you’ve done for me and for them.

Regrettably, I won’t be able to attend this year’s dance. I know, I know. My last year and all, but my cousin’s bar mitzvah is that same weekend, and you only get one of those once in your life. So, too bad. But I’ve raised a lot of money over these past three years. And so have thousands of other students. Together we’ve made an indelible contribution to ongoing research into cancer and making sure many, many children and adults are able to live their lives cancer-free.

I’m not sure if you can still contribute at this point, but if you want to, you can check out my fundraising page here. And if you’d like to donate, any amount is good. It’s not for me, but for the people who benefit from your donations, and I’m sure they’d be really happy with any amount you decide to give.

Thank you, my donors and my Followers of Fear. I really appreciate it.

Have a nice day! I know I will.

Buckeyethon 2015: Raising Money for the Last Time

Posted: October 26, 2014 in Living and Life, Social Activism
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Me at Buckeyethon 2014. I hope to be on the black team this year. I'll even go Goth for the occasion.

Me at Buckeyethon 2014. I hope to be on the black team this year. I’ll even go Goth for the occasion.

It’s happening again! I’ve signed up for Buckeyethon, a fundraising event through Ohio State that raises money for the Children’s Miracle Network, an organization that funds research into juvenile cancer (at least that’s how I’ve always understood it). This is my last year at Ohio State, so unless there are rules I don’t know, this is also my last time fundraising for Buckeyethon. And also the last time I’ll attend a dance marathon if I reach my goal. Kind of makes me sad.

Anyway, the goal for this year is a bit higher than it was last year. Instead of raising $100, I have to raise $250 to reach my goal. Considering the university is trying to break their record and raise one million dollars this time around, I’m not at all surprised that the goal’s higher, but that still means I need to raise a lot of money. And if everyone who followed this blog donated just one dollar, not only would I far exceed my goal, but it would also bring the university that much closer to its own goal, and would probably make a pretty good dent in the toll that cancer, particularly juvenile cancer, makes every year on people and on families.

Now I know not everyone will be able to or even want to donate. Some will be suspicious of this just due to the fact that it’s coming through a blog and it’s from someone they don’t even know. But the impact we could all make together against cancer and to help many families who have to live through a nightmare that is all too real would be so powerful. So if you feel comfortable with it, I ask you to please donate however much you want to donate. If you do, I’d be most appreciative and grateful for your contribution.

Oh, and Ephraim Ungar is my legal name. That’s why it’s listed that way and not Rami Ungar

If you would like to donate, please follow this link. And thank you so much for your contribution. You have no idea what it means to me or the families you’d be helping.