As a kid growing up in New York, I was always in some stage of writing, even if it was only the making-stuff-up stage. I grew up with long-ago tales of authors strolling into a publisher's office, wowing them with a manuscript, closing the deal over a pricey lunch, and becoming a celebrity—imagine my surprise finding out that it doesn't work like that now, and it hardly ever happened then! After gathering a large enough stack of rejections, I went back to making stuff up, but when I was diagnosed with polycystic kidney disease, I returned to writing. I wrote I, Kidney to empower people with chronic kidney disease, educate the public, and raise the awareness of health care providers, who can easily lose sight of the patients. I meant to get the book out in 2013, but my transplant put that on hold...until now. The Chris Six Group is on Facebook: facebook.com/TheChrisSixGroup and on Twitter: @TheChrisSixGrou The Chris Six Group is a new imprint offering literature from left field—fresh takes on familiar genres and themes. Our authors include Kew Stapleton, long-time political junkie, sports nut, and foodie; Ska St. Julian, advertising writer by day; and Raanan Geberer, old-school Brooklyn newsman. Our illustrator, Eugenia Cameron, creates art in a number of media, but works for a senior center to pay the bills.