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Hi, All and Happy New Year to you!
Mine got off to a very sad start, unfortunately. My dad passed away at two minutes to midnight on New Year’s Eve. My aunt, his wife, and I were all there with him, and thankfully, it was a peaceful moment. The past few weeks have been spent sort of in shock, even though we’ve known for a long time what was coming. After he passed, I had to go open the gate to his small farm for the funeral services car. As the snow gently fell and I walked down to the gate, I had a big cry. But on my way back to the house, things shifted for me. Fireworks started going off on the farm next to his. I stood and watched, took a few deep breaths and smiled through my tears at the perfect sendoff for a wonderful person/dad. Somehow, I felt like everything was going to be okay. And it will.
My dad taught me to work hard and dream big, so that’s exactly what I’m going to do.
This is one of those moments in life when you take stock of how you’re living and realize that the bad habits aren’t worth losing your longevity or life for. In my dad’s case, it was cigarettes. Luckily, I never picked that up from him, but I do tend to have a sedentary lifestyle filled with too much night-time snacking. So, I’m making some changes this year in hopes that I hit my 70’s and 80’s in full swing.
Now, an apology. I lied. I said I’d have Whisked Away out in the late fall of 2018 and the reality is that I’m still only halfway through the first draft. For those of you who have been waiting, I’m sorry. The past few months have been pretty rough and I chose to spend as much time with my dad as I could before he passed on. That doesn’t help you any though, does it?
I’m finally getting back to writing this week. If ever I needed an escape to a tropical island, it’s now. I’m aiming to have it to you in April. Fingers crossed, things go well and it’ll be ready.
Here’s the cover of the book, so I can at least give you something…
And now, to the super fun interview…
The fab ladies at Booksbywomen.org interviewed me for their series on Women Writers. The focus was on the top six things that have helped me be successful as an author.
Writing is a tough way to make a living. Not like coal miner tough or air traffic controller stressful. The job itself is wonderful. The commute to my office in the basement is pretty sweet, and it’s not exactly a hardship to spend my days with characters that I love. But as far as making a living off it? That’s the hard part.
I’m not a household name by any stretch of the imagination, but the past two years, I’ve made a comfortable amount from my writing. I had one pretty decent-sized hit (Break in Two) back in 2014 followed by two years where I barely made any money, and my writing had turned into an expensive hobby. I was on the brink of having to go out and get a ‘real job’ where I’d have to wear makeup and even possibly put on nylons (just typing that made me throw up in my mouth a little). I knew I had to turn things around fast.
Unfortunately, in this business, shortcuts to success are about as likely as finding a unicorn that poops out cash on demand. As much as I wished for some magical, instant fix, I knew it was going to require a whole lot of hard work.
Here’s what I did…
Well, that was an evil place to stop, wasn’t it? Apparently 2019 Melanie has an edge to her. 😉
Okay, that’s it for now. I have characters waiting for their happily ever after! I better give it to them.
Take care and have a wonderful week again,
Melanie