Thursday, November 20, 2014

Life Update

Life Update:
Two weeks from today I'm moving from the home I've lived in for the last sixteen years. We've had our children here and watched them grow. It's been a good place for us. I've loved it here. It's strange though; we've lived here so long but we really only know our direct neighbors. Our town is one of those small places where your grandparent's grandparents had to have lived there for you to be accepted. Ironically, my ancestors were one of the founding fathers, but I guess since I'm the first representative for the last hundred years or so that doesn't count. It's always seemed like an odd custom to me; this small town life, but like any custom I've enjoyed watching and analyzing it. The house we're moving to isn't part of a town, or a city; it's out in the country, which will be a nice change for us. We plan on having a few chickens and maybe a goat or two. I met my husband on a farm, so I guess it's only fitting we should spend the rest of our lives at one. Strangely enough in all this chaos I've managed to finish the first draft of my novel, 2084, as well as revisions and the first rounds of edits. I plan to do a soft release sometime in December. It's the second book in the Newstead Anthem series; a collection of three stand-alone books directly related to the Newstead Trilogy. It will be my shortest work, only two hundred pages, but all told it's taken me the longest. I think I started this book the first time over two years ago. So out into the world it will come and I for one will celebrate it's birth with a very large glass a wine. I'm making review copies of it available the beginning of December. If any of you are interested, just let me know.
How about all of you--what's going on in your lives? I'd love to hear it.

Until then,
-Melanie

8 comments:

  1. Good luck with the move! That will be quite the change. Funny how small towns are, isn't it? And I will match your glass of wine in celebration.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Out in the country! That may be lovely. Charles Schultz ('Peanuts' comic strip) had Linus say, "I love mankind. It's people I can't stand!" Well, once in a while (for me). Best of luck with your move!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Congratulations on all the writing you've done; good for you! I remember small town life, especially the quiet and the farmland that surrounded the town. I miss it sometimes. Small towns can definitely be cliqueish, though; I remember how the cliques formed in the first grade and they more or less stayed intact for decades after that.

    ReplyDelete
  4. It sounds like a bit of a bittersweet move. It's hard to leave a place you love, but the country sounds wonderful. I hope you enjoy your new home (although I'm sure you probably won't enjoy the moving part). Sounds like you've been pretty productive on the writing front lately! Congratulations on getting another one ready to roll.That is pretty impressive!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Congratulations on 2084! Your move sounds intense, and I hope you can break the ice with the neighbors. I moved to a similar place, though was able to ingratiate myself through charity drives and helping out during ice storms.

    My recent weeks have been a turmoil. Health took a nose dive just as I got a short story published in the first Urban Fantasy Magazine. Trying to cling to the good and drive out the snakes from old Ireland.

    ReplyDelete
  6. We lived in the town where my husband grew up for a while. He knew everyone. It's very friendly but now we're in the country. Our neighbors are mostly very nice but they're not too close.
    Working on the third book in a series and trying to keep ahead on my blogs post.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Hi Melanie,
    It sounds like your move will be a wonderful transformative growth opportunity for you. For whatever reason you're moving, I'm sure it's for a good reason as far as serendipitous events go. Congratulations on finishing your 2084 draft--may you enjoy great writing success. I'm having a glass of merlot with you! My YA book, Death House, was released this week, I'm working on book 2 of my Eve's Amulet series, and still on my non-fiction work about sexual abuse, much harder to write than I thought. Thank you for your eloquent sharing!
    ~Carole Avila

    ReplyDelete
  8. I've also lived in towns like that. It really annoys me, though. :-/

    I wish you all the best with the move!

    ReplyDelete