Melanie Schulz: October 2015

Friday, October 30, 2015

FIve Year Project

Hello everyone! Today is the last Friday of the month, which makes it Five Year Project time. Thanks to Misha Gericke for putting this on each month, if you’d like to join us, you can find more information here .

My five year project is to have a world-class publishing company. What can I say, I like to dream big. So, how’s it going? Really, really well. I’ve finished the Newstead series, which has given me time to focus on editing and shorter projects. With that pressure off, I feel like I’ve found myself, what I’m good at, what I’m not. And I’ve come to the place in my life where that’s okay. I’m (finally) learning to delegate. You’d think I would’ve gotten that one down by now, but I haven’t. I tend to like to take over things. Wait, this post is starting to sound like IWSG. J But seriously, I’m finally seeing all the dots connect, and they’re all pointing to helping other people publish. So, again, how’s it going?

Really, really well.

How’s it going for you?

Wednesday, October 21, 2015

How do you do it?

Years ago, I won’t say how many, I went to nursing school. And while I was going I was blown away by my fellow classmates. Many had full time jobs, kids, farms. I was newly married, no kids, and only worked between seven and twelve hours a week. No biggie, right? Wrong. Nursing school sucked. I have no idea how those women did it.

And here I am again. This week I’m working a nine to five job. I volunteer at a local crisis pregnancy center and they’ve decided to go medical, so to utilize my skills as a nurse, I needed additional training. Only a week. No biggie, right? Wrong. I’ve barely been getting the bare minimum done around my house, let alone write. So my question for all you full timers out there is this: How do you do it?

I stand in awe of you.

Wednesday, October 14, 2015

Blind Date with a Book

The last two days I was touring colleges with my seventeen year old daughter. It was a long two days, with more time in the car than out. We went to the library at one of the colleges (of course) and there I saw the most fascinating thing. Stacks of books were on display, and they had been wrapped in construction paper. The only thing written on the paper was a brief bio of the book; for example: nonfiction humor, or fictional memoir. The program was called Blind Date with a Book. Each book had been pre-read by the organizers and was promised to be exceptional. You, the reader, were to select one and promise to return it, re-wrapped the following week if you found it exceptional as well. Only after you checked out the book were you able to see what you’d gotten yourself into. It was brilliant. How many times have I been in a library, completely overwhelmed? How many times have I been drawn in by a book’s cover, only to find out it sucked? This program brought reading down to the most basic level for me: Just you and a book that someone recommends. Again, brilliant. I’ll have to suggest this at my local library.

Have you ever been overwhelmed by the sheer number of books out there? Ever been sucked in by a pretty cover? How do you select the books you read?

Wednesday, October 7, 2015

IWSG

Today is the first Wednesday of the month, which makes it IWSG time. Thanks to Alex J. Cavanaugh and co-hosts for putting this on each month.

Today I’m dealing with one of my biggest insecurities: Advancing Technology

Some people get technology like it’s second nature to them. I am not one of those people. I’d be more comfortable in a cabin deep in the woods plunking away at an old Remington than where I am now: in an office on a computer that scares the begesus out of me. It’s not an unusual occurrence in my house to hear me call out for help to my seventeen year old when I get stuck on something computer/device related. She rolls her eyes and pushes a couple buttons and goes on her way. In a way I’m proud of this. I love that I haven’t conformed to this changing society. But that pride doesn’t help me much when I’ve hit send for the thousandth time and nothing happens. Am I alone here?

-Mel

Friday, October 2, 2015

Uprising Reveal

UPRISING (Children of the Gods #2) is AVAILABLE NOW!

Jessica Therrien follows up her best-selling novel OPPRESSION with UPRISING, the second book in the Children of the Gods series. OPPRESSION, translated and sold around the world, was one of the best-selling novels of 2012.

UPRISING continues the story of Elyse, William, and the Descendants. Elyse has been in hiding for most of her life. Only now she’s hiding with William, and she knows who she’s hiding from. The Council wants a child Elyse and William have yet to conceive, a child who will be the next oracle, and who will provide the final piece to a plan Christoph has been organizing for years.

Charged with leading the rebellion against Christoph and his Council, Elyse feels well out of her depth. But she has good friends and strong allies who are willing to fight with her to the end, regardless of how far they have to go, and how many lives will be lost in the process.

They have one goal: to live freely and openly with the rest of humanity, out from under the Council’s oppressive rule. The stakes could not be higher for Elyse and the Descendants longing for freedom. They’ll have to learn to fight if they want to stand up against the Council, and to find allies in a world ruled by their enemies. The hardest part of waging a war is knowing who to trust. Elyse knows their uprising will change the world. She doesn’t realize it will change her, too.

BUY LINKS

E-book $2.99 Paperback $12.99

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Elyse knows what it means to keep a secret. She's been keeping secrets her whole life. Two, actually. First, that she ages five times slower than average people, so that while she looks eighteen years old, she's well over eighty. Second, that her blood has a mysterious power to heal.

For Elyse, these things don't make her special. They make life dangerous. After the death of her parents, she's been careful to keep her secret as closely guarded as possible. Now, only one other person in the world knows about her age and ability.

Or so she thinks.

Elyse is not the only one keeping secrets. There are others like her all over the world, descendants of the very people the Greeks considered gods. She is one of them, and they have been waiting for her for a long time. Some are waiting for her to put an end to centuries of traditions that have oppressed their people under the guise of safeguarding them. Others are determined to keep her from doing just that. But for Elyse, the game is just beginning-and she's not entirely willing to play by their rules.