Blog It

February 1, 2013Leave a comment

I never know what to blog about. Book stuff, sure, but what else? I don’t have adorable children or cats or dogs; I don’t go on crazy adventures or cook beautiful dishes. Pictures of my day would include a computer screen, some less-than-beautiful food, and a scattering of other mundane things: laundry, errands, maybe some pretty scenery from my walks.

But I do think a lot. About everything. And those are the things I often think to write about but then I think, who cares about what I think? Are people really going to take the time to read my thoughts on random things? And I’m always so worried about how everything I write has to be “good enough” to be published, and I worry about talking about my personal life publicly, on the internet, and not calling it fiction, and I worry that I will seem silly and self-indulgent, and I worry that I might offend readers, and I worry endlessly instead of writing.

I read this piece from Claire Bidwell Smith on blogging for ten years (!) and I realized that I love her blog, like so many others do, for her voice. It’s not just her thoughts, but the way she expresses them that keeps us reading. We respond to both the story and the way it’s told, the universal themes in the everyday. Thousands of people have responded to my voice in Hand Me Down, so it’s not unreasonable to believe that some of you might connect with my voice here on this blog if I were willing to put myself out there. Plus, this is a blog, it doesn’t have to be book-level writing, right?

So I’m going to try. Even though I’m intimidated by all the fantastic blogs already out there, even though I’m worried about, well, about everything (all the time), I’m going to attempt to write more confessional, personal essay-ish, write-about-my-experience kinds of posts. Because that’s what I love to read, and that is one of the things I do know for sure: it’s always more fun to write the thing you love to read rather than the thing you think others want to read.

Here’s to more writing and being less afraid.

Dear Blog

May 22, 20122 Comments

Dear Blog,

It seems like it’s been forever since we talked, Blog, and I feel bad about that. I’ve just been so busy and so much has happened! I’m sorry I don’t always remember to keep you posted on my life. I guess I’m still getting used to this relationship.

In the last few weeks, I did book events in both of my hometowns, Sacramento and Salt Lake City, and several other bookstores in my current home, the San Francisco Bay Area. I read to packed rooms full of new and familiar faces. I made people laugh. I was asked interesting questions. I got to talk about writing and my book and people listened and seemed interested. I did an interview on Capital Public Radio—live!—and managed not to sound like a bumbling idiot. I received a bouquet of tulips and three other beautiful flower arrangements in one day. Hand Me Down was featured in the San Francisco Chronicle three times, the Salt Lake Tribune and several other papers, a bunch of blogs, and People magazine! I hugged two ex-boyfriends’ mothers, my best friend from elementary school and her mom, my favorite high school teacher, people I’d only previously known online, and tons of other old friends and landlords and teachers and coworkers. People were so excited for me and I felt so supported.

I know you deserve more than a quick recap, Blog, and I will write more, soon, I swear, but I have to go now. I have guest blogs to write (I know how painful that must be to hear) and interview questions to answer and event pages to update and emails to respond to…you know. I told you in the beginning that life as a published author would be different, busier. You said you understood, and I hope you’ll stick with me for the slow patches. I promise I’ll always come back.

Yours,

Melanie

Houston, We Have Liftoff

October 17, 2011November 9, 2011Leave a comment

This week marks the six-month countdown to my novel hitting bookshelves, and I turned 30. These two monumental bookmarks (haha) in my life seemed like a good time to launch this new website as well. So, welcome! I hope you’ll check out my book page and learn more about Hand Me Down. I can’t wait to hear what people think.

I figured it might be nice to start off this blog with a little bit of info about what you’re getting into. I plan to post about books I’m reading or want to read, and writing, of course, but also about other things that interest me, like crafts, gardening, travel, the way our brains work, pretty things, education, family dynamics, warm and beautiful places, eavesdropping, owls, pajamas, astronomy, clouds, the ocean, fruit, sweeping vistas, vampires, mythology, strong women, games, food, food TV, and TV. I like TV a lot.

I also might post about things I don’t like, including, but not limited to, the cold, cold places, being sick, logical fallacies, bad writing, bad TV, traffic, injustice, brussel sprouts, clutter, doing laundry, friends moving far away, close-mindedness, feeling stupid, and bugs.

I hope you’ll come back and visit, and drop a comment if I strike a chord with you. You don’t even have to laugh at my jokes, though I promise I’ll actually be funny sometimes.