Things Will Be Better In 2021?

I don't know about the rest of you, but 2020 is a year I would like to pretend didn't happen. Unfortunately, that is not possible for so many reasons, and especially for the over 2 million families who are morning the loss of loved ones due to the coronavirus. 

I had high hopes for 2021. Joe Biden is going to become president of the United States and Donald Trump will go away. The virus will hopefully be contained, and I will hopefully publish some new work. Sadly, Trump is not going to go away. It will still be months before the virus is contained, but I'm still hopeful about publishing. 

After Sheltered by Love didn't do as well as I had hoped last year, I went into a writing funk. I started doubting my ability to write a good story. Add some family drama and too much alcohol to that, it made for a rough year. 

The family drama has gotten a little better. I've put my drinking hat on the shelf to give my liver and head a break. But, I'm still in a bit of funk that is proving hard to get out of. I'm writing. I even sent my new young adult story about the pandemic to a publisher and hopefully they will publish it. I'm working on another story that I'm really enjoying writing, but I just don't have the enthusiam I've had in the past. I hate that I feel this way, and I believe it's because there is still so much drama and uncertainty in the world right now. Especially, here in the United States where many of us live in fear of what the next few weeks will bring. 

One thing that I have learned to do over the past several months is to focus on this moment. I can't change the past, and who knows what the future holds. But, this moment right now, I'm writing to my friends who read this blog. 

I hope the new year is starting out better for you than it has for me. And I pray that happiness will find you and bring you great joy this year. That is my wish for everyone, including myself. 

Hopefully, I'll have news about my story being published soon. So pleast watch for updates and have a fabulous day. 

Birthdays and School

In this picture from left to right: Deborah, Michelle, Jim, Julian, Jacob, Samuel, Gage, Jazmyn, and David.

It has been a wild couple of months. Of course, if you read my blog, you already know that my life is crazy. July and August are filled with birthdays. Starting on July 12th, my oldest grandson, Jacob, turned 16. I still can't get over that he's driving now and can grow a full beard. July 14th is my second oldest grandson, David's birthday. He turned 13 this year and is going through some early teen blues. July 23rd is my oldest granddaughter, Jazmyn's birthday. She turned 14 and started high school this year. August 4th is my youngest grandson, Julian's birthday. He turned seven and is all boy. August 24th was my birthday, and August 29th was my partner's oldest grandson, Ranger's birthday, and turned 6. Between the two of us, we have 11 grandchildren. Seven of them are mine!

On top of all the birthdays, school started on August 24th. It was supposed to begin on August 10th but was pushed back because of the coronavirus. It's funny how school beginning times have changed. When my mother was pregnant with me, back in the 60s, my sister and brother started school in September. Since Mom had me via cesarian, she opted to have me before school started. By the time I started school, they had moved the start date up to on or near August 24th, so school started for me on my birthday more often than not, including my senior year of high school. 

As any of you with kids know, this school year is totally different from any we've had before. Our school system is offering virtual or in-person classes. We opted for in-person for Jacob and Jazmyn, and we're homeschooling Julian. (Oh, if you're reading about my family for the first time, my partner, Rosa, and I are raising my oldest daughter's three kids. It's a long story.) Jacob and Jazmyn go to school on Monday and Wednesday and then have virtual classes Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. The best thing about this is that we only have to drag them out of bed at six in the morning on Mondays and Wednesdays. The rest of the week, they have to log into their Google classrooms before noon. 

The kids are having a harder time with this than I am, but I get it. They miss their friends, and now, with the way things are set up, they still don't get to see most of their friends because they go school on the days my kids don't go to school. Just crazy. Plus, both Jacob and Jazmyn are in the marching band, which is they are still trying to have along with high school football, but we'll see how long that lasts.

On top of hosting birthday parties over the past two months, I also managed to get a picture with my ex-husband's father with all of the grandkids. I've been trying to do this for almost three years. My ex, Kelly, died of pancreatic cancer in 2010 at the age of 46. Our divorce had been reasonably amicable, and we had become friends again before he died. Kelly's family continue to consider me part of their family, for which I feel very blessed. His dad is going to be 80 next month and is not in great health. I'd been trying to get this picture done ever since my youngest daughter had her daughter, Deborah, three years ago because I know it's something both of my girls would want to have. We finally managed to get everyone out to Kelly's dad's house, except my oldest daughter, who had to work, but I plan to photoshop her into the picture and make a copy for both girls and Kelly's dad. 

Believe it or not, I have managed to get some writing and reading done over the past couple of months. I've read a mix of lesbian fiction and non-lesbian fiction and some nonfiction. I read Love and Forever by Chloe Peterson. It was an okay book, but not really my cup of tea. I just finished with Reservations of the Heart by T. B. Markinson. It's a sweet and very sexy romance, extra emphasis on the sexy. If you like a lesbian romance with lots of steamy sex, this is your story. I also read Leave No Trace by Mindy Mejia. It's a young adult thriller/adventure story, which was very good. And I'm listening to John Bolton's book, The Room Where It Happened. It's been very interesting and enlightening. 

I'm still working on the young adult lesbian drama story that takes place during the pandemic. You can read part of it on Wattpad. I'm also working on an adult lesbian romance that takes place in Florida and Kentucky. I'm hoping to have it finished and out by Christmas. 

And, if you've read this far into the blog, I have a special treat. I'm giving away autographed copies of Avalanche of Love. I have three copies to give away, so if you're interested in getting a copy, please email me at metudor.com@gmail.com.

I hope you are all holding up well amid the pandemic, raging heat, hurricane, and wildfires. I am sending out prayers for those of you who are suffering. 

Much Love. M. E.

This Upside Down World

It's been another crazy couple of months. I'm back to working in the public full-time and I have to admit, it's a bit scary. As some of you know, I work as a reference librarian at a public library in Kentucky. I think our library might be the only library in the state that is open to the public. Our patrons are very excited about us being open, especially people who don't have the Internet or cable at home. Most people wear masks when they come in, but there are way too many people who don't. 

My job is to help people on the computers and doing that from six feet away can be a little tricky. I've got a laser pointer and that helps. Most people are understanding about keeping their distance because of the virus, but at least once a day I get one of those people who's not wearing a mask and who wants to be in my personal space. Thankfully, I'm allowed to tell them to back up and keep their distance.

How's your life going in the midst of this crazy, upside down world? Do you work in one of the necessary services and have never gotten to be off? Or are you still out of work, just praying you'll have a job when this is all over. 

Life has been super crazy since I've gone back to work. It's made me realize how much procrastinating I did when I was off because now I rarely have time to spend a few hours on a computer. 

This past weekend our air conditioning was out (really how did we survive before air conditioning) and it was 85 degrees inside my house all weekend. Needless to say I didn't do much writing because I was on the back deck where it was cooler, but that was also where the children were playing and making a ton of noise. 

This weekend is the Fourth of July weekend I plan to work on a lesbian romance that I hope to publish in September. I'll post more about it soon. I'm also hoping to get a few more chapters from We Will Get Through This Together on Wattpad and Inkitt. Please keep an eye on my Facebook page for updates about this story.

I hope everyone has a safe and fun holiday. And I pray you are all safe and enjoying every minute of life. Until next time, peace and love.

Being Safe at Home and Writing

Once again the time has gotten away from me. I didn't even realize that it had been almost two months since my last post, but this has been a very weird two months. I would never have imagined that the world would have ever shut down the way that it has. I'm sure no one thought we would be where we are right now. But, here we are, working our way through this crisis together. 

So, the last time I posted was before my newest young adult lesbian romance, Shelted by Love had come out. It's been out for almost two months now and already getting good reviews. Here's one of the most recent ones: 

"A great young adult story that will make you feel every emotions. Sheltered By Love is laced with drama, determination, hope, warmth and passion for the fur babies. Well written with very touching, heartbreaking moments and it has powerful characters. Highly recommended!"

If you haven't had a chance to read Sheltered by Love yet, it's available on Amazon and Kindle Unlimited!

This unique time in our lives has inspired a new young adult story that I'm working on. Here is the working summary: 

The coronavirus, COVID-19, has thrown families all over the world into uncertain times, Natalie Weatherby’s family included. Natalie knows that her family is one of the lucky ones. Both of her parents are able to continue working during the early stages of the pandemic. Despite the good things going on with their family, they still have to deal with the struggles caused by the virus. 

Natalie’s sexuality is something she has kept to herself. Her family is not super religious, but they have a strong faith in God, and Natalie is not certain how they will react to her revealing her secret. She finds herself becoming attracted to a classmate that she once considered her nemesis as they get to know each other online. 

Will they be able to maintain their connection when things return to some sort of normalcy? Or will Natalie’s fear of what her family and friends think get in the way of true love.

I'm posting this new story as I'm writing it. It's available on Wattpad and Inkitt, where you can view it for free. I hope you will check it out and follow the story's progress. It won't be able to be finished for a while because it's based on what is happening during the coronavirus shutdown and what happens next.

I hope you are all safe and well. Please keep checking back. Hopefully, I'll have more to post soon.

Love to you all. M. E.

Coming March 5th!

The official release date for Sheltered by Love is March 5, 2020!

I'm so thankful for my readers who have been patiently waiting for me to finally finish this book. It's been a bit of an up and down road in the writing process, but I'm pretty happy with this story, and I hope all you like it. The story has drama, animal rescues, and a slow-building romance.

Here's the blurb that will hopefully pique your interest in the story:

Suzanne Jericho let her anger get the better of her, with the result being two hundred hours of community service at the Humane Society’s animal shelter. Chrissy Stein is working at the animal shelter as a vet tech so she can help her beloved animals. 

Jericho, as Suzanne prefers to be called, comes from a rough around the edges, hardworking family. Chrissy comes from an uptight political family with whom she doesn’t fit. 

Although these two young women come from different backgrounds, they have a lot in common. They both love animals, their parents used to date, and they have both been hurt and used by past girlfriends. 

The attraction Jericho and Chrissy feel builds slowly, as does their friendship. Only time will tell if they will give their romantic feelings a chance to blossom into full-blown love. 

There will be giveaways that follow it's release, so please watch out for those. And, of course, those of you on my "First to Know" email list will get a special giveaway just for you. If you haven't signed up to one of the "First to Know" here's the link:

http://eepurl.com/dx_rMT

 

Consistently Inconsistent

If there's one thing I can say honestly about myself, it's that I'm consistently inconsistent partially because my life is always in a state of uproar. If you've been following me for any length of time, you know that my partner, Rosa and I are raising three of my grandchildren.

We have a 15-year-old boy, Jacob, who is a pretty good kid. He's in band and JROTC. He's spoiled and a bit bossy, but other than that, a pretty good kid.

We have a 13-year-old girl, Jazmyn, who is turning out to be a lot like her mother, and that's not a good thing. We're continually having to worry about her getting into trouble at school and with boys. The sad thing is that she had the potential to be a good kid, but has chosen to follow a harder path.

And then we have Julian. He's six, and he's really good at it. For the most part, he's a really good boy. We've chosen to homeschool him based on all the bad things we've gone through with our local school system and the other kids. Plus, Julian is very hyperactive, and I'm afraid he'd be grouped with other kids that are considered special needs. Not that there's anything wrong with special needs kids, it's the way this school system deals with them that is the problem.

Anyway, this is just part of our life.

On top of dealing with the kids, which Rose has taken over since she's been retired, I work at a public library. Now, most people would think that would be the perfect job for a writer, and there was a time when that would have been true. Not today, not at our library. I work in the reference department where I spend 30 percent of my time helping patrons, and 70 percent babysitting adults who often don't know how to follow the rules, which is probably why the majority of them are homeless.

This problem is taking a toll on my nerves, which is affecting my writing and my home life. The daily fear of what might happen when I go to work is keeping me on edge. Most of the homeless population we have is okay people just going through a rough patch. The others are mostly drug addicts and drunks that think they can come to the library and sleep until the homeless shelter opens for the evening. Or, they are dealing their wares, assuming we don't know what they are doing. Unfortunately, without proof of what they are doing, there's nothing we can really do to stop them as long as they don't break the other library rules.

For several months now, I've been having a hard time concentrating and suffering from severe stress headaches. It's affected my ability to work on my writing. There's very little downtime for me to relax and focus on my craft.

Rose and I decided to buy a camper that will hopefully allow me to have the time I need to focus on my writing. A place where I can shut out the world for a little while and create new lesbian romances that my fans will love.

I want to thank everyone who has been patiently waiting for my next book. I'm in the last editing phases, and if the writing gods are willing, it will be out next month. And thanks for letting me have a little rant on here. I've been frustrated with the direction of my life and my inability to get any writing done. Hopefully, that is all going to change starting next month after we get the camper. My new home away from home.

More Beautiful for Having Been Broken

What's Going On?

Last weekend, my partner, Rosa, and I traveled with our oldest grandson, Jacob, and our Chihuahua/Shitzu mix dog, Ruby, to Winston-Salem, North Carolina, to see the Nicole Conn's new film, More Beautiful for Having Been Broken. When we made plans to go, we didn't know that Nicole would be there for the Out At the Movies Film Festival where the movie was shown. I can't even tell you how over the moon I was at the thought I would finally get to meet Nicole in person. And, it was even more wonderful of an experience than I expected. Nicole is a very warm and kind person, and she was excited about meeting me too. We'd been conversing online for years. I have been a part of the group promoting this movie ever since Nicole first started putting it together, and it was going by the title of Nesting Doll. 

We also got to meet Lissa Forehan, the movie's producer. She was super nice. I'm glad Nicole has wonderful people like Lissa helping her get this movie in front of audiences around the world. 

I've been telling people about Nicole's films ever since I first saw Claire of the Moon more than 24 years ago. As far as I am concerned, she is the very best lesbian filmmaker, independent or otherwise. Rosa has even called her the Steven Spielberg of lesbian films. 

My current project, besides reworking my next adult lesbian romance under the working title of Nature of Love, is getting More Beautiful for Having Been Broken screened in Bowling Green, Kentucky, or the surrounding area. I've sent an email to a professor at Western Kentucky University about having the film shown there, and I'm on the search for other places and groups that might be interested in showing the film. 

I'm also going to be working with other Nicole Conn fans to get More Beautiful for Having Been Broken on Netflix. Nicole's film, A Perfect Ending is already available on Netflix. So if you haven't seen that yet, I hope you'll check it out. All of her other films are available on Amazon. You can even get the entire romance collection in a set that is very reasonably priced. 

My Review of More Beautiful for Having Been Broken

Although this film is about three women whose lives intersect at a lakeside resort, I found the movie to be more about the special needs boy, Freddie. His contagious positivity and charism draws out the very best in people and brings them together. 

Here's my review of the film:

Kintsukuroi is the Japenese word that means; more beautiful for having been broken. A beautiful word with a beautiful meaning for a beautiful movie. I'm not sure where to begin my review of Nicole Conn's new film More Beautiful for Having Been Broken: the gorgeous women, the adorable little boy, the beautiful scenery, cinematography, choreography, or the heartwarming story. All of these were interwoven into an expertly directed film that will warm your soul.

I think I'll start with the little boy, Freddie, played by Cale Ferrin. Besides being incredibly cute, this little man grabs you by your heartstrings and never lets you go. You will think about Freddie and how well Cale portrayed him long after the last credits of the movie have played. His strength and fierce determination will make you wish you had him as a champion in your life. He makes us realize how precious every minute we share with the people in our life is, and why it’s so important to let love be what guides us through life.

Freddie’s vibrant charism makes people want to be in his company. Even the stoic McKenzie, played by Zoe Ventoura can’t resist Freddie, despite her best efforts to ignore him. Freddie’s ability to see to the core of everything around him gives him the sense that McKenzie needs to be loved. She is as drawn to him as he is to her by the magical forces that bring people into our lives when we need them. This is definitely the case for these two people who become friends even though Freddie is a young boy with special needs, and McKenzie is a disheartened FBI agent. Two very different people from two very different worlds who find each other at the right time.

The ability to see the deeper meaning of things also helps Freddie see a connection between McKenzie and his overprotective mother, Samantha, played by Kayla Radomski. Both McKenzie and Samatha have built thick walls to protect themselves. The two women’s love for Freddie ultimately brings them together, even though their histories try to tear them apart.

Nicole’s films are usually about love stories between two women, but they always include more than just the romance. That is definitely true of this film. While the story contains the romance between two women, that is not the defining theme of the movie. This movie is about the power of love. How it can overcome fear and bring people together with an enduring bond that will last a lifetime.

All of the actors in this film were wonderful, including Nicole’s daughter, Gabrielle Baba-Conn. I felt the actors really connected to their roles, and that brought out really great performances. The cinematography captures the beauty of the landscape where the movie was filmed. There are some really fantastic sunset scenes that just take your breath away.

Kayla Radomski not only plays Freddie’s devoted mother, but she also choreographed the dance scenes in the movie. The art of ballet is interwoven throughout the film. It accentuates the love between Freddie and his mother, and between Samantha and McKenzie.

This film has already won several awards at film festivals around the country, including the following awards given by the International Independent Film Awards:

Best Actor - Cale Ferrin

Best Actress - Zoe Ventoura

Best Supporting Actress - Kayla Radomski

Best Choreography - Kayla Radomski

Best Narration for a Feature - Henry J Carr

Best Original Score - Nami Melamud

Best Editing - Nicole Conn & Dave Eichhorn

Best Picture - Nicole Conn & Lissa Forehan

Best Directing - Nicole Conn

The film is still out at movie festivals. Upcoming showings are listed below:

Desperado Film Festival in Phoenix, AZ October 12, 2019 at 5 p.m.

La Femme in Los Angeles, CA October 17-20, 2019 TBA