More Renegades to come...

In case you were wondering... 

2018 has been slower than I had hoped for new Renegades books, but it is what it is. I realize all you've seen from me so far has been Body Checked. I had big plans for publishing, but we all know what happens when you plan, right?

I can tell you, late in 2018 I'll have a surprise for you, but you'll hear more on that soon. And I am working on Renegades 10, Melting the Ice, which I plan to have in your hands while it is still 2018!

That will make 10 Renegades books, AND a Renegades Prequel, plus the surprise.

Life had really gotten in the way of my writing this year. I haven't been taking my grandmother's health well at all. I spent the last two years helping to care for her, and even though the days got rough sometimes, I miss them. In December she had her latest stroke, and it took most of the person we knew and love with it. We all thought we'd be planning a funeral, and even though we still have her with us, it isn't the same. Some of you have voiced your own experience with this, and I appreciate all of it. You never know how hard it is until you have to go through it. And honestly, it sucks. (just being truthful!)

If I sit and think about it (like right now while writing this) I bawl like a baby and any productivity I had comes to a grinding halt. If I push it out of my mind, I can concentrate on my writing. But some days it just isn't that simple. It is all so difficult to deal with. With a death, you mourn, but then you work on healing. With this, you are in this weird emotional limbo. She's still here, but not, at the same time. If that makes any sense.

But...I am doing my best to concentrate on ME for once, and get my family in a better place when it comes to our health and eating. (My nephew, who's parents are both trained chefs, didn't believe me when I told him Aunt Melody JUST learned how to cook! LOL) Starting up at a gym is next on my list...

The cover for Melting the Ice - Renegades 10 is in the works, as well as plotting for Renegades 11.

So, things to look forward to:

- Melting the Ice (Renegades 10) cover reveal

- Melting the Ice teasers

- info on the surprise novella later in 2018

- I'll be in Virginia next weekend, and Pittsburgh (not far from where the Penguins practice - and yes, it's like my second home, lol :) ) in September for Author Events - Sass18 and Authors in the Steel City 

That's all for now. I better get to work. 

See you on the flip side!

(Is it hockey season yet??)

Hello Summer!

It's finally June.
I like June. First of all it's summer! It's also my birthday AND my wedding anniversary. So much to like about this month!

And...school lets out! Whew.
I hope to not only get immersed into my current project, Melting the Ice - Renegades 10, but I hope to get so into it that I also get to write The End! And with school over it will be so much easier to commit all my time to the work in progress.
Plus they cancelled one of my favorite shows on tv - The Chew (on ABC). That's so not cool. I've never been a huge fan of Food Network shows, but I really like The Chew. (Well, it won't be off the air until the fall, but still...)
If you know me, you know I've never been a fan of cooking. The kitchen has never been my domain. But when I started watching The Chew this past January, tips they shared about cooking, or recipes they made piqued my interest. I not only tried a recipe or two that I saw on the show, I took the tips they shared to heart, and used them in my cooking. Then I signed up for Blue Apron meal kit.
LIFECHANGER!
And just like that we went from ordering out most days to actually cooking our own meals, and not just chili, pasta, and meatloaf, lol. (Even though my chili and pasta game rock!) It's only taken me 19years of marriage to start cooking our meals... I can't make this stuff up!
I've never bragged about my cooking (just ask my husband, haha) and I've set off my fair share of smoke detectors. But for people who lack the cooking-gene, these meal kits are lifesavers! And it eliminates me going grocery shopping - yes, I can't stand grocery shopping. (let me see a show of hands if you dislike grocery shopping)

And if all this isn't change enough, as a family, we've made big life changes for our health. I cut back on my coffee, yes, me, who LOVES her Starbucks Iced Mochas, barely go to Starbucks twice a month now. And when I do, it's a Skinny Mocha for me. And at home, I drink 1-2 cups at the most, and that's it, then its water for the rest of the day. (I cut back but can't give up my vanilla creamer completely) Mr. G and I both got Fitbits, and I not only am counting calories, I am following the Burton Nutrition plan. We still need to add daily exercise into our routine, but that is the next step. I've never enjoyed being on a program so much before! And I'm down 19lbs as of today.
Go Me !!
I'm in this for the long haul, because life changes are different than diets. Slow and steady...You know the old saying. And now that I've written it for the world to see, I kind of have to stick to it, huh? Lol.

And summer is the time for grilling out, burgers, chicken, chicken burgers, garden veggies... and for the first time, I'm very interested in making our porch an enjoyable place to relax. So, it's time to overhaul the porch, create my writing space/office area, and clean out the basement. You can blame this on the fact that I turned on the new season of Trading Spaces over the weekend. I used to watch it back in it's heyday, and it always inspired me. The guys got a "smoker" so it'll be interesting to see what they cook up.

And this is the first time in a while that I've had nails, but it's making for difficulty typing, so please excuse any typos!

I'm determined to get Melting the Ice - Renegades 10 published in 2018, so keep an eye out. And to stay up to date with all of my projects (like the secret one you'll see later in 2018), check out my Facebook Readers Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/MelodysIceCrew/

As for now, I'm looking ahead to midnight, when the school year is officially over. I'll celebrate tomorrow by hopefully writing a couple chapters and taking a walk. (yes, I'm very exciting, lol)

Oh, and I found "Cookie Butter", yes, I'm late to the party on that, but thank you to whoever created it! I'm already searching for different ones to try. We don't have a Trader Joe's super close, but are planning a trip soon to see what they have. And if you haven't tried it, you need to! Even Mr. G is a fan! (We are on our third jar...)

Happy Summer!!!