Thoughts from Mel
I have some catching up to do, so here goes. I started writing a few years out of college. Then, I went to graduate school to earn a degree in Journalism. My plan, based on a suggestion, was to apply for a government service job. They had suggested it would involving writing. It didn’t happen, but years later, I picked up my PC and started typing my first book, Almost. I only wrote the first 10,000 or so words and I stopped. I liked the story I had composed, but my mind was distracted by a totally new subject, I began Remaking Abbi, the Abigail Carter Detective Series.
Now, for those who aspire to write stories, my advice today is as follows: Write, read, edit, rewrite, read, edit and continue doing this at least six times. I found using MS Word and having my PC read aloud (Click on Review then Read Aloud) helps. Although I currently write in software called Atticus, I also cut and paste my completed chapters from Atticus into MS Word,(after a third or fourth draft into MS Word) and have the PC read to me so that I can hear my mistakes. Yes, I then go back to my work version in Atticus and make changes. Yes it does take time, but that isn’t always bad. Lastly, the more you read the books from great authors, you will gain insights about words, the basis for all writing. Good luck on your journey. Mel
From 11/17/24
Foreword from Remaking Abbi
Remaking Abbi is Book 1 in the Abigail Carter Detective Series. The series tells the story of a young struggling college graduate. The Abigail Carter character in this series is symbolic of women who were not given the opportunity “to be the best you can be”. Abigail was fortunate, she recognized that she needed to remake herself. She had support and allowed herself a “Remake”. One theme for young readers is to realize that there is an opportunity if you chase after it; it may require patience and hard work. Women need to believe that they possess the innate ability to be equal partners in our society whether they become president, senator, judge, state troopers, lawyers, doctor, dentist, educator, soldier, pilot, or truck driver. These skills can be learned, not solely with physical strength or with education, but with perseverance.
I created this story to honor the challenges that women have faced and the goals that they can achieve. Abigail chose to become a trooper out of necessity when her youthful dreams vanished through no fault of her own. But even as a Trooper, she does not realize her potential. Life is full of complications, and sorting out priorities helped her travel foreword from “a lost soul”, to a self-assured woman, to falling in love, to becoming a resourceful investigator who was able to think ahead. Her goals did not include being the head of the Colorado State Patrol, but she allowed her potential to flourish. She met someone from Pittsburgh who could have added or subtracted from her ambitions. Like most of us, she struggled with life’s complications.
Today’s world needs to recognize the value in the changing of women’s roles. It is not enough that women can drink alcoholic beverages, can vote, when they cannot be fully recognized in society and remain oppressed. My message is that our society needs to not just accept women in all endeavors, but to strive for gender equality. Progress has been made, but when we no longer need courts to support these rights, then society flourishes. No one should be surprised today that your commercial pilot is a woman, that the officer who pulled your vehicle over for speeding is a woman, that when you are fighting for your life in a hospital that your surgeon is a woman.
Foreword from Moving On
Moving On is Book 2 in the Abigail Carter Detective Series. Remaking Abbi, Book 1, deals with Abigail Carter, a young woman in her twenties, who had been struggling to see her post college graduation plans come to fruition. As Abbi struggles, she realizes living in California was difficult and she felt her life might be in danger. She needed to start over in Colorado where she was born and had graduated from college. When she returned home, she stayed at her sister and brother-in-law’s home. They encouraged her to apply to the Colorado State Patrol Training Academy to become a State Trooper. Her father was a senior state judge, and her brother-in-law was a deputy sheriff in Boulder. They felt the rigors of training would build her physical stamina and restore her self-confidence. She accepted the challenge, and we followed her young career, her dreams and her love life. It was all that she had hoped for until one day…. This is where Book 1 concludes.
I constructed Moving On to follow Abbi Carter as her life transitions, no longer the life she had dreamed of or the life that she had trained for. She starts on a journey that may go beyond your imagination, but one that for Abbi was real. More adventures are in store for her.
My premise was to construct stories about women who learn their own strengths. They transition through life, and along the way they discover how much more there may be in our world beyond what we are taught in school. Her adventures could be your adventures as you learn more about being able to take these steps.
Please read or listen to my next book in the series, Bonding. We follow Abigail Carter as she steps out from under a marriage canopy.
Bonding
Bonding is Book 3 in the Abigail Carter Detective Series. It begins with Abbi and Andrew returning home from their honeymoon in Aruba. She is both a private detective with her own agency and for at least 10 hours per week she is a Lieutenant in the Colorado State Police but reports exclusively to the Governor. She was hired to help oversee the Highway Patrol new assignment of seeking out motor vehicles than are transporting this illegal and deadly drug within Colorado State.
Bonding is a realization by Abbi that her husband offers more than she anticipated. It is through Bonding that Abbi discovers Andrew in a different light. Book 3 the final in my series about Abigail Carter was began in late 2024 and is expected to be completed in late 2025..
As of June I’ve complete nine chapters and another 20 chapters.
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