Melinda Clayton's Blog - Posts Tagged "blessed-are-the-wholly-broken"

A huge thank you to everyone who entered for a chance to win a coupon code for a free download of my latest novel,Blessed Are the Wholly Broken. Names were added from Twitter, Wordpress, and Goodreads, and the winners were (chosen randomly by my 15 year old, who pulled them from my 13 year old son's hat): Jean, Lala, and Gail. I've emailed all three of you ladies with instructions and the code (good until Nov. 1). If you have any trouble at all with the download, just let me know here or on Facebook.

For everyone else, Blessed Are the Wholly Broken is now live on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Smashwords (as well as Apple, Kobo, and Sony).

To help get you started:

Prologue
Ripley, Tennessee
May 13, 2013: Sentencing


Around me I hear the sounds of incarceration echoing against cold concrete: shouting, banging, an occasional sob. The air is putrid, a stale mixture of urine, sweat, bleach, and vomit. In the beginning I could scarcely fathom becoming used to such things, but after nearly a year in this cell, in some odd way the noise and the stench have come to represent home. I’m comforted by the consistency of the assault on my senses, much as one finds comfort in the numbing monotony of white noise.

The call came exactly four minutes ago, so I wait for the armed guards and the quick trip to the courthouse where I will meet my attorney. Together, we will face the jury—a jury of my peers, they said, and at one time that would have been accurate. But these people are no peers of mine; I’ve crossed a line that ensures this to be true.

There is no doubt of my guilt; that was already determined. What is in dispute is the depth of my guilt. For weeks I sat at the defense table, my mouth dry, my eyes drier, and listened to the horror of my crime. The carefully prepared defense of my actions crumbled away like so much dust in the wind, blown apart by my own behavior. By the end, even I knew I was a monster, not for the reasons they cited—not because I had killed my wife—but because I didn’t save her sooner.

More recent words play themselves through my mind as I wait for the telltale jingle of keys. Aggravating factors. Particularly cruel, stood to gain sole custody of a minor, planned and premeditated, preyed upon vulnerabilities.

It is not enough to label me guilty; the question is: Am I guilty enough to put to death?

It is a necessary part of the process; this, I understand. The court needs closure; the jury needs to feel they’ve fulfilled their responsibilities, the family needs to feel vindicated. True and just punishment must be meted out within the appropriate parameters of the law.

I will go with my lawyer into the courtroom. I will sit again, as I have sat for weeks, and wait for others to determine my fate. Life imprisonment or death; that is the question. And while the outcome matters immensely to the other players in this drama of my life, it matters not at all to me. I am dead either way.

There are all sorts of rumors and theories in the writing world about when books sell best, but I've never found any of them to be true. My own book sales fluctuate without any apparent cause.

One memorable month back in 2011 saw sales of Appalachian Justice suddenly quadruple. I later received a handful of requests to phone in to book clubs to discuss it; apparently four clubs had picked it up that month, which was fun.

Appalachian Justice is three years old this month, and in spite of the fact I've published three other books since then, it still seems to strike a chord. I often hear from readers that the protagonist, Billy May, is as real to them as she was to me during the writing process.

Yesterday I received two different messages about Appalachian Justice, and both warmed my heart. One reader who hails from West Virginia wrote, "What you have given me is the gift of my culture." I've always thought Appalachia (and West Virginia in particular) to be a beautiful, haunting, spiritual place, and was so glad to connect with someone who felt the same.

Another person enjoyed a quote from Billy May: "Strange, the way the years flow together with no regard to time and place, no separation of events, as if the whole of my life has been one big, unendin’ cycle of emotions. Here laughter and there sadness, terror mixed right in with joy, fury holdin’ onto loneliness. Like a creek, I think, all flowin’ together, sometimes gentle and peaceful and sometimes bashin’ to bits against the rocks."

One of my favorite messages, received shortly after publication, was from a minister who said, "You've succeeded in taking an issue I never understood and helping me to understand." That's just about the best outcome I could have wished for.

With the publication of my more recent novels I sometimes feel as if I don't pay enough attention to Appalachian Justice, or to Billy May, so I thought it only fitting to celebrate her birthday before the month completely slips away.

Here's wishing you a very happy birthday, Billy May.

I've been woefully inadequate in updating my blog the last couple of weeks, but this seemed like a good announcement to get me back on track: Appalachian Justice is now only $.99 on Amazon, just in time for the holidays.

More deals are coming in the very near future. One about which I'm particularly excited: Matchbook. Within the next day or two, anyone who buys the paperback version of any of my books on Amazon will be able to receive the Kindle version for free. Once the start date is set, I'll post to let folks know.

Amazon is doing some cool stuff this fall, and I'm really excited about sharing it. More details as I have them....

The holidays are almost here! Now on Amazon, anyone who purchases one of my paperbacks will be able to download the FREE ebook, too.

Buy a paperback to give as a gift, receive a free ebook for yourself.

The offer is good for all four of my novels: Appalachian Justice, Return to Crutcher Mountain, Entangled Thorns, or my latest, Blessed Are the Wholly Broken.

In addition, the Kindle version of Appalachian Justice is now only $.99.

On a different note, my nonfiction book, Self-publishing Made Simple: A How-to Guide for the Non-tech-savvy Among Us is coming soon!

It's been a busy week, with lots of new promotions happening in order to prepare for the upcoming holiday season.

So - just in time for the weekend my latest novel, Blessed Are the Wholly Broken is only $0.99 on Kindle.

As is my first novel, Appalachian Justice.

Or, if you know someone who still prefers paperbacks, all four of my books are listed at least $1.00 below the retail price of $12.99 on Amazon, and the purchase of any of them will get you a free download of the Kindle version of the same book.

Give a paperback as a gift, keep the ebook.

I'm sure more deals will come along in the weeks to come, and I'll be sure to pass them on as they do.

It's been a busy few weeks as the family and I gear up for the holiday season. One thing I've neglected is blogging; one thing I haven't neglected is making sure I've got some holiday deals going on.

So here they are.

First, I'm giving away not only a paperback of Blessed Are the Wholly Broken, but also a paperback of Self-publishing Made Simple: A How-to Guide for the Non-tech-savvy Among Us. The drawing is on December 17th.

Next, Entangled Thorns is on sale for 99 cents for one day only on Amazon. It's also a Kindle Matchbook book, which means if you buy the paperback edition on Amazon, you get a free download of the ebook. Put the paperback in Mom's stocking for Christmas, and keep the ebook. ;-)

The ebook versions of both my first novel, Appalachian Justice, and my fourth, Blessed Are the Wholly Broken, are on sale on Amazon throughout the holiday season for only 99 cents. They're also Kindle Matchbook books; buy the paperback on Amazon and receive a free download of the ebook.

I think that covers it.

My best to you and yours, with wishes for a safe and joyful holiday season.

I'm woefully behind on blogging. Life does have a way of stepping in and demanding attention. And I hate marketing. I just do.

But here's the thing. I was nominated for one of BigAl's Books and Pals 2014 Readers' Choice Awards. I was nominated for one last year, too (I think for Entangled Thorns). But I didn't ask for votes, and as far as I know I didn't receive any.

I'm always hesitant to ask for votes on these things, and am only comfortable asking those who've actually read the book to vote. So here it is: If you've read Blessed Are the Wholly Broken and feel it's deserving of a vote, would you consider voting?

Blessed Are the Wholly Broken is in the Contemporary/General fiction category. If you haven't read it, please take a look at the other books (in that and all categories) to see if you'd like to vote on one.

Voting is here: http://booksandpals.blogspot.com/2014...

Thanks, and hope everyone is having a wonderful Sunday evening.

August 13. 2015

Two fun pieces of news: first, the audio book for Shadow Days, the fourth in the Cedar Hollow Series, has been completed and is now live, meaning all of the (thus far) Cedar Hollow books are available on audio.

And second, my latest novel, Making Amends, will be available in just a few short weeks:

Making Amends

On a beautiful fall evening, in the middle of a game of hide-and-seek, five-year-old Bobby Clark is kidnapped by his estranged father, a shiftless man with a history of domestic violence and drug abuse.

Bobby’s twin brother Ricky watches, terrified, from his hiding place behind the bougainvillea, while mother Tabby, who also struggles with addiction, lies inebriated on the living room floor.

Bobby isn’t seen by his loved ones again until a fateful morning twenty-five years later, when video of his arrest dominates the morning news. Bobby has been charged with the murder of his father, but before the trial can begin, he manages to escape.

As Tabby and Ricky absorb the news of Bobby’s return and subsequent escape, Tabby is convinced he’ll come home to the quiet Florida street from which he was taken so long ago.

But when events begin to spiral out of control, she's left to wonder: is a child born to be evil, or shaped to be evil? And in the end, when it’s time to make amends, does it really matter?


I'd post a cover photo, except that Goodreads' photo-posting capabilities still confuse me!

It's been a long time since I've stopped by - too long. The end of 2015 found me with some medical issues (well, I say end, but it all started in February of 2015). A metal plate, a couple of screws, and a cadaver bone (neck fusion surgery), and I'm up and running again, almost back to 100% and with more energy all the time. I hadn't realized I was old enough for such problems (ha!), but the universe has a way of slapping us with a little reality from time to time if we get too uppity. :-) At any rate, I've been blessed with a quick and very nearly painless recovery. Isn't it amazing what our medical experts can do?

All of this to say, I've started 2016 with a bang. I'm working on a sequel to Blessed Are the Wholly Broken: Book 1 (and seeing that cover reminds me I need to ask Goodreads to update it - I've got a snazzy new one).

My Cedar Hollow Series (Appalachian Justice, Return to Crutcher Mountain, Entangled Thorns, and Shadow Days) is all available in audiobook format now. And Blessed Are the Wholly Broken: Book 1 and Making Amends should be available as audiobooks sometime in early spring.

A sneak peak (or listen, as it were), if I can remember how to insert a link:

Blessed Are the Wholly Broken

Making Amends

Here's to a happy, healthy, productive 2016 for all of us.

Can it really be four years since I've updated this blog? Where does the time go?

Wait ... I can answer that. It goes to teaching, raising kids, and finishing the next book during the few scraps of time I could find in-between.

Well, the kids have been raised. One just graduated from college, and the other is about to start his junior year (remotely, of course).

Teaching continues to bring me joy, although I did finally let my tutoring work go. Something had to go, and I thought it probably shouldn't be the kids (kidding, of course), so tutoring it was.

Even then, the book probably still wouldn't be finished had I not spent several weeks this past spring away from home. I traveled to my parents' house to help them, and my brother, who has Down Syndrome, navigate through some medical issues in the midst of rising cases of COVID-19.

It was a strange time. I haven't lived at home since the age of 17. And while you might think it would be more work to take care of three potentially medically fragile people, it actually wasn't. It was peaceful, as if time stood still while I was there. I got to know my parents, and my brother, in a way I never would have otherwise (after all, the age of 17 was a very long time ago!). And I got to use my mother's office, which was actually my old bedroom, to spend quiet time writing.

Her desk was situated in front of the window, my view the backyard and fields I ran through as a little girl. Pecan trees, apple trees, oak trees, birds and butterflies and the occasional deer or rabbit.

The memories were overwhelming and bittersweet. That old farm is the setting I used in A Woman Misunderstood and that area of Tennessee is also the setting for my latest one, Child of Sorrow.

During quiet moments, I got lost looking out that old window, and it was strange, I must admit, to have both memories and story ideas running circles simultaneously in my head.

The end result is that my parents and brother are all healed and healthy, and I (finally) completed my latest novel.

Some small part of me thinks it would be nice to return to my parents' house to work on the next one; another much larger part of me surely hopes it's not due to any medical crises.

You all be safe out there, you hear?

Best,
Melinda