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Melinda Blaloch

Goodreads Author

Born

in Memphis, Tennessee, The United States

June 12

Website

http://www.blaloch.com

Twitter

blaloch

Genre

Fantasy, Poetry, Young Adult

Member Since

September 2013

URL

https://www.goodreads.com/blaloch

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A Texan-in-exile who wandered once to Saint Louis and stayed, Melinda Blaloch lives in a cozy red tower in the middle of a small but quite enchanted woodland. Her housemates include a number of cats and one very delightful human. She spends her days and nights traveling the dreamroads, from whence she brings back curious tales of wonder and enchantment. She can be found online at www.blaloch.com ...more

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Popular Answered Questions

How do you deal with writer’s block?

Melinda Blaloch I know lots and lots of people have said this before, but writer's block is really a form of fear: fear of writing crap. You have to give yourself per…moreI know lots and lots of people have said this before, but writer's block is really a form of fear: fear of writing crap. You have to give yourself permission to write crap. No one is ever, ever EVER going to see your first draft. Even someone as awesome as Hemingway said that all first drafts are bad. And Stephen King talks about how some days you feel like you're just shoveling manure at the screen.

The trick is to keep on shoveling.

You absolutely, positively MUST give yourself permission to write a really bad first draft. To write stuff -- paragraphs, pages, chapters -- that may not make it through to the final revision. You have to remember that you can fix ANYTHING in rewrite, no matter how bad. What you can't fix is nothing. You have to get it written, so you can get to the real work of rewriting.

I think having been a reporter in the long ago days of my youth helps me some now. In the seething cauldron of a news daily, you just have to hammer it out and send it of to the city desk. Deadlines and editors wait for no one. You start with the lead: what's the most important thing here. Ok, write that down. What's the second most important thing. Write that down. Keep moving.

Noveling isn't QUITE like reporting. Sometimes when I get stuck I interview one of my characters. I imagine she (or he) is sitting across from me, and I ask them questions and listen to them answer, typing out what they say. Does this make it into the book? No. But it keeps the dialogue going with the imagination and keeps the fingers moving. And it deepens the connection with the character.

Writer's block is fear, essentially fear of being bad. So EXPECT to be bad, and know that it can all be fixed on revision and just keep going.

And if you're really, really stuck, have hot chocolate. Then keep going. (less)

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What are you currently working on?

Melinda Blaloch I've got a couple of irons in the fire at the moment. There's the trilogy. I finished the first draft of that over a year ago and am chomping at the b…moreI've got a couple of irons in the fire at the moment. There's the trilogy. I finished the first draft of that over a year ago and am chomping at the bit to begin the rewrite. The working title is "Sans Wine." It's set in the same world as "Katabasis," though many centuries in the past. I actually wrote it before I wrote Katabasis.

When I decided I had a drawer full of first drafts and it was time to turn one of those into a real book and set it loose on the world, I chose Katabasis over Sans Wine because I had never done a rewrite / edit before. Since Katabasis was shorter, I started with it. And so the younger child actually left home first.

But before I move on to the process of turning the first draft of Sans Wine into a final draft, I have a collection of short stories I'm finishing up. The title is "Fangs, Faerie Tales, and Fables." It's a fun volume, with lots of different types of stories. There's a vegan vampire, a changeling tale, some urban paranormal, some 'traditional' faerie tales - both new and retold, some "weird tales", one bit that can only be called Sword and Sorcery, a piece or two with a Dunsanian flavor, and even a spattering of poetry.

That's my current project. I hope I can get it all pulled together by autumn of this year (2016), but spring of 2017 is really more likely. (less)

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Melinda Blaloch’s books

Average rating: 3.55 · 11 ratings · 4 reviews · 1 distinct work

Katabasis

3.55 avg rating — 11 ratings — 2 editions

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17 posts
Melinda Blaloch's Blog

Let us dance in the sun

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Published on March 03, 2019 13:38

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Melinda is Currently Reading

Melinda Blaloch is currently reading

Sicilian Court Culture 1061-1266: The Time Traveler's Guide

by Jacqueline Alio

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Apr 15, 2025 07:50AM

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The Deep State: The Fall of the Constitution and the Rise of a Shadow Government

by Mike Lofgren

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Jan 20, 2017 05:50PM

Melinda Blaloch is currently reading

Girl, Wash Your Face: Stop Believing the Lies About Who You Are so You Can Become Who You Were Meant to Be (Girl, Wash Your Face Series)

by Rachel Hollis (Goodreads Author)

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May 17, 2018 01:11PM

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Melinda Blaloch is currently reading Sicilian Court Culture 1061-1266: The Time Traveler's Guide by Jacqueline Alio	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Apr 15, 2025 07:50AM · like
Melinda Blaloch liked a quote “We are powerless over another’s alcoholism. We didn’t cause the disease. We can’t control it. And we can’t cure it.” Al-Anon Family Groups
Aug 21, 2024 08:45PM · like · more quotes by Al-Anon Family Groups · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of How Al-Anon Works for Families & Friends of Alcoholics by Al-Anon Family Groups. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — How Al-Anon Works for Families & Friends of Alcoholics by Al-Anon Family Groups <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Melinda Blaloch entered a giveaway The Ghost Illusion by Kat Martin (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Aug 05, 2024 06:34AM · like · see giveaway · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Ghost Illusion by Kat Martin. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Ghost Illusion by Kat Martin <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Melinda Blaloch rated a book it was amazing Treasure of the City of Ladies (03) by Pizan, Christine de [Paperback (2003)] by Pizan	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
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Melinda Blaloch wants to read The Vision of Christine de Pizan (Library of Medieval Women) by Glenda McLeod	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
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Melinda Blaloch liked a quote “The very purpose of a knight is to fight on behalf of a lady.” Thomas Malory
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Melinda’s Quotes

“And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music.”
― Friedrich Nietzsche

tags: dance, music

10918 likes

“Writing is a form of therapy; sometimes I wonder how all those who do not write, compose, or paint can manage to escape the madness, melancholia, the panic and fear which is inherent in a human situation.”
― Graham Greene, Ways of Escape

tags: escape, life, therapy, writing

689 likes

“Things have a life of their own," the gypsy proclaimed with a harsh accent. "It's simply a matter of waking up their souls.”
― Gabriel García Márquez, One Hundred Years of Solitude

tags: philosophical

267 likes

“a...look that seemed to know what there was on the other side of things.”
― Gabriel García Márquez, One Hundred Years of Solitude

1 likes

“That woman of unbreakable nerves who at no moment in her life had been heard to sing.”
― Gabriel García Márquez, One Hundred Years of Solitude

3 likes

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