Thursday, March 1, 2012

The New Book of a Delightful Friend

Dear Readers,
Two blogging friends I met in August are next-door neighbors who support one another in all the events of their lives. The richer, poorer, in sickness and health of a marriage of the minds truly apply to them. Both are married—one to Phil and one to Cade. Both have children who can be both naughty and nice. And both are bloggers who share their stories with us and bring laughter into my life and the lives of all their readers.
            Who are these great friends? Melynda and Elisa.
            Now both are published writers. Elisa published first. Her book, The Golden Sky, is a poignant memoir of the brief life of her son Zeke and the aftermath of his death and how it affected her marriage.
            Now Melynda’s first book—Just Nonsense—has been published. That’s what I’d like to post about today. You see, Melynda is almost legally blind because of diabetes. In the past year she has had a number of expensive, but necessary, operations on her eyes. Tomorrow—Friday—she will undergo another long operation. It is painful, but yes, again, necessary.
            Why? Because if tomorrow’s operation is successful, she’ll be able to see blurs. That is, if there is a large obstacle in her path, she will be able to see that something is there. She won’t know what, but she can move aside and avoid it. Of course, she will be able to see that blur with only one eye. In the other, she has lost all her eyesight.
            These delicate operations have greatly depleted Melynda and Phil’s savings. That’s where I come in. And I’m hoping, you too. Here’s how we can do this: As a wonderful day-before-the-dreaded-operation surprise, Elisa has edited, formatted, and published Melynda’s first book. Beginning today, Just Nonsense is available on Amazon as a paper book and on Amazon and Smashwords as an e-book.
            Today, I ask you to consider purchasing Melynda’s books. All the proceeds that she earns will go toward her medical bills. This is a way for the blogging community—that stretches far and wee—to help someone who has shared such laughter with us. For Melynda has a great sense of the ridiculous. She has that uncanny ability to take sour lemons and make sweet and refreshing lemonade.
            Often, she’s lifted my spirits on a gloomy day. Despite her own problems, she has reached out to me whenever I needed a cheery hello or an encouraging word to help me in my writing. She has become in these few short months a dear friend.
            And so I’m reaching out to all of you reading this, and I’m encouraging you to support her as she’s supported so many others. By purchasing her book, we can all help raise money to help Melynda pay for medical expenses and other things she needs to cope with blindness. And perhaps you can reach out to your friends and fellow bloggers and tell them this story.
            Here is the blurb, written by her friend Elisa, from the back cover of Melynda’s first published book—Just Nonsense.

Whimsical blog posts from a very witty writer. From Mr. P (a wild little boy who loves animals) to Meaghan (a driving teenager) to Kyle (a young man who wants to visit Italy), Melynda's year starts with a bang. Phil, her husband, is a riotous addition, but Melynda herself is the one who keeps the laughs coming. Join her life from January to March 2011 and see what made her blog such a success!

            If you’d like to read Elisa’s initial posting about  what all of us are trying to do for Melynda, please click on If You Love Melynda.
            Today, Elisa has posted on Melynda’s blog. Click here to see her announcement to her friend about the publications of Just Nonsense. Also on that posting, you can pick up a “button” to show your support for Melynda and her book.

o   To purchase her paper book from Amazon, please click here.
o   To purchase her e-book for use on a Kindle, please click here.
o   To purchase her e-book from Smashwords for use on an Apple iPad. iBook, Sony Reader, Kobo, or Nook, please click here. (Smashwords gives the author a larger percentage of the book’s selling price than Kindle does.)

Thank you for considering the buying of Melynda’s book. I know her book will make you laugh, sometimes bring tears to your eyes, but always help you appreciate the deep-down goodness that remains strong and vibrant within humanity.

Peace.


PS: This posting for Melynda takes the place of my usual Saturday posting. I want to keep the information about Just Nonsense at the top of my posting column for several days so that all of you who visit this blog will learn about Melynda and her book and will consider helping her out by purchasing it. Next Tuesday and Saturday I'll be back with postings about two events that almost catapulted me into a nervous breakdown while in grad school.

17 comments:

  1. Thank you so much for writing about Mel's book. I'll buy it, of course, and I'll also write a post to promote the book.

    Love,
    Janie

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  2. Dee,

    You are a treasure. This means so very much to me. I know it will mean the world to Melynda as well. Thank you.

    -Elisa

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  3. I love this blogging community! Thank you so much for taking the time to pass this along. I will certainly wish her well and do what I can to support her.

    Thanks, Dee.

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  4. As is to be expected, you have come up trumps with this beautifully written post, Dee. I now have tears in my eyes.

    I bought two hard copies of Melynda's book earlier today. One to keep and one to give away. I challenge all of your wonderful followers to equal or better me :)

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  5. Dear Dee--You are one of the wonderful friends I've met in Blogerland! I've read Melynda's book--I helped edit it--but I've purchased a hard copy, which I will treasure. It is HYSTERICAL!!

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  6. Oh Dee! Tears are running down my face! You have no idea what your kind words mean to me! For once I'm speechless.. Well almost. :)

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  7. You can count on me, Dee! I enjoy collecting little treasures like you're describing. You are a wonderful friend, but I already knew that! I have a friend now legally blind from JD and she, too, is one of the most optimistic and loving people I know...I pray for a successful surgery! Debra

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  8. A wonderful write which I enjoyed.

    Yvonne.

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  9. Just bought it. I will read it and am very glad to support her. Thanks for the recommendation!

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  10. I'll buy both, Dee! Thanks so much for letting us know about them!

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  11. Thanks, Dee, for a well written and loving post. I appreciated learning a little more, and will buy at least one copy of Melynda's book.

    Bless your generous heart!

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  12. Thank you for being such a warm and generous friend. After wrestling with Amazon, I have also bought 'Just Nonsense'. I am sending good wishes to Melyda for her surgery and recovery.

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  13. Ah, Dee, you hit close to home with this post.

    My husband, Tom, has had Juvenile Diabetes, also called Type I, for 45 years. He takes very good care of himself, but, the wear and tear this insidious disease does to the body has often made its mark. He has had many surgeries on both of his eyes, but still has fairly good vision. We count our blessings and pray a lot. I can only imagine what Melynda has been going through, and that she maintains a sense of humor is a credit to her character.

    I will be happy to order "Just Nonsense" and I will link back on a post as well.

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  14. Great post, Dee! Amazing how this all came together.

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  15. TO ALL OF YOU WHO'VE COMMENTED . . .
    Thank you for your unstinting support of Melynda. The 6th comment from the top is hers.
    When you read it, you'll see how touched she was by your generosity. Her operation is today and I'll let you know the results as soon as she is aware of them.

    Peace to all of you and grateful for your goodness.

    Dee

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  16. Aren't they just the best of friends?!
    I admire Melynda's courage, optimism, and humor.
    Great post, Dee.

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  17. Thank you for bringing this wonderful lady and her writing to our attention, Dee :-)

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