So Much It Hurts (38 page)

Thank you, Jim McLaurin, for your keen eyes and attention to detail. You helped me tremendously! Not only did you make loads of corrections, but you lifted my spirits as well. Even though my book is what you affectionately called a “girlie book,” I’ll never forget your kind words: “…a good tale is a good tale.” Thank you for your support and for your boost of confidence!

Thank you to my final beta crew: Debi Barnes, Danielle Plane, Elle Wilson, Mindy Stickels, and Teri Page. You girls were my last minute betas who kept me motivated to perfect and polish my book. Your encouragement and support were phenomenal those final weeks before publishing! I look forward to working with you ladies in the future!

Thank you to Brett Fabrizio, with the help of his sweet and beautiful bride, for making my book cover more gorgeous than I could ever imagine!

Thank you to my amazing editor, Kathleen Lilley, who spent hours combing through my manuscript for every misplaced comma and grammatical error. I enjoyed working with you and spending time on the phone chatting about my book. Maybe, just maybe, I might have added a few things after you did my final edit. So if there are any mistakes, they’re not your fault. After all, I’m a tweakaholic who just can’t stop!

Thank you, blogger Kim Box Person of Shh Mom’s Reading, for hosting my cover reveal for So Much It Hurts! Thank you for taking a chance on a newbie like me and helping to get my cover out to so many other bloggers. I appreciate your humor and all the hard work you put into blogging and reviewing! I hope you love my rockstar, Chris King! ;)

Thank you, blogger Holly Malgieri of I Love Indie Books, for hosting my blog tour and for always being one click away with all my messages. Thank you for answering all my questions and for being patient with a newbie like me. I know how much time and effort goes into planning a blog tour. I appreciate everything you’re doing to help me.

Thank you to all the bloggers who have agreed to take part in my blog tour and who have agreed to read and review my book. I’m so thankful for everyone who has taken part in getting the word out about my book. Thank you for everything you have done and continue to do for indie authors! We appreciate you!

Thank you, Angela McLaurin of Fictional Formats, for making the interior of So Much It Hurts so incredibly stunning! You have a gift for creating beautiful masterpieces! Thank you for your friendship, also! I knew the moment we met at Book Bash that we would be great friends. I appreciate everything you’ve done for me. You are such a beautiful person, inside and out! I look forward to working with you in the future and hanging out with you at future book signings… you know, since you did volunteer be my assistant and all. ;)

Last, but certainly not least, thank you so much to my children, whom I adore with every fiber of my being (most of the time). They had to put up with a lot of pizza and takeout, which I don’t think they minded much. They were very patient with me when I holed myself up in my bedroom writing with that ‘Mama’s got crazy eyes’ look. They didn’t tear the house up…too much. And, while sometimes they drive me BSC, I still love them more than life!!! (Psssst….if any of my kids ask, BSC stands for Banana Split Crazy) ;)

Melanie Dawn is a thinker, a dreamer, and a hopeless romantic. When her head isn’t in the clouds, she spends her time as a jack of all trades to her family. Melanie resides in the hills of North Carolina with her husband, her three children, and her cat. She enjoys lazy summer afternoons cruising around the lake on the pontoon boat with her family.

Melanie graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill with a BA in Psychology and earned her MA in School Counseling from Appalachian State University. She spent the first six years after graduate school as a middle school counselor. Those were years she deems as some of the best years of her life. That is, until she had children of her own. The last seven years have been spent as a stay-at-home mom. She has learned some tough life lessons, like what the inner absorbent pellets of a diaper look like scattered in the washing machine. She has also learned the strength of the willpower of a two year old lacking a nap. Through it all, Melanie has learned how to roll with the punches and appreciate the time she has been able to spend at home with her children.

Now that her last child has started Kindergarten, Melanie is ready to add a new chapter in her life. That chapter begins with her debut novel—So Much It Hurts.

Let’s stay in touch:

Facebook:
www.facebook.com/AuthorMelanieDawn

Twitter:
www.twitter.com/MelanieDawn1

Email:
[email protected]

Is There Life Out There by Reba McEntire

I Can’t Do That Anymore by Faith Hill

And Still by Reba McEntire

Weak by SWV

Wonderful Tonight by Eric Clapton

Boys of Fall by Kenny Chesney

Face Down by Red Jumpsuit Apparatus

I Hate Everything About You by Three Days Grace

Bleed for You by Hidden in Plain View

Everything by Lifehouse

Hey Ya! by Outkast

Iris by GooGoo Dolls

Jumper by Third Eye Blind

Numb by Linkin Park

Jar of Hearts by Christina Perri

Mean by Taylor Swift

She Will be Loved by Maroon 5

U Got It Bad by Usher

Crush by David Archuleta

All I Want by Staind

The Dance by Garth Brooks

End of the Road by Boyz II Men

Here Without You by 3 Doors Down

You Found Me by The Fray

Bring Me to Life by Evanescence

You and Me by Lifehouse

I Don’t Wanna Miss a Thing by Aerosmith

Collide by Howie Day

You’re Beautiful by James Blunt

What Hurts the Most by Rascal Flatts

Fix You by Coldplay

Bleed Together by The Autumn Offering

Just Give Me a Reason by Pink

Unanswered Prayers by Garth Brooks

Blessed by Martina McBride

What happens when you find the one person who completes you, and then life conspires against you? How do you set your grief and anguish aside? How do you pick up the shattered pieces, put those pieces back together again, and try to move on?

Katie and Tripp met on the playground the first day of third grade when Tripp tried to rescue Katie from Zack, her twin brother. A lifelong friendship that later blossomed into love began that day.

Broken beyond her own ability to repair, Katie boxes her grief up and attempts to raise her three girls the best she can on her own. As time slowly passes, Katie relives her times with Tripp while struggling most days to even get out of bed. She is reminded of him at every turn.

Zack is Katie’s twin brother and was Tripp’s best friend. Having lost his own love, he dedicates himself to helping Katie put her life back together. Throw in a mother-in-law who torments at every turn and poor Katie can’t even find a chance to breathe, much less a desire to somehow search for tomorrow.

Who is Tripp, you ask? Well, that is fairly easy to explain. Tripp was my best friend, my lover, my confidant, my soul mate. He was the salt to my pepper. He was the peanut butter to my chocolate. He gave me love and hope and joy. Together we created our three beautiful girls and together we looked at the world as ours to conquer. In short, he was my other half; the part that completed me.

Tripp and I met in 1992. It was the first day of the new school year and we were starting the third grade. Mom had made me wear this frilly pink dress and these hideous pink and white ribbons in my hair. During recess, all the kids went out to the playground for recess. The tire swing was my favorite thing to play on. Tripp saw me fighting with a boy who was trying to take the tire swing from me and decided he would come rescue me. He had no idea that the boy he rescued me from was my twin brother Zack who was quite used to trading punches with me. He quickly learned that fact when I joined forces with Zack to ‘take that little twerp down’! From that day forward Zack, Tripp and I were inseparable. Like Tripp always said, “If you can’t beat them, join them!” He introduced himself to us as Channing, and we let him keep that name for a short while. The change from Channing to Tripp was just the beginning of the start of our new life together.