Hello, and welcome to my blog! I’m so delighted that you’re here!
For my first post, I just wanted to talk a little bit about myself, my first book, and what's coming in the future. My name is Marlyse Goodroad. I’m a Kansas native, but I’m currently living in Fort Wayne, Indiana, with my husband while he attends school. I am currently writing and editing full time (if you want to know more about my editing, check out my pricing page for information!), and I love it ! It’s always been a dream of mine to be able to do that, and I feel very blessed that that time is finally here. On top of writing every day, I also create posts for my social media sites (I’m currently on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr, Pinterest, Goodreads, and I have an Amazon Author page.), and now, I’ll also be creating content for my weekly blog and my bi-monthly newsletter which you can sign up for here on my website.
I just self-published my first book on Amazon in July 2020. My book, entitled The Secrets Behind My Eyes, is a collection of poetry that I’ve written over the last decade. It chronicles my struggles with depression, anxiety, pain, loss of friendships, and my initial attempts at love. Some of the poems contained within its pages are dark. They describe moments when I felt that perhaps it would be better to give up than to continue struggling. But there is also a message of hope. I came through those dark places in my life due to those who were beacons for me, who showed me that I was more than what I believed I was and that there was a purpose for me beyond my struggles.
Anyone who knows me will know that I don’t like to talk about these types of things. I tend to keep my emotions under lock and key if I can; I don’t want to be a burden on anyone. However, I have always been better with the pen than I have with spoken word. Writing in all its forms—poetry, prose, and narrative—have all been instrumental in helping me get my thoughts from my brain and into the world. Making the decision to share what is really quite a personal struggle was not an easy one, but in the end, I decided that what I had written was worth sharing. If it could help just one other person feel that someone else could relate to what they were struggling with, then I had done my job effectively.
So, what’s next for me? Well, I have several irons in the fire right now. I’m currently in the process of creating an audio book for The Secrets Behind My Eyes. I’ve set up a tiny recording booth in a closet in my house, and I’m spending a lot of time in there, recording, editing, and recording again. I’m working on two books that I’d like to publish yet this year. The first is what will become the first book in a series, Across the Expanse. It’s a historical/fantasy novel about a young couple who discovers one another by chance and learns, throughout the narrative, that they are soulmates. Subsequent books in the series will follow the same two characters as they live out different “lifetimes.” The other book is a humorous, fictional memoir called I Must Be Tripping Wedding Bells. While the story is inspired by true events, everything in the book is fictional, both characters and events alike.
Lastly, throughout the month of August, I’ve challenged myself to write a new piece of fiction each day in a Flash Fiction Challenge. Flash fiction is a short piece of fiction that is usually less than 1500 words and contains a plot twist. I’m challenging fellow writers on my various social medias to participate in this challenge with me. Each Thursday, I’ll be posting a prompt that I and whomever wishes to participate will fill on Friday. Then, on Saturday, I’ll be sharing my own fiction here on my blog as well as links to the fiction of everyone who participated in the challenge with me on Saturday. So, be sure that you check back here each Saturday in August to read my fiction and find other fiction to read based on the same prompt.
If you’d like me to do a blog post on anything specific, want to know more about me or my book, or are interested in learning about the Flash Fiction challenge taking place this month (August 2020), please don’t hesitate to send me a message. Also, don’t forget to sign up for my bi-monthly newsletter so you can find out about my latest projects, my newest fiction, and my, sometimes, wild rambling. If you'd like to purchase a copy of my book, you can find it on Amazon by putting my name, Marlyse Goodroad, or the title, The Secrets Behind My Eyes, into the search bar.
Thanks for reading, everyone! I’ll see you back here next Saturday!