November 24th 2011

Happy Thanksgiving to all ! Sitting here quietly I am reminded of  some things that I am so thankful for...

My two year old grandson's tiny hand in mine, his pure joy, excitement and innocence as we cross the meadow to visit the horses.

My five month old grandson's baby belly laugh~

The graceful, warrior's light that emanates from two of my dear friends living with cancer.

The growth and acceptance that comes from the sometimes painful relationships in our lives.

Our increasing ability to "live what is" (See Byron Katie's website     Byron Katie~    ) but still "be the change we want to see" (Gandhi).

I have gratitude for being able to create and express myself, and so thankful our little company with a large vision is still viable. Here are some of the wisdom cards I would love to share with you...

 

Autumn

After all the nurturing, weeding and pruning,

we can now reap the harvest of ourselves.

As the vibrancy of colors soften,

this is a time for readiness and anticipation.

Falling leaves remind us that change

is the only constant.

Gather and prepare.

From the Wisdom of the Crone~
Wisdom of the Crone

Gratitude

Be grateful for the gifts in your life:

For the air you breathe, the body that sustains you

and your family that loves you.

Welcome even the hardships, knowing they are lessons you must

learn for your soul's growth.

Out of thankfulness rises awareness for the less fortunate.

Remember to give, serve and help others.

With gratitude we can create constant happiness.

From The Wonder of the Mother

Wonder of the Mother

I also wanted to thank you all for your appreciation and support after reading "True". Your impressions, emotions, opinions and comments mean so much...If you are inclined, I would love it if you would write a short review and post it on Amazon.com

P.S. "Our Crone" horse Elvira is better!

Have a wonder-full holiday~

Blessed Be

Melinda

Elvira and the girls~

11-1-11

The wheel of the year has turned as have all the trees in the valley, to vibrant burgundy, yellow and orange. We've had frost, and the garden is laid to rest for this season. Our apple crop is abundant and cider making is under way. The hay is snug in the barn and wood (seven cords, thanks to my son-in-law) is neatly stacked. True has been out for a few weeks, I am so grateful that people have taken the time to read and share it. The feedback has been positive and the reviews are coming in (see Amazon.com) Like a birth, you hold and shelter the baby until you are ready to share it with the world. I look forward to readings and book signings in the near future.

Wise Women Ink will be giving discounts to any book club who will be ordering True. Anyone can contact Wise Women Ink if they would like to purchase larger quantities of True at a discount as well. Many people have suggested that True would make a great movie, so anyone out there with contacts in the entertainment industry, let us know!
I ask that you pass the book on through Facebook and consider sharing it for Christmas.

There have been so many comments about the book cover and interior design, thank you Lani Phillips and Jill Voges for your focus and inspirational art work and design.

On a sadder note, one of my horses, Elvira is not doing well and we will be deciding soon if her time on this earth is finished. She has been such a giving companion over her 33 years, as a ranch horse, kid's horse, barrel racer and trail horse. She served humans with an open willingness and spirited heart, I am grateful she will be forever remembered, as she plays an important role in True. Bless our animals and all they give to us. ~ Melinda

Here is a review that was sent to me by a wonderful gentlemen, I am so thrilled to share it with you.

I admire art excellence, and I am envious of the fortunate souls that can create it, be it writing stories, making music, or painting pretty pictures. Thus, I was first impressed by the beautiful and intricate photograph on the cover, by Lani Phillips. But dont' let the cover fool you. "True", by Melinda Field is not a novel about butterflies and flowers. No, it is the hard hitting fast moving story of the sometimes happy, sometimes tragic, sometimes sad, and always interesting adventures of the Hidden Horse Sisterhood. Ms. Field is a talented and often brilliant writer, who made me see what the women saw, hear what the women heard, and feel what the women felt. I smiled when they were happy, feared for their safety when they were threatened, and I wept with them when they were sad. I heard the creak of the saddles, smelled the wonderful aroma of the sweating horses on the trail, and felt the sting of campfire smoke in my eyes. I inhaled the perfume of the tall pines, and was refreshed by the cool waters of alpine lakes.
So, as a grizzled old coot, who spent most of his life in a testosterone dominant environment, I was surprised, I was impressed, I was moved. I can only say " Ms. Field that ya done good, ya done real good girl. The Hidden Horse Sisterhood lives!"

"Chief" Robert Butler

True is here!

The books are here!  After nine years of writing and revising, endless hours of ruminating and imagining,  not to mention making the time in my incredibly full life, the books are here!  After a year of copy editing, book formatting, designing a cover, writing the synopsis on the back, literally thousands of decisions and an endless trek through grammar hell, True is here, physically, held in my hand and it is beautiful, a silky, sensual and rich paper package.  And somewhere in a literary parallel universe where stories wait to be born, my precious characters are rejoicing and so am I, so grateful to be able to share it with you and hopefully you will want to pass TRUE on to others... P.S. I will let everyone know all the details of where to buy True, next week~

 

A dream come True~

I have been a writer since I was a child. I came in with a great need to communicate.  I have always known that the ability of a story to transform ourselves and the world, word by word is truly powerful. In my 64th year I am grateful for such a rich life and creative path. I have been lucky to have a 35 year marriage, 5 children, grandchildren and a lifestyle lived in such a beautiful and natural environment, that it takes my breath away.

My creative path traveled through many different genres; poetry, short stories, decks of wisdom cards for young women, mothers and grandmothers, and now my debut novel, True. Women, their role on the planet at this amazing time in history, their ways of coping with a worldwide patriarchal society and their generous enduring nurturing spirit, frustration and anger have always been at the center of my work. Perhaps this is because I had no sisters, and my mother died when I was just 18. With no strong female role models I was required to trail blaze my way through the female passages of life, such as young womanhood, relationships, marriage, birth, mothering, menopause and the great mystery of death. I have been gifted though with incredibly supportive women friends and later with a wildly "young at heart" step-mother. I have learned so much from my daughters, who haven't had to experience the limitations that my generation and generations before me dealt with.

The story of True had possessed me for nine years. Animals have always given me a sense of comfort and kinship. I was a girl-child obsessed with horses, and my relationships with them have been magical. The female characters in True, who are extraordinary women leading ordinary lives came through me so to speak, literally if you will, revealing themselves, even as I slept. I would awake to Cat demanding that, "I need to say this and I have to do that." or half awake in the morning I'd hear Lilly talking to her horse, Joe. While walking in the mountains near my home, I'd suddenly "see" Midnight on the path ahead of me...and the men, I have learned so much from my male characters, even the bad ones. They showed me that they could be both gentle and masculine in the rough world of rural life. My characters had meetings without me! I'd be in the flow of writing and read back a sentence or paragraph shocked by what I saw, saying out loud to myself, "What? You are going to do that?". "Really?"...I suppose all writers become attached to the characters they create, but when I finally finished the book, I felt so sad and missed them, as if they were real people. As they struggle and rejoice and are taken in by the human condition of love, loss, fear, birth, death and beyond, I am grateful that although they are totally fictional, they somehow do justice to some of the fine people and animals I have been so fortunate know... Melinda Star Apple Farm September 9th 2011

True, a novel by Melinda Field

When sixteen year old Cat's mother is sent to prison in the fall of 1998, she is forced to leave the streets of Phoenix, Arizona to go live with her Native American grandmother whom she has never met, in a remote mountain valley in Northern California. After a devastating incident, Cat is taken in by nurse/midwife Emma Cassady, and becomes an integral, yet controversial part of her circle of horsewomen friends, Midnight, Lilly, Clare and Briar. Emma's decision to foster the troubled girl, disrupts her serene life, as do her feelings for a man who broke her heart decades ago. Lilly, blindsided by change, and her fragile sister Clare must deal with their aging mother, Dora, who is leading a secret life at the local nursing home. Midnight, culture keeper for her small tribe is forced to face the truth about her only son; while Briar, a fearless horsewoman and trainer becomes the circle's greatest teacher. Over the course of a year, these authentic women and their ties to their families, animals, their pristine wild environment and each other, inspire an unforgettable story that will be passed from friend to friend and mother to daughter.

"The beautiful and the terrible are magically united by "True's" honest wisdom. "