by: Melanie Summers
Genre: Women’s Fiction
Release Date: April 14, 2023
Publisher: Indigo Group
“Insightful, entertaining, and satisfying. A deliciously dishy look at a typical American family behind closed doors.” ~ USA Today Bestseller Whitney Dineen
“A life-affirming emotional rollercoaster. Perfect for fans of Where’d You Go, Bernadette!” ~ USA Today Bestseller Kate O’Keeffe
A richly satisfying family dramedy for any woman who has asked, “Whose life is this?”
Jessica Holloway is miserable. As mom to two ungrateful, almost-grown children and wife to one appreciative-but-needy husband, she has all-but-abandoned the extraordinary—and extraordinarily fun—woman she used to be.
She may be smiling while she volunteers at the school’s dog wash fundraiser, but inside, she’s seething. Having traded her future as a high-powered attorney for motherhood nearly two decades ago, she’s now desperate to reconnect with the woman she once was.
Pushed to her breaking point, Jessica is secretly terrified at what she might do.
Go on strike permanently?
Take the dog and run away to Mexico?
Tell her mother-in-law what she really thinks of her?
Whatever it is, it’s going to be a disaster. Because this time, Jessica will stop at nothing to get her power back – no matter the cost.
Betty leaned in, her blue eyes huge behind her thick lenses. “What did you want to do with your life? Before you got distracted by having a family?”
Jess shrugged. “I thought I wanted to be a lawyer, but I’m glad I didn’t do it. The way the world is now, I think I would have hated it.”
“That’s just more bullshit.”
“Is not,” Jess said, even though it was.
Betty arched one eyebrow at her and waited.
After a few seconds, Jessica sighed. “I don’t know. Maybe I would have enjoyed being a lawyer, but I didn’t do it, so there’s no sense in wishing I had.”
“What? Do you have one foot in the grave already?”
“According to you, I do,” Jessica quipped. “But in all seriousness, I’m not about to go back to school at this age.”
“Why the hell not? You clearly don’t have anything more important to do.”
“Because I’m too old. It would be too hard to keep up. And I have a family that needs me, even if you don’t think they do.” Jessica walked over to the nearest table and started straightening the chairs. “I traded that dream for a different one, and that’s that. There’s no going back.”
“What do you think? You only get one dream per life and that’s it?” Betty raised her voice. “That’s crazy talk. You get to have lots of dreams. Sometimes more than one at once.”
“What woman has time for more than one dream at a time?” Jessica scoffed.
“The fun ones. The ones who know how to grab life by the balls and hold on. The ones who get how short the ride is and are determined to enjoy every last second.” Betty pointed a crooked finger at Jess. “The smart ones. You want to be a lawyer, be a lawyer. Or take up scuba diving or… or talk your husband into becoming swingers. I don’t know. But do something because just sitting around writing in a journal isn’t the answer. You have to get out there and really live, Jessica. Before it’s too late.”
Her words felt like they were being baked into Jessica’s soul like that chaste pink paint that would be baked onto the pig’s lips. They were there forever. “Okay, thanks. I’ll think about it.”
“No, stop thinking. Go have a big, juicy life.” Betty walked over to her table and picked up her coat and purse. “I have to go. I have a big date.”
Jess managed a smile, even though it was the last thing she wanted to do. “See you next week.”
“I hope not.”
The rest of the afternoon, Jess fumed over the conversation. It came back to her in bits and pieces, each remembered phrase irritating her even more than the last. The smart ones do. As if Jess wasn’t smart. She was plenty smart, thank you very much. She’d scored a 169 on her LSAT, and you certainly couldn’t do that if you were stupid. Although, to be fair, Betty had also said she was intelligent when she suggested Jess had been wasting her mind, which was both flattering and insulting at the same time. The fun ones. Jess knew how to have fun. Although it had been quite a while since she’d actually thought of anything fun to do. Other than watching TV shows that made her laugh. But still, Betty didn’t know that about her, so how dare she suggest Jess wasn’t fun?
Later, as she drove home, she muttered to herself, “Nobody has time to live simultaneous dream lives. Nobody. You pick a path and focus on it. And you do your best. And you find a way to be happy about it. Period.”
Jess had picked her path close to eighteen years ago, and she wasn’t about to abandon that now. That would mean abandoning her children. They still needed her, possibly more now that they were facing more complicated life issues than they had when they were eight and ten. She wasn’t about to run off and have some big, juicy life just because some old lady at the shop told her to. No way. She knew what it was like to be abandoned by a parent, and there was no way in hell she’d ever do that to her kids. No matter how miserable she was.
Jess shrugged. “I thought I wanted to be a lawyer, but I’m glad I didn’t do it. The way the world is now, I think I would have hated it.”
“That’s just more bullshit.”
“Is not,” Jess said, even though it was.
Betty arched one eyebrow at her and waited.
After a few seconds, Jessica sighed. “I don’t know. Maybe I would have enjoyed being a lawyer, but I didn’t do it, so there’s no sense in wishing I had.”
“What? Do you have one foot in the grave already?”
“According to you, I do,” Jessica quipped. “But in all seriousness, I’m not about to go back to school at this age.”
“Why the hell not? You clearly don’t have anything more important to do.”
“Because I’m too old. It would be too hard to keep up. And I have a family that needs me, even if you don’t think they do.” Jessica walked over to the nearest table and started straightening the chairs. “I traded that dream for a different one, and that’s that. There’s no going back.”
“What do you think? You only get one dream per life and that’s it?” Betty raised her voice. “That’s crazy talk. You get to have lots of dreams. Sometimes more than one at once.”
“What woman has time for more than one dream at a time?” Jessica scoffed.
“The fun ones. The ones who know how to grab life by the balls and hold on. The ones who get how short the ride is and are determined to enjoy every last second.” Betty pointed a crooked finger at Jess. “The smart ones. You want to be a lawyer, be a lawyer. Or take up scuba diving or… or talk your husband into becoming swingers. I don’t know. But do something because just sitting around writing in a journal isn’t the answer. You have to get out there and really live, Jessica. Before it’s too late.”
Her words felt like they were being baked into Jessica’s soul like that chaste pink paint that would be baked onto the pig’s lips. They were there forever. “Okay, thanks. I’ll think about it.”
“No, stop thinking. Go have a big, juicy life.” Betty walked over to her table and picked up her coat and purse. “I have to go. I have a big date.”
Jess managed a smile, even though it was the last thing she wanted to do. “See you next week.”
“I hope not.”
The rest of the afternoon, Jess fumed over the conversation. It came back to her in bits and pieces, each remembered phrase irritating her even more than the last. The smart ones do. As if Jess wasn’t smart. She was plenty smart, thank you very much. She’d scored a 169 on her LSAT, and you certainly couldn’t do that if you were stupid. Although, to be fair, Betty had also said she was intelligent when she suggested Jess had been wasting her mind, which was both flattering and insulting at the same time. The fun ones. Jess knew how to have fun. Although it had been quite a while since she’d actually thought of anything fun to do. Other than watching TV shows that made her laugh. But still, Betty didn’t know that about her, so how dare she suggest Jess wasn’t fun?
Later, as she drove home, she muttered to herself, “Nobody has time to live simultaneous dream lives. Nobody. You pick a path and focus on it. And you do your best. And you find a way to be happy about it. Period.”
Jess had picked her path close to eighteen years ago, and she wasn’t about to abandon that now. That would mean abandoning her children. They still needed her, possibly more now that they were facing more complicated life issues than they had when they were eight and ten. She wasn’t about to run off and have some big, juicy life just because some old lady at the shop told her to. No way. She knew what it was like to be abandoned by a parent, and there was no way in hell she’d ever do that to her kids. No matter how miserable she was.
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Melanie made a name for herself with her debut novel, Break in Two, a contemporary romance that cracked the Top 10 Paid on Amazon in both the UK and Canada, and the top 50 Paid in the USA. Her highly acclaimed Full Hearts Series was picked up by both Piatkus Entice (a division of Hachette UK) and HarperCollins Canada. Her first three books have been translated into Czech and Slovak by EuroMedia. Since 2013, she has written and published three novellas, and eight novels (of which seven have been published). She has sold over a quarter of a million books around the globe.
In her previous life (i.e. before having children), Melanie got her Bachelor of Science from the University of Alberta, then went on to work in the soul-sucking customer service industry for a large cellular network provider that shall remain nameless (unless you write her personally - then she'll dish). On her days off, she took courses and studied to become a Chartered Mediator. That designation landed her a job at the R.C.M.P. as the Alternative Dispute Resolution Coordinator for 'K' Division. Having had enough of mediating arguments between gun-toting police officers, she decided it was much safer to have children so she could continue her study of conflict in a weapon-free environment (and one which doesn't require makeup and/or nylons).
Melanie resides in Edmonton with her husband, three young children, and their adorable but neurotic one-eyed dog. When she's not writing novels, Melanie loves reading (obviously), snuggling up on the couch with her family for movie night (which would not be complete without lots of popcorn and milkshakes), and long walks in the woods near her house. She also spends a lot more time thinking about doing yoga than actually doing yoga, which is why most of her photos are taken 'from above'. She also loves shutting down restaurants with her girlfriends. Well, not literally shutting them down, like calling the health inspector or something--more like just staying until they turn the lights off.
She is represented by Suzanne Brandreth of The Cooke Agency International.
Places to find Melanie Summers:
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