The Blog. The Name. Time.

 Just a note: It's obvious that I did not post much in 2025 due to the fact that I was dealing with vision issues and I had to choose where I placed my attention, which was with the work I was doing on the new WIP. Yes, it is a new book, began in NaNo 2024. I also began a walking program and reorganized my entire house. I reread a lot of old vintage historical romance since I cleaned out my personal library of about 300 books. I probably bought 50 additional ones. But they were a very different kind of reading.

Some other changes. For years now, I've used the Madly Jane name on the Internet along with my marriage name. I no longer do this though it will take a bit of time to process its ending and establish a new beginning. I had to decide this year on what name I would be using for the rest of my artistic life, and I chose my to use my maiden name and what people actually address me in ordinary life. No one calls me Madly anymore. No one calls me Melinda anymore. I am not a Harrison any longer in my comings and goings. This year will be the 10th anniversary of my husband's death. It's time that I faced the fact that I have not been married for years and years. It's odd how this thing widowhood works and how time works. The years just flew by and yet, there were moments I felt that little time had passed since the end of my old life, because that is what happened when John died. The life I led ended. 

I have had three lives now. The life I had before I met John, the life I had with John, and now the life I have built without him or parents or even little children that relied on me. They are all very different lives, though I have struggled now to capture the energy and optimism of my youth.

Janie Harrington always existed really. She was the child, the teenager, the young woman that went off to college and later the woman who married and had children. Now labels are not necessary or desired. And yet, the last three words that my long lost husband said were "Janie, Janie, Janie." And it is the name I hear all the time. I just want to simplify my life and finish a novel, plant some flowers, and be happy. Considering our political and social climate, that's not easy today. To work in this kind of madness, as human beings, we have to be as authentic as we can be, to remain true to truth and our values as decent people. Performance is now a cruelty and a lie. I will have none of it.

And so, here I am.