The News

Ancestor's Call, it's out!!

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa) — Wed, 17 Sep 2014 22:59:00 +0000

Great news! The ebook of Ancestor's Call is out today, print version should be available next week. (I decided to retool the logo on the cover at the last moment....sorry about that.)

Right now Analinde & Ancestor's Call are both on sale (65% off) for the book launch, get it while it's $2.99. :)

Stay tuned for a couple of collections of short stories set in the world of Loresse. They should be released in the next few weeks. Also, the sequels to Trapped are coming soon. Happy day!

Happy reading!
-Melissa

I Hear You and Understand, writers write for different reasons

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa) — Sat, 02 Aug 2014 11:35:00 +0000

Yesterday, I was a little bit rash. I posted a gut-response to a blog post over on The Passive Voice about why I write, just before I dashed out to lunch. I worried about my post as I ate lunch would people take it the wrong way? Fortunately, people were pretty much fine with what I wrote. But I worried nonetheless. My comment could be construed in lots of different ways, many of them bad. My fingers itched to type a response, I refrained.

This morning as I was reading the comment thread once more, I found myself again wanting to clarify my thoughts, so I sat down and started to type up a paragraph or two. Unfortunately, I was posting directly on the blog, and because of the way comment boxes scroll, it’s easy to miss how much you’re writing. Especially when the words just begin to flow.

By the end, I had a nice hefty blog post so I’m re-posting here.

Here are some of the reasons I write:

While in high school, a good friend of mine was ALWAYS writing down stories, she couldn't not do it. She gave me a couple of ARCs for stories that she'd written. To my shame, I never read them. But she was like many of you, the words came and she HAD to write them down.

She's a playwrite now, and is enjoying modest success. :)

I'm saying that I'm different. Not in a monetary, mercenary way--which has been implied, [writing like a shill, chasing the latest fad/$$]--but I'm different in that I'm fine keeping my stories in my head. I do not feel the compulsion to write them down.

Perhaps if I shared where my journey as a writer began, you might understand. It was one year after my little sister died from cancer, I found myself at the B&N on 86th & Broadway, looking for a book. I was depressed from my sister's passing, I was tired--working a mind-numbing job that I really didn't like--and I'd just realized that I was never going to get ahead. That for the rest of my life, I would be on this rat-race treadmill. Always scurrying to catch up, but never getting ahead. I'd work until the day I died, more than likely living paycheck to paycheck. It was more than depressing.

But hey, I was in NYC. So I walked the streets taking photos, going to movies and free events in the parks, and then spending all of my disposable income on books. (I'm an escapist reader, a Fantasy & Romance junkie.) I walked out of bookstores--the B&N down at Lincoln Square and the Borders at Columbus Circle that are no longer there, and the B&N on the UWS next to Zabar's--with stacks of books on a regular basis.

So there I was at B&N, depressed, walking up and down the racks on the second floor, looking for the next book to read when I thought of one of my favorite authors. Mercedes Lackey, she's always coming out with something new. At the time, she had several rows of books on the shelves. So I meandered over to browse titles to see if there was anything I'd missed.

I don't remember how this realization hit me, but it did. Suddenly, instead of seeing titles and book series, I saw dollar signs. Compounding, residual income. Each of those titles, labored over for a time and then set aside. Over the years making a tidy little income stream that would add up to make a nice living. Dean Wesley Smith would call it his magic bakery.

Things clicked together in my head, and I thought to myself, "I can do this."

Right away, I turned and walked over to the how-to section and pulled about eight writing books off the shelf and bought them. A week later, I bought myself a thesaurus and a rhyming dictionary. A short while after that I started writing. My first draft of my first book was done in a month. The first draft to the sequel (due to release this coming week or the next) was finished two months after that.

I scoured writing blogs, learning craft and style. I listened to Writing Excuses religiously for what became years. I wrote and re-wrote, and re-wrote, polishing what I knew in my heart was not a pile of crap--despite writing advice you find online about polishing crap and first books--but a great story.

I have to say that I've been surprised. My stories are better written down than they are in my head. It's been a delightful discovery. And I can say that I've begun to have that compulsion for writing stories down. But it is driven by realizing that I have a voice, a message, and a slant that I want to share with others and is coupled with the fact that as I write those stories and publish them that my audience will build and we'll have a mutually beneficial relationship. I'll write stories that we both like and in turn I am compensated financially when my readers buy those stories. My readers (the few that have sent me messages or posted reviews online) like my work, they want more. I'm happy to write more.

So yes, I write for the money. I'm busy, time is fleeting, I have many other things I could be doing. Like sleeping, or going out to dinner with friends, or going to the movies, or curling up with a good book, watching favorite tv shows, etc. But instead I've chosen to sacrifice that time to write, and I've only done so because I'm looking at it as a career with a payoff somewhere in the distant future. Like saving money in a bank for retirement.

When I write, am I thinking about what will sell best? To be honest, sometimes I am. But only in the vein that I'm a romance junkie, I know the genre, I love the genre, and I have dozens of story ideas in that genre.

But I also love fantasy. And even though I have many other stories/trilogies partially written, I still come back to those first two books that I wrote when I was living in NYC. They're my darlings. (I know, I know, I'm supposed to kill them.) But deep down, I know they are beautifully constructed, neatly ordered stacks of polished un-crap. So I'm leading with them, publishing them first, even though they won't sell as well as the contemporary or historical romances that I have dancing through my head.

So there you are. I hope you understand. I write for the money; it's the only reason I write. But it doesn't exclude me from finding joy, surprise, and delight in crafting a story. In fact, I find putting stories on paper to be extremely satisfying in a way different from other artistic endeavors I have tried. And believe me, I've tried quite a few.

I hope you understand now and won't judge me too harshly. But if not, that's okay. I'm content and happy with my plans for writing. And as Indies so often say, the only thing that matters is if your readers like what you're writing. So far, my readers do.

-Melissa

Which Way To Go? it’s a dilemma

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa) — Sat, 02 Aug 2014 11:03:00 +0000

For a long time now, I’ve struggled with where to go with my blog. When I started to work for the Foreign Service, I pretty much stopped blogging altogether. In my line of work, you’re constantly reminded about cyber security and personally identifiable information online.

It pretty much puts a damper on posting things publicly.

Then there are all of the branding blogs that talk about having a focused blog with content that doesn’t wander. And so came the dilemma. Do I post or do I not post? Which way to go? How to share without over-sharing in a world where everything posted is basically permanent and should be treated as public despite any layers of security you have (hello Russian & Chinese hackers, nothing to see here…move along).

Should I post about writing and what I’ve learned as an Indie Publisher? No, there are others out there who do that so much better than I. Should I write about life? No, my life’s pretty boring. I wake up, go to work, come home, write, fix my website, design book covers, process photos I’ve taken, and then go to sleep. Wash, rinse, repeat. Not so fascinating.

I do have things I’d like to say. But the posts I want to write are not focused, like people say they should be. I jot them down on paper, but never post. Am I blogging to my readers? Or am I blogging to other writers? I don’t know, maybe a little of both. Last night I decided that I should just go ahead and write to both, but I think I’ll focus mostly on other writers, because well. “I had two Costco Italian Sweet sausages for breakfast today. They were yummy. I ate them in the car as I was driving to work,” would get old, really quickly. And there are only a few acceptable times to shout out and say, “Hey, my next book is out.”

So writers it is. :)

Last night I couldn’t sleep, I woke up at 2:12 when my neighbor downstairs started his/her nightly ritual of blasting club/rock/punk/electronica/I can’t think of the exact name here/music. All I know is that the rhythmic baseline vibrates right through the concrete separating us. It only lasts for 15 minutes. I usually roll right over and go back to sleep. Last night sleep didn’t come, then at 4:00ish woke up for real. So I sat in bed and started going through facebook and my feeds.

I found myself going over to The Passive Voice, one of my favorite Indie Publishing Industry blogs, and reviewing the comment threads. And then I found myself wanting to reply, and so I got up, turned on my writing computer, and all of a sudden I’d completely stepped over the bounds and posted a thousand word comment on Passive Guy’s blog. How embarrassing. But I went ahead and posted my response anyway because I didn’t want people to misunderstand, and I thought it added to the discussion.

And so now I’m here, with yet another blog post about how I think I’ll start blogging again, perhaps more frequently than I have over the past few years. At present I’m not afraid of revealing to the Chinese government that I like the Italian Sweet Sausages that can be found at East-Coast Costcos (the ones on the West-Coast aren’t so great…).

I’ll post here on the blog, what I wrote over on The Passive Voice. But before I do, I felt the need to write a preface. A hello of sorts, I’m headed in this direction type of post. So here it is:

I’m back, again. Maybe I’ll blog a little more often, mostly to other writers. I hope you like the redesign of the site.

-Melissa

Hello Florida, guess what? I moved.

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa) — Fri, 02 May 2014 12:22:00 +0000

Hello humidity and balmy air at night.
Hello ocean breezes from just out of sight.
Hello crazy, ugly bugs that make me want to scream (I refrain).
Hello transplant New Yorkers and great slices of cheese! (I can't complain.)

Farewell kimchi and my favorite Korean place.
Farewell peachy California sunsets that used to caress my face.
Farewell the good friends I found while I was there.
Farewell, Adieu, I hope you know I care.

A new chapter quickly opens,
good things come; life beacons.
Fond memories tucked away,
I hold them close, and live life today.

-Melissa

p.s. When I set the release date for Ancestor's Call (the 2nd book in The Chronicles of Loresse) I hadn't planned to move to Florida this Spring, so unfortunately, the book release for Ancestor's Call has been shifted to sometime this Summer, 2014. So sorry to make you wait!

copyright - Melissa Bitter, All Rights Reserved

Discovery Writing and Outlining

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa) — Tue, 30 Jul 2013 21:10:00 +0000

I’m a discovery writer, of sorts. Actually, I suppose I’m more of a hybrid writer. A writer who has ideas of what needs to happen, and then discovery writes to get there. I wasn't always this way, for the most part, I used to be a pure discovery writer. However, when you're working with an epically long book series, you just can't write fast enough. I have plot points coming out of my ears for books I haven't even started to pull together. But I know what's going to happen, and it's exciting.

So I guess this makes me an outliner. But I don't want to be an outliner. I like to discovery write, so I think I'll call myself hybrid discovery writer. Now, that sounds nice.

But I digress, let me back up. When I first wrote Book II (it’s now at around 90k words), I was firmly in the discovery writing phase. Oh, I had ideas of where the book needed to go, but I had no idea how I was going to get there. Anyway, because of this, Book II is full of holes. When you're writing a series in discovery writing mode, it's incredibly difficult to just write and get it down in the first pass. As a matter of fact, it's downright impossible.

There are subplots and themes that need to be fully supported, ideas that you come up with later but need to go back and put in earlier. And so I make an outline after the first draft is written. This way I can find the holes, places that need to be fleshed out, and plot points that need to be built up to better. It's kind of fun, but it also can be a painfully long process.

Doing this for Analindë (Book I), was tedious. I'm hoping the process for Book II will go a lot more smoothly.

Almost one year ago I was in Beijing, visiting a friend. While she was at work, I stayed in her apartment and outlined Analindë, then at night we went out and explored the city together. I also did a rough outline of Book II in the series, but my focus at the time was to get Book I going again.

Analindë will soon go to print, and just last night I finished redoing the outline for Book II. It's exciting, I'm looking forward to reworking the story, but I'm a little discouraged at the same time. It's almost been a year since I last worked on Book II, and I realize yet again how fleeting time really is.

Thankfully I'm still on leave at the moment, and have time to charge forward with my revisions. The goal is to work quickly and then move on to Book III. We'll see how I fare.

In other news, I've almost finished tweaking the design of my website. I hope you like the changes. The cover art for Analindë is coming along nicely. My illustrator (Bryan Beus) and I have just reviewed the photos from the shoot held last Saturday and he’s moving forward to start the final sketches for the cover. I'm really pleased with the model that we used, she makes a great Analindë.

- Melissa

Please Excuse the Mess

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa) — Fri, 12 Jul 2013 00:01:00 +0000

I'm updating the blog/website again, so please excuse the mess.

I find that I'm enjoying using Adobe Muse. I also find that it's difficult to hack my way around the CSS on the blog template I'm using. Sigh.

At least I'm almost done.

-M

Aaack, work swallowed me whole

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa) — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 21:47:00 +0000

I've been doing a lot of writing for the past few months.

Unfortunately, all of that writing has been going into a weekly newsletter at work. By the time I get home, I'm exhausted and all the words have already been typed out the end of my fingers. So no blog posts here. Sorry. (Yes, work has taken over my life. Again.)

It's starting to get warmer here in this corner of the world. When I look out my window at work I see buds on the trees, which makes me happy. As I was dashing inside earlier today, I saw tulip and daffodil leaves pushing up out of the soil. Granted they were only an inch tall, but still. Spring is on it's way.

Happy day.
-Melissa

p.s. for you curious souls out there, the answer is, yes. I still have frozen ham in my freezer from last Fall. The past couple of times I've peered inside the freezer I've contemplated throwing it out. . .

How I Ended Up With 3.7 LBS of Ham, really

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa) — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 22:33:00 +0000

So there I was, strolling around the local grocery store on my way home for work. Hungry, I wasn't sure exactly what I wanted to eat that night and then I saw the Deli counter. Filled with all sorts of meats, not the American way, with a turkey section, and a chicken section, and a ham section, and then a cold cuts section. No, this is Austria.

There was a section that all looked like salami, several different kinds of salami, most of them scared me. Of course, this being Austria, there was no salami, or pepperoni for that matter. Then there was this other section. I wasn't quite sure what the meat was, but it looked familiar.

So I peered through the glass, trying to differentiate between dozen or so different types of what looked like the exact same thing. But the labels were all slightly different. I settled on the one that was called "farmerschinken."

I glanced at the farmerschinken one more time before placing my order, my eyes flicking back and forth between the label and the deli meat, trying to figure out what farmerschinken really meant. It didn't look like chicken, but my brain kept trying to reconcile my expectations that there should be a turkey/chicken section, and that chinken might mean chicken. (Low blood sugar will do that to you, you know?)

Anyway, I took the plunge, caught the deli worker's eye and said, "Farmerschinken, bitte." Then he asked me how much. I rapidly did some calculations. I wanted about a half a pound, and if I remembered correctly, there were two kilo's in a pound, just like there are two kilometers in a mile. So I asked for a kilo. Then I quickly backtracked, deciding that it would be nice to have three quarters of a pound, so I changed my order to one and a half kilos.

I watched him look down at the farmerschinken and heft it, then he looked back up. "Do you want it sliced?"

"Yes , please." By this time, we were speaking in English.

He started slicing, and my mind started wandering. You know, how you just start looking around, checking out the other items on display, moving out of the way of other customers.

I'm not sure how much time passed, but I distinctly remember looking up and seeing the quickly forming pile of deli meat and realizing that I really didn't know how much a kilo actually weighed. . . Somehow I managed to quell my surprise and look normal.

So by the time he turned back around, to weigh the slices, I was smiling looking pleased. Only a small piece of the original chunk of meat remained. It came to 1.68 kilos. (I guess deli counter people must be the same all over the world, always trying to sell just that little bit extra.) I smiled and shrugged that the overage was fine, (the ever gracious me…).

Then the price label spit out, he shook his head saying 26 Euro, I muttered that I was having friends over. (Yes, I'd just lied to the deli-counter man to save face.) I pinned a smile on my face and shivered inside, took the packaged cold cuts from him and walked to the checkout, trying not to think about how I had close to $40 of sliced something in my cart.

When I got home and opened up the package, I realized it was ham. Why I couldn't actually see ham, while looking at a ham, I don't know. Why Austrians need to choose between several different types of ham that look exactly the same is beyond me. But I guess we do the same thing with turkey.

Just remember when shopping in Vienna, anything labeled chinken is NOT chicken. It's ham. Oh, and perhaps more importantly, please remember that there are roughly two pounds in a kilo.

Ahem, i’m back

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa) — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 13:25:00 +0000

To me, these nascent fern fronds--emerging from the sharp, dead, foliage of the past--whisper of new beginnings and possibilities.

I thought a little bit about starting this post by telling you a joke about how I meant that I’d be updating the blog in October of 2011, not October 2009, as I implied in my post back in May of 2009. But then I realized it wasn't really that funny.

You see, I’m feeling a bit sheepish for having gone AWOL here. There are reasons of course; I was burned out for one. I started a job that I didn’t know how to blog around. And then I was in a creative black hole for about the past 15 months. Some of it I’ll blog about moving forward. The rest of it, I’ll leave to the void of stuff best left unsaid.

Suffice it to say, this all you really need to know in order to have a little closure:

I moved to Southern California, moved to Washington DC to become a Government Drone (go! paper-pushers!), moved to Haiti, survived Haiti (barely), and am now in Vienna, Austria.

While I was in Haiti (for 15 months) I didn’t blog, I didn’t write, I took some photos, but couldn’t bring myself to work on them. It was a difficult place to be. If you would have asked me my thoughts about muses before I moved to Haiti, I would have told you that people extolling the virtues of muses were full of bull-caca. Now? Yes, I’m a full believer in it.

Not so much of having/not having inspiration, but more in the creative space kind. If there is enough negative energy swirling around you in life, it sucks all the creative energy out of you. (At least in my experience.)

Moving forward, I've combined my blogs, and am ditching the i-m-bitter and BITTER photography monikers. Expect to see me continue to tinker with the blog. Layout, design, etc. The rest of my grand plans (if I can remember them), I’ll tell you about when I get around to working on them.

And lastly, Happy Thanksgiving to you all! I hope you have grand plans for the day.

Best,
Melissa

Grandpa Bitter, passed away earlier today

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa) — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 08:07:00 +0000

I took this photo of Grandpa Bitter back in February. Little did I know it would be the last time I saw him.

It's my favorite.

I remember him always, sitting there, chin resting on hands, listening, thinking, or just enjoying the view.

I remember his hands.

They've always looked similar to this. Strong fingers, bent with age. I specifically made a point to take a picture, so I'd always remember.

They're so much like my father's hands, and a bit like mine.

He passed away earlier this evening.

He lived a full and happy life. Enjoyed 64 years of marriage, and lived to be 91.

Love you Grandpa!
-M

Something New, coming in october

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa) — Fri, 29 May 2009 19:29:00 +0000

Oh, deer

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa) — Mon, 25 May 2009 17:45:00 +0000

Ground Squirrels: Four down, one to go.

Bunny, with fluffy white tail: Still outstanding.

Now the question remains, what am I going to do with the buck I saw early this morning when I checked the (live) trap next to the wood pile?

-Bitter

100 Miles of Nowhere, yay

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa) — Sun, 24 May 2009 05:30:00 +0000

Another tale from 100 Miles of Nowhere.

Bucky the Donkey, Peter, Tom, and Colin going around, around, and around the inner circle at Regents Park, London. 160 laps in all. I tell ya, I couldn't have done it. I think I might have fallen over and died. They make it look so easy!

Enjoy,
-Bitter

100 Miles of Nowhere: Inner Circle, Regents Park, London from Fat Cyclist on Vimeo.

Humming Bird, rescue

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa) — Thu, 21 May 2009 18:13:00 +0000

We attempted a daring rescue of a baby hummingbird this morning. Happily we got one baby back into the nest, and the mom & dad came back to feed it. Unfortunately, one of the babies died before we noticed. :(

Photos tomorrow.

Oh, and the ground squirrels multiplied into a family of ground squirrels. Which are now living in the wood pile next to the garden.

In the past 24 hours they've eaten all of the leaves and flowers off of all three of my eggplants. Are continuing to eating the leaves off the tomato plants, corn, and are starting in on my parsley and basil.

So far, they don't like the pepper plants, cilantro, or strawberries.

I'm contemplating drop spots. And am planning to break out the 'ol wire cage trap.

-Bitter

This Morning

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa) — Tue, 19 May 2009 18:22:00 +0000

Good nights sleep. Check.

Ate breakfast. Check

Started the pool pump. Check.

Watered the vegetable garden. Check.

Counted the plants ravaged by ground squirrels, one new casualty. (Two tomato plants are growing back. happy day.) Check.

Threw rocks at wood pile. Thought I saw fur. Most likely a squirrel. Check.

Four-wheeled the garbage/recycling cans down the driveway. ( _waaaahooooo!_ ). Check.

Saw snails. Mating. (No pics since this is a family-friendly blog.) Check.

Baby hummingbirds. Still Alive. Check.

Contemplated the future of publishing. Check.

Email freelance editor regarding current WIP. About to do.

Ponder getting up early in the morning every day. Check.

Go eat lunch. In a moment.

-Bitter

My New Favorite Song, and an earthquake

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa) — Mon, 18 May 2009 04:02:00 +0000

I was jamming out to Amp Radio while driving the other day and I fell in love with my new favorite song and wanted to share it with you.

It took a bit of searching--I didn't know the name--but eventually I found it. I clicked play, wanting to vet the music video before putting up a link, and was just over 4 minutes into the song, the couch started shaking beneath me.

Actually, it was more of a rumble. You know, like one of those massage chairs they have in the mall.

The problem?

Well, the bumpy jitter didn't stop. A moment later, unnerved, I paused the song and listened. Intently. You know, the kind of intent when all your muscles tense up and you're absolutely still and silent, waiting.

Birds were shrieking outside, the house was groaning lightly, but I didn't hear any loud creaks or bangs. Should I move? I glanced up, would something fall and crush me?

Several seconds passed, as I sat, legs outstretched, computer on lap, gazing up at the cathedral ceiling and the an exposed wooden truss directly over my head. Should I move? I listened harder. Did it feel like the shaking was increasing or staying constant?

Constant. Definitely constant.

And then it stopped.

I immediately went to google, but nothing was listed.

So I alternately refreshed google and my 2nd favorite site: the USGS's (US Geological Survey) "Did you feel it?" page.

Since I've moved to So Cal, I've reported on about five or six earthquakes. It's fun to put in your stats, and then check what everyone else reported. It also kind of makes me feel like I'm doing my civic duty, helping some dedicated researcher huddled in a paper-ridden, linoleum tiled office with buzzing florescents overhead, while they puzzle out the next strategy or prediciton.

It turns out the earthquake was near LAX, and was a 4.7. That's the strongest I've felt so far. Of course, I'm over 30 miles away from LAX right now, but still, the 4.7 counts. Doesn't it?

No?

oh.

Well, I've felt the ground shift violently, laterally beneath me. Twice. Does that count?

Good.

Anyway, here's the link (sorry, no embedding allowed) to my current favorite song, Ne-Yo's "Part of the List".

-Bitter

Update: 5/18/09 @ 11:30 pm - An hour after the quake, seismologists revised the quake magnitude from a 5.0 to a 4.7.

100 Miles of Nowhere, may 23rd

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa) — Tue, 12 May 2009 22:28:00 +0000

A few weeks ago, Fatty over at Fatcyclist.com announced his 2nd Annual Century, 100 Miles of Nowhere.

Touted as the most ridiculous, far-ranging race, simultaneously covering more ground and less ground than any other race in history. It's an event that you're not going to want to miss.

This year 66% of the entry fee will go toward fighting cancer. Of course, there was no entry fee last year, but that's a story for anther day.

Starting on May 23rd--or before, as demonstrated by the "Jumping the Gun" title holder Neil C.-- keep an eye on Fatty's blog to check out highlights from the event.

If you'd like to buy a t-shirt to commemorate the event, periodically check Fatty's site he'll post a link as soon as Twin Six sets the order page up. Or if you'd rather have a race bib (even if you're not racing) head over to Clay's Livestrong Challenge page. For a $5 donation one of these fabulous bibs can be yours. :) (ps, He'll get your shipping address from the donation form.)

In case you were curious, I've pasted a GPS map of last years route below.

-Bitter

Man, that was tough

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa) — Tue, 12 May 2009 02:10:00 +0000

Sometimes getting out of a rut is the hardest part.

*exhales sigh of relief*

There. That wasn't so bad. New blog post posted.

On a side note, I have lots of fun and exciting things happening on the writing front. (Re: the current works in progress, yes that was plural.) Happy day. As things progress, I'll keep you posted.

As for now, my lips are sealed.

Moving on, per fabulous recommendations from Howard Taylor, Scalzi, and Anne Sowards, I'm off to see Star Trek tonight.

Instead of the mild interest I had before, I'm actually pretty excited and am looking forward to a good show. And since Anne's facebook review is my favorite, I'm posting it in it's entirety below. Enjoy.

"Anne Sowards just got home from seeing STAR TREK. She enjoyed it so much that not even having her train go out of service, then the next train she took stopping short of her home, and having to take a bus the rest of the way has killed her mood."

Ahhh, life in NYC.
-Bitter

p.s. The Star Trek site is pretty dang cool.

I'm Taking A Sabbatical, from nyc

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa) — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 22:07:00 +0000

Spawning from my plans to fly west for the winter (bird-like of course) to avoid the upcoming brutal winter. (We didn't have a winter last year, so logic tells us we'll get two this year. As of 3/6/09 this assumption has been 189.2% correct.) I've decided to move to California.

Yes, I know your hearts are breaking (I hear them cracking as I type). But don't weep too long, I'll most likely be back. Besides grieving can be a healthy process.

I'm going to miss documenting street life springing forth from the City's boroughs, the enormous amount of shoes that I won't be wearing out on the City's sidewalks, and the my favorite restaurants, sites, and friends.

The City is always shifting. Cycling. Renewing. Hopefully, one day I'll be back, adding to the mix. Only time will tell.

And so, the West Coast calls and I'm off.

Wish me luck.
-Bitter
(written December 12, 2008)

Catch Up Time, just a heads up

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa) — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 21:49:00 +0000

Those of you who know me, know I'm rarely very far from a notebook or paper.

Why? Well, because I'm frequently jotting things down.

What might I be jotting down you might ask?

Well, everything.

Things to do.
People to call.
Plot arcs and major discoveries for the books percolating in my mind.
The pricing of my photography services (which I obsess over).
And lastly, blog posts.

Yes. You read that correctly. Blog posts.

I've written all sorts of them over the past several months, 1% of them have actually made it onto the blog. Today that changes. I'm cleaning house.

Some I'll post, others will make their way to the round file. And a very lucky few will be placed into a holding pattern where I'll tinker with them until they're perfect, at which point you'll find them here on the blog.

Happy day. I bet you're excited.

-Bitter

25 Things, on facebook

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa) — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 20:16:00 +0000

Saw this a week or so ago, thought it was pretty funny.

Posted it to Facebook.

Facebook deleted it.

So, . . . Here's to censorship.

-Bitter

Connie & Micah - slideshow

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa) — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 17:46:00 +0000

Connie & Micah - Wedding

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa) — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 06:35:00 +0000

I jetted up to UT two weeks ago to photograph Connie & Micah's wedding. The day was rainy and foggy, so it made for some pretty images. The light was gorgeous. The B&G were radiant, and everyone was so happy.

Wedding Details
Wedding location: Northern Utah
Reception: Cactus & Tropical, Salt Lake City, UT

Here are a few of my favorites from the day. Let me know which ones are your favorites!

-Melissa

They had cookies & milk in lieu of cake. :)

Connie hugging her father.

Studio is now located in So Cal

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa) — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 06:00:00 +0000

Surprise! I moved to Southern California.

Around Thanksgiving time last year I made the decision to relocate my photography studio from New York City to the Los Angeles/Orange County area.

I have a lot of family in So Cal up through the Bay Area (none at all on the East Caost), and I thought it might be nice to be near family again. So I hopped coasts.

Yes, I'll still come east, so if you want me to come out and shoot your wedding, family photos, etc., I'm game. In the mean time, if you're out here in the So Cal area and are looking for a photographer (or know someone who is), send me an email, we'll chat.

Since the move was so quick, I'm still trying to decide which area to move to. (Living w/family at the moment in Diamond Bar.) Right now I'm leaning toward either Santa Monica, Venice, Marina Del Rey area, or somewhere down in Orange County like Newport or Laguna Beach. Opinions are welcome on where you think I should settle, just leave them in the comments section below.

-Melissa

Christmas Clubbin, lmao

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa) — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 15:34:00 +0000

Oh, these are too funny!

Enjoy,
Bitter