Wednesday, February 19, 2020

Fantasy Author: Edale Lane: On the corner of Trucking and Writing, USA


On the corner of Trucking and Writing, USA

Most people live according to a routine. The alarm goes off at the same time in the morning. You get up, brush your teeth, shower, have breakfast or coffee, and go to work. Your work has a schedule, often the same hours every day, but if it varies you know in advance to make your plans. But imagine venturing from the comforting arms of sleep into the reality of wakefulness every morning and the first thought that pops into your head is, “Where am I? A truck stop, rest area, shipper or receiver, in a gravel lot, parked on the street? Is there a bathroom or do I need my trusty bedpan? Where am I going? What time do I have to be there? Is there snow or is it 80 degrees?” Imagine a world with no routine at all, one in which you have no idea where you will be or what you will be doing this time tomorrow. That’s over-the-road truck driving.

Truck driving is an anomaly. It can be stressful and relaxing, demanding and simple, rewarding and unpleasant. Like everything else in life, it is what you make it. The life of an over-the-road truck driver can be wrought with loneliness, boredom, and claustrophobia. I stay away from home from four to six weeks at a time living in an 8x8 box with only a dog for company; then again with cellphones and the internet I am seldom really alone. There are many upsides to this temporary job I have been doing for the past six years, and they have all helped springboard my true career as an author. Driving down the endless road grants me time for reflection and growth, time to dream up characters and plots, to view scenes in my mind, and often dictate them into my voice recorder to type up later. Sometimes I have fourteen hour days or have to run overnights, but other times I have a short run with lots of time for research and writing, editing and promoting. Driving across a vast and diverse continent presents me with majestic panoramas that I can incorporate into story settings. And one cannot overlook the much higher salary I earn allowing me to invest in my writing vocation.

I taught school for 24 years before a career change became necessary. While I loved imparting knowledge to young minds and found purpose in the positive contribution I made to kid’s lives, teaching doesn’t pay what a professional with a master’s degree should be paid. To support a family of four, I always had to work a second job just to hang onto the bottom rung of middle class by my fingernails. That left very little time or energy for writing.

After a thirteen year gap in any effort to be published, my writing was reinvigorated after changing jobs and I became a truck driver who wrote short stories and books that got published. But in 2019 I completely changed my perspective. Now I consider myself an author who also drives a truck. I am grateful for both of my successful careers. Many people view owning their own truck and LLC, being their own boss and pulling in a handsome income as their dream job; my dream job is to earn my current salary from book sales. I wake up in the morning and go out to work in my garden. After breakfast I write, and when I get in a grove I don’t have to stop because there’s nowhere I have to go. I play my music, spend time with my family, and add value to people’s lives. That is my future.

Presently, I still add value to people’s lives by transporting the food they eat from production to grocery store warehouse. In fact, it is quite possible that something you eat today came off a trailer my truck hauled. I am always on time, a safe driver, friendly and polite, planning my trips for optimum profit – not because I love truck driving, but because how you do one thing is how you do everything. My goal is to be the best I can be at everything I do. After reading my book I hope you, too, will consider me an author who drives a truck instead of a truck driver who writes.


A story of a masked vigilante and two women in love that weaves history, action, romance, gadgets, and intrigue into a captivating literary tapestry, Merchants of Milan is a novel that will satisfy readers of historical fantasy and historical romance alike!

by Edale Lane
January 21, 2020
239 pages
Three powerful merchants, two independent women in love, one masked vigilante.

Florentina, set on revenge for her father’s murder, creates an alter-ego known as the Night Flyer. Madelena, whose husband was also murdered, hires Florentina as a tutor for her children and love blossoms between them. However, Florentina’s vendetta is fraught with danger, and surprising developments threaten both women’s lives.

Merchants of Milan is the first book in Edale Lane’s Night Flyer Trilogy, a tale of power, passion, and payback in Renaissance Italy. If you like gadgets and gismos, rich historical background, three-dimensional characters, and fast-paced action with a slow-boil lesbian romance, then you are sure to love this series. Buy this one of a kind novel today and let the adventure begin!


About the author:
website-Amazon-twitter
Edale Lane is the author of an award winning 2019 debut novel, Heart of Sherwood. She is the alter-ego of author Melodie Romeo, (Vlad a Novel, Terror in Time, and others) who founded Past and Prologue Press. Both identities are qualified to write historical fiction by virtue of an MA in History and 24 years spent as a teacher, along with skill and dedication in regard to research. She is a successful author who also currently drives a tractor-trailer across the United States. A native of Vicksburg, MS, Edale (or Melodie as the case may be) is also a musician who loves animals, gardening, and nature.


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2 comments:

  1. great guest post. i love that you had the determination to change careers. i love that cover and it sounds like a book i would enjoy
    sherry @ fundinmental

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