Welcome to the new Melindaville! My name is Melinda Tyler and I’m lucky to be alive. I believe gratitude helped me transform and survive through many of life's difficult situations. Some people should never become parents. My father was one such. Throughout my childhood, he abused me in every imaginable way. This abuse left its ugly mark on many aspects of my life and led to much self-destructive behavior. I became an exotic dancer in the early 1980’s, after which time I became a rather end call girl. I made poor choices, such as involving myself in the sex industry. I became an exotic dancer in the early 1980’s, after which time I became a high-end call girl. I also started and managed the world’s first fantasy phone call line: Julie’s Hotline. Once I had the money, I started masking the pain of my childhood with drugs. Soon, I was at the lowest point of my life. For more than a year, I wandered city streets. Sometimes crashing on friends'(or bar acquaintances’) couches. At times, I rode the city busses at night, sleeping in the back. The drivers were usually great; most realized I had nowhere else to go. In early January of 1994, I’d finally had it. Taking advantage of a friend's place when he was away, I tried committing suicide—and nearly succeeded. I awoke in the hospital. Fate is strange. During the night, the upstairs neighbor, whom I hardly knew checked in on me. He'd known I was suicidal because we'd talked about it that day. The first person I saw was a nurse who wore a nametag. Moses. I told him I wished I'd jumped off a building. He shook his head and said, "No. You would have jest messed yourself up and be in a wheelchair. You supposed to LIVE, girl. Now straighten yo ass up.” He introduced me to the man who changed my life: Tim Callahan. He got me into treatment with no money and no insurance. You cannot repay that kind of gift. After visiting my estranged mother, she made me a great offer. I had told her I wanted to start college. She gave me that chance with much financial and emotional support. I moved back to Montana to build bridges with my mother and to make something of myself. I graduated summa cum laude with a degree in Health and Human Development. From there, I entered a biopsychology doctoral program at Penn State. Today, I teach. I write—I love to write. This is the second iteration of Melindaville. I published the first iteration in 2008, which ran through 2012. Then I started writing my first novel, the just published mystery, The Purified, which is available on Amazon—and soon on other sites and in bookstores. I am currently working on the second novel in the Montana Wylde series, The Deceived. I am excited, nervous, and happy to restart Melindaville and to launch my career as a novelist. I’m a better writer than I was in 2008 but I still have much to learn. But I invite you all to share your thoughts and questions with me, as we continue on our life’s adventures. Many thanks to my readers—old and new! Melinda Tyler