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wouldbejane

rank: 1550

Last week's position: 1511

first registered 22.02.11

last online 1 day ago

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about me

I am a mother of two who is finally getting a chance to write what's been in my head for years. I attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and studied literature and folklore. After college I spent 12 years working in corporate training and instruction design. That means I've written countless training manuals and product demonstration scripts none of which I have the rights to.

My first love, however is fiction. So now in between making dinner, doing laundry and getting snacks, I get to tell stories.

I am looking for feedback on the narrative and character development. Please don't worry about grammar and spelling, I'll clean that up when the story is right.

I don't spam and won't respond to spam.

favourite books

Elements of Style - William Strunk & E. B. White
The Lymond Chronicles - Dorothy Dunnett
The Outlander Series - Diana Gabaldon
To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
Mansfield Park - Jane Austen
Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
anything by John Steinbeck

my websites

http://meredithstoddard.com/    

HarperCollins is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

my books

The River Maiden

Meredith R. Stoddard

Can a horrifying secret from Sarah's past derail her promising future?


Sarah MacAlpin has always felt like an outsider. Raised by her Scottish grandmother in the Blue Ridge Mountains, Sarah grew up with one foot in the old world and one foot in the new world. Her childhood friends were the stuff of ancient Celtic legends.

But Sarah's seemingly idyllic past hides a horrifying secret. As a little girl she watched her mother's inexorable slide into madness. As an adult she has managed to put together an almost normal life for herself. She has great friends, a boyfriend, and her career as a folklorist is all planned out.

That is until she meets Dermot Sinclair. The handsome Scot seems to be dogging her every step. He's friendly enough and can help with her research, but she can't help thinking there's something he's not telling her. Plagued by nightmares of her tragic past and murky visions of the future Sarah pushes toward finishing her dissertation. In spite of her hard work and planning the world around her seems to be spinning out of control. Her relationships with her boyfriend and her best friend are falling apart. Can she get her life back on track, or will she follow in her mother's footsteps?

 

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latest

juliaus wrote 2 days ago

I was happy to read it, Meredith. If the story doesn't grab me, or th....

juliaus wrote 6 days ago

Hi Meredith, I finished River Maiden and meant to contact you straig....

turngold wrote 25 days ago

Thank you so much for backing 'for good'...from one jane to a would b....

Kenneth Edward Lim wrote 26 days ago

Meredith, You might want to click on www.scribd.com/dloganw whereby ....

Nigel Fields wrote 26 days ago

Thanks again, Meredith! Best, J

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my comments

latest

I wrote 73 days ago

As a liberal humanist living in the rural South, you had me at the first line. It's an easy read for me because I felt like you were writing about people I know and some that I'm even related to. The Randol home is much like my home place. I could see the carriage house, because we have one that was... view book

I wrote 122 days ago

I found that the more I read the more wrapped up I got (currently on Ch 13). You do a good job of revealing just enough to the reader as the story goes on and that's an important quality for the kind of story you're telling here. I find that blend of past and present fascinating. We're all a product... view book

I wrote 133 days ago

I am really enjoying this. I am not typically a fan of YA fiction, but this managed to hold my attention. You've found a great combination of adventure mixed with a heart wrenching family story. I really feel for Jamie and his siblings, but I also found his fishing and prospecting adventures interes... view book

I wrote 165 days ago

You've definitely captured the voice of the time. It reminded me of Henry Fielding or Samuel Richardson. I understand what some other reviewers are saying about preferring to start in an action scene rather than being given background story. However, you've employed the style that was common in the... view book

I wrote 207 days ago

I'm enjoying this story, especially the juxtaposition of the different stages in Starr's life and how she is dealing with the events in each time period. It's a powerful story and the characters are rich. Your descriptions are vivid and really draw the reader in. I think the most constructive th... view book

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