Melanie Gideon – författare

If you like Modern Family, you’ll love thisMaybe it was because I was about to turn the same age my mother was when I lost her. Maybe it was because my husband and I were running out of things to say to each other.But when the online study called “Marriage in the 21st Century” showed up in my inbox, I had no idea it would change my life. It wasn’t long before I was assigned both a pseudonym (Wife 22) and a caseworker (Researcher 101).And, just like that, I found myself answering questions.Before the study, I was Alice Buckle: wife and mother, drama teacher and Facebook chatter, downloader of memories and Googler of solutions.But these days, I’m also Wife 22. And somehow, my correspondence with Researcher 101 has taken an unexpectedly personal turn. Soon, I’ll have to make a decision—one that will affect my family, my marriage, my whole life. But at the moment, I’m too busy answering questions.As it turns out, confession can be a very powerful aphrodisiac.

If you like Modern Family, you’ll love thisA successful marriage is like growing a temperamental plant – you have to work hard and tend to it carefully, as Alice Buckle is just discovering.Despite her husband, two children and straight-talking best friend, Alice suddenly feels lost. Is it just that she’s turning the age her mother was when she lost her? Or is it that she and her husband seem to have run out of things to say to each other?Help comes in an unexpected form. When Alice starts unburdening herself to a complete stranger online, she starts to see things in a new light. Freed by the anonymity – she is known only as Wife 22 – she suddenly remembers all the reasons she fell in love with her husband in the first place.But in the course of baring all, is Alice risking losing everything she once held so dear?

An utterly original, thoughtful and deeply compelling novel for readers who loved The Time Traveler’s Wife.In the heart of the Sonoma Valley, on the edge of a sun-drenched meadow, lies the idyllic community of Greengage – where the residents wear simple clothes, lead quiet lives and whose manners could almost seem to be of another time.Into this world stumbles single mother Lux Lysander, trying to lose herself in the peaceful beauty of the Californian countryside while her young son visits his grandparents. It’s a world far away from the unpaid bills piling up and the overwhelming sense of struggle to make ends meet.Soon, Lux finds herself drawn into the lives of the people of Greengage, discovering not only the secret at the heart of their community but also a sense of belonging she didn’t know she was looking for. Torn between this life and her own with her son back in San Francisco, can Lux turn her back on the only place that has ever truly felt like home?‘Lovingly handcrafted, delectable and transcendent’San Francisco Chronicle‘Beautifully written . . . a wonderful story about belonging, love and the aching certainty that there’s something more out there. . . . Sure to appeal to fans of Time and Again or The Time Traveler’s Wife’ Shelf Awareness (starred review)‘Captivating’ Booklist

An utterly original, thoughtful and deeply compelling novel for readers who loved ‘The Time Traveler’s Wife’.In the heart of the Sonoma Valley, on the edge of a sun-drenched meadow, lies the idyllic community of Greengage – where the residents wear simple clothes, lead quiet lives and whose manners could almost seem to be of another time.Into this world stumbles single mother Lux Lysander, trying to lose herself in the peaceful beauty of the Californian countryside while her young son visits his grandparents. It’s a world far away from the unpaid bills piling up and the overwhelming sense of struggle to make ends meet.Soon, Lux finds herself drawn into the lives of the people of Greengage, discovering not only the secret at the heart of their community but also a sense of belonging she didn’t know she was looking for. Torn between this life and her own with her son back in San Francisco, can Lux turn her back on the only place that has ever truly felt like home?‘Lovingly handcrafted, delectable and transcendent’—San Francisco Chronicle‘Beautifully written . . . a wonderful story about belonging, love and the aching certainty that there’s something more out there. . . . Sure to appeal to fans of Time and Again or The Time Traveler’s Wife’ Shelf Awareness (starred review)‘Captivating’ Booklist

If you like Modern Family, you’ll love thisMaybe it was because I was about to turn the same age my mother was when I lost her. Maybe it was because my husband and I were running out of things to say to each other.But when the online study called “Marriage in the 21st Century” showed up in my inbox, I had no idea it would change my life. It wasn’t long before I was assigned both a pseudonym (Wife 22) and a caseworker (Researcher 101).And, just like that, I found myself answering questions.Before the study, I was Alice Buckle: wife and mother, drama teacher and Facebook chatter, downloader of memories and Googler of solutions.But these days, I’m also Wife 22. And somehow, my correspondence with Researcher 101 has taken an unexpectedly personal turn. Soon, I’ll have to make a decision—one that will affect my family, my marriage, my whole life. But at the moment, I’m too busy answering questions.As it turns out, confession can be a very powerful aphrodisiac.

An utterly original, thoughtful and deeply compelling novel for readers who loved ‘The Time Traveler’s Wife’.In the heart of the Sonoma Valley, on the edge of a sun-drenched meadow, lies the idyllic community of Greengage – where the residents wear simple clothes, lead quiet lives and whose manners could almost seem to be of another time.Into this world stumbles single mother Lux Lysander, trying to lose herself in the peaceful beauty of the Californian countryside while her young son visits his grandparents. It’s a world far away from the unpaid bills piling up and the overwhelming sense of struggle to make ends meet.Soon, Lux finds herself drawn into the lives of the people of Greengage, discovering not only the secret at the heart of their community but also a sense of belonging she didn’t know she was looking for. Torn between this life and her own with her son back in San Francisco, can Lux turn her back on the only place that has ever truly felt like home?‘Lovingly handcrafted, delectable and transcendent’—San Francisco Chronicle‘Beautifully written . . . a wonderful story about belonging, love and the aching certainty that there’s something more out there. . . . Sure to appeal to fans of Time and Again or The Time Traveler’s Wife’ Shelf Awareness (starred review)‘Captivating’ Booklist

Melanie Gideon’s hilarious memoir is a disarmingly honest take on marriage and motherhood by a woman who realized she was sleepwalking through life and decided she needed to do something about it. The Slippery Year chronicles her struggle to rediscover meaning and pleasure in life while navigating the comical ups and downs of cohabiting with a husband, a child, and a dog: mattress wars with her snoring mate, the psychological minefield of the school carpool line, and sending her son to sleep-away camp for the first time. Gideon manages to be laugh-out-loud funny while also reflecting beautifully and movingly on her quest to appreciate what she has.

From the Trade Paperback edition.

“A skillful blend of pop-culture references, acidic humor, and emotional moments. It will take its rightful place . . . alongside Helen Fielding’s Bridget Jones’s Diary, Anna Maxted’s Getting Over It, and Allison Pearson’s I Don’t Know How She Does It.”—Library Journal (starred review)Alice has been married to her husband, William, for twenty years.  Though she can still remember the first time they met like it was yesterday, these days she finds herself posting things on Facebook that she used to confide to him. So when she’s invited to participate in an anonymous online survey on marriage and love, she finds that all her longings come pouring out as she dutifully answers questions under the name “Wife 22.”Evaluating her responses is “Researcher 101,” who seems to listen to her in a way that William hasn’t in a very long time, and before she knows it, she finds herself trying hard not to e-flirt with him. Meanwhile, her elderly father is chatting on Facebook, her fifteen-year-old daughter is tweeting, and everything in her life is turning upside down.Wife 22 is a hilariously funny, profoundly moving, and deeply perceptive novel about the ways we live and love in this technological age, from a dazzling new voice in fiction.“An LOL Instagram about love in a wired world.”—People   “Vibrant, au courant, and hilarious . . . brilliant!”—Adriana TrigianiBONUS: This edition includes a Wife 22 discussion guide.

The author of the critically acclaimed Wife 22 has written a captivating novel about a love that transcends time—perfect for readers of The Time Traveler’s Wife, Time and Again, and the novels of Alice Hoffman. San Francisco, 1975. A single mother, Lux Lysander is overwhelmed, underpaid, and living on the edge of an emotional precipice. When her adored five-year-old son goes away to visit his grandparents, Lux takes a solo trip to Sonoma Valley—a chance to both lose herself and find herself again. Awakened at midnight, Lux steps outside to see a fog settled over the Sonoma landscape. Wandering toward a point of light in the distance, she emerges into a meadow on a sunny day. There she meets a group of people whose sweetly simple clothing, speech, and manners almost make them seem as if they are from another time. And then she realizes they are. Lux has stumbled upon an idyllic community cut off not only from the rest of the world but from time itself. The residents of Greengage tell a stunned and disoriented Lux that they’ve somehow been marooned in the early twentieth century. Now that she has inexplicably stepped into the past, it is not long before Lux is drawn in by its peace and beauty. Unlike the people of Greengage, Lux discovers that she is able to come and go. And over the years, Lux finds herself increasingly torn between her two lives. Her beloved son is very much a child of the modern world, but she feels continually pulled back to the only place she has ever truly felt at home. A gorgeous, original, and deeply moving novel about love and longing and the power that time holds over all of us, Valley of the Moon is unforgettable.Praise for Valley of the Moon“The literary equivalent of a farm-to-table delicacy: lovingly handcrafted, delectable and transcendent, becoming more than just a tasty appetizer but a full-course experience of love and time and all the mystical beauty that the region has to offer.”—San Francisco Chronicle   “Beautifully written . . . [Valley of the Moon is] a wonderful story about belonging, love and the aching certainty that there’s something more out there. . . . Sure to appeal to fans of Time and Again or The Time Traveler’s Wife.”—Shelf Awareness (starred review) “Magical, cinematic . . . Valley of the Moon is breathlessly romantic and alive with the love of language.”—Sarah Addison Allen“An enjoyable magic carpet ride . . . Two narrators, separated by nearly a century, tell a tale of old-time charm and contemporary agita.”—Kirkus Reviews “Captivating.”—Booklist“Gripping . . . This update of Brigadoon is recommended because of its well-crafted twists and thought-provoking insights into different times and cultures.”—Historical Novels Review“A propulsive and at times deeply suspenseful novel . . . [Valley of the Moon] offer[s] powerful and perceptive considerations about the passage of time, the shape of our lives and the often unintended effects our actions have on the people and communities around us.”—BookreporterFrom the Hardcover edition.

When her husband buys a jacked-up truck complete with cattle guard, Melanie Gideon - wife, mother and dog owner - knows her life is about to change. He dreams of taking road trips in it, but Melanie can't muster up any enthusiasm. Instead, the roar of its diesel engine seems to rip through her suburban existence. Dazed, confused and no longer able to recognise herself, she wonders: is this all there is? THE SLIPPERY YEAR is a poignant and funny insight into a year in Melanie's life as she tries to come to terms with her 'happily ever after'. In her quest to reignite passion, beauty and mystery in her life, Melanie reflects on her receding youth and impending midlife, only to discover the sweetness of ordinary pleasures that were there all along ...

Thomas Quicksilver, known to his classmates as "Pucker," has always been an outsider. His crazy mother, the secret of his family’s strange origins, and above all, the terrible scars on his face from a childhood fire—these things have kept Thomas isolated and alone.Now, at seventeen, a quest to save his dying mother takes Thomas back to his birthplace, an alternate world called Isaura from which he and his mother were exiled years earlier. In Isaura, Thomas’s scars will be magically healed. He will fall in love for the first time. And he will face a devastating, impossible choice.In shimmering prose, Melanie Gideon’s new novel takes readers from the lonely places in a boy’s soul to a miraculous world of infinite possibility and frightening temptation.

A suspenseful, gripping novel about families and friendships torn apart at the seams by obsession, secrets, and betrayal with relentless twists and turns that hurtle forward to a shocking confrontation.When Ruth, a wealthy divorcé​e, offers to host the Hillside Academy kindergarten meet-and-greet, she hopes this will be a fresh start for her and her introverted daughter, Marley. Finally, they’ll be accepted into a tribe. Marley will make friends and Ruth will be welcomed by the mothers. Instead, the parents are turned off by Ruth’s ostentatious wealth and before kindergarten even begins, Ruth and Marley are outcasts. The last guest to arrive at the meet-and-greet is Gemma, a widow and a single mother to her daughter, Bee. Ruth sets her sights on the mother-daughter duo, and soon the two families are inseparable. Ruth takes Gemma and Bee on Aspen vacations, offers VIP passes to Cirque du Soleil, and pays for dinners at Michelin-starred restaurants. For Gemma, who lives paycheck to paycheck, Ruth’s largesse is seductive, but as the years go by, she can’t shake the feeling that she’s accruing an increasingly unpayable debt. When Ruth’s affair with a married Hillside dad is exposed, and she’s publicly shunned, Gemma uses it to sever ties with Ruth. Six years later, when Gemma finds herself embroiled in a scandal of her own—Ruth comes to her defense. Their renewed friendship rehabilitates their reputations, but once again, Gemma starts to feel trapped as Ruth grows more and more obsessed with their relationship. A relentless page-turner, Did I Say You Could Go is the story of friendships steeped in lies and duplicity. It’s about two families who, when pushed to extremes, cross the line with devastating results.