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By: Melinda Leigh
Congratulations to "Debra S." the winner of Melinda's giveaway. Thank you to all who participated!
The villains in my Midnight series suffer from a terrible genetic form of insomnia. They are slowly driven insane by the inability to sleep, and then they die. I borrowed the concept from a disease called Fatal Familial Insomnia, but the symptoms and progression of the real disease didn’t quite fit my needs. Luckily, I write fiction and I can make up my own disease that works perfectly.
Anyway, I can empathize with my villains. I suffer from insomnia too, but it’s the regular just-annoying kind. I lie in bed, staring at the ceiling, and wonder how I can be so tired and not asleep.
I love what I do. (We won’t talk about December and my decision to deliver a manuscript a month ahead of my original schedule. It wasn’t pretty.) The fact is that even if you enjoy something, you need a break from it now and then. But it seems I’ve forgotten how to relax. I can’t shut off my internal to-do list.
When I worked in the bank eons ago, I left my work at the office. There was a clean break between profession and home life. Frankly, I couldn’t wait to skip out the door at the end of the day and do something (anything) else. Now I love my work, and it’s always just a flight of stairs away.
I know all of you are busy with careers and families too. How do you mentally put work aside? How many of you suffer from insomnia?
Melinda will be giving away a copy of MIDNIGHT EXPOSURE to one lucky commenter!
Giveaway ends 11:59pm EST April 20th. Please supply your email in the post. You may use spaces or full text for security. (ex. jsmith at gmail dot com) If you do not wish to supply your email, or have trouble posting, please email maureen@justromanticsuspense.com with a subject title of JRS GIVEAWAY to be entered in the current giveaway.
Giveaway ends 11:59pm EST April 20th. Please supply your email in the post. You may use spaces or full text for security. (ex. jsmith at gmail dot com) If you do not wish to supply your email, or have trouble posting, please email maureen@justromanticsuspense.com with a subject title of JRS GIVEAWAY to be entered in the current giveaway.
Congrats on the new release, Melinda. I do have trouble sleeping at night. I can be very tired, but my mind can't rest and relax and so I toss and turn for a while before falling asleep.
ReplyDeletejanie1215 AT excite DOT com
This book sound really good.I love getting on just romantic suspense to find new authors.I also thank all the authores who put there books on here.Debra Stolhand (cher123@cableone.net)
ReplyDeleteI do have insomnia. My mind just won't shut down sometimes. Or I go to sleep and 1 hour later I am awake and wired. I do get a lot of reading done that way. I tried cleaning house at 3am, but hubby didn't like that. After a couple days of no or very little sleep I usually crash. It is just something I have adjusted to. Your new release sounds exciting. just the thing i need on a sleeples night. trishleroy49 at gmail dot com
ReplyDeleteJane and Trish, I'm sorry you are fellow insomnia sufferers. Lately, I've been listening to audio books if I can't sleep during the night. There's no light or sound and focusing on someone else's story helps shut my thoughts about mine down.
ReplyDeleteDebra, I'm glad you love Just Romantic Suspense. It's one of my favorite websites.
I have had times when my mind won't shut down... thoughts and worries keep running through my head keeping me from sleeping well. I am glad it does not happen often. I try relaxing music, positive thoughts and memories, sometimes creating a nice daydream in my head to soothe me when it does happen.
ReplyDeleteI like the daydreaming idea, Colleen!
DeleteI thought that once I retired I would find that I could relax and be able to sleep better. Wrong. Apparently my mind finds all kinds of things to worry about. My doctor suggested taking 3 mg of Melatonin a couple of hours before going to bed, noting that it takes 2 weeks to change the sleep cycle. It works. As long as you remember to take the darn pill!
ReplyDeleteI am so looking forward to reading the Midnight series. I'm behind, but getting there.
kacbooks(at)hotmail(dot)com
Thanks for the tip, Karen. Hope you enjoy the books.
DeleteI do suffer from insomnia from time to time. I go through a cycle where I'm normal and then I get too tired and then I can't sleep. I only allow myself only one cup of coffee a day but I still go through this cycle. Whenever I have insomnia, I'm crashing in the afternoon if I stay sitting at my desk at the office. So I ended up drinking a second cup of coffee and I can't sleep at night.
ReplyDeleteI think maybe I'm just geared to stay up at night. I definitely never had any problems staying up at night.
kmccandle(at)yahoo(dot)com
Don't know anyone that suffers from it
ReplyDeletebn100candg at hotmail dot com
I generally read or listen to music. Listening to a favorite book is also a great aid in battling insomnia.
ReplyDeletejtcgc at yahoo dot com
Thanks for the great post and congrats on the new release! I used to suffer from insomnia until I made a concentrated effort to reduce my caffeine and to go to bed at around the same time each night. I can't read b/c that wakes me up!
ReplyDeleteGood for you, Erin. Reading doesn't work for me either.
DeleteIt takes forever for my brain to stop thinking at night, but once I actually fall asleep it's all good
ReplyDeletemarypres(AT)gmail(DOT)com
I do! I am up until very late at night and up again early. Usually I turn to books to keep my mind occupied. I know long-term it's not healthy so I am really trying to have a routine where I sleep a certain amount of hours. That means no matter how good the book or how awake I am I'll need to get some sleep in.
ReplyDeleteCambonified(at)yahoo(dot)com
Occasionally I do wake up in the middle of the night and can't get back to sleep but luckily I usually have no problem going to sleep.
ReplyDeletemce1011 AT aol DOT com
Well, it looks like I'm in good company. Thank you all for stopping by.
ReplyDelete