AS I AM: Release day blog featuring author Mel Teshco!

It’s such a pleasure to be on the Tule blog talking about As I Am.

I could probably rattle on about this story all day, but I promise to keep things short and sweet!

Telling a fictional story loosely based on a non-fictional character isn’t anywhere near as easy as I’d imagined it would be, especially when that non-fictional person happens to be my daughter, Teagan. But some things are meant to be put out into the world, even if I had to pull myself back from some of the deeper, darker struggles of what someone with rheumatoid arthritis faces daily. (Thank goodness for my editor, Sinclair, who gently pointed out the too-bleak parts of my storyline. I managed to rein it in lol.)

There were many similarities between Teagan and Molly, like being diagnosed with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis at the age of five. Chinese herbal tea was also mentioned in the story. Molly has a real aversion to any tea since having it as a child, and I know Teagan still doesn’t touch it. Another scene has a hydrotherapy pool in it. For Teagan this was at least a once-weekly mission with a physiotherapist to help with her mobility. The pills and injections, along with a whole world of pain are more parallels I’ve used in Molly’s story. (Okay, I’ll admit the purple ballerina bedspread I mentioned was from my own childhood). ☺

Of course there are also distinct differences between my daughter and the book’s character. Molly has aged parents, with one surviving mother. I was a young mother of 19 when I had my daughter, Teagan. And though Teagan had two parents, it wasn’t the happy relationship Molly was lucky enough to grow up in. But that’s a whole other story…

So many of Molly’s struggles in this book have been based on Teagan’s struggles, though in all honestly Teagan’s were far worse at a young age until modern medicine helped her regain much of her mobility. Teagan has permanent loss of sight in one eye thanks to uveitis (one of the many side effects to arthritis.) I won’t tell you how many injections she’s had in that one eye alone. She also had a finger knuckle replaced just so her husband could slide on a ring at their wedding. And what a beautiful wedding it was –  I’ve shared a photo as a fine example of my daughter’s own happily ever after ☺

I so wanted Molly to get her happily ever after, just like Teagan. I only hope you readers love her as much as I do—and as much as Brock does. ☺

Ps – I’d love to hear what you guys think of Brock. I think he might be my most fav hero yet!

Make sure to order your copy of AS I AM, available today!

Mel Teshco is an award winning, Amazon best selling author with a love for the written word, along with a short attention span that sees her juggling a variety of genres and heat levels in her stories. From contemporary to paranormal, inspirational to erotic, she hopes there’s a little of something for every reader out there to enjoy.

Her gypsy-like upbringing saw her living in many places along Australia’s east coast. Each new home stimulated an already over-active imagination, where she spent as much time dreaming about fantasy worlds as the real world – the fantasy sometimes being much better.

Now living on a beautiful rural property with views of the mountains keeping her two horses, three cats and one hyperactive Belgian shepherd happy, she is happily married to Mr Patience, and adores her three children and two grandchildren.