Why I’m Here

Dear World,

Forgive me if I immediately throw out “cringey vibes.” I am new here on Substack and just figuring things out. As you may know already, my name is Melody Reeder. I am a transgender woman and an aspiring novelist. My first novel, which I started writing and hoped would be my debut, is called The Epic of Ryker Sullivan. However, I had to put that project on hold for a project that is far more important, urgent, and close to my heart: Transamerican.

Transamerican is a non-linear, novel-length memoir with medical and political commentary based on the real, lived experience of me, a transgender woman, growing up in rural Oklahoma. The point of this memoir is to bring awareness to the lived experience of transgender people and to better explain what causes people to be transgender and why anti-trans legislation is inherently discriminatory and logically defunct.

I will be releasing the chapters as I write the Field Edition, but I'm not starting from scratch. I already have some chapters fleshed out, but I want to give myself some room to get a good writing rhythm going before I start requiring myself to produce a chapter a week. So, with that in mind, I may or may not be posting the chapters in sequential order. Feel free to share, mirror, or repost my work wherever you wish and especially to those who you think need to read it. The reason I am here instead of trying to publish a full manuscript through an agent is specifically so I can circulate this content ASAP and free to the public. After I finish the manuscript, I will pursue an agent and have the book fully published and printed for those who want hard copies, but Transamerican will always be free to read right here on my Substack. So SHARE, SHARE, EVERYWHERE!

Thank you so much for taking the time to come to my Substack. I hope you enjoy my writing as much as I enjoy writing it. Don't forget to subscribe, and if you know someone who might need to read my content, then don't hesitate to send them on over. I hope everyone is enduring well through this year.

With all my love,

Melody

If you enjoyed this piece, please check out more of Melody’s work right here.