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What’s your story? How did you get into writing?
My first attempt at writing came the summer I graduated from grade 8. I wrote a story about some glamorous girls who were the partners of the hunks on the local hockey team. It went on… and on… and on. I don’t think it ever had a “proper” ending. But the neat thing was, I could draw reasonably well so illustrated it, too. Dare I refer to it as a graphic novel?
What advice do you have for aspiring authors?
Write, write and write some more. Join a writing/critique group in your area and if one doesn’t exist, start one. Attend writing workshops so you can develop and hone your craft.
What are you working on now?
Currently (and not very diligently) I’m working on the sequel to my debut novel which is called Shadows from her Past.
What has been the most challenging part of publishing or marketing your book?
Since it was my first book, I really wanted to go traditional. I needed the experience of working with a good editor and the strict guidelines that it entailed. (I’m not very disciplined without deadlines). My editor and I hit it off right away and there were times we were so closely tuned to the other that changes were anticipated and made before they were even requested. How’s that for a great editor-author relationship?
If I’m busy marketing/promoting my book, then it takes away from my writing time that also has to get squeezed in between housework and my full-time job. Finding creative ways to say ‘buy my book’ can be difficult, too. You can’t just harp on the same way all of the time or you’ll lose prospective readers.
What has been your favorite part?
This is a no-brainer. Seeing my book in print for the first time, then holding it in my hands *rubs hands together gleefully recalling that moment* followed by making my first sale.
The experience came alive again recently, when A Shadow in the Past came out as an ebook followed by the first download from amazon.
Who are your favorite authors?
My favourite authors reflect the eclectic variety of books on my over-stuffed bookcases. You’ll find Stuart MacBride and Ian Rankin vying for places amongst Diana Gabaldon, Barbara Erskine, books about the British Home Children. When you take my Kindle into account, you can add the likes of Chris Longmuir, Juliette Sobanet, Janice Horton, Mandy Baggot and more into the mix. So there you have it. Crime to romance, to non-fiction, to chick-lit and rom-com.
What gave you the idea for your current work?
There were a number of factors that brought about the idea for my first book and its sequel. I had visited my father’s birthplace in Scotland and fell in love with the rugged beauty of the countryside. A derelict mansion stood nearby that I became fascinated with. Those two items provided the setting so I just had to decide on the era. Since I also have an interest in genealogy, and I’ve been stuck in the Victorian era on my father’s side, I decided that my book would take place then – 1886 specifically.
By this time, I had read the first four Diana Gabaldon novels which got me thinking ‘time-travel’. A friend (also a D.G. fan) suggested I take a crack at writing something similar, so I did.
If you could be any character in the book, which one would you be?
My heroine, Sarah. I mean if I could go back to her age and know what I do now, that would be amazing but to go back into the 19th century with 21st century knowledge? Wow! Mind you, it would create a number of awkward situations.
What other books have you written and/or are working on for the future?
In addition to working on Shadows from her Past, I have the beginning and ending of another novel written – Second Chances. The main characters in it were first introduced in my debut novel and also appear in its sequel. Second Chances is based around a helicopter ditching in the North Sea.
What’s your favorite quote?
If at first you don’t succeed try, try again… or something to that effect. I didn’t give up after all those rejections so it’s almost like that quote was written for me.
What’s your favorite supernatural creature?
I would have to say a vampire. I grew up watching the black & white Hammer Film Productions horror movies, primarily the Dracula ones.
A Shadow in the Past
When a contemporary teen is transported back through time to the Victorian era, she becomes A Shadow in the Past…
Nineteen-year-old Sarah Shand finds herself thrust back into the past. There she struggles to keep her real identity from a society that finds her comments and ideas strange and her speech and actions forward, unlike Victorian women. When Sarah verbally confronts confining social practices, including arranged marriages; powerful enemies commit her to a lunatic asylum. After falling in love with the handsome Laird of Weetshill, Robert Robertson, she must decide whether to find her way back to her own time or to remain in the past with him.
4RV Publishing: http://4rvpublishingcatalog.yolasite.com/robertson-king.php
Amazon.ca: http://www.amazon.ca/Shadow-Past-Melanie-Robertson-King/dp/0983801886/
ChaptersIndigo: http://www.chapters.indigo.ca/books/A-Shadow-In-The-Past-Melanie-Robertson-king/9780983801887-item.html?ikwid=a+shadow+in+the+past&ikwsec=Home
Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/a-shadow-in-the-past-melanie-robertson-king/1112348992?ean=9780983801887
A Shadow in the Past is also available at amazon for the Kindle (using the same links), Barnes & Noble for the nook, and will be coming soon to Kobobooks and Apple’s iBookstore.
Publisher: 4RV Publishing LLC
Author Website: http://www.melanierobertson-king.com/
Author Blog: Celtic Connexions http://www.melanierobertson-king.com/wp02/
Facebook Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Melanie-Robertson-King/221018701298979
Twitter Account: @RobertsoKing https://twitter.com/#!/RobertsoKing
Thanks for hosting me on your blog, Stacy. Travelling abroad with spotty internet coverage and other online woes but will share and tweet once I’m home and I get everything sorted.
Thank you, Melanie! It was my pleasure and I enjoyed your responses! 🙂 Have a great day!
~Stacy
OOh, Hammer Film Productions – you kept that quiet Melanie. Fabulous book, fabulous cover!
You’re right, Linn, although I never really thought of it that way until you mentioned it. So glad you like my novel and its cover. Aidana is so talented. She did a wonderful job designing my cover.