Every year in December, I spend the month reading only Christmas themed books, mostly romance but other genres slip in too. In 2022, I found a book called Gingerbread Gamble by Melody and the premise hooked me from the start. Rivals-to-lovers, super relatable Christmas romance? Sign me up! To this day, the main male character, Aaron, is in my top five fictional male characters. I absolutely adore how real Melody wrote her characters and the redemption and character growth that she gave them throughout the story.
I’ve already got the rest of her Christmas in the City series slated for this December, but until then, check out my interview with her below!
Q: Who has been your biggest supporter(s) throughout your writing career?
A: I wouldn’t be able to do any of this without my husband’s support. He’s not a big reader, and especially not a romance reader, but he lets me talk through my plot knots with him and gives me the time and space I need to work. I’m very grateful for my dear friend, Emma, who is also an author and lets me vent and rant and lifts me up when imposter syndrome takes over.
Q: Where do you draw inspiration from in your work?
A: Other stories, whether in books or Tv shows or movies, often providing a leaping-off point. Since I was a child, I would make up additional stories to go along with the ones I enjoyed, and eventually, I started spinning those off into new ideas.
Q: What does it mean to you to be an author?
A: Books are such a wonderful escape to me, and in writing, I hope to provide that same kind of escape to my readers.
Q: What is your writing process like? Do you listen to certain music, snack, make loads of phone notes when inspiration randomly strikes?
A: I write every single day, without fail. Some days are easier than others, but I’ve never really suffered from writer’s block because I don’t allow myself to! I always have at least two stories on the go at a time so that if I get stuck on one, I can work on the other one instead.
Q: Is there a genre or subgenre that you want to explore that you haven’t yet? Conversely, are there any that you’ll never write?
A: I wrote a crime/murder mystery novel that I will probably never publish, but I really enjoy the genre. If I ever do decide to work in that area, I’ll have to use a pen name so people don’t get confused!
Q: What has been the hardest part of your career as an author so far?
A: Resisting the urge to compare myself to other authors. I love seeing other authors succeed, but sometimes, I’ll wonder what I’m doing wrong to not have the success they are. I have to try to remember we’re all on our own journey and celebrate my own successes when they happen.
Q: What do you consider to be your greatest strength and weakness as an author?
A: My greatest strength is writing consistently, which lets me release books consistently. So far, I haven’t run out of ideas. My greatest weakness goes back to comparing myself to others and letting it steal my joy.
Q: Who is on your radar as someone you’d love to work with?
A: Sierra Simone and Kennedy Ryan are two authors whose work I absolutely adore. if either of them ever read any of my work and liked it, I’d die happy!
Q: At some point in our lives, we’ve all heard the negative comments: “You’re not good enough.” “You’ll never make it.” “This is the worst thing I’ve ever seen.” “You don’t belong.” How do you move forward when faced with negativity?
A: I keep a folder on my computer of screenshots of positive reviews and comments and messages I’ve received from readers. When I’m really struggling with not feeling good enough, I go back and read some of these messages. Nobody can please everybody, but reminding myself that some people really enjoy my work helps me to push through it.
Q: What advice would you give to women who are wanting to write, especially if it’s something others might perceive as “outside of the norm”?
A: Stop waiting for permission! Do what makes you happy and teach yourself the rest of what you need to know.
Melody’s latest release, Fated to the Enemy, is her triumphant return to paranormal romance and is the first book in a brand new series called Rocky Mountain Wolves. It follows a woman named Calista who grew up raised by hunters after her family were killed in a vicious attack. Vaughan is the Alpha of the biggest wolf pack in the area and can’t wait anymore for his fated mate to appear so he decides to take a chosen mate. Fate has other plans though, when he meets Calista and every good intention he had is blown to pieces.
Fated to the Enemy is definitely on my radar, and I can’t wait to read it! One book on Melody’s radar is Maestro by Auden Dar. She read it at the beginning of the year and still thinks about it regularly: “It’s very angsty, which I don’t normally enjoy all that much, but it’s such an epic story that I feel like I lived through with them and I didn’t want it to end.”
You can find Melody’s entire catalogue on her website, and make sure to follow her on Facebook and Instagram so you don’t miss any exciting new releases!
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