Very pleased to say I have a one-on-one with Melissa Stevens :)
Great to have you Melissa, can you tell us a
little about yourself?
hm, let’s see… I’m a 35
year old stay-at-home mom to 3 kids, and one child-like (in a lot of ways)
husband. I often list my occupation House Elf, but honestly, I love being able
to spend the time with my kids and make sure they’re raised the way I want them.
What or who initially
inspired you to become a writer?
I’ve
always had a bit of writer in me. It’s always been easier for me to express
myself in written form rather than out loud, and I’ve dabbled in it for years.
Then in October of 2009 I received and email about NaNoWriMo. For those of you
who don’t’ know it’s an international challenge to write 50,000 words in 30
days, in the month of November to be exact. My first instinct was that’s
insane. I threw the email away. But the idea had been planted, and I couldn’t
stop thinking about it. Within a week I not only knew I had to try, I knew I
could do it. And I did. That first book was really rough, I’ve been through it,
revising, editing and rewriting about a million times, but actually… This is
it. I’ve released others first but Robin’s
Nest is the first one I wrote.
What kind of research
do you do for a novel and how extensive do you get?
It
depends on the situation that arises. I’ve been to most of the places in my
books (so far) but for different situations, I do different things. For
instance, in Fight, Nickie is
kidnapped and chained in the back of the van. I called my dad, he’s a machinist
and an ex-police officer, he’s familiar with the strength of chains, metals,
cuffs, etc. and I explained the situation, and then I asked him, other than
bones, which would snap first, the chain or the cuff.
Some
things I look up online. I spent an hour lost on the Jeep website when writing Robin’s Nest to find the right shade of
green for her.
Typically,
if I don’t know an expert, I’ll find one to ask.
Do you have a special
place you like to do your writing? Such as an office, a spare room, the dining
room table, your couch?
Probably
75% of my writing happens at my desk. But when things get slow, I’ll change it
up, I wish I had a spare room, I’d set it up as an office and hole up, instead,
I have a lap desk and I can often be found sitting on my bed with it while I
work on a piece, or when I’m really desperate, I’ll hit Starbucks, get a black
tea and sit in the corner with my headphones on.
As a reader, what
types of works do you like to read and do you think they influence the
genre/genres you write in?
Of
course they do, everything you read influences how you write in some way, even
if you think “I never want to write like that.” I read a lot of Paranormal, a
lot of Erotica, because it does things for me, some Romance, and some Horror. I
tell people I’ll read pretty much anything as long as it’s fiction. Though I
don’t read as much as I once did, writing take a lot of time, that’s still
pretty much true.
What is your favorite
method of writing...as in laptop, desktop, Ipad or the old fashioned pencil and
paper?? And do you plot out your story
or go with the flow of your muse?
Favorite
method is on my desktop, but I actually get more done on my laptop, I’ll take
notes on my Kindle Fire sometimes, but when I’m really stuck, or out doing
things with the kids (3 kids in sports means I’m on the run a lot.) I carry a
composition book and a pen. I get a lot done that way, usually notes and ideas,
but sometimes whole scenes or several.
I
have a basic, loose plot. I know where it starts, I know a couple of points
along the way and I know, generally, where it ends. The rest is worked out
along the way as the characters tell me who they are and how they’ll react.
When you need a break
or some time off from the trials of being a writer, what can you be found
doing?
Reading.
Watching movies, or whole series on Netflix or Amazon Prime. Sometimes
knitting, though not so much these days. I spend a lot of time with my family
as well, often with a notebook not far away.
Is there anything
about yourself nobody knows that you would like to share with our readers??
I’m
shy.
For fun, I have a few
personal questions,
Your Favorite 5
1) Favorite color –Green
2) Favorite dessert -
Chocolate
3) Favorite Season –Anything
but summer (Summer here hits 120 plus, yuck)
4) Favorite sad song-It’s
a detour from my favorite genre, I listen to a lot of hard rock, Staind,
Nickelback, Saving Abel, Etc. But my fave sad song is If I Don’t Make it Back
by Tracy Lawrence.
5) Favorite Romantic
movie –Does the Fast and Furious series count as romantic? Honestly, the last
romantic movie I watched over and over was Dirty Dancing. The Notebook was
outstanding but not something I’d watch over and over like F&F. Give me
action or adventure any day over romance movies.
And a bonus, what is
your ideal romantic vacation??
My husband took me on the
greatest one for our 10th wedding anniversary. We left the kids with
my sister and he took me on a 2 week cruise tour to Alaska. I’d love to go
back. We’re considering retiring up there.
Where can our readers
find you??
Is there an upcoming
or current release you would like to
share with us today and where can we find it?
Robin's Nest
Blurb:
After a car accident puts her in a coma, Samantha awakens to find her best friend, Robin, never left her side. While she recovers, Sam realizes there’s more between them than just friendship, but she’s afraid. What if it doesn’t work out between them, and it ruins their friendship.
Sam’s brush with death gives her a renewed understanding of how short life really is. Deciding the possible benefits are worth the risk, she faces the challenges from her over-protective family head on and leaps into life with both feet. When more challenges come their way, can Sam and Robin handle them together?
Excerpt:
As I drew closer, I saw Robin push himself off the side of the truck and stand to his full height of 6'1". He opened his pickup door and reached for something inside. I pulled the Jeep off the highway, and watched as he locked and closed the door then crossed the highway and rounded the Jeep to the passenger side. Robin isn't a particularly large guy. Yeah, he's tall, but he's lean, like the basketball player he'd been in high school. I leaned across the seat and lifted the lock on the door to let him in.
"So, what's the problem this time?" I asked as he climbed inside and closed the door.
"Damned rotor again," he replied, tossing his baseball cap with his keys inside onto the dash. He ran his hand through his shaggy blond hair. It stayed back for maybe three seconds before falling on either side of his face again, framing his deep green eyes.
I waited while he buckled his seatbelt, then checked for cars before pulling back onto the highway. Only going far enough to make a U-turn without hitting his truck, before heading back into town.
"I thought you kept an extra one in the glove box for when this happens?" I asked.
"I do, but I used my last one a couple of months ago and I forgot to get more on my next trip to Safford, then I just spaced it." He ran his hand through his hair again, only to have it fall right back where it started. "Of course, it was about time for Murphy's Law to smack me upside the head again, so here we are."
I couldn't help but laugh. "Are you about ready to give up on that antique or are you gonna buy another case of rotors for it?" Ribbing Robin about his stubbornly keeping the old pickup, despite its oddities, was an old habit between the two of us. Though we dig at each other and bicker once in a while, I don't think we've had more than two or three real fights in our entire friendship.
"So it eats rotors. So what? They're cheap. The frame, body, and motor are all in good condition. Why junk a good machine for one small, and relatively inexpensive, inconvenience?" He easily fell right back into the old game.
"It's broken down, and left you stranded along the side of the road, how many times now?"
"A few," he admitted, "but I can usually repair the problem in less than fifteen minutes and be back on my way. It's my own fault I ended up stranded tonight. Besides, if you'd been busy I would have found someone else, or eventually, someone would have come along and given me a ride into town."
He's right, someone would have come along. It was barely eight o'clock, and not quite dark yet. However, this wasn't the most used road out of town and he might have had to wait a couple of hours before someone came along.
"What were you doing out here?" I glanced at him before looking back at the road.
"I was on my way back from a meeting in Lordsburg."
"That sounds fun." My tone was dry. I didn't know what the meeting was for, but if had been something he had enjoyed, he would have shared more about it.
"Any leads on a new job?"
"Not yet." I shrugged. "I'll find something, I'm sure. The question is, how long until I do?"
"If you need something to make ends meet, I can put you to work. It's long hours and muddy as hell, but it's work."
"I'll keep that in mind, thanks. I've got a while before I have to worry, though. I have a good chunk in savings and since I don't have a house payment or rent, it will go a lot farther."
"That's true."
I reminded him that I'd pick him up at eight the next morning as I dropped him off in his driveway. I waited until he made it to the door before turning around and heading home.
Pulling out onto the highway my mind raced ahead. My thoughts were already back at the house. It was only eight thirty, I still had plenty of the evening left. I could settle back onto the sofa, but the thought of a hot bath was even more enticing.
Suddenly, I was drawn back to what I was doing by bright lights directed at my face. I shook my head and barely had time to register the vehicle that was supposed to be in the left lane, it was in mine instead. I had nowhere to go. I couldn't avoid it. The last thought that went through my mind was "How badly is this gonna hurt?" then everything went black.
Available at Amazon
One last thing before we let you leave us today :) Do you have a favorite recipe you'd like to share? I like to cook and am always looking for new
recipes to try and share.
I
do, a few months ago I went wheat free. Not because I have an allergy but
because I had noticed I just didn’t feel good after eating bread. So I have a
wheat free cookies recipe I love.
1
C sugar (white or brown works go with your preference, I like brown)
1C
peanut butter
1
tsp vanilla
1
egg
Mix
well and roll in to tbsp. size balls, mash with a fork and bake abt 10 mins at
350.
They’re
to die for, or you can not bake them, eat the dough and have what my 13 year
old calls “no bake cookies”
About the Author:
Melissa was born and raised in Arizona, she’s spent her
entire life living across the southern half of the state. She’s found that,
along with her husband and three children, she prefers the small towns and
rural life to feeling packed into a city.
She started reading at a very young age, and her love for
series started early, as the first real books she remembers reading is the
Boxcar Children series by Gertrude Chandler Warner. Through the years she’s
found that there’s little she won’t read, and her tastes vary from westerns, to
romance, to sci-fi / fantasy and Horror.
*****
Melissa thanks so much for sharing with us today and I am anxious to read Robin's Nest!
Please make sure to stop by again any time !
Until next time, happy reading !
Krista
*****
Melissa thanks so much for sharing with us today and I am anxious to read Robin's Nest!
Please make sure to stop by again any time !
Until next time, happy reading !
Krista
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