Welcome Melissa. Thank you for joining me here today.
1. Tell us a little about yourself and your work?
I am a bit of a hippie chick, an admitted chocoholic, and a total family girl. I absolutely LOVE what I do for a living. Everyday holds new inspirations and a chance to take my characters someplace new, or give them a new issue to overcome. I am very lucky to be able to do what I love, and I’m blessed with a very supportive family.
2. Where do you get your inspiration for your books from?
Life is my biggest inspiration. My mind travels down very odd paths, so the simplest of events—like seeing a child walking down a hallway—can lead my mind to wonder what would happen if all the lights went out and the child was suddenly abandoned. Maybe the parents were drug addicts and brought the child with them to buy drugs, then the deal went bad and they were killed. What would happen to that little child? (See? Told you…)
3. Describe your studio
I love small spaces, so when we built our house, I had the builders divide my office into two areas. One writing area, lined with windows, and one reading nook. My office is very colorful—reds, golds, aqua, black—and it’s filled with great sayings like, “If only mosquitoes sucked fat instead of blood.”
4. Any writing or pre-writing rituals to share with us?
Yes, all new books are kicked off with something sweet the night before I start writing, usually ice cream or chocolate to get my brain into gear. I tend to “live with” my characters for a few weeks before jumping into writing their story, and I miss them after I’m done.
5. How do you develop your characters?
I try to write easily relatable characters. My characters are typically a mixture of the average person, with a bit of quirkiness and a few flaws thrown in. I do a lot of people watching and often take bits and pieces of personalities and mannerisms from those I’ve watched to create my characters.
6. Any tips for other authors just beginning?
Yes, and I know I am repeating this from other interviews – Don’t rush to the publication line. Write what you feel, not what you think will sell. Plan on being broke while you build a following and believe in your work while you market it. Don’t follow fads, follow readers. Write, write, write!
6. What are you currently working on?
I’m currently working on research for my next book. I can’t tell you much yet, but I can tell you that it will be set in a small town in southern Virginia in 1967 and it will be rich with social complexities and emotions.
7. Where can readers find your books? Where can they connect with you?
Readers can find my books on Amazon and they can connect with me on social media, the World Literary Café, or the Women’s Nest. My social links are listed below.
Thank you, Jaimie, for taking the time to interview me and for sharing your virtual space with me. I’ve really enjoyed answering your questions! I hope everyone will join us for the Festival!
More information about the author:
Bio:
Award-winning, bestselling author Melissa Foster is a touchstone for the indie publishing community and a tireless advocate for women. She is the founder of the World Literary Café, Fostering Success, Women’s Nest, and on the advisory board of the Alliance of Independent Authors.
When she’s not writing, Melissa teaches authors how to navigate the book-marketing world, build their platforms, and leverage the power of social media, through her author-training programs on Fostering Success.
Melissa writes emotionally-driven contemporary fiction and suspense with passionate characters that remain with the reader long after they’ve read the last words. Melissa is a friend, mentor, brownie connoisseur, and book fiend.
For more information or to connect with the author please visit the following links:
Website: https://melissafoster.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/MelissaFosterAuthor
Twitter: @Melissa_Foster
My social network for women: http://www.TheWomensNest.com
World Literary Café: http://www.worldliterarycafe.com
Fostering Success: http://www.fostering-success.com
Facebook Melissa Foster: http://www.facebook.com/MelissaFosterAuthor (Fanpage)
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3023973.Melissa_Foster
BOOKS – Click on the covers for purchasing information:
MEGAN’S WAY
“Secrets make this tale outstanding.” Hagerstown Magazine
Molly’s life is back on track, her son has begun college, and she and her husband have finally rekindled their relationship. Their fresh start is shattered when a seven-year-old girl disappears from a local park near Molly’s home. Unable to turn her back on another child and troubled by memories of the past, Molly sets out to find her, jeopardizing the marriage she’d fought so hard to hold together. While unearthing clues and struggling to decipher her visions, Molly discovers another side of Boyds, where the residents–and the land itself–hold potentially lethal secrets, and exposes another side of her husband, one that threatens to tear them apart.
COME BACK TO ME
FINALIST, Readers Favorite Award, Contemporary Romance, 2012
FINALIST, Kindle Book Review Best Indie Books Award (2012)
INTERNATIONAL Bestseller
As featured in USA Today’s, Happily Ever After blog, “Come Back to Me is perceptive and penetrating look at the intricacies of love, respect and relationships. Foster’s characters are solid; her writing style engaging and her story moving.” –IndieReader 5 STARS
Tess struggles with the news of Beau’s death and tries to put her life back together. Alone and dealing with a pregnancy that only reminds her of what she has lost, Tess is adrift in a world of failed plans and fallen expectations. When a new client appears offering more than just a new project, Tess must confront the circumstances of her life head on.Meanwhile, two Iraqi women who are fleeing honor killings find Beau barely alive in the middle of the desert, his body ravaged by the crash. Suha, a doctor, and Samira, a widow and mother of three young children, nurse him back to health in a makeshift tent. Beau bonds with the women and children, and together, with the help of an underground organization, they continue their dangerous escape.What happens next is a test of loyalties, strength, and love.
Melissa Foster is a New York Time and USA Today bestselling and award-winning author. She writes contemporary romance, new adult, contemporary women's fiction, suspense, and historical fiction with emotionally compelling characters that stay with you long after you turn the last page.