Laurie Carlson interviews Melissa Foster

1. First, I would like to congratulate you on winning ALL the awards you have won for Megan’s Way! CONGRATULATIONS! I know some of them were finalists. As of now, what are ALL the Awards you have won for Megan’s Way?

MELISSA: Thank you, Laurie. So far, Megan's Way was the Winner for the 2011 Beach Book Festival Award in the Spiritual category, Finalist, 2010 Next Generation Indie Book Awards for New Age, and both Megan's Way and Chasing Amanda are currently nominated for the Dan Poynter Global eBook Awards.

2. I see Megan’s Way is going to be a movie! CONGRATULATIONS AGAIN! Can you tell us when it is supposed to come out? Is it a Made for TV, such as Lifetime TV or for the Big Screen?

MELISSA: Megan's Way is currently in the process of being cast. The movie will first go to the film festivals, and if it does well, it will hopefully hit the big screen. As for timing, I'm not certain when it will be complete, but we hope by the end of the summer.

3 While the screen writer’s have adapted it into a movie, how much work did you put into the adaption? Did they change it a lot?

MELISSA: The director decided to go with my screenplay rather than the one that the screenplay writer and I developed. To that end, I did all of the writing. The director and I are completely on the same page with our vision of the movie. I don't think much of the actual story will be cut out of the movie–if we can keep it within a reasonable viewing period, that is.

4. Did you write an outline of Megan’s Way first?

MELISSA: I'm what you might call a "pantser". I don't often write outlines, and I did not write one for Megan's Way. I did do some reconfiguring of the story after the first draft was complete, but not using a formal outline.

5. When writing Megan’s Way, how did you start to write it? Did you start from the beginning? The middle, or the end?

MELISSA: When I began writing Megan's Way, I thought the middle was going to be the end. The book was going to be about Megan and the five girlfriends she grew up with–their friendships, secrets, sisterhood. It didn't pan out that way. I quickly realized I had been mistaken, and that this was a story about Megan and her daughter, and their friends.

6. When do you write your novels? I know you are so busy during the day making contact online with your fans, not to mention I read you also have 6 children!

MELISSA: I do all of my writing Monday through Friday, from nine a.m. until two p.m., from September until June. I write while my children are in school. The advent and importance of social networking has really changed the amount of time I have to write. I do spend a lot of time reaching out to fans and aspiring authors. I try to help writers any way I can and I love to connect with readers. During the summers, I might spend a few hours marketing or editing, but I don't do any real writing during July and August. That time is spent with my family and as a rejuvenation period for myself.

7. Besides finishing writing a book, what is your favorite part of writing one? Is it the character development, the plot of the story, or something different?

MELISSA: Great question, Laurie. Probably my favorite part of writing is meeting the characters and learning about their backgrounds. I think I enjoy that more than completing a book, because I miss my characters once I'm done working with them each day.

8. Have you ever been writing and have your entire story change all on it’s own while writing it?

MELISSA: Absolutely. That's what happened with Megan's Way, and with my fourth novel, Shades of Gray, which is my project for the fall. As frustrating as it might sound, it's actually exciting when that happens.

Laurie, thank you so much for hosting my blog tour. I'll be checking in all day to respond to readers, and, as always, I'll be chatting with members of the Women's Nest, where all women are welcome.

Originally posted on Laurie Is Here Blogspot

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