Hi Melissa, thanks
for dropping by and talking about your writing. I've always been intrigued by
the dramatic storylines you portray so vividly. Tell me first off, where do you
get your ideas?
Thanks for allowing me to share your blog with you today.
I’m really inspired by life and by my own insecurities and fears. When I begin
to write, I think about what the biggest obstacles are for my characters. Then,
while I’m writing, the ideas I started with tend to change and morph into
something else all together.
Traces of Kara was an
absolutely terrifying yet heartwarming story. How did you manage to pull off
the horror of being trapped with a maniac in a decrepit power plant while
writing such a tender mother and daughter story?
KARA was the most difficult book that I’ve written to date.
It was so different than anything that I had written before, and I was really
attune to every page pulling the reader forward, and Roland is much darker of a
character than any of my previous characters, too, so I had to strike a balance
between that spine tingling fear and the emotional story of Kara and her
mother. I found myself taking breathers before switching scenes and characters.
It was really important to me that my readers experience the strong emotional
bonds that I love to write about, and that’s where Kara and Mimi came into
play. Separating my writing self from the dark side to the lighter side
took a cognitive decision each day.
I know you have many
great stories in the pipeline. Are there any you'd like to share with us today?
I wrote three books last year, and I’m almost done with my
first for this year. I’ll be releasing HAVE NO SHAME in early May, and that’s
my first foray into historical fiction, but it’s really an enjoyable women’s
fiction read as well. I am very proud of that story, because I think it’s the
most important story I’ve written so far, and it has made it through to the
second round of the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award.
I’m honored to share the summary with you:
The racially-charged prejudice
of the deep South forces eighteen-year-old Alison Tilman to confront societal
norms—and her own beliefs—when she discovers the body of a hate crime victim,
and the specter of forbidden love turns her safe, comfortable world upside
down.
Alison has called Forrest Town,
Arkansas home for the past eighteen years. Her mother’s Blue Bonnet meetings,
her father toiling night and day on the family farm, and the division of life
between the whites and the blacks are all Alison knows. The winter of 1967,
just a few months before marrying her high school sweetheart, Alison finds the
body of a black man floating in the river, and she begins to view her existence
with new perspective. The oppression and hate of the south, the ugliness she
once was able to avert her eyes from, now demands her attention.
When a secretive friendship
with a young black man takes an unexpected romantic turn, Alison is forced to
choose between her predetermined future, and the dangerous path that her heart
yearns for.
HAVE NO SHAME is an emotionally
compelling coming of age novel featuring a young woman who cannot reconcile the
life she wants with the one she’s been brought up to live.Have No Shame will
resonate with anyone who has ever fallen in love, and those who have been forced
to choose between what they know in their hearts to be true, and what others
would like them to believe.
I'm looking forward to Have No Shame. You write about
family secrets a lot. What is something no one, not even your husband knows
about you?
Really? You want me to share that with a zillion people that
I don’t know? Hmm…I have a wicked crush on Clint Eastwood.
Ha, ha, that's one less secret. What is the most
exciting adventure you've been on? Did you incorporate it into a story?
Wow, that’s a great question! I have to think about it. I
fear I’m a bit boring. My most exciting adventures were probably when I was
very young and did something nutty, like visiting bars and toasting “every
drink that’s a little bit pink”. It
hasn’t made it into a book yet, but there’s still time.
What is your favorite
part about being an author? Least favorite?
My favorite part is that every day I get to do exactly what
I LOVE doing. That’s the truth, too. I love my work so much that it’s almost
shameful. My least favorite part of being an author was always that it meant I
had to sit for too many hours each day, but now…with my treadmill desk, there
is NOTHING that I dislike about being an author.
What is the strangest
thing a reader has ever asked you to do?
Sleep with them.
I think I know who it is, hee hee. You've written books
that span genre boundaries. Is there a genre you most look forward to exploring
in the near future?
I think about this all the time. The genre I’m itching to
write is a gritty teen book. I love teenage voices. I find it very easy and
incredibly enjoyable to revert to a rebellious teen (in voice). I’m working on
it, determining plot, storyline, etc. One day…it will see the light of day (I
hope).
It was great talking to you, Melissa. I can't wait to hear your voice in the gritty teen book. You certainly keep readers on their toes with wonderful surprises.
Thank you so much, Rachelle. I really enjoyed our chat and I really enjoyed reading your latest book, HIDDEN UNDER HER HEART.
Visit Melissa on The Women's Nest, Fostering Success, or World Lit Cafe. Melissa enjoys discussing
her books with book clubs and reader groups, and welcomes an invitation to your
event.
Melissa Foster's Books:
No comments:
Post a Comment