Bio:
Melanie
Dobson has written ten contemporary and historical novels including five releases in Summerside’s Love Finds
You series. In 2011, two of her releases won Carol Awards: Love Finds
You in Homestead, Iowa (for historical romance) and The Silent Order
(for romantic suspense).
She
enjoys the research process that comes along with being an author of historical
fiction so much that she often has a difficult time stopping the research on the
history and locale in order to start the writing. Because Melanie visits each
location she writes about, she’s been able to spend time in the beautiful and
fascinating towns across the country that bring her stories to
life.
Melanie
received her undergraduate degree in journalism from Liberty University and her
master's degree in communication from Regent University. Prior to her writing
career, Melanie was the corporate publicity manager at Focus on the Family and a
publicist for The Family Channel. She later launched her own public relations
company and worked in the fields of publicity and journalism for more than
fifteen years.
She
met her husband, Jon, in Colorado Springs, but since they've been married, the
Dobsons have relocated numerous times including stints in Virginia, Tennessee,
North Carolina, Colorado, Berlin, and Southern California. Along with their two
daughters, Karly and Kiki, they now enjoy their home in the Pacific Northwest.
The entire Dobson family loves to travel and hike in both the mountains and
along the cliffs above the Pacific.
When
Melanie isn't writing or playing with her family, she enjoys exploring ghost
towns and dusty back roads, line dancing, and reading inspirational
fiction.
Why do you write the
kind of books you do?
I
love to research old towns and uncover stories about heroic people from the
past. When I write historical fiction (what one friend calls “fact-tion”), I
immerse myself in a different era and ask “what if….” The wondering “what if”
is my favorite part of writing a novel.
Besides when you came
to know the Lord, what is the happiest day in your life?
I have three happiest days. The first day was May 9, 1998
when I married the love of my life in a rustic Colorado lodge. The second was the day Jon
and I met our oldest daughter. I’ll never forget going to the hospital that
July morning and lifting the most beautiful brown haired, brown-eyed baby girl
into my arms. I didn’t want to put her back down. And the third was the day the
State of South Carolina
granted us custody of our second daughter, Kinzel Shae. We were waiting at the
state line for the phone call that said we could take her out of the state to
meet her sister and grandparents.
How has being
published changed your life?
Deadlines have definitely changed my life. I used to have
months and even years to linger over a story idea or dream about what might
happen with my characters, but now I have to discipline myself to decide
quickly about the direction of my characters and story. Part of me misses those
days of researching for hours as I dreamed and wondered about the beginning and
middle of a story, but as someone who starts a new project with great
enthusiasm and then struggles to complete it, deadlines are really good for me.
They help me stay on track to actually write the endings of my story ideas as
well.
What are you reading
right now?
I just finished reading Things Unseen: Living in the Light
of Forever by Mark
Buchanan. It’s a beautifully written book about what why we are never fully
content in this life because what our hearts long for most is on the other
side.
What is your current
work in progress?
I’m in the midst of edits for Where the Trail Ends, one of the novels in Summerside’s new
American Tapestries series. This historical romance is about a woman named
Samantha Waldron and her young brother who struggle to survive after they are
left behind on the Oregon Trail. And it’s
about a proper British gentleman who wants the American emigrants to go home
before they take over this new country that Hudson’s Bay Company has claimed for the
Queen.
What would be your
dream vacation?
Touring Europe for a month
(or more) with my family. We lived in Berlin
when our girls were younger, and I would like to take them back to explore the
medieval German villages as well as visit the quaint towns and mountains in Austria, Switzerland,
France, and Italy.
How do you choose
your settings for each book?
Each book is a
little different. Sometimes I send my editor ideas of where I’d like to set one
of the Love Finds You books, and sometimes she asks me to write a novel in a
specific location. Love Finds You in
Liberty, Indiana, for example, was set in Liberty
because this town was a major hub on the Underground Railroad, and the name Liberty was quite fitting
for the townspeople’s work in helping runaway slaves. Love Finds You in Amana and Homestead were
set in the Amana Colonies--a place I've been intrigued about since I was a
child. And Love Finds You in Mackinac
Island, Michigan was the perfect setting for a Victorian-era romance
about a society family on the crux of losing their fortune and an
eighty-year-old mystery discovered in an abandoned lighthouse.
If you could spend an
evening with one person who is currently alive, who would it be and why?
My dear friend, Tosha Williams. Tosha and I became friends
at Liberty University, and her friendship has been
a treasure to me for more than twenty years now. Our paths have intersected
repeatedly over the years, but now that we live 1,400 miles apart, we try to
get together for “tea” over the phone whenever we can. It would be such a treat
for me to spend an entire evening with her, talking about writing, our
families, and how God is working in our lives.
What are your
hobbies, besides writing and reading?
I love travelling and exploring abandoned houses, ghost towns, and old
cemeteries. I also enjoy hiking in the mountains with my family during the
summer and country western dancing in the winter. My husband tolerates this dancing
hobby of mine fairly well and we often go two-stepping on date nights.
What is your most
difficult writing obstacle, and how do you overcome it?
My most difficult obstacle right now is scheduling blocks of
time devoted to writing. I write during the evenings after my girls have gone
to bed as well as on Saturdays while they are running errands and playing with
Dad. With every book deadline, I schedule one or two weekends in a local hotel
to focus on the story. The girls love to come swim at the hotel pool with their
dad, and I’m able to have (mostly) uninterrupted writing time for forty-eight
hours.
What advice would you
give to a beginning author?
I watched an interview a long time ago with a bestselling novelist,
and I was shocked when the woman said she was a “horrible” writer. She quickly
followed up her admission, saying that even though she was a horrible writer she
was a fabulous re-writer.
At the time I watched her interview, I was talking about
writing all the time and thinking about it even more. The problem was that I
was not actually doing much writing
because I was terrified I would fail. And if I failed, I would be devastated. Once
I realized my first draft didn’t have to be even close to perfect, I let go of
my fears and began scribbling down random thoughts and scenes onto paper. Then
I polished and reworked and rewrote these thoughts and scenes until I had a clean
manuscript that I could send to a publisher.
I would encourage a new writer who might be terrified of the
process to sit down with a notepad or her laptop and begin pouring out what’s
in her heart for the first draft. Don’t sweat the editing and publishing until
later.
Tell us about the
featured book.
I’ve always wanted to visit Mackinac
Island so I was really excited to contract for a story set on this
lovely island where time seems to stand still. There are no cars on Mackinac
and most of the houses and hotels were built more than a hundred years ago. Here’s
a short blurb about this novel:
As the Gilded Age comes to a close, Elena Bissette’s
once-wealthy family has nearly lost its fortune. The Bissettes still own a home
on fashionable Mackinac Island, where they
will spend one last summer in the hope of introducing Elena to a wealthy
suitor. But Elena is repulsed by the idea of marrying for money. Quickly tiring
of the extravagant balls, she spends most evenings escaping back into
Mackinac’s rugged forest. There she meets Chase, a handsome soldier who shares
her love for the night sky. The two begin to meet in secret at an abandoned
lighthouse, where they work together to solve a mystery hidden in the pages of
a tattered diary.
As Elena falls in love with Chase, her mother relentlessly
contrives to introduce her to the island’s most eligible bachelor. Marriage to
the elusive millionaire would solve the Bissettes’ financial woes, and Elena is
torn between duty and love.
Please give us the
first page of the book.
June
1894
Wind
gusted over the bow of the Manitou and whistled under the canopy of her
deck. Below the deck, a pipe organ entertained those women who wouldn’t think
of mussing their hair or wrinkling their beaded gowns as the steamer maneuvered
through the Straits of Mackinac. The deck was crowded with men smoking cigars
and talking about whether their fine country would recover from the utter
failure of the economy.
Elena
Bissette wasn’t talking with the men. She stood against the railing and clung
to the organza band that encircled her new hat, trying to keep it from drowning
in the choppy waters that marked the juncture of Lakes Michigan and Huron.
Strands of light brown hair tangled around her face, and she tried
unsuccessfully to secure them behind her ears with her gloved fingers. The
breeze tugged at her hair like a child wanting to play, but she couldn’t join
in. Not until she was alone.
Jillian
had put up Elena’s hair an hour ago, pinning it neatly into an elegant French
twist. Her hair would be a disaster by the time they reached Mackinac
Island—and so would her mother, once she saw Elena’s hair. When
Mama emerged onto the deck, Elena knew exactly what she would say.
Elena
Ingrid Bissette. Her mother’s fists
would ball up against her wide hips. You’re not supposed to be outside in
the wind. You’re supposed to be in the stateroom until our arrival, waiting
with your father and me.
The
admonitions raged louder in Elena’s mind, drowning out the roar of the wind and
waves.
What
if he saw you like this, Elena? What would he do?
Mama
would snap her fingers. He’d move on to the next girl. Just like that. And
there will be plenty of young ladies on Mackinac this summer, plenty of pretty
girls.
Tears
would follow in perfect dramatic time, just a few of them to inspire the
necessary dose of guilt. Then her mother would lean even closer.
Are
you trying to ruin what’s left of our lives?
Elena
laughed in spite of herself. As if tangled hair could ruin the Bissette family
name.
I like the story already. How can readers find you on the Internet?
I love connecting with readers on Facebook or through my
website—
www.melaniedobson.com.
Melanie Dobson's "Mackinac Island' Kindle Fire Giveaway!
Celebrate with Melanie by entering her Kindle Fire Giveaway!
Find out what the reviewers are saying here!
One grand prize winner will receive:
- A brand new Kindle Fire
- Signed copies of Melanie’s Love Find You books: Love Finds you in Nazareth, Pennsylvania, Love Finds You in Amana, Iowa, Love Finds You in Homestead, Iowa, and Love Finds You in Liberty, Indiana.
But hurry, the giveaway ends on 8/4/12. The winner will be announced on 8/6/12 at Melanie's blog!
Just click one of the icons below to enter! Tell your friends about Melanie's giveaway on
FACEBOOK or
TWITTER and increase your chances of winning.
Thank you, Melanie, for sharing with us today.
Readers, here are links to the book. By using one when you order, you help support this blog.
Love Finds You in Mackinac Island, Michigan
- paperback
Love Finds You in Mackinac Island, Michigan
- Kindle
One reader of my blog will win a copy of the book, too. Leave a comment for a chance to win a free copy of the book. Please tell us where you live, at least the state or territory. (Comments containing links may be subject to removal by blog owner.)
Void where prohibited; the odds of winning depend on the number of entrants. Entering the giveaway is considered a confirmation of eligibility on behalf of the enterer in accord with these rules and any pertaining local/federal/international laws.
The only notification you’ll receive is the winner post on this blog. So be sure to check back a week from Saturday to see if you won. You will have 4 weeks from the posting of the winners to claim your book.
If you’re reading this on Feedblitz, Facebook, or Amazon,
please come to the blog to leave your comment if you want to be included in the drawing. Here’s a link.
Http://lenanelsondooley.blogspot.com
- paperback
- Kindle
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- paperback
- Kindle