Dear Readers, I’ve loved Melanie’s books
since the first one. She has been writing Young Adult books that are retelling
of fairy tales as historical novels set in the middle ages. I don’t know why
they are called YA novels, because I believe they are novels for all ages. I
know you’ll love this one, too.
BIO: Historical romance author Melanie Dickerson earned her
bachelor’s degree in special education from the University
of Alabama and has taught students
with special needs in Georgia
and Tennessee .
She has also taught English in Germany
and Ukraine .
Dickerson has won numerous awards, including the 2012 Carol Award in young
adult fiction and the 2010 National Readers’ Choice Award for best first book.
Her novels The Healer’s Apprentice and The Merchant’s Daughter were both
Christy Award finalists. She lives with her husband, two daughters, and two
guinea pigs near Huntsville ,
Alabama
Welcome back, Melanie. How did you come
up with the idea for this story?
That’s a pretty
interesting story, Lena . I had in mind to
write a Rapunzel story at some point, though no definite plan. And then one day
on Facebook, one of my friends made a suggestion about a heroine. I think it
may have been for my book, The Princess
Spy. But I told her No, the heroine was going to be Valten and Gabe’s
oldest sister, Margaretha. But the more I thought about her suggestion, which
had previously never occurred to me, the more I realized what a great heroine
she would make for a Rapunzel story. The heroine’s identity and the Rapunzel
story quickly came together in my mind. So that’s how it started. And that
friend’s name was Terry Bell, whom I did not know personally, but we have since
become good friends. I even got to visit her last May when I went to Dallas for the RT
Booklovers Convention.
That is awesome. If you were
planning a party with Christian authors of contemporary fiction, what six
people would you invite and why?
Oh, Lena , this a cruel question!!! There are so many
Christian authors that I would love to get to know better (might even wish I
was BFFs with, but that might sound stalker-ish). Some I would invite are Betsy
St. Amant, Janice Thompson, Mary Jane Hathaway, Katherine Reay, Tina Russo
Radcliffe, Amy Matayo, because they all seem fun and interesting. I could go on
and on, truly.
Now let’s do that for a party for
Christian authors of historical fiction, what six people would you invite and
why?
This is even
harder, since I’m already friends with so many. Kristy Cambron, Mary Connealy,
Julie Klassen, Sarah Ladd, Pepper Basham, Tamera Alexander. Again, these are
already ladies that I admire, and many of them I already know are funny and
sweet. Funny and sweet, my two favorite qualities in a friend.
Many times, people (and other authors)
think you have it made with so many books published. What is your most
difficult problem with writing at this time in your career?
Isn’t it so
true, Lena ? Most people never have an inkling
of the struggles. At this very moment (and this could easily change) my biggest
problem is just trying to find the time and the FOCUS to get everything done by
the deadlines. But this is of course not the worst problem a writer could have!
I just worry a little bit about burn-out.
I so understand. Tell us about the
featured book.
The Golden Braid is a Rapunzel story set in Medieval
Germany, a new story in the Hagenheim series, also known as the Fairy Tale
Romance series. It’s very romantic, but is also a sort of coming-of-age kind of
story about a 19-yr-old girl who has been dominated all her life by her
overprotective mother. Rapunzel learns and grows and breaks out of her rut, and
by the end of the story, she’s in a much different place, in every way, than
when she started out.
Please give us the first page of the
book.
Late winter, 1413, the village of
Ottelfelt, Southwest of Hagenheim, the Holy Roman Empire
“Rapunzel, I
wish to marry you.”
At that moment,
Mother revealed herself from behind the well in the center of the village, her
lips pressed tightly together.
The look Mother
fixed on Wendel Gotekens was the one that always made Rapunzel’s stomach churn.
Rapunzel
shuffled backward on the rutted dirt road, “I am afraid I cannot marry you.”
“Why not?” He
leaned toward her, his wavy hair unusually tame and looking suspiciously like
he rubbed it with grease. “I have as much land as the other villagers. I even
have two goats and five chickens. Not many people in Ottelfelt have both goats
and chickens.”
She silently
repeated the words an old woman had once told her. The truth is kinder than a
lie.
“I do not wish
to marry you, Wendel.” She had once seen him unleash his ill temper on one of
his goats when it ran away from him. That alone would have been enough to make
her lose interest in him, if she had ever felt any.
He opened his
mouth as if to protest further, but he became aware of Mother’s presence and
turned toward her.
I love that opening. How can readers find
you on the Internet?
I'm on facebook
a lot, and I have a personal page https://www.facebook.com/melanie.dickerson.author
as well as an
author page https://www.facebook.com/MelanieDickersonBooks
and I am happy
to interact with readers on either.
I’m also on
twitter https://twitter.com/melanieauthor
And now
Pinterest too https://www.pinterest.com/dickerson3046/
Thank you, Melanie, for visiting with us
again with this new book. I always love having you.
The Golden Braid - Christianbook.com (Best price today)
The Golden Braid
- AmazonThe Golden Braid - Kindle
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