Twisting in the Wind

I have a different sort of post for you today, my readers; one I hope you will find interesting. I have tidied my parlour and prepared high tea for my busy author friend Melanie Robertson-King. Okay, it’s called high tea, but she’s getting coffee with a healthy splash of Heather Cream, maybe some in the cheese cake too. But not too much ‘cause it appears she wants to go for a buzz about after; she wore these wicked boots!

Now I happen to know Melanie’s on a busy blog tour as well as a physical author reading/signing tour and EVERYBODY  is going to be asking, and writing, about her debut novel, ‘A shadow in the Past’. While I’m going to mention her book, give you a couple links, put up a photo and all that, I’d really rather get personal and talk about Melanie with Melanie. That’s just what we do over coffee. So here we go:

Me: Melanie, you are a native born Ontarian yet you are so passionate about Scotland that Scottish words and terms litter your own speech. Can you share what this is all about?

Melanie: I’d be happy to. My father was born in Scotland and came to Canada as a Home Child sent through the auspices of The Orphan Homes of Scotland. He always talked about how beautiful his native country was and that one day he would take my mum and me there. Sadly, he died before he had the opportunity. Years later, I made myself the promise that the first time I had 3 weeks vacation from a job, I would go to Scotland and I kept that promise. From the time I stepped outside the airport terminal at Glasgow, I was in awe of the rugged beauty. I should also add, this was the first time I had ever flown and what did I do but went by myself to a foreign country.

Me: I remember you telling me that when you were little you and your cousins wrote plays and skits and performed for family. It sounds like you have always been creative, but when did you really know you wanted to write and start putting stories together?

Melanie: Did I say that? Egads! What you must think. I was an only child so had to have a vivid imagination to keep myself occupied. One of my cousins, a year younger than me, and I used to cook up all kinds of things when we were together. I remember a huge barrel behind the garage at my grandmother’s house and we turned it into a play house. We also used to walk to the edge of the highway after dark (on the ditch side of the guardrail) and watch the car headlights coming in the distance. When they got to a certain point, we’d yell ‘hit the dirt’ and dive into the long grass. We pretended we were in the war and those cars were the Germans.

On to the writing bit. It would have been the summer I graduated from grade 8 (a very long time ago). I started spinning stories around our local hockey team and their girlfriends, and illustrated them. A pre-cursor to today’s graphic novels if you will.

Me: You and I have talked about this before, Melanie, how writing is such an encompassing enterprise. How do you manage to write, to work, and still play a significant role in your family as wife, mother and grandmother?

Melanie:  Dimmer light bulbs and less dusting. LOL! Seriously, unless I’m writing to a deadline or on a roll, it doesn’t take as much time as you would think. Since I started edits with Carla earlier this year, this has likely been the most time I’ve spent writing steady in quite some time. And even then, I had days when I wasn’t writing because I was waiting for the next round to come back to me. When I am busy with my head down writing, my husband is extremely supportive and has stepped up and helped with cooking, dishes and other mundane household chores.

Me: And speaking of being a wife… what does that handsome and charming manservant think of your successes as a writer? And yes, I am counting your articles and short stories in there.

Melanie: We started a bit of a tradition when my first article published back in 2001 by celebrating with champagne. As I said in my previous answer, my ‘handsome and charming manservant’ as you so eloquently put it, has been extremely supportive of my dream of becoming a published author. He’s quite proud and quick to point it out. The day we went to Scene of the Crime, I took one of the tote bags I had made with my book cover on it. He showed it off frequently and if I wasn’t quick enough bringing it into the conversation (in his eyes), then he did.

Me: I hope I’m not getting too close with this next one Melanie, but one of your promotional photos was taken in a cemetery, of all places, you and a glass of champagne. It was an intriguing picture. Can you explain?

Melanie: It’s definitely not a typical location to do a promotional photo shoot, now is it? There was a method to my madness. Over the last few years when I spent a lot of time ‘mother-sitting’ every time someone came to the house to visit, she always introduced me as her daughter, the writer. I would have celebrated at the house with champagne with her when I got my contract but sadly, she died the previous year. So, I took the celebration to her anyway with manuscript, signed and notarized (by both parties) contract and a bottle of champagne and had a wee party at hers and my father’s grave.

Me: You are always so quick to give everyone else credit for helping you on the way: Your Writer’s Ink members http://brockvillewrites.wordpress.com/ , ORWA http://www.ottawaromancewriters.com/ , Brian Henry of Quick Brown Fox http://quick-brown-fox-canada.blogspot.com/ , 4RV Publishing http://www.4rvpublishing.com/ , your cover artist, your editor and even your parents. But the credit goes to you – you created Sarah Shand and Robert Robertson and all those other engaging characters in the book. How does it feel to create people and situations – a story – that other people read and talk about?

Melanie: That’s a hard question, Dorothy. The core characters were created so long ago (Sarah, Robert and the household staff at Weetshill) that I never gave it much of a thought. But with the newer characters that have made their way into my ‘life’, I’d almost liken it to giving birth. I like to think of the characters as my babies.

Me: And, well, this might be an awful time to ask because ‘A Shadow in the Past’ is still rolling off the presses and hitting shelves, but is there something else in the works?

Melanie: Yes, there is. Now you read a really early draft of my novel so you know it was more or less two separate parts (trying not to create spoilers here). I decided when I was polishing my manuscript for submission last year, to not worry about that second part. It could easily stand on its own so it is the sequel to ‘A Shadow in the Past’. I’m toying with titles for it… ‘Shadows from the Past’ or ‘Shadows of her Past’ but time will tell.

Thank you Melanie, for a little peek at your personal life. You know we all wonder about authors and other creative types. And if you, my readers, are wondering about ‘A shadow in the Past’ by Melanie Robertson-King, you can see and read more about it here:

Melanie’s links:

Author Website: http://www.melanierobertson-king.com/
Author Blog: Celtic Connexions http://www.melanierobertson-king.com/wp02/
Facebook Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Melanie-Robertson-King/221018701298979
Twitter Account: @RobertsoKing https://twitter.com/#!/RobertsoKing

And now for a sneak peek at ‘A Shadow in the Past’

When a contemporary teen is transported back through time to the Victorian era, she becomes A Shadow in the Past…

When nineteen year old Sarah Shand finds herself in Victorian Era Aberdeenshire, Scotland, she has no idea how she got there. Her last memory is of being at the stone circle on the family farm in the year 2010.

Despite having difficulty coming to terms with her situation, Sarah quickly learns she must keep her true identity a secret.

Still, she feels stifled by the Victorians’ confining social practices, including arranged marriages between wealthy and influential families, confronts them head on and suffers the consequences.

When Sarah realizes she has fallen in love with the handsome Laird of Weetshill, she faces an agonizing decision. Does she try to find her way back to 2010 or remain in the past with the man she loves?

If you are local to the Brockville area, you can find the book at:

• Leeds CountyBooks, 73 King Street West, Brockville, ON

The book can also be purchased here:

• 4RV Publishing:  http://4rvpublishingcatalog.yolasite.com/robertson-king.php
• Amazon.com:  http://www.amazon.com/Shadow-Past-Melanie-Robertson-King/dp/0983801886/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1344434406&sr=1-1
• Amazon.co.uk:  http://www.amazon.co.uk/Shadow-Past-Melanie-Robertson-King/dp/0983801886/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1344434484&sr=1-1
• Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/a-shadow-in-the-past-melanie-robertson-king/1112348992?ean=9780983801887
• Chapters Indigo: http://www.chapters.indigo.ca/books/A-Shadow-In-The-Past-Melanie-Robertson-king/9780983801887-item.html?ikwid=a+shadow+in+the+past&ikwsec=Home