Hi
Melanie Hansen and welcome to Bayou Book Junkie. Melanie has been writing since
2015, published her first MM tale in 2015 and to date, has published 4 novels,
3 of which are in her stunning Resilient Love series. Being a beta
of hers (long story, but basically, I fangirled, emailed and kind soul that she
is, Mel took pity on me, yay!!!), I can tell you that she has a few things cooking
that we’ll be seeing in 2017. And boy, are readers in for more treats…I have
permission to tell you that one’s a love lost-love found, 20-somethings tale,
very contemp (and lol! very hot, a lot naughty and very
sexy, and boy would I like to know what research she did for it!!!) and the
other is a May-December tale that I am truly salivating over. I mean, she’s let
me read about half of the latter, but the rest’s still a WIP. Does the woman
not know that patience isn’t a Scorpio virtue?!
Mel’s
a transcriber for a deaf high school student, mum to 2 boys who keep her on her
toes, the daughter of a US Air Force guy and is married to a US Navy man. She
lives in Arizona where she makes me sooooo envious about the weather compared
to what we get here in London, UK. I mean, how can anyone moan about a hot
summer, really, especially when there’s aircon everywhere as standard? Some
people don’t know when they’ve got it good. Anyway, enough from me. This
interview is about Mel, so it’s over to her.
Rita for BBJ: Hi Mel and welcome. Please
tell BBJ readers all about yourself, though if I say so myself, I think I’ve
done a pretty decent job. Did you know that good old-fashioned TMI is welcome
here and that you’ve fans other than myself here?
Mel: You
did a fabulous job introducing me! We’ve
talked so much over the last year and a half, I really do feel like we’re
friends J
You know me quite well!
Rita for BBJ: Tell us a little about
your day job, please, Mel and what life as a Navy family is like.
Mel: Basically, I’m a middle-aged woman reliving my
high school days in excruciating detail, LOL.
I’m assigned to one student, a lovely young woman whom I adore, and I
accompany her from class to class. Once
there, I transcribe the teacher’s lecture for her on a laptop computer, which
she follows along with on her own laptop.
Then I put the transcript in a shared Dropbox, and she can access it
from home to bolster her own notes, or use it to clarify things if she has a
question later. It’s a very rewarding
job.
Life as a Navy
family is a lot of hurry-up-and-wait, and a lot of having to do things on my
own. For the past year, I’ve been both
mom and dad to our boys, due to the fact my husband has been stationed in San
Diego while we’ve stayed in Arizona.
Long separations are a fact of life, and I knew what I was getting into
going in. On the flip side, we’ve gotten
to live in some amazing places, and meet lots of people from different walks of
life.
Rita for BBJ: And, how did it go down
with your dad when you announced you were marrying not a USAF guy but a US Navy
guy? Are either of your boys showing signs of following in dad’s or grandpa’s
footsteps?
Mel: My dad
didn’t blink an eyelash! I think he felt
sorry for me knowing all the sacrifices I’d have to make, LOL. And yeah, living in Hawaii for a couple of
years was a HUGE sacrifice. How did I
survive? My youngest son, who’s 11,
wants to join the Navy but my oldest, who’s 13, wants no part of it.
Rita for BBJ: Could you tell us what
made you start writing, and in particular, why MM?
Mel: I’ve
been an avid romance reader for years, and after discovering M/M, I found
myself wanting to expand on some of my favorite stories and explore things that
happened off-page in them. I took to
writing fanfic, and surprisingly they were very well-received. When NaNo 2013 rolled around, I decided to
give it a try, and Everything Changes came out of that. Dreamspinner took a chance on it, and here I
am!
Rita for BBJ: Everything Changes – aah, Jase and Carey,
love them, love them, love them. Sorry, off track again – has a military
background, as does the WIP I’m (impatiently!) waiting on. How much research
goes into your tales and does hubs help? Has he read anything of yours? If so,
was he a critic or a critique-er, and did he end up wearing his dinner?
Mel: My
husband does help! He’s been in the Navy
for 23 years and is, as he calls it, an “admin weenie” as well as in
leadership. Any question I’ve had he’s
been able to answer. I also do a lot of
research in the form of reading non-fiction accounts of people who’ve lived the
things I want to write about, mainly to get a feel for the lingo so I can help
my characters sound as authentic as possible.
Rita for BBJ: What’s your idea of a
perfect day, Mel? Would this involve a certain Cory Zwierzynski?
Mel: LOL,
I’d love to spend the day with Cory, but honestly, a perfect day to me would be
sending my kids off to school so I have the house to myself! A long leisurely pedi and lunch with a friend
would cap it off in the best way.
Rita for BBJ: If
you had the chance to make one of your books into a film, which would it be and
who would you choose to play the leads (in this scenario, money’s no object and
yes, I absolutely will be free to fly over and be a dogsbody/gofer/hands-on
Jill of all trades)
Mel: I’ve actually had a producer express interest
in making Everything Changes into a movie!
I met with him over my winter break and things are moving forward slowly
J It’ll be awhile before anything comes
to fruition, if it does. I’m not holding
my breath, but just the fact a producer thinks it’ll make a good movie is
amazing to me! I don’t have any actors
in mind at the moment, to be honest.
Anyone have any suggestions for me?
I’d love to hear them!
Rita for BBJ: Name 3 things that
drive you mad about the hubs, and what he’d answer to the same question
(personally, I never do this, as I’d never stop once I start writing stuff
down!).
Mel: First
of all, he drives too fast, ugh, and gets lots of tickets. One time I was with him and he started
arguing with the cop, and almost got arrested!
Despite that, he still won’t slow down.
It’s very upsetting, so I’m sure my nagging drives him equally as
crazy. Other than that, it’s typical
marriage stuff that being together for 18 years will get you J
Rita for BBJ: Which would trust more
when considering buying a book, Mel – a 5* review that’s quite
bland/inoffensive/generic-ish or overly effusive or a 3* review that’s more
detailed and critically constructive?
Mel: Hands
down, the 3* constructive reviews. When
I’m considering a book to buy, I go right to the 3* and read those first before
the 5s. Mainly, though, I have trusted
friends who recommend books to me and that’s how I make my buying choices.
Rita for BBJ: I have to ask this –
exactly how did you research the stuff that takes place in Scott and
Rylan’s tale? I mean, that’s a seriously sexy, hot read. Was there much
trawling of the internet/strip clubs/porn sites, not that I’d know anything
about any of those, lol!
Mel: LOL,
nope! For the club detail, I based it on
the Abbey in West Hollywood, and also the underwear models I’ve followed for
years on social media. For the drag
queen stuff, my uncle’s husband is a former drag queen and he’s shared quite a
bit with me. For the rest, well, let’s
just say I have a very vivid imagination ;)
Rita for BBJ: What are the top five places you would most like to
visit? Take us on your ultimate dream vacation. Oh, and when am I
playing London tour guide to you and the boys? I’m in demand, you know!
Mel: New
Zealand, Australia, Scotland, Switzerland and Italy. My husband has been to them all at one time
or another with the Navy, except Switzerland, and I’m so jealous! And of course, we’d have to stop in London so
you can show us around. That’s a given!
Rita for BBJ: So
Mel, you don’t do a lot of social media or promo, yet your books have some
amazing reviews. What’s the secret your success?
Mel: I’m
so happy and grateful for any success I’ve garnered. It quite literally blows me away! Thank you so much to anyone who’s read and
enjoyed my books, and taken the time to review them. I love and appreciate you more than I can say
<3
Rita for BBJ: So I know you’re a bit
of a Superwoman, but who’s your rock, Mel? That one person who always has your
back, who’s always there for you?
Mel: There
are two of them, my friends Monica and Kenya, hands down. They’re my rocks, my sounding boards, my
hand-holders, the truest of the true. I
honestly don’t know what I would do without them, and I pray that I never have
to find out. Love you both!
Rita for BBJ: And now, the
quick-fire round:
USAF
or US Navy? Navy all the way!
Who’s
the more romantic, you or hubs, and why? Neither of us, LOL. We’re both very pragmatic, down-to-earth
people who just want to get stuff done.
But every now and then he’ll send me surprise flowers or an “I love you”
text. I think I’ll keep him!
Describe yourself in one word. Loyal. Once you have my loyalty, I’ll move heaven
and earth for you if I can.
What can you be bribed with? Chocolate!
Cory
Zwierzynski or Scott Eastwood (and no, you can’t have both!) Heee! Cory, because I’ve
met him in person and he’s as sweet as he is beautiful. I want to be besties with him!
Thanks
for popping in, Mel. We hope you had fun and I owe you one (though you owe me the
rest of the WIP, ASAP)!
Mel: Thanks so much, Rita! You’re the best J
Preorder it from Amazon
Releases on 16/01/2017.
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