It took Melanie Welsh four years to write her first book, Mistress Of The Storm. No small task to take on when you’ve got a demanding job and a couple of small children.
Happily it’s paid off for her – she’s got a respected literary agent, Random House has committed to a two book deal, her book is in print and a German publisher has committed to publish in their country.
The German deal has given Island-born Melanie the financial stability to give-up work for two years to concentrate on finishing her second, third and part of book four. Dreamy.
We met up with her on the sunny terrace outside Quay Arts yesterday, in a brief break between her many visits to Island schools, to find out how it all came together and where she goes from here.
Four book series on the way
Mistress Of The Storm is the first of a planned series of four books and is described by publisher as “a magical Swallows and Amazons.”
All of the books will take place on a fictional island, which is based on The Isle of Wight. Indeed, it all centres on a town called Wellow, itself based on Ventnor – a place that Melanie said always had a special attraction for her while she was growing up in Cowes.
When imagining it the area she envisaged ran through Blackgang to Compton, so ripe for dingy and sailing action; Smugglers; a terrifying grandmother; magic; mystery; witches and dark family past.
The writing process
The process of how she works (it’s disciplined); the publishing world myth of Catherine Wilson; how Melanie forms her character; what makes a success in Children’s books; we touch on how books might work in the world of the iPod – among other things.
Top three tips for would-be authors
Given Melanie had done the ‘write a book’ thing, we thought it was an ideal opportunity to gather some guidance for those who might want to follow in her foot steps.
She gave us …
1 – Structure the plot
2 – Practice at writing – if you can write about things that don’t interest
3 – Get as much inspiration as possible – read anything and everything
Have a listen for yourself …
When you’re done with listening to the chat with Melanie, there’s an animation to quicken your pace about Mistress Of The Storm
You can get ‘The Mistress of the Storm’ from today from Waterstone’s in Newport, or if you’re off the Island, via Amazon.
