Today, award-winning author Melonie Johnson—aka #thewritinglush—joins me to talk about her romances. She loves dark coffee, cheap wine, and expensive beer. And margaritas. And mimosas. And mules. Basically any cocktail that starts with the letter M. She met her future husband in that most romantic of places—the mall—when they were teenagers working in stores across the hall from each other. Today, they live happily ever after with their two redhead daughters, a dog that’s more like a small horse, and a pair of hermit crabs. After earning her Bachelor of Arts magna cum laude from Loyola University Chicago, Melonie taught high school English and Theatre for several years. Now she writes smart and funny contemporary romance and moonlights as an audiobook narrator under the pseudonym, Evelyn Eibhlin. Declared a “writer to watch” by Kirkus and a “fizzy, engrossing new voice” by Entertainment Weekly, Sometimes in Love (her debut series from St. Martin’s Press) has appeared on the Amazon Best Books of the month and been featured in Cosmopolitan and Woman’s World. Her next book, described as “Austenland for Rom-Com lovers” arrives spring 2021.
SS: Melonie, what was your first recognition/success as an author?
MJ: When I started to take writing seriously—that is, when I began writing with the hope to be published—I decided to enter some contests. The book I was working on at the time (and which is currently, as they say, under the bed) was a paranormal romance. Overall it did well and took first place in most of the contests I entered, garnering several requests from final judges, including a request for the full manuscript from an editor at a Big Five publisher. The problem was, the book wasn’t totally finished—not polished, ready to submit finished, anyway—and I never sent the manuscript. I learned a lesson from this experience and told myself that next time, when opportunity came knocking, I’d be ready. A few years later, I’d written a new story—a contemporary romance—and when an agent requested the full, I sent it. That led to an offer of representation and eventually my first book deal.
SS: What are you working on at the moment?
MS: My current project is what I like to call a “meta-rom-com” meaning, it’s a romantic comedy about romantic comedies. I describe it as “Austenland for lovers of rom-coms.” It is set to release next spring, and I’m deep in revisions right now, which is where the magic happens, though I wish fixing this story was as easy as waving a wand…
SS: At what point did you come up with the title? Did your publisher change it?
MJ: Ah, the title game. I actually wrote an article for Frolic about my experience with working with my publisher on the covers and titles for my first series. As a debut author, this was all new to me. I knew titles changed all the time, and was aware that the title the book sold under was rarely the title the book was published as. But what I didn’t know was how much say a publisher’s marketing and sales team has in that decision. There are all kinds of factors that go into choosing a title that I, as the author, never considered. Things like meta-data and what keywords trigger clicks and buys and what phrases telegraph certain genres or moods to readers. All of that played into selecting the titles for my books. When the series sold as a three book deal, each book’s title started with “Sometimes” – for example, book 1 was “Sometimes You Kiss a Sexy Scot” (this eventually became “Getting Hot with the Scot”). The “Sometimes” theme became part of the series name: Sometimes in Love.
SS: What do your fans mean to you?
MJ: I think every author has some personal career goals – bucket list moments they hope for. One of mine was to receive a fan letter. Connecting with readers truly is one of the most important reasons I write. I am lucky enough to have received several “letters” from fans… I use quotes because these are not letters exactly, but e-mails and direct messages on social media sites from readers telling me they picked up my book at the grocery store and loved it so much they had to find a way to contact me and let me know. Or that they were laughing so hard their husband demanded to know what could possibly be so entertaining. Knowing I have made people laugh and gave them a few hours to escape into a story – into a world I built – is everything,
SS: Do you hear from your readers much? Where do you interact with them the most? What kinds of things do they say?
MJ: My debut series saw the release of three books back to back to back. One of the best things to come out of such a rapid publication schedule was that it welcomed readers into the Sometimes in Love world and allowed them to stay and play there a bit. They connected with the characters and became invested in their stories. I receive lots of enthusiastic requests for more books – this series is based on a group of friends, and readers have been letting me know they are waiting for the other friends to get their happy endings too (and they will—eventually—I promise!) I also started a private group on Facebook for my readers, and that is where we connect the most, often interacting on a daily basis. Called The Reading Lushes, we chat about book stuff, of course, but also swap cocktail recipes, and just share things from our lives—things that make us laugh or think. My Lushes are also the first place I go to brainstorm ideas like last week when they helped me decide what kind of dog the hero should have.
SS: Is there a phrase or quote about writing you particularly like or that inspires you?
MJ: “Write with the door closed. Rewrite with the door open.” Stephen King
“A writer is someone who has taught his mind to misbehave.” Oscar Wilde
SS: Are there any books on writing you find particularly useful and would recommend?
Write Naked by Jennifer Probst
Save the Cat Writes a Novel by Jessica Brody
Take off Your Pants by Libbie Hawker
Romancing the Beat by Gwen Hayes
SS: What role does consent and the #MeToo movement play in your writing?
MJ: Say it with me: Consent is Sexy. There is nothing hotter than a scene in which enthusiastic consent happens every step of the way. There is power in the asking and giving of permission. And knowing someone wants you to do the things you are doing? *Fans self* On a serious note, I think it is important authors portray what freely given consent looks like and how it plays a role in intimate encounters. That message can’t be signal boosted enough.
SS: Can a beta male be a great hero?
MJ: Definitely. And I feel like I’m seeing more and more beta heroes, especially in contemporary romance. And the B doesn’t mean boring. Betas have a quiet confidence, and there will often be plenty of competence porn in the skill sets they excel at, which is always a plus.
SS: Do you believe in real-life happily-ever-afters?
MJ: YES! Very much so … though I do think happily-ever-afters are a little different than happy endings … I think people experience a variety of high points that are happy endings marking chapters within a lifetime. But to live happily ever after is literally what comes after those high points—and that takes work. In romance, delivering a great happy ending works best when, thanks to the journey they’ve gone on in the story, the reader believes the characters have what it takes to make the “after” work.
LIGHTNING ROUND:
Describe your books in three words: Fun. Flirty. Dirty(ish).
Favorite thing about your genre? Guaranteed happy ending.
A genre that you would love to write: I’ve got a paranormal contemporary series under the bed waiting for the right moment.
When writing, are you a night owl or morning person? Night owl all the way, sometimes so late as to spill over to the morning. 😉
Pantser or Plotter? Plantser—I start with a very rough sketch and pants from there.
Number one book boyfriend or girlfriend is: Dageus MacKeltar of The Dark Highlander by Karen Marie Moning
********************
Smitten by the Brit is available through:
Getting Hot with the Scot is available through:
Once upon a Bad Boy is available through:
********************
An excerpt from Getting Hot with the Scot:
Would you look at that? The man is wearing a kilt.
Note to self: Cassie Crow—be careful what you wish for.
The man groaned again and raised a hand to shield his eyes from the sunlight now cutting across the hidden alcove.
“Are you all right?”
“I will be fine once ye douse that blasted light.” He squinted up at her. “Be ye a new chambermaid?”
Chambermaid? She eyed the wide sleeves and open neck of the old fashioned piratey shirt he wore. “Not sure what kind of weird-ass stuff you’re into buddy, but I don’t do RPG.”
“Weird … ass?” His dark red brows drew together as he shaped his mouth around the letters. “Are pee gee?”
“Role playing games. You know, like cosplay or what- ever.” She pointed at him. “Look, you’re the one wearing that get-up and talking like a reject from Macbeth.”
He narrowed his eyes at her finger. “Be ye a witch?”
“What did you call me?”
With another groan, he lurched forward.
Oh God, what if he was hurt? For all she knew he was a member of some historic castle tour who got lost in a back passageway and hit his head. She leaned down to inspect him for bruises.
He threw a hand out, palm up, warding her off. “Back away, sorceress,” he hissed.
“Seriously?” She slapped his hand out of the way. “Here, let me help you out of there.” Cassie tugged gently on his shoulder. The voluminous shirt was loose, but she could feel—and appreciate—the thick spread of muscle beneath the soft fabric.
Just my luck, I finally run into a hot Highlander, and he’s delusional.
The man waved off her assistance and struggled to his feet, shaking a wild tousle of thick, red hair out of his eyes. Cassie never fancied herself to be a ginger girl, but it worked on him … or maybe that was the kilt talking. She eyed the swath of plaid fabric wrapped around his hips and wondered, like any female in her position would, what might or might not be under there. Reluctantly, she raised her gaze and caught him scrutinizing her in return.
“What be these strange breeks ye wear?” he asked, moving in a circle around her.
Cassie swore she could feel the weight of each of his eyeballs resting on her denim-clad backside. Fair enough. After a prolonged moment, she glanced over her shoulder. “Get a good look?”
“Aye.” He swallowed. “’Tis most unseemly, lass.” He shook his head, gaze still glued to her ass.
“They’re called jeans.” She pivoted to face him. “Are you for real?”
He met her gaze, his answer falling from his lips in a deep, rich brogue with trilling r’s that curled her toes, “Aye, lass, I’m real.”
********************
Melonie can be found on social media here:
