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| Melanie Robertson-King |
Hello, Melanie, and welcome to my blog.
Please could you tell us a little bit about yourself and
your writing?
I’m Canadian (born and live in
eastern Ontario), love Scotland and
all things Scottish so have set my novels here. I’ve been lucky enough to visit
on a number of occasions and have even schmoozed with Royalty on one trip when
I met Her Royal Highness, Princess Anne.
Please summarise A
Shadow in the Past in five words.
You don’t pull any punches, do
you? Egads! Five words... Time-travel romance for 13-25 year olds. (that’s six
and boring as stink) My book’s tagline is a bit longer than that... When
a contemporary teen is transported back through time to the Victorian era, she
becomes A Shadow in the Past…
Do you draw on personal experiences when you are creating
your characters and plot lines?
Yes and no. I would have to say
the personal experiences are only related to my trips to Scotland. I
have an interest in genealogy and most of my Scottish roots (that I’ve been
able to uncover so far) are in the Victorian era.
Can you see yourself in any of your characters?
I wish. Sarah is
strong and feisty, yet vulnerable. I certainly didn’t model her after myself.
She’d be a boring character if I did. On the other hand, my mum was a fireball
so I think some of Sarah’s personality traits come from her.
What advice would you give to aspiring
authors?
Don’t ever give
up. Yes, there will be rejections (trust me, I know, I’ve likely got enough to
wallpaper an 8’x8’ room) but sometimes there’s one that invites interaction and
you can re-submit after making the changes suggested. And read, read, read. You
can’t write well if you don’t.
What are you working on at the moment?
I have the
framework for the sequel to A Shadow in the Past (working title Shadows from
her Past) already written and as I think of things that need to be
added/changed in it, I send myself an e-mail jotting those notes down.
Thank you for joining me here on Ramblings of a Rusty Writer.
Giveaway
To celebrate the launch of her book, Shadows in the Past, Melanie is giving away a gorgeous tote bag as pictured. All you have to do to be in the hat is comment under this post. This is an international giveaway.
A winner will be chosen on Monday 1 October.
You can link up with Melanie in the following places:
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?
Buy A Shadow in the Past from:
As you know, Melanie, I love reading novels set in Scotland and my usual preference is for contemporary - but I also LOVE a time slip stories - preferably set in Scotland! So I've been waiting for your book to launch and I'm excited to read it. Wishing you great success with this and the sequel and all your writing.
ReplyDeleteJanice xx
Thanks for dropping by Janice! It's great to see you here. Your support since we first met "virtually" has meant a great deal to me.
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ReplyDeleteThanks for hosting me here on your blog today, Rebecca. I can't wait to find out who wins the totebag I'm giving away.
ReplyDeleteYou've given your heroine an intriguing dilemma. One I would find it difficult to decide upon. If you go with your heart you'll be giving up everything that is familiar - family, friends and a world you know. The ultimate in uprooting yourself!
ReplyDeleteAll good wishes for a highly successful blogtour. I hope Shadows in the past does tremendously well.
It is a conundrum to be sure that I've given my heroine to deal with, Gilli. But without it, the book would be a very boring read. Thanks for your good wishes!
DeleteMelanie, the book sounds intriguing and I wish you lots of success with it and also with the sequel. How exciting to have met HRH Princess Anne. Good luck with your virtual tour!
ReplyDeleteThanks Gina! Meeting HRH Princess Anne is a memory I'll always cherish. She's a lovely person, very down to earth. Even made her laugh when we were discussing how many children we had and I commented that sometimes it was 2 too many.
DeleteA sequel? Now that's exciting. Can't wait.
ReplyDeleteIt is exciting, isn't it? Best get back to work on it.
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