The Christy Awards are here again and the finalists are travleing from all over the country to find out if they are the lucky winner. There are a lot of wonderful writers that were nominated this year, but today, I'm featuring my friend and author Melanie Dickerson!
Melanie has made quite the splash since publishing her first book, The Healer's Apprentice. She was nominated for numerous awards for that novel, including a Christy. This year she's back in the nominations for her follow up book, The Merchant's Daughter.
Melanie was very gracious in accepting my invitation for an interview. So, welcome Melanie. Thanks for taking a quick stop on your road to success and answering a few questions.
If your readers were to take only one lesson from The Merchant's Daughter, what would you want that to be?
I would want them to take away the lesson that God loves them and has a plan for their lives, a good plan, and He will be with them through whatever they have to face in life to get them into the abundant life He has planned for them. My heroine does her best to follow God, and that’s all God really asks of us.
Great message, I certainly saw that in Annabel. So how does your Christy nomination affect your view of your writing career? Has it changed anything?
I have to say, it is a big encouragement to me, but I’m not sure it changes anything. It encourages me to keep writing the best stories I can, to put every effort into revising and every other aspect of writing, and it lets me know I’m probably on the right track, to a certain extent. It’s very humbling too, because of all the other great books out there.
Do you have a favorite Christy award winning novel? If so, what is it? Has it played into your writing desires in any way?
The novel, Christy by Catherine Marshall, is an amazing book and one of my favorites. I’ve dreamed of winning a Christy Award since I started writing novels again, about eight years ago! That makes it all the sweeter to be a finalist.
I loved the book Christy! It's one of my favorites, too. What one thing would you like readers to know about you that no one knows yet?
I have a Snow White book, The Fairest Beauty, which I just unveiled on my Facebook author page, and a Cinderella book coming out next year. Both of these books feature the grown up children of Rose and Wilhelm from The Healer’s Apprentice. I hope my readers will enjoy hearing about what happened to Rose and Wilhelm and how their children are turning out.
I'm so excited! I can't wait to get my hands on them both. I've hooked my book club on your novels, they're just as excited as I am. Good luck at the Christy's Melanie, we're all cheering for you!
To find out more about Melanie Dickerson, visit her website http://melaniedickerson.com/ or Like her on Facebook.
ABOUT THE BOOK:
Inspired by “The Beauty and the Beast,” THE MERCHANT’S DAUGHTER follows Annabel Chapman, the daughter of a once-wealthy merchant, whose fate changes when her family goes into debt and she is forced into the role of servant for the beastly Lord Ranulf le Wyse.
In her new home, Annabel is burdened with a host of household duties, including harvesting barley stalks and preparing dinner for the other servants. Worse, she is horrified by her family’s insistence she marry the despicable Bailiff Tom in order to save the Chapman home and keep her brothers from having to work. After Tom corners her alone several times, Annabel comes to believe a life within a convent may be her only hope of true escape. But as she settles into life inside Lord le Wyse’s home , Annabel begins to see past the lord’s harsh exterior to the kind and wonderful man who hides behind the physical and emotional scars. A man who wants only to help her, even if it means sending her away. Will Annabel follow her heart’s desire before it’s too late?
Dickerson’s long-awaited second book blends the romance of The Healer’s Apprentice with the fantasy of the classic “Beauty and the Beast” tale. THE MERCHANT’S DAUGHTER is a must-read for teens and young adults interested in fascinating love stories and historical fiction.
Watch the enchanting trailer for THE MERCHANT’S DAUGHTER
“Dickerson manages a heartfelt romance that will stick with readers.”—Booklist
“A virtuous romance.”—Kirkus
“The message will resonate with readers of all ages: Beauty is within all of us.”
—Romantic Times
“This riff on Beauty and the Beast makes the story as comfortable as a pair of old shoes, but the shoes fit well.”—Publishers Weekly
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Melanie Dickerson is the author of 2010’s The Healer’s Apprentice, her debut novel which won Best First Book at the National Readers’ Choice Awards and came in fourth at the Family Fiction Awards. The novel was also a Christy Award, Maggie Award, Carol Award and Golden Quill finalist, and earned the HOLT Medallion Award of Merit. She lives in Huntsville, Alabama, with her husband and two daughters. www.melaniedickerson.com
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