Author Interview: Melanie Kerr
Hello readers! I was able to interview Ms. Melanie! Melanie Kerr is the author of Follies Past: A Prequel to Pride and Prejudice. She will be releasing her upcoming book, Mary Green soon.
Here's a little bit of information about her (from her website):
"Melanie Kerr studied linguistics,
English and theatre at the University of British Columbia and law at
the University of Alberta. Melanie is a reckless lover of clotted
cream, a staunch defender of the semi-colon and a fierce opponent of
unpleasant music. She wooed her current and only husband with false
promises of skill at word games and eternally good hair. She lives in
Edmonton, where she raises her two sons, sews her own Regency
costumes, runs a Jane Austen Fun Club, blogs on all things old and
English, endeavours to take over the world and occasionally practices
law. Follies Past is her first novel."
Without further ado..... the interview......
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So, I heard that you will be
releasing your upcoming novel this spring entitled Mary Green. Can
you tell us something about this?
Yes, Mary Green is coming out May 1. It
is a Regency Novel, set in early 19th Century England.
Beginning as a sort of Cinderella story, it quickly evolves into a
drawing-room saga about a young lady, an orphan, just emerging into
society and finding her way to self-discovery. It is written in an
historical style and takes the reader from the idyllic English
countryside, to the heyday of the London season and beyond, as Mary
seeks to find happiness and love amidst dubious suitors and
money-grabbers as well as some true friends and a few hidden gems.
It’s just the sort of thing Jane Austen and Fanny Burney fans will
enjoy.
Among the novels you previously
wrote, what are we going to expect in this novel?
My first novel, Follies Past, was a
Jane Austen prequel, also written in historical English. Mary Green
is not tied in to any Jane Austen novel, but is similar in style and
theme.
In this upcoming novel, who is your
favorite character(s)?
I feel really differently about the
characters that I write compared to those I read, and in my writing,
I tend to favour the villains, or at least the less-than-admirable
ones. In this book, there are two sisters, Dorothea and Augusta
Hargreaves. They are not quite evil step-sisters, but they are both
fairly flawed and kind of hilarious. Sometimes, I would think of
quips or antics for them, and I would have to laugh out loud because
they were so ridiculous. Yet they were real to me, real people whom I
kind of came to like in spite of their faults.
Will there be any difference of this
novel among the others you wrote?
Yes, this one is entirely of my own
invention, whereas my previous novel was based on a backstory
provided by Jane Austen, specifically the scandalous near elopement
of Georgiana and Wickham. These characters, and this story are all
original.
How long did it take you to complete
a novel?
This one took about a year to write. I
work full time and have three children, so I have to work on my novel
after bed time, or squeeze in writing sessions when my husband takes
the kids to the park.
What are your pre-writing novel
regimen?
The most important pre-writing
requirement is just finding the time. I do a lot of the writing in my
head at other times, when I am driving or doing housework, so when I
get the time to actually sit at the word processor, it’s actually
pretty quick to type it out. I do need to have a cup of tea and a bit
of chocolate when I start though. That’s basically mandatory.
Who inspired you to write Mary
Green?
After my last novel came out, I was
contacted by a new, local publishing house, Stonehouse Publishing,
asking me if I had any manuscripts that I could submit for their
upcoming release. They wanted something similar to Follies Past, but
without any tie-in to any particular book. Essentially, they didn’t
want fan fiction, but they liked what I had done in terms of the
language and the setting. I had been thinking about writing a story
like this one, so I offered to write it for them. It was a bit tight
getting it done in time, but I was really excited about working with
them, and I’m hoping people are going to enjoy it.
And lastly, what can you tell us,
your readers and fans? Any messages or inspirational quotes?
I write the kinds of books that I would
want to read because I didn’t find them when I looked. So, I guess,
if you are like me, I think you will like this book. I’m a
costume-drama-loving grammar nerd who wants pretty, old-world books
with sentences I can sink my teeth into. That’s what I have tried
to create.
Thank you again Ms. Melanie! I hope
you’ll have a great success in your upcoming novel!
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Thank you for reading! Don't hesitate to comment guys! =)
~Myra
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