.jpg)
Wife, mother of 3, businesswoman by day and author by night, Melissa Delport is the author of The Legacy Series and Rainfall. She graduated from the University of South Africa with a Bachelors Degree in English in 2000. She currently lives with her husband and three children in Hillcrest, South Africa.
Her first novel, The Legacy, self-published in 2013, is the first in The Legacy Series trilogy, and is followed by the sequel The Legion. The main-stream publisher, Tracey McDonald Publishers, is re-releasing The Legacy and The Legion in July 2014. Book 3 of the trilogy, The Legend, is due out in 2015. Melissa has also written an independent novel entitled Rainfall, a psychological romance, and a science-fiction, action-adventure called The Traveler.
An avid reader herself, Melissa finally decided to stop “watching from the sidelines” and to do what is her passion.
“I was driving home from work when inspiration struck, and a storyline started unravelling in my head. For a few days, it was all I could think about and eventually I realised that the only way to get it out of my head, was to put it all down on paper. I started writing, and that was that.”
SOCIAL LINKS
Website & Blog: www.melissadelport.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/
AUTHOR INTERVIEW
Welcome, author Melissa Delport to Just One More Romance. Thank you so much for taking time out of your busy schedule to sit down for an interview with us. Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?
Thanks so much for hosting me, Shanean! I know how busy you must be, and I really appreciate your taking time out for me. I love bloggers – they are the new “Oprah” when it comes to book marketing!
Tell us about your work. What are you writing now? At the moment I am on deadline for the final book in the Legacy Trilogy. The deadline is the 27th September, so I will be working on that for the next few months. Thereafter, I have another romance burgeoning in the recesses of my mind that I am looking forward to writing. Romance is a wonderful escapism for me.
Where do you draw your inspiration for your writing? Everywhere! It’s amazing how every situation, every book that you read, every person that you meet, can fan the flame of your imagination and plant a tiny seed that soon becomes a storyline. I have so many book ideas, as I am sure do most authors, but only a select few make it to a full-blown novel. The key is to not become clichéd. I don’t want my books to come across as a cheap knock-off of someone else’s work. Originality is very important to me.
When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer? I bet you’ve heard this a thousand times, but I knew from a young age that I wanted to write. I excelled in English at school from an early age. I did a degree and a year post-grad in English literature. Then I grew up and realised that writing wasn’t an easy road, and would be very difficult to make a career out of. So instead, I entered the corporate world, had three children, and wrote the occasional Christmas card. The thing is though, writing is in my blood. I couldn’t let it go for long, and about two years ago I started writing as an Indie author. I was writing late at night, and burning the candle at both ends, but I was fortunate enough that at the end of last year I was offered a publishing contract, which enabled me to sell my business and become a full time writer. Now I’m living my dream!
What was the first romance novel you read that made an impression on you? Shanna by Kathleen Woodiwiss. I remember in about Grade 9, a girl in my class was reading it. Her name was Shanna too, actually, and she was raving about it. I was intrigued so I borrowed her tattered copy. It’s a historical romance, very epic, very dramatic. The tall, dark and handsome hero...the beautiful, vulnerable but feisty heroine... I loved it...still do!
What do you do while you write? Do you listen to music, watch TV, eat snacks, etc.? I completely zone out! It drives my husband crazy and my kids go bananas! I get so engrossed in a scene that I shut the world out. Doing something that you love is not only uplifting, it’s productive too! When I get going, there’s no stopping me!
Tell us 3 surprising things about yourself.
1. I can’t walk in heels. At all.
2. I have nodules on my vocal chords as a result of trying to out-sing my seven year old in the car. I won, so it was totally worth it ;)
3. I must be the only person on the planet who doesn’t like sushi
What’s the last movie you watched and loved?
People like us with Chris Pine and Elizabeth Banks. I caught it on TV the other night and stayed up to watch. It was beautiful.
What’s your idea of a perfect date?
Absolutely anything that entails being free of our 3 children for a couple of hours!
If you could take a romantic trip anywhere, where would it be?
Greece
Do you believe in love at first sight?
I met my husband when I was sixteen. Eighteen years later we are blissfully happy. The first time I saw him I thought he was gorgeous, so yeah, I guess I do!
Top three things on your bucket list:
1. Write a book See one of my books on the NYT bestseller lists
2. Fit back into my wedding dress
3. Find somewhere in my house that the kids can’t find me
Fun Quickies
Boxers or Briefs? Boxers
Alpha or Beta? Alpha
Tattoos or Piercings? Tattoos
Brains or Muscles? Muscles (Does that make me a terrible person?!)
Planner or Wing it? Wing it
Favorite feel good drink? Champagne!
Favorite naughty dessert? Nougat dipped in melted chocolate
Tea or Coffee? Tea
Laptop or Desktop? Laptop
Beach or Mountains? Mountains
First I want to let you know that you are not alone. I too hate sushi and that is saying a lot because my husband is Asian. LOL!! He hates it too.
Thank you again Melissa for letting us pick your brain and share in some laughs. I have so enjoyed reading your blog posts and just love your witty humor. I can't wait to dig into Rainfall this weekend for mothers day.
*HAPPY MOTHERS DAY*
I very much appreciate you taking the time to let us interview you and I look forward to having you back again on Just One More Romance.
I look forward to being back! I can’t thank you enough for hosting me. Happy Reading
Paige’s father has Alzheimers, and her fiancé is shot and killed in an armed robbery. Paige fights her depression and pulls herself out of the dark place that she has succumbed to, with monumental effort and a new-found determination to live her life to the fullest, doing things that both terrify and exhilarate her.
When Paige meets Adam, the attraction is instantaneous. Adam grew up in an orphanage and has no recollection of his life before the age of six. Paige falls head over heels in love and embraces a happiness she never dreamed possible. Until the day she finds Adam in bed with another woman.
Wanting nothing more to do with him, Paige cuts Adam out of her life, until she receives a mysterious visitor, who reveals secrets about Adam’s past that shock Paige to her very core.
Determined to fight for the man that she loves, Paige finds herself on a journey that will change her life forever.
Rainfall is available on Amazon as an ebook only.
To purchase, follow the link: AMAZON
Read the first 4 chapters for free here: Rainfall Sample
No comments:
Post a Comment