Monday Mortals: Melanie Robertson King

Good morning, Melanie! Its great to have you here on my blog. Let's get right down to it. Can you tell us a little about your latest book.

My book is called A Shadow in the Past. When a contemporary teen is transported back to the Victorian era, she becomes a shadow in the past…

What inspired you to write it? 

I had just finished reading the first four books in Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander series and had fallen in love with them. A friend and co-worker, also a DG fan, thought I could write something like that (I’d written a number of short stories but never anything as long as a novel) so I thought why not? The early drafts, while I honed my skills and learned the craft were pretty lame but in the end, it turned out rather well (toot, toot… LOL).

Is it part of a series? 

Yes. I’m currently working on the second book, tentatively called Shadows from her Past.

If your latest book was made into a movie, who would you like to play the main characters? 

Since my Scottish heritage is so important to me and my novel is set in Scotland, then the actors playing my main characters would also have to be Scottish. So for the role of Sarah Shand, I would choose Shirley Henderson, who played Isobel Sutherland on the TV series Hamish MacBeth. For Robert, it would be John Hannah who starred in Four Weddings and a Funeral, Rebus and MacCallum and many other programs/movies.

What made you want to become an author? 

I love to tell stories, spin yarns. So what better way to do it than put pen to paper and have them published for all to share?

Name one of your all-time favourite book covers? 

Only one? I love a cover that draws me into the book, especially one that has standing stones, or a stone circle or a cemetery on the front cover. So, on that theme, The Private Patient (PD James) and Beautiful Lie the Dead (Barbara Fradkin).

Name one book that made you think 'wow'? Why did it have such an effect on you? 

To Kill a Mockingbird. I loved that book. The era, the setting in the deep south and a white lawyer taking on a black client accused of rape. Then there’s Boo Radley who the people are afraid of because he’s mentally challenged. 

Who, or what, inspires you? 

I love Scotland and have set my novels there in Aberdeenshire which is where my father was born. The scenery is breathtaking, and atmospheric, especially when the mists are hanging down covering the mountain peaks. The people are so friendly and helpful. I’m lucky enough to have travelled there and have loads of photographs to look through when I’m feeling the need for a “Scotland” fix. I sound a bit like an addict talking about needing a fix.

Where is your favourite place to write? 

I can write just about any place as long as it’s quiet. But my favourite is in my Ikea chair with my laptop in my front room. If the words aren’t coming easily to me, I can look out the windows at the neighbourhood and ponder what I’m going to write next.

What is your favourite movie that was based on a book? 

Gone with the Wind.

Who is your favourite author (s) and why? 

I love to read crime fiction so authors in that genre would be at the top of the list – Ian Rankin, Stuart MacBride, Chris Longmuir, and now that I’m a featured author at loveahappyending.com and Famous Five Plus, I’ve had the chance to sample up and coming authors’ works in a host of genres – rom com, chick-lit, sagas.

If you could have a dinner party with any authors from any time in history, who would you choose and why? 

Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, Bram Stoker (find out from the horse’s mouth if it was Cruden Bay in Scotland or Whitby in England that inspired him to write Dracula), William Shakespeare, and probably a host of others whose names aren’t coming to me as I answer this question. Each has contributed something worthy to the literary world.

Tell us a random fact about yourself. 

In elementary school, I was in the band and learned to play the clarinet.

Tell us something interesting about the area where you live. 

I live in Eastern Ontario, Canada in the Thousand Islands area in a city on the shore of the St. Lawrence River. If you stand on the sidewalk in front of my house, and look south, you can see the river and New York state on the other side.

Website
Blog: Celtic Connexions
Facebook Author Page
Twitter Account: @RobertsoKing
Trailer on YouTube 

Where to buy links:
Canada:
Amazon.ca:
ChaptersIndigo:
Local to Brockville: Leeds County Books, 73 King Street West, Brockville, ON, K6V 3R1

US:
4RV Publishing:
Amazon.com:
Barnes & Noble:

UK:
Amazon.co.uk: