Interview with Melissa Payne

Melissa Payne is the bestselling author of six novels, including The Wild Road Home, A Light in the Forest and her latest, In the Beautiful Dark.

After an early career raising money for nonprofit organizations, Melissa began dreaming about becoming a published author and wrote her first novel. Her stories feature small mountain towns with characters searching for redemption, love, and second chances.

Can you tell us a little bit about your writing journey?

My journey is certainly not unique, but I do like to share pieces of it that I think resonate with other writers. Like the 99 rejections I had on my very first novel attempt. Or the time I nearly gave up on the whole idea of getting published until a wise older woman (my mother) gave me some of the best advice. She suggested that I ask myself if this writing dream was what I really wanted, warts and all. Because, she reminded me, I could walk away and try something else and that would be okay too.

After some reflection, I dug in and turned all of my focus on querying and writing. And not too long afterward, I found my agent and not too long after that, my publisher. But the rejections remain an important part of my journey because that was where I built my stamina. And stamina and resilience are what you need to be a writer. There will be days when the words don’t flow, the story stalls or the feedback isn’t great and that’s when we pull from that reservoir of focus, determination and stamina to see our characters through to the end of their stories.

How has writing changed you as a person?

When I’m deep in a story, I see the world not only through my eyes but through the eyes of the character whose head I’m currently inhabiting. To create deep and relatable characters, I need to be able to empathize with people different from myself, observe how others interact, speak, and exhibit emotion.

I think writing has made me even more of an observer than I was before, but I also feel like I appreciate the differences in people while looking for the ways in which we are similar too. Because ultimately, those similarities are what unite us and make stories about people (or aliens or soup cans) relatable and resonant with a reader.

What inspired you to write IN THE BEAUTIFUL DARK?

After my father died, my mother moved into a senior living community and after fifty plus years with the love of her life and best friend, the transition was not easy. At first, her grief made her keep to herself. In some ways, she resented having to face this stage of life alone and heartbroken. But with time, my mother began to do what I found to be so courageous – she met new people, developed new friendships, created a life for herself with new experiences, new adventures.

She’s at a stage of life where trying new things is hard, maybe even a little scary, and yet my mother and so many others like her, are doing just that. Despite the grief of losing a life partner. Or the physical challenges that come with getting older. I found this determination and spirit inspiring and it made me want to create a story in this type of setting with people like my mother and her friends. In the Beautiful Dark is a story about a woman who must learn to rely on an eccentric community of new friends in order to face the ghosts of her past and solve the murder of her long-lost love.

What would be your 6 word memoir?

I’m a mom, wife, friend, author.

What is the best writing advice you’ve ever had, and the worst?

The best advice I ever had was to write my next novel. When I was querying, I was also creating my next story. I never stopped and waited for the big moment when I would get an agent or a publisher. By focusing on what’s next, you keep your creativity flowing instead of stifling it with the waiting, the waiting, the waiting. And it will help you later in your career by developing the muscle memory to write through the hard times and challenges that life will inevitably throw your way.

The worst advice I ever got was from another writer who thought my chapters were too long. He believed they should be much shorter. But this author wrote in a genre where very short chapters worked, and that wasn’t my genre. The moral of that story is to remember to listen to your story instinct first before applying blanket advice to your process. Do short chapters work for your story? Then go for it. Just remember that each story is unique and may call for a different storytelling technique.

What is your writing process like? Are you a pantser or a plotter?

I’m mostly a pantser but over the years I’ve developed into a hybrid of the two. I like to have my synopsis written so that I know the general structure of my story but then I’m totally fine with the characters having minds of their own and leading me down a different path if it makes more sense for the story and character development.

Do you need a special place to write?

Not really. The place doesn’t matter as much as my head space. I need to have checked critical items off of my to do list that might interfere with my writing. It can be small unrelated things (make vet appointment) or business related (promote an upcoming event) but if my to-do list is too long it distracts me. The other thing I need is to shut myself off from the internet and social media, if only for a little while. Those two things are massively distracting and a perfect outlet for procrastination.

Are you part of a writing community or a writing group?

I have a lovely community of writers both locally and virtually that has grown over the years into a wonderfully supportive group. It makes such a difference to have people to talk to, run ideas by, send pages to read, and share all manner of writerly woes. I also lead a local writing class which keeps me engaged with writers at all stages and it’s one of my most favorite things.

What is your experience with social media as a writer? Do you find it distracts you or does it provide inspiration?

It’s mostly a distraction for me because once I’m scrolling, one thing leads to another and suddenly I’m watching puppy, cat and toddler videos and crying at how fast time moves. For me, inspiration comes more from genuine human interaction, and that happens off the screen.

Who are your favorite authors?

So, so many. Lately I’m enjoying lots of different types of authors, like Kate Manning, Megan Kate Nelson, Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Heather Webb.

What are you reading currently?

A Long Petal of the Sea by Isabelle Allende.

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Find out more about Melissa on her website  https://www.melissapayneauthor.com/

IN THE BEAUTIFUL DARK

A woman investigates a friend’s long-ago murder in a haunting and hopeful novel about the weight of secrets and regrets by the bestselling author of The Wild Road Home and A Light in the Forest.

At Sunny Pines Retirement Community, where the “Sixty-Two and Better!” share their golden years, secrets abound. Some scandalous, some haunting, and some dangerous. For Birdie Allen, a retired business owner and grandmother, her secret is the only thing she’s got left. Getting old isn’t the hardest part about life. It’s the memories from more than fifty years ago of the death of her unrequited love. And Birdie’s abandoned quest to root out the killer.

With retirement comes a lot of time to revisit old ghosts, so when Birdie ties together a string of recent murders, and a woman disappears, she’s drawn into the same chase she gave up decades earlier. But this time she has the help of an eccentric community of eager new friends. And they’re not alone. Restless souls are watching, including Birdie’s lost love, and they sense the danger that lies ahead. They’re not leaving Birdie’s side until she finishes what she set out to do. But will Birdie’s pursuit of a killer finally free her of regrets and allow her to embrace the beauty of the life she’s created?

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Tags: featured, women writers

Category: Interviews, On Writing