My Friend Melanie – Interview & Giveaway

by Roseanna White | Oct 22, 2010 | Uncategorized

Today I’m thrilled to welcome my friend Melanie Dickerson to my blog. Melanie and I are both members of the most wonderful historical writers group ever, HisWriters, whose focus is on European-set historicals. Melanie’s here to talk about her debut novel, The Healer’s Apprentice, which is the book of the month at the ACFW book club and being discussed RIGHT NOW!! Fun stuff!

I reviewed this book a while back, so it may sound familiar to y’all. Well, Melanie has offered a signed copy to one lucky reader, so as always, leave your comment below with an email address. And be sure to click “Follow” if you haven’t already!

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About The Healer’s Apprentice

When destiny sleeps, it can only be awakened by true love’s kiss.

In this historical romance loosely based on the Sleeping Beauty fairy tale, a woodcutter’s daughter becomes the town healer’s apprentice. Rose’s job is to care for the sick and injured in Hagenheim Castle. But she gets sick at the sight of blood and is more suited to making up stories than sewing up wounds. She is determined to overcome her weakness and prove herself a competent healer, or she faces marrying a disgusting old merchant her mother has picked out for her.

Lord Hamlin, the future ruler of the region, is injured and Rose must overcome her squeamishness to save him. He is everything that is noble and good, but loving him is forbidden. He is already betrothed to a mysterious woman in hiding.

With two noble-born brothers vying for her affections, Rose learns that the people of Hagenheim are not always who they seem.

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About Melanie

Melanie Dickerson earned her bachelor’s degree in special education from The University of Alabama and has taught in Georgia, Tennessee, Germany and the Eastern European country of Ukraine. A member of American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW) and Romance Writers of America (RWA), she now spends her time writing and taking care of her husband and two daughters near Huntsville, Alabama.

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What’s your latest book?

The Healer’s Apprentice is my debut novel, published by Zondervan and released Sept. 14, 2010.

And it is sooooo awesome! I’m really excited to be talking about it at the ACFW book club this month! What do you hope your readers will get out of the story?

I think the main thing I tried to get across is that God has a plan for you, and it’s better than the plan you have for yourself, so don’t twist yourself into a pretzel trying to force your own plan to work out. Leave room for God to work out his perfect plan for your life.

Trust God. God says he delights in those who put their hope in his unfailing love. What an awesome God, that he wants us to put our hope in his love, and that he actually delights in us when we do.

I also want readers to understand that a guy who isn’t committed to God, and isn’t willing to commit to them, is not a safe person to fall in love with. They need to hold out for a Godly man!

I love the way you bring God’s ultimate will to light in this book. Very awesome. Is there a theme to this book?

Loyalty and determination are two themes that run through the story. Also, taking responsibility for your own feelings and actions, and doing what honors God instead of just going after your own selfish interests.

Yes, I definitely took that away from it. It’s not often you come across a book about responsibility, but this one was just beautiful in it. What’s your favorite genre to write? To read?

My favorite genre to read and to write is historical romance. I read other genres, but not very often!

With you there. =) As you well know.  Is there any one thing or reference you keep handy when writing? Anything you kept around for this particular book?

I did a lot of research on the internet for this book. I keep my subscription to the Merriam-Webster online dictionary current so I can regularly check on words that were used in the middle ages. I try to avoid using words or objects that were not in use in the 14thcentury, although it’s virtually impossible to completely eliminate them all. But it was helpful to check on the origin of words. And it’s just plain fun. Let’s face it. I’m a word geek.

Oh, we have so much in common!! What lessons have you learned through the publication process that you wouldn’t have guessed as a pre-published writer?

There are many stresses and problems that come along with getting published. I was told that ahead of time, but I didn’t really know how things would be until I experienced it for myself. I had so many questions, but the people with the answers had jobs to do and I often didn’t even know who to ask. And there was so much marketing I wanted to do, and only so many hours in the day! Many problems and anxieties cropped up that I hadn’t anticipated. It’s been a whirlwind! But at the same time, I wouldn’t trade this wild ride for anything.

Crazy, isn’t it? Aside from writing, what takes up most of your time?

Marketing stuff, definitely. I try to do my part to get the word out about my book, but I never realized how all-consuming it could become. And the fact that the experts say the first three months after a book is released are the most critical, well, that just makes me put more pressure on myself! But I am trying to get back into the book I was writing a few months ago, before things got so crazy.

Do you remember where you were when you got The Call about your book being contracted?

I was taking a nap in my bedroom on Veterans’ Day, 2009, and my husband and kids were at the Veterans’ Day parade. I had been praying, just before I fell asleep, that God would make Zondervan love my book and that they would publish it. (I knew the editor was taking the book to the publishing board some time that month but I didn’t know when.) And I prayed that if Zondervan decided not to publish it, that God would help me not get too depressed. So when my agent called and woke me up, I was in shock. It took a while for it to sink in.

LOL. Think it was a dream? =) Any upcoming releases we should keep our eye out for?

I am hoping Zondervan is going to publish my second YA medieval fairy tale retelling, a Beauty and the Beast story that is on my editor’s desk right now. They were really fast getting The Healer’s Apprentice out, so it might not be that long before you’ll see the next one! I hope!

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Thanks for visiting, Melanie! I’m praying Zondervan buys that next book too, because this one was truly a delight. Readers, you can check out her website at www.melaniedickerson.com
and find her books at Amazon, ChristianBook, and CrossPurposes.

Void where prohibited. Entry into the contest is considered verification of eligibility based on your local laws. Chance of winning depends on number of entries. Contest ends 10/28/10. Winner will have two weeks to claim prize.