Author Interview: Melanie Rose

Author Melanie Rose first came to my attention when I read her fabulous debut novel Could It Be Magic? and loved it. I was also intrigued by Melanie's road to becoming published by HarperCollins, and was lucky enough to ask her about her experience when she agreed to do an author interview with us. I've recently read Melanie's second book Coming Home and also loved that, so if you haven't picked up one of her books yet, make sure you do!

1. Tell us about your latest book.

My latest book, Coming Home, is my second novel published by Harper Collins and it is passing all my expectations with wonderful reviews and a slot in the top 20 Bookseller list!

I just love to write - and seeing my books in print and knowing people are enjoying my work is both gratifying and humbling.

Coming Home is actually based (loosely)on a true story. The Kitty in the story is my late grandmother, who really did have to wait for her first love to make his fortune before he married her and who sadly lost a son to illness. She really did visit relatives by the sea and almost lost her siblings on the cliff edge, and her stories are what make the characters so real.

The Kitty story is one strand in the weave of the book. I think of writing a novel as compiling a jigsaw with all the pieces fitting closely together to make the finished picture and the pieces just pop into my head and whirl around until they slot perfectly into place.


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Book Review: Coming Home by Melanie Rose

A young woman wakes up buried in the snow and has no idea what she is doing there. She's rescued by a local family, and they take her in, promising to look after her until her memory returns. But after several days, she still has no idea where she is, who she is or what she is doing. The family are looking after her well - daughter Jadie is a delight and has spoken for the first time in years, housekeeper Tara is pleasant but she can sense something is awry, and house owner Vincent is distant but she can feel a spark there.

When Tara's brother Colin visits and hypnotises her trying to find out something about her past, something is uncovered that none of them expect. Will she ever be able to uncover her identity, or will she be forever stuck with Vincent as his family pretending to be someone she's not?

I first heard of Melanie Rose when I read her fantastic debut novel Could It Be Magic? which started off as a self-published book and was later picked up by Harper Collins who I am sure are thrilled with the very talented author. Her second novel has a similar theme - a lost character trying to find themselves so I was very interested to see if it was going to be too similar to Could It Be Magic? for it to be enjoyable or if Rose would come up trumps again with her second book. After reading it and loving it, I can safely say Melanie Rose is quickly becoming one of my new favourite authors and I am so looking forward to seeing where she goes with her writing career.

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Book Review: Could It Be Magic? by Melanie Rose

Jessica Taylor was happily walking her dogs and meeting a nice man when she was struck by lightning and life as she knew it changed beyond belief. When Jessica wakes up, she finds she is now Lauren, a mother of four and married to Grant, whether she likes or not. She's not sure if it's a dream, but when she goes to bed as Lauren, she wakes up as Jessica. She soon comes to realise that she is living both lives - she's Lauren when Jessica sleeps, and vice-versa.

As she settles into the life of Lauren, Jessica starts finding out things about Lauren that she doesn't like, things that might tear her new family apart. Will she be able to keep up with living 2 lives, or is she going to ruin both without meaning to? Can Jessica convince anyone of her dilemma, or is the magic just for her?

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