Melinda VanLone
Today I’m happy to welcome Melinda to the blog. She’s answering a few questions and telling us more about her books. Please help me welcome Melinda!
Featured Author Q and A:
Can you tell us a little bit about your writing: What genres do you write? Do you prefer to write one genre over another?
I write happy ever after romances with heart and steamy bits. I’m finishing up my current series, The Bellamy Sisters, with the final release coming out in January 2023. After that, I’m tinkering with the idea of billionaire romances with a zodiac twist. Interspersed through the contemporary romances is fantasy romance/urban fantasy because I love all things magical. I have one urban fantasy series out now (House of Xannon) that’s about to get a facelift with new covers and bonus content, and a new one on the way later in 2023.
What is your newest/upcoming release? Tell us about the book and series.
My next release will be You Found Me, book four of The Bellamy Sisters quartet, and features the youngest sister Della who has attracted the attention of a stalker and is in need of a strong, protective, slightly grumpy bodyguard.
The Bellamy Sisters is all about what happens after an internationally famous pop star group of four sisters breaks up.
This is your first time at CMCon… What drew you to the Coastal Magic Convention?
I was drawn by the chance to meet up with people who love to read. There aren’t a lot of reader fan conventions out there, so when I saw this I jumped at the chance.
What are you looking forward to most at Coastal Magic Con 2023?
I’m really looking forward to seeing friendly reader faces. Writing can be a lonely process. It’s always fun to get out and mingle with other people who love the same thing I do.
Do you have any pets? Please tell us about them.
I have two furbabies…a 17-pound tuxedo fluffy butt named Mystic and a 7-pound black skinny Minnie named Raven. Mystic loves people, thinks she’s a dog, and has a licking fetish. She will lick the skin right off your arm if you let her. Raven is a little skittish, but once she gets to know you she will sit in your lap for hours. She wants nothing more than to cuddle, and to go outside. Since the closest she gets to outside is the screened in porch, she’s living a life of constant disappointment. She makes up for that by sitting in windows and howling in the hallway at midnight.
Do you use real or fictional locations in your stories? What kind of research do you do for the setting?
I use a mix of both. When I’m writing contemporary romance, I’ll often use a real location for inspiration and then shift it a little to make it my own. For instance, Wire’s Crossing, the small town in my next release You Found Me, is a fictional blend of several small towns where family or friends live. There’s bits of Granbury, TX, and New Hope, PA, and a smidge of Geneva, NY, along with bits and pieces of Rockville, MD. Plus a little of my own high school experiences in a very, very small town in New Mexico.
My urban fantasy also has real world inspiration because they are placed in our modern world, with a magical twist. In Stronger than Magic, my protagonist Tarian lives on a small Hawaiian island which does actually exist. I was inspired by a small island I saw off the coast of Hawaii. Nobody is allowed to visit the island because it still has unexploded mines on it (it was used for training way back when). As we sailed past it I wondered what it would be like to live there and what might be hiding in a cave I could see from a distance. So I turned that real island into Tarian’s family home. Land mines are a great cover story for a magical family who’s trying to stay hidden.
What books/genres are you reading right now?
I’m reading The Inheritance Games, by Jennifer Lynn Barnes, and I’m absolutely loving it. It has so many twisty turns and puzzling riddles…I can’t get enough.
I also just finished The Ex Hex, by Erin Sterling. Love love loved it! So cute, and perfect to read around Halloween.
CMCon Quickies:
Mountains or Water (lake, shoreline)? Water. I’d love to live near the ocean, but any water works for me, including a pool or a small stream.
Dukes or Cowboys? Dukes. Definitely.
Stranger Things or Bridgerton? Can’t we have both? I loved the first season of Stranger Things, but it was kind of scary and I haven’t seen the other seasons. I watched season 1 of Bridgerton and adored it, and I’m now reading the book and loving it, so…I’ll say Bridgerton.
Ketchup, Mustard, or Mayo? Mayo.
Coffee or Tea? Coffee in the morning, tea in the afternoon.
THANKS so much for playing along!
Now let’s learn more about Melinda’s book – on sale now for Coastal Magic Con:
Trouble Walked In by Melinda VanLone
Three years ago he betrayed her. Now he needs a favor.
Lizzie Bellamy is having a day. Her inn is falling apart, her pop-star sister is having a melt-down, and Darth Renic is darkening her door. He has some nerve showing up at her small town sanctuary after what he did to her family, but this time she’s shutting the door right in his face. Lizzie isn’t going to fall for his silver tongue or that sincere look in his eyes. Not this time. Not again.
Jackson Renic’s life is imploding. His biggest artist has just gone AWOL and if he doesn’t get her back on track the consequences will be catastrophic. Almost as catastrophic as the twisting sensation in his chest every time he thinks of Lizzie Bellamy.
Renic knows he has to face the past if he wants to have a future. But how can he do that when she won’t even open the door?
Title: Trouble Walked In
Series: The Bellamy Sisters
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Release Date: July 6, 2021
Special Sales Alert: November 9 and 10, only 99 cents… just for Coastal Magic.
Purchase Links: https://amzn.to/3nJOTeZ
About the Author:
Melinda VanLone is a coffee addict and cat lover who writes happy ever afters with heart and steamy bits. Her Bellamy Sisters series about what happens after a world famous family band breaks up is available on Amazon and in Kindle Unlimited.
Social Media Links:
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Melinda-VanLone/e/B00APGNMA4
Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/melinda-vanlone
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/melinda.van
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MelindaVan
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/melindavanlone/