Melanie Dickerson: Combining past fairy tales with a brand new book!

Dear Readers~

Today I have the pleasure of hosting author Melanie Dickerson! If you're not familiar with her or her books, here's Melanie's bio:

Melanie Dickerson is the author of The Healer s Apprentice, a Christy Award finalist and winner of the National Reader s Choice Award for Best First Book. Melanie earned a bachelor s degree in special education from the University of Alabama and has been a teacher and a missionary. She lives with her husband and two daughters in Huntsville, Alabama. 

Melanie, please tell us how you came to write your latest novel, The Beautiful Pretender. 

"Strangely enough, I actually started writing a version of The Beautiful Pretender before I started writing The Huntress of Thornbeck Forest, which was the first book in the series. I wanted to write a gothic-type story where a girl is sent to marry a “beastly” hero at a dark and scary castle in the forest. But my agent wasn’t crazy about the idea and asked me to come up with something else. Thomas Nelson asked me for a proposal for an adult series of Medieval fairy tale re-tellings, so I started thinking, What if I write a mash-up of two different fairy tales instead of just one?

"The first story I thought up was a combination of Robin Hood and Swan Lake. And then as I plotted that story, I realized the margrave—the hero’s boss—would make a great hero for the second book in that series, and I could use the story that I’d already started as a jumping off point for the margrave’s story. 

"Everything fell into place, and I added elements of The Princess and the Pea. I felt like God was giving me a forum to show that everyone has longings and insecurities, everyone has hurts from past relationships, but it pays to open your heart to love, kindness, and compassion. That became one of the themes of the story."

Sounds awesome! I can't wait to read the series. Now here's a blurb about Melanie's latest:

After inheriting his title from his brother, the margrave has two weeks to find a noble bride. What will happen when he learns he has fallen for a lovely servant girl in disguise?

The Margrave of Thornbeck has to find a bride, fast. He invites ten noble born ladies who meet the king’s approval to be his guests at Thornbeck Castle for two weeks, a time to test these ladies and reveal their true character.

Avelina has only two instructions: keep her true identity a secret and make sure the margrave doesn’t select her as his bride. Since the latter seems unlikely, she concentrates on not getting caught. No one must know she is merely a maidservant, sent by the Earl of Plimmwald to stand in for his daughter, Dorothea.

Despite Avelina’s best attempts at diverting attention from herself, the margrave has taken notice. And try as she might, she can’t deny her own growing feelings. But something else is afoot in the castle. Something sinister that could have far worse—far deadlier—consequences.

Readers, you can visit Melanie online at:
www.melaniedickerson.com  
Facebook: www.facebook.com/MelanieDickersonBooks
Twitter: @melanieauthor

DEBRA CLOPTON: Forgiveness & Second Chances

Hello, Readers--today I have the privilege of hosting Debra Clopton here on Everything Writerly. For those unfamiliar with Debra's work, here's her bio:

Debra Clopton is a multi-award winning novelist and has written more than 22 novels. Along with writing, Debra helps her husband teach the youth at their local Cowboy Church. Debra's goal is to shine a light toward God while she entertains readers with her words.

Debra's latest book is Kissed by a Cowboy. Let's find out the inspiration behind it.

Debra states, "I feel very strongly about my calling as a writer to write great books that are fun, entertaining and touching while showing God’s power in a person’s everyday life. 

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"In Kissed by a Cowboy (Thomas Nelson Publishers) the themes of forgiveness and second chances were heavy on my heart from the moment I began the Four of Hearts Ranch Romance series. I knew from day one that Jarrod had something eating at him and it was that he’d made a mistake in love a long time ago. And he also can’t forgive his father for betraying the family. He’d nearly gambled away the family ranch that their grandfather had built as a legacy for Jarrod and his brothers and the families they would have one day. 

"Everyone has troubles and forgiveness issues somewhere in their lives. I felt led to explore that in this book and am very happy with the results."

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Thank you, Debra. You're right, everyone struggles with trials. Jesus said that in this world we would have trials. But we mustn't despair because He has overcome the world! Our God truly is an awesome God.

I appreciate you taking time to visit Everything Writerly.  I wish you God's best on your brand new novel!

Readers, keep in touch with Debra by clicking on the following links:

Debra's website:

http://debraclopton.com/

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/debra.clopton.5?_rdr=p

Twitter:

https://twitter.com/debraclopton