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A Conversation with Author Melanie Wells
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The view from Melanie’s side of the table is pretty danged interesting. Janitor angels and pasty-faced demons with scars on their backs where their wings have been ripped off; dysfunctional psychologists and hot, single morticians; ancient Egyptian symbols, diamondback rattlers, assorted low-lifes; child abductions, undiagnosed illnesses, and a couple of bunny rabbits named Eeyore and Melissa. These are all the makings of a first class supernatural thriller. And being a native Texan, Melanie was born with the innate ability to spin a pretty good yarn.
I recently had the opportunity to visit with
Mike Parker – How are you doing?
Parker – Why are you bitter about the holidays?
Melanie – I get bitter because it is so busy that I don’t have time to enjoy the holidays. It is an extremely busy time for therapists because everybody is neurotic because they are seeing their family. We’re swamped. It has gotten to where you have so many obligations that you don’t have time to think about Jesus. And I enjoy the parties and all the things I do, but by the end I’m exhausted and realize I’ve been cranky for a month and a half.
Parker – I really liked your new novel.
Melanie – Thank you. I like this one, too. It was a hard book to write and I was worried about it for a while. There were a lot of obstacles to this book. My publisher was sold and nobody really knew what was going to happen to the writers and their contracts. That was a little unsettling. And I had terrible migraines for most of the year and a half that I was writing. It’s hard to stare at a computer screen and make up stories when you feel like your head is about to explode.
Parker – Because of the nature of the books that you write, I’ve got to ask this question. You write books about spiritual attacks and spiritual oppression and you get beset by migraines. Any connection there?
Melanie – Honestly, I think there is. You don’t want to put too much into those things, but there really was a lot of strange opposition to writing this book; the migraines and contract issues and scheduling problems. It was just a hard book to write. I’d be flying along and then something would happen to derail the whole process and I would have to get myself together and get it going again. I found out in the middle of all of this that I had mercury poisoning, which sort of explained the migraines. That was just one more odd thing.
Parker – Your novel touches on two things that every parent fears: an undiagnosed illness and a child abduction.
Melanie – I didn’t really decide on the illness, although the kidnapping was a continuation of the plot from The Soul Hunter. I hadn’t figured out the ending of the story and I didn’t know what was going to happen, but it just seemed like the next logical step in the story. There was a lot of trepidation about that story line at the press because some of the editors thought it would be too unsettling for women to read. I give women a little more credit than that. I think everyone is afraid of those things, but at the same time this is fiction; it’s a novel, so you are willing to take the risk.
Parker – As a therapist, do you come into contact with people who seem to have that same kind of spiritual insight that you attribute to Christine, where they can actually see angels and demons?
Melanie – I don’t often run across people who ‘see’ things, and if you do you normally refer then to a psychiatrist. In my field as a psychologist you assume people are having auditory or visual hallucinations. But I know a lot of people who have a spiritual radar of sorts. We all have friends who call us up and say, ‘Hey, you were on my mind last night, and I felt like I needed to pray for you.’ And it just happens to be during a time when you are going through something terrible that no one knows about.
Parker – Because your heroine, Dylan, happens to be a psychologist, and she happens to be a woman, and you happen to write in the first person – I have to believe that a lot of your fans think you and Dylan are the same person.
Melanie – It is so funny, and so frustrating, because it is true. People do think that. I don’t personally see her as being that much like me. We are alike in a few ways. She has my voice and my sense of humor, and some of my opinions. Other than that, our personalities are different. She is a loner and I’m not. She has that tidiness thing and I don’t. The psychologist issue and the SMU connection are both parallels, but that’s just laziness on my part. I didn’t want to have to learn a new profession in order to write about and I knew SMU. Those were decisions that just made it easier for me.
Parker – So, have you ever resuscitated bunny rabbits?
Melanie – (Laughs) No, I have never resuscitated bunny rabbits. I’ve never even owned a rabbit. I don’t even know where the whole rabbit thing came from. It just showed up in the book. That happens to me a lot.
Parker – Your first two novels were well received, but it looks like your new book, “My Soul To Keep,” is getting a much bigger reception.
Melanie – My publisher, Multnomah, was purchased by Random House which changes the scenery considerably. My books have a lot of crossover appeal. I think because of that Random House wants to reach a mainstream audience as well as a Christian audience. They are investing in some pretty extensive publicity. becuase they want this book to have a wider appeal, and they have the resources to do that.
My wish list for this book was to get on some tables at some major book stores and to get some high profile reviews, and it looks like both of those things are happening.
Parker – I’ve read both of your previous books, and although you have a history with the characters, this novel can be read as a total stand alone book.
Melanie – I wanted all three books to be stand alone books and yet tell a continuing story. I can’t tell you how tricky that is. It is hard to tell just enough without giving everything away. That was technically difficult for me, but I’m glad I wrote it that way.
The Seven Questions:
What’s your favorite sound?
Melanie – Sitting in the middle of a performance, whether it is playing fiddle in a band or sitting in the violin section when we are doing Carmina Burana. There is something about surrounded by music and being part of the music that blows my mind. I don’t like to sit in the audience and listen.
What makes you happy?
Melanie – My relationships are real important to me. My friendships are crucial. My relationship with my squeeze is real important. I feel happy when I am hanging out with the people I love and who love me really well.
What makes you angry?
Melanie – Disloyalty and dishonesty. I’ve had it happen to me in business where you find yourself being undermined. I don’t like being blindsided. I’m probably too loyal and too honest, so when someone takes advantage of that it really gets under my skin.
What is the secret of success?
Melanie – Never go down without a fight.
If you could have dinner with any person, living or dead, who would it be?
Melanie – Probably my grandmother. I miss her fried chicken and I miss her company, and she was crucially important in how I turned out as a person.
What is written on your tombstone?
Melanie – She lived every inch of life. My fear is that I will get to the end and have missed out on something important.
When you get to heaven, what is the first thing you want to hear God say to you?
Melanie – You can relax now.
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