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Interview with Melissa Alvarez
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Melissa Alvarez is a multi-talented powerhouse of energy. Few people could keep up with this amazing woman's daily schedule. She juggles careers, family and businesses with a mastery that has the illusion of being so easy. She's not just an award winning multi-published author or the National Paranormal Examiner but she is also a clairvoyant advisor. One of the most accurate mediums I've ever known . One of the many hats she wears is one as Ariana Dupré, writing romance fiction. She also writes nonfiction under her real name. Currently, Ariana has three books published with Cerridwen Press, Talgorian Prophecy, Beneath A Christmas Moon and Night Visions, two upcoming books with The Lotus Circle, Handwriting Analysis To Go and Color Power To Go, and is currently working on a new nonfiction title.
==Interview with Melissa Alvarez==
Sally: “First of all, thank you for taking time out of your hectic schedule to talk with me. Everyone always wants to know: When did you first start writing romance?”
Melissa: “Thank you for having me here. I’ve always been an avid reader and writer. Before writing The Phoenix’s Guide To Self Renewal, I had written a few short stories but my main emphasis was business writing for the companies my husband and I owned. I wasn’t seeking publication but writing simply for my own enjoyment. After several people saw The Phoenix’s Guide, they wanted their own copy.
I checked into submitting the book and decided I didn’t want to go the regular publishing route. Instead, I self published the book and gave copies to my friends. I listed it on Amazon.com and to my surprise it shot into the top 600 and stayed in the top 1000 until I had to take it out of print. You see, I didn’t know you weren’t supposed to manufacture books in your home. So there I was, involving every member in my family to help me, I burned out three printers and my copier more times than I can remember. I had my kids putting the spiral binding on the books and I was having hundreds of covers laminated every day. It was crazy.
After that experience, we moved from North Carolina to Florida in 2001. I’d have to say being so near the water (we lived in a high-rise on the ocean) inspired me to try my hand at writing a full-length novel. There’s just something about looking out over that big expanse of water and letting your mind create a story. I chose romance because I’m an avid believer in the power of love.
One night, I saw the opening of Night Visions play out in my mind’s eye just as I was about to fall asleep so I got up and typed for an hour. My career as a novelist was born at that moment. The book flowed from there and ended up being an award winning work. Whether I’m published or not, I’m a reader and writer at heart and always will be.”
Sally: “And it’s a wonderful book. One of my favorites. What about this genre appeals to you?”
Melissa: “The most appealing aspect of the genre is the struggle between two people to find their happily ever after. We all know that a traditional romance is going to end up happily ever after but what’s going to happen along the way? The growth of the characters is important to me as a reader. I want to see them struggle and overcome both their own emotional problems regarding a possible relationship and the difficulties brought on by the plot of the story. I’m a big time plot person too. I like to be hooked from the first page and kept guessing until the last. That said, I’m a huge fan of romantic suspense. For me, there’s nothing worse than being bored in the first few pages or figuring out the rest of the story halfway through the book.”
Sally: “And all of your books truly do hook at the very beginning and don’t let go until the end. I never want your books to end. So who would you say had the greatest influence on your writing?”Melissa: “This is a hard question because I’ve always been an avid reader of every type of book under the sun – fiction, nonfiction, business, magazines, fluff and really deep tomes. It’s nothing for me to read two to five books a week – even now, when I a lot of other writing obligations, horses, kids and life happening. So, if I had to say who had the biggest influence I’d have to say my parents – because they put up with me reading hundreds and hundreds of books and would take me to the library to get more when I was a kid. That foundation was the basis for a lifetime love of reading and a thirst for knowledge.”
Sally: “You had a unique path to publication. Can you tell us about it?”
Melissa: “Sure. I started out by self-publishing The Phoenix’s Guide To Self Renewal, then once Night Visions was completed I sat on it for about six months, fiddling with it and adding to it, polishing it up. I was working as the Guide to Romance Fiction for About.com at the time and ebooks were the next up and coming thing. I decided to expand my publishing company from a self-publishing entity into a small press and publish other people’s books, too.
Very quickly the company exploded on me and I had to choose between About.com and New Age Dimensions (name of my publishing company). I left About and dedicated myself to publishing full time. All of this time, I had Night Visions under consideration at a publishing house, that ultimately rejected the book. So I published it through New Age Dimensions but under a pen name (Ariana Dupré) because I knew a lot of people in the industry and I didn’t want the book to be judged (good or bad) on what people thought of me, personally. I hoped it would stand on its own and do well because it was well-written and not because someone gave it a good review because they like me or vice versa. The book went on to win awards and I finally revealed that it was my book.
I soon found that I didn’t have any time to write for myself because the publishing company took up so much time. Then, Hurricane Wilma came through here and I had to make a choice again and this time it wasn’t New Age Dimensions. I reverted the company back to a self-publishing entity and gave all of my authors the rights back on their work. It was a hard decision because I really loved what I did but it had to be done. I then started work on Talgorian Prophecy, sold Night Visions to Cerridwen Press and the opportunity arose for Beneath A Christmas Moon. All of these books are now available from Cerridwen Press and I have two metaphysical non-fiction books coming soon from The Lotus Circle. They are Handwriting Analysis To Go and Color Power To Go. I also have another book that is my mentoring program in book form which is near completion. I haven’t decided if I’m going to look for an agent on this one, submit it to publishers or publish it myself. Decisions, decisions.”
Sally: “I’m sure however you decide to publish it, your mentoring program book will be a huge success. Readers are always curious about authors and what is unique about their books that sets them apart from others. Can you give readers an insight to your books and how unique they are?”
Melissa: “Because I’m a clairvoyant advisor, when I give my characters psychic abilities I try to make them as true to life as possible in order to help people understand what it’s like to be psychic and to also understand their own abilities. I’ve had people read my books and then tell me, “You know, I have the same thing but I didn’t realize what it was until I read your book.” Even though the books are fiction, I believe that you can entertain and teach at the same time.”
Sally: “Can you share a few things about yourself that readers might not know?”
Melissa: “Let’s see – I’m a motor mouth. No, really, I could talk your head off. LOL Ask anyone who knows me and they’ll tell you I talk a lot, I talk fast and am a very hyper person. Yet, I can also be quiet and laid back on rare occasions. I’m also an animal lover. I’m the gal who got in trouble for bringing home every lost animal I found.
Currently we have four dogs (two German Shepherds, a Maltese and a two pound Chihuahua) and three Friesian horses with one due in about six weeks. I’m so excited to see the foal! I’m also very realistic when it comes to psychic and paranormal stuff. Yes, I have psychic abilities, yes I’m the Paranormal Examiner, but that doesn’t mean I walk around trying to “be” those things, instead they are just part of who I am. I’ve found that sometimes people tend to get all caught up in “being” psychic or paranormal that they forget they’re here to experience life and instead live in an unrealistic world of woo-woo. I try to stay grounded, be down to earth, honest and skeptical while keeping an open mind. And to me, that’s all you can do.”
Melissa can speak or write about the following topics:
· The publishing industry – how to get started, self publishing, owning a small press, critiquing, manuscript formatting, romance fiction, the submission process, looking at both sides of the industry as a publisher and author, ebooks, psychic fiction, marketing, online promotion and many other topics.
· Metaphysics – clairvoyance, past lives & past life readings, ghosts & hauntings, developing your psychic abilities, spiritual awakenings, spirit guides, empathic abilities, psychometry, telepathy, divination, life paths and lessons, connecting with your higher self, unlocking latent abilities, meditation on the go, crystals, chakras, tarot, pendulums, third eye activation, karma, soul quests, palmistry, elemental spirits, protecting with white light and much more.
Melissa can be reached via email at paranormal@melissaa.com or through her websites: http://melissaa.com, and http://apsychichaven.com. She also writes for Examiner.com at http://paranormalexaminer.com
For more info: Sally's books are Romantica™ fiction and can be purchased directly from her publisher.
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