%20(1).png)
INTERVIEW: Melissa Anne Uses Names from Family Tree, Even Parton
CHRISTINA: I first met Jane Austen fan fiction author when we were both writing for a short story anthology to commemorate Jane Austen’s 250th birthday, To Mark the Occasion. Ever since, I’ve followed her prolific career. I interviewed Melissa last year, and she has graciously returned to answer more of my nosey questions.
What is your current project or latest release?
MELISSA: I re-released A Different Impression early in October, which underwent some pretty significant rewrites. It was the second book I wrote, and I wanted to update it a bit and turn it into an audiobook. Benjamin Fife narrated the audiobook and, let me tell you, he's done an excellent job. Darcy makes a very different impression on Elizabeth from the start, so this is a mostly sweet, low-angst story that features Elizabeth and Darcy together more often than not. I like this sweet, a little swoony (I think) Darcy who falls for Elizabeth first and then sets about winning her heart.
Since then, I've been working on a couple of different projects: The Woman in His Dreams, a full-length novel that I hope to release early next year, and a couple of shorter, holiday-themed stories for my Holidays with Darcy and Elizabeth series. I have one for each character—Fitzwilliam Darcy, Grinch and Elizabeth's Epiphany.
CHRISTINA: Wow! I am so impressed with the amount of work you produce.
How do you keep finding new stories to tell about the same couple?
MELISSA: Because I'm always dreaming up new "what ifs" to explore! I've written stories that follow canon, and others that keep little more than the characters and settings while changing almost everything else about the story.
I've written good Jane and bad Jane, good Mr. Bennet and…well, mediocre Mr. Bennet. He's a tough one to make good, for some reason. I've improved Lydia and Kitty, but I tend to deal with them as a set and haven't really explored their individual characters too deeply.
I just keep taking the same characters and switching things up on them, and so far, it's worked!
CHRISTINA: After writing so many variations of Pride and Prejudice, has your understanding of Darcy or Elizabeth changed since your first book?
MELISSA: I think so. I try to make them a bit deeper as characters now and perhaps stray a bit from the cookie-cutter versions we sometimes see of them. I don't know if I'm always successful, but I like writing a Darcy who is so deeply in love that he becomes a bit more playful, or even a little less guarded, than he might normally be.
CHRISTINA: I lovelovelove Darcy when he is so deeply in love that he becomes playful.
Which Austen character do you like to write the most—whose voice comes most naturally to you? And why?
MELISSA: I think it depends on the book I'm writing. My current WIP—The Woman in His Dreams—started from Fitzwilliam Darcy's point of view, and in fact, the first half of the book, or thereabouts, is told entirely from his perspective. It was relatively easy, I think, to stay in his head for so long. I often find his formal, rather matter-of-fact tone easy to write.
At the same time, I enjoy writing Elizabeth, although I occasionally have to watch myself so I don't make her too snarky. I spent a lot of years teaching middle and high school students, and sarcasm comes pretty naturally to me—it's practically my love language.
They're particularly fun to write together, though. Darcy has his dry wit, while Elizabeth has a quicker, more playful sort of humor, and I enjoy the way they play off one another. Sometimes I think the best scenes are the ones where neither of them quite says what they're thinking, but they both know exactly what the other means. Or when Elizabeth says what Darcy is thinking but would never actually say aloud, at least once they've gotten to know each other well enough. Darcy's upbringing would keep him from being openly rude, whereas Elizabeth can often get away with saying exactly what she's thinking without it coming across quite so insultingly.
So, I suppose the answer is Darcy, most of the time, although Elizabeth is probably the one who gets to say the things I'm thinking!
CHRISTINA: Ha! I totally get that. I think everyone would like to be Elizabeth Bennet, but when it comes down to it, I'm think I'm Emma Woodhouse on a good day, but more likely, Miss Bates on most days.
Do you hide any secrets or personal references in your novels that only a select few might recognize?
MELISSA: Recently, in Stranded at Michaelmas, I used Parton as a surname after discovering that Dolly Parton was my fourth cousin once removed. We both hail from East Tennessee, but I had no idea we were related, however distantly, until after she died.
I've also used names from my own family tree, and frankly, I'm enjoying using both Christian names and surnames from my ancestors, many of whom came from England and other parts of the British Isles. There are a few Swedish and German names in there, too, and while they occasionally have their uses, I've enjoyed exploring my own ancestry for names that I can use in my stories.
CHRISTINA: Oh yes! Naming characters is one of my favorite aspects of writing.
How do you decide on the "heat level" for your books?
MELISSA: I write clean romance, and honestly, it was never a strategic decision—it's just how I write. The tension I love is emotional: the almost-touch, the things said and unsaid, and two people slowly realizing they're in trouble. I think longing is more romantic than explicitness, anyway. My readers come to me for the swoon without the spice, and I'm happy to stay right there.
CHRISTINA: It’s good to know your audience, indeed.
Is there a time period you would like to set a future story in, or a genre you'd like to write next?
MELISSA: I'd like to try my hand at contemporary romance again one day. I've written one modern story, Finding Love at Loch Ness, and I'd like to expand into writing more modern stories, perhaps even branching out from Elizabeth and Darcy one of these days. I have a few ideas floating around, but whether I'll ever find the time to write them is another question entirely!
CHRISTINA: Nice. I like when writers stretch their writing muscles and try something new.
So far, what is your greatest accomplishment as a writer?
MELISSA: Twenty-five published works! Granted, a few are short stories, novellas, or contributions to anthologies and collections, but when I started, finishing even one novel felt impossible. Now there's a whole shelf of books with my name on them.
Another accomplishment I'm particularly proud of is a recent fundraiser I organized for Dolly Parton's Imagination Library. We raised nearly $1,000, which will help provide books to children. As an educator, reader, and writer, encouraging children to love reading is something particularly close to my heart.
But honestly? It's the messages from readers. When someone tells me one of my books got them through a hard week or made them fall back in love with reading, that's the whole thing. It's wonderful to know that something I've written has made a difference to someone, even if it's just helping them escape into another world for a little while.
CHRISTINA: You have already written an outstanding body of work. I hope you stay inspired and the words keep flowing. Thanks so much for your time. I really appreciate that, given how much you are writing.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Melissa Anne is an accidental author who fell down the Jane Austen rabbit hole and never wanted to leave. After devouring hundreds of Pride and Prejudice variations, she thought she could try her hand at writing one, and somehow ended up publishing seven novels and a novella in just one year!
From her home in Georgia (by way of East Tennessee), Melissa crafts Regency romances that stay true to Austen’s era, with one exception: her novel Finding Love at Loch Ness, where American grad student Elizabeth Bennet falls for Scottish William Darcy against the misty backdrop of Scotland.
When she’s not reimagining Darcy and Elizabeth’s love story, Melissa is juggling life with her husband and three children—and likely dreaming up her next Austen-inspired adventure. You can connect with Melissa via her website, Substack, Facebook, and Instagram.
Comments