{"id":28097,"date":"2022-01-02T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-01-02T16:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/twinsietalk.com\/?p=28097"},"modified":"2021-10-31T09:26:54","modified_gmt":"2021-10-31T14:26:54","slug":"wotr22-attendingauthor-spotlight-mellanie-szereto","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/twinsietalk.com\/?p=28097","title":{"rendered":"#WOTR22 #attendingauthor #Spotlight – Mellanie Szereto"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Mellanie<\/p>\n

Tell us your name and then a bit about yourself.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Hi! I’m Mellanie Szereto, author of nearly forty steamy and super steamy romances, and I enjoy writing about characters who have experience with life, love, careers, and changes. Many of my stories are set in Midwestern small towns, much like my own life, and focus on family, friendship, and figuring out the meaning of true happiness. Living in the country suits me since I’m an avid gardener, am most at home in nature, and love hiking. I also enjoy cooking, baking, and reading, of course!<\/span><\/p>\n

When you are writing a book, which is harder? The first book in the series or the others after it?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

When I know I’ll be starting a new series, the first book is usually the hardest. I’m getting to know the main characters, setting, the dynamics of the relationships with secondary characters, and the general tone of the series. Once that world has its foundation, the other books seem to fall into place, providing enough background information to know what needs to happen with those other characters.<\/span><\/p>\n

When writing a series how do you keep things fresh, for both your readers and also yourself?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Like real people, my characters are unique and have their own life stories, experiences, fears, motivations, etc. While a few details may overlap here and there, each book develops into a story made for those characters. A different character will react differently in similar situations and each relationship is a new discovery!<\/span><\/p>\n

Writing can be an emotionally draining and stressful pursuit. Any tips for aspiring writers?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

BALANCE. Yes, I’m still working on it, even after 10+ years and nearly 40 books. Finding that perfect mix of writing, marketing, self-care, and other responsibilities can be difficult, but it’s a must to avoid burnout. And make time for reading!<\/span><\/p>\n

On a typical day, how much time do you spend writing?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

I spend about 4-5 hours a day focused on actual writing and about 4-5 hours a day on writing-related business like marketing, social media, and emails.<\/span><\/p>\n

Do you have a favorite character that you have written? If so, who? And what makes them so special.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

One of my favorite characters is Georgie Swofford from And Baby Makes 2\u00bd (The Homegrown Caf\u00e9 Book Club 5). At the beginning of the series, I thought she was a hard-nosed workaholic family law attorney, but she developed into a truly loyal friend by book 4 and revealed a personal history in book 5 that explained her standoffish demeanor. She earned her happily-ever-after with Oscar, who turned out to be more sweetheart than grouch!<\/span><\/p>\n

If any of your books were to be made into a movie, who are the celebrities that would star in it? What book and who?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Oscar Banyan, former mayor of The Homegrown Caf\u00e9 Book Club’s small town setting, from And Baby Makes 2\u00bd will be played by Jason Momoa. He’s a recluse with a ZZ Top beard and long hair throughout the series–until Georgie insists on a haircut and shave to agree to his fake relationship deal. Charlize Theron will play the part of Georgina Swofford, his ex-wife’s divorce attorney and fake fianc\u00e9e.<\/span><\/p>\n

What is your definition of success?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

While making a living from writing is important to me, creating books I love and having readers love them defines success to me. Hearing someone tell me (and other readers) they enjoyed one of my books is the best!<\/span><\/p>\n

What are your social links?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Website: https:\/\/www.mellanieszereto.com<\/a>
\nNewsletter: https:\/\/www.subscribepage.com\/mellanieszereto<\/a>
\nFacebook: https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/authormellanieszereto<\/a>
\nFacebook reader group: https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/groups\/worththewaitseasonedromancereaders<\/a>
\nBookBub: https:\/\/www.bookbub.com\/authors\/mellanie-szereto<\/a>
\nGoodreads: https:\/\/www.goodreads.com\/mellanie_szereto<\/a>
\nInstagram: https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/mellanieszereto<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

What are your buy links? <\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Amazon: https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/author\/mellanieszereto<\/a>
\nApple Books: https:\/\/books.apple.com\/us\/author\/mellanie-szereto\/id540431015<\/a>
\nAudible: Audible page: https:\/\/www.audible.com\/author\/Mellanie-Szereto\/B00GYKKZ7I<\/a>
\nBarnes & Noble: https:\/\/www.barnesandnoble.com\/s\/Mellanie Szereto<\/a>
\nGoogle Play: https:\/\/play.google.com\/store\/books\/author?id=Mellanie+Szereto<\/a>
\nKobo: https:\/\/www.kobo.com\/us\/en\/search?query=mellanie%20szereto&fcsearchfield=Author<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Want to buy tickets to Writers on the River?<\/strong><\/p>\n

go to www.WritersontheRiver.com<\/a><\/p>\n

VIP is $45. 12-1 VIP signing Time, Swag bag and 1-4 general signing time.\u00a0 Plus includes After Party.<\/p>\n

Early Access is $25. 12-1 VIP signing time, Swag bag, and 1-4 general signing time.\u00a0 No After Party.<\/p>\n

General Admission is $10. 1-4 General Signing Time ONLY<\/p>\n

After Party is $35. After Party 7:30-11:30 ONLY<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Tell us your name and then a bit about yourself. Hi! I’m Mellanie Szereto, author of nearly forty steamy and super steamy romances, and I enjoy writing about characters who have experience with life, love, careers, and changes. Many of my stories are set in Midwestern small towns, much like my own life, and focus … Continue reading #WOTR22 #attendingauthor #Spotlight – Mellanie Szereto<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":27544,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[611,578],"tags":[1039],"class_list":["post-28097","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-author-spotlight","category-wotr-event","tag-mellanie-szereto"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/twinsietalk.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/wotr22-fb-cover.jpg?fit=2048%2C1067","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paSW8H-7jb","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/twinsietalk.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28097","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/twinsietalk.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/twinsietalk.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/twinsietalk.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/twinsietalk.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=28097"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/twinsietalk.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28097\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28098,"href":"http:\/\/twinsietalk.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28097\/revisions\/28098"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/twinsietalk.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/27544"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/twinsietalk.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=28097"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/twinsietalk.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=28097"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/twinsietalk.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=28097"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}