Name:    Melanie Woods Schuster

Birthday:  July 1

Occupation:   Telecommunications Consultant

City of residence:   Saginaw, Michigan

Favorite books:   In mainstream books it would be The Member of the Wedding, THE COLOR PURPLE, TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD; my favorite Romances are too many to name, but include FOR KEEPS by Janice Sims, THE HIDEAWAY SERIES by Rochelle Alers, and IF ONLY I KNEW by Carla Fredd.

I’ve done many things in my life, all of which seem to have led me to where I am today.  I’ve always been creative and enjoyed doing things with my hands more than anything else, except writing. I’ve worked as a costume designer, a makeup artist, a graphic artist and a calligrapher as well as a retail manager and personnel trainer.  But I knew I always wanted to be a writer.  I started out writing poems when I was a little girl, and I’ve never stopped!  Writing is extremely fulfilling for me as it is for anyone who loves it.

I was married briefly, never had any children but I’m the best aunt in the world according to my three nieces.  I also have a very handsome nephew.  This isn’t my first novel…that one is tucked away awaiting the light of day.  I’d still like to have it published one day.  I fell in love with the romance genre and Lucky in Love is the result.  It’s the beginning of what I hope will be a long career of writing what I love best.

How did you begin your writing career?

I started writing poems when I was a girl, which led to short stories and plays.  When I was in elementary school, I also wrote bibliographies of all the stories I read and illustrated them.  I continued to write but it was just in the last few years that I got     serious about being published.

Did you ever think that you would write a book?

Yes, but only in nebulous terms.  I knew I wanted to write, and that I enjoyed writing.  I always thought I’d finish a project at some point, and maybe get it published.

Tell me about your journey to become a writer.

Well, I think that I was always a writer, I just wasn’t writing!  At least not consistently, and not productively.  In 1998, though, all of that changed.  It was like a door opened in my subconscious or something.  I got an idea and I sat down and started writing.  And writing.  And writing.  I wrote every single day until the manuscript was finished.  That was the most fulfilling thing I’d ever done—to think of a story and develop characters to tell it through. It was an amazing, exhilarating revelation for me—I could do this!

How did you come up with the idea for your first novel?

My very first novel, the one that isn’t published, was like a lot of first novels, vaguely autobiographical.  By that I mean it involved a woman in search of herself, taking control of her world, etc.  It was a lot of fun to write because I could control the events in which the heroine was involved; I was creating her universe, so to speak.  But I have to admit that there were times when the characters dictated their actions to me and not the other way around. 

Tell me about your new novel LUCKY IN LOVE.

The hero and heroine of LUCKY IN LOVE are both ‘golden people’; tall, attractive, wealthy and in control of large businesses.  They meet during the course of business and are instantly attracted. They don’t mess around with a lot of game playing, they charge

right into a heated romance and soon after that, into marriage. They have to deal with a tragedy very early in the marriage and it almost destroys them.  This gives them the opportunity and the challenge to see if they have what it takes to stay together and

build a real future together.  There’s a lot of pain and guilt to overcome for both of them, but ultimately, there is also real love.

What would you like your readers to take away from your story?

The importance of honesty and communication in relationships. Bennie and Clay are direct and outspoken with each other, but are still times when they had trouble telling the secrets of their hearts.  Their relationships could have gone another way entirely, but they learned how critical it is to communicate openly and honestly.

What’s next for Melanie Schuster?

I’ll have a novella in the Valentine’s Day anthology CANDLELIGHT AND YOU which will be released in January, 2003.  It’s named "Wait for Love" and features all new characters.  My next full length novel will be out in March of 2003.  UNTIL THE END OF TIME is the story of Bennie’s twin brother Andrew and her best friend Renee. And I’ll have another book out in September of 2003.  So for the next year of so, I’ll be very busy, for which I extremely thankful. I look forward to being at Romance Slam Jam in March next year in Atlanta, I know you’ll be there, Wayne!

How can readers contact you?

My e-mail is MelanieAuthor@aol.com.

My mailing address is P.O.Box 5176, Saginaw, Michigan 48603.  I’ll have a website up soon.

Finally, tell me exactly how having your first book finally on the shelf makes you feel?

Blessed!  Excited, giddy, thrilled and very, very happy!