Dishing it up with Mel Comley

Welcome to another fantastic Friday and another dish session, this time with Melanie Comley. Mel left her job as a store manager in Worcester (England) and moved to France nine years ago despite never having set foot in the country before. She renovated a French property, decorating 22 rooms in six months.


Renovation completed, she began to follow her dream of becoming a writer. After completing a creative writing course, she penned a romance, which was a near miss with Mills & Boon. Then she decided to turn her hand to crime writing and DI Lorne Simpkins was born.

Impeding Justice is the first in a series of novels featuring Lorne Simpkins. The book gained a Gold Star on the writer's site, Authonomy, with a Harper Collins editor saying, "It keeps the reader focused on the dramatic interest of the story."

She is currently finishing the sequel which should be completed early in 2011.

In her spare time, Mel loves pottering in her garden - which has, for the past few years, won a local award. She also enjoys painting and walking her dogs.

JET: Can you tell us a little about your October 2010 release, Impeding Justice?

MEL: Impeding Justice is a fast-paced thriller featuring feisty new BritCop, DI Lorne Simpkins in a gritty crime novel set in London. After The Unicorn kills her partner, Lorne knows if she doesn't bring the underworld criminal to justice soon, she will be his next target.

In a race against time, Lorne has 24 hours before the Unicorn uses her kidnapped daughter as a human bomb. Can Lorne track the criminal down before it's too late?

This book highlights the horrendous crime of people trafficking.

JET: What drew you to writing thrillers?

MEL: I started out writing romances but found that the adrenaline rush a writer gets from writing thrillers too great to ignore.

JET: What’s been your most challenging hurdle on the road to publication?

MEL: I wondered if some of the scenes in the book might be too graphic for some readers. I actually cried when I wrote some of the worse parts.

JET: What was your favorite moment in the journey?

MEL: The way I was able to bring the characters to life in my head and on paper.

JET: Which authors had the most influence over you growing up?

MEL: Stephen King, Danielle Steele and most recently James Patterson.

JET: When did you know you wanted to take the plunge into the writing world?

MEL: After I moved to France and finished renovating our farmhouse I became bored and started a Creative writing course, the rest is history as they say!

JET: What’s the craziest thing you’ve done in the name of book research? Most interesting fact you uncovered?

MEL: I had to research expensive Yachts, the Super Yachts and reading about the luxury on board these vessels had me drooling at times.

JET: Of all the novels and stories you’ve written - which one is your favorite? Why?

MEL: Impeding Justice because I can’t believe how well it is being received by the general public.

JET: Any advice (from a writer’s standpoint) for the novices out there?

MEL: Sign up to a writer’s site, i.e. Authonomy or Youwriteon, you’ll learn lots you never realized goes on in the craft. And never be afraid to cut what you originally wrote in half, we all tend to overwrite to begin with.

JET: All right - now that I’ve hammered you with the big questions, let’s tackle my favorite (and geeky) quick ten. . . starting with: Paper or Plastic?

MEL: Paper

JET: Steak or Tofu?

MEL: Steak

JET: Beach or Mountains?

MEL: Mountains

JET: Country or Rock-n-Roll?

MEL: Rock-n-Roll.

JET: Leather or Lace?

MEL: Lace

JET: Angels or Demons?

MEL: Angels

JET: Paper or Digital?

MEL: Digital

JET: Silent Film Classics or Cheesy B Rated Horror?

MEL: Cheesy B Rated Horror

JET: Twilight or True Blood.

MEL: Twilight

JET: Coffee or Tea?

MEL: Coffee

JET: Thank you for indulging me. Before we wrap this up, can you tell us what you're working on now? What's next?

MEL: The sequel to IJ is now at the editors and should be ready for release in February, it’s called Final Justice.

JET: Thank you so much for taking the time to chat on my blog. Folks, you can find out more about Mel Comley and her work at the following places:

http://melcomley.blogspot.com/

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0045UA6F0

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0045UA6F0

http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/28137



Thanks for joining us today. Next week, one of my favorite new authors and a very good friend of mine Cat Connor is on tap for dishing up what’s happening on her side of the world.

In case you were not aware, Cat Connor is from New Zealand and while she does not live in Christchurch, she does have family in that area.  Thankfully, all are well, but it has been a trying couple of weeks. If you have a moment, please say a prayer for all those affected.   

In the meantime, mark your calendars and swing by next week to say hello.

Until next week,

Ciao,

JET