FACING 50 SPOTLIGHT ON...

Melanie Robertson-King is the daughter of a Scottish National, who went to Canada as a 'Home Child' through the auspices of The Orphan Homes of Scotland.

 She studied Highland Dancing and won the Silver medal in the Sword Dance at the 1000 Islands Highland Games. She owns and plays a set of bagpipes (although I understand she hasn't played for a little while.) 

Melanie is an avid reader and other interests include genealogy, photography and travel. She also finds time to write novels and today it is my pleasure to welcome her here at my blog. Melanie, I have a few easy questions for you to start with:

David Essex or Donny Osmond?

David Essex - drool!

David Essex (loved Rock On) 

Hot Pants or Maxi Skirts? (If you don’t remember Hot Pants you are too young to be here!)
Hot Pants (yes, I remember them – wore them, too, in secondary school! Hated maxi skirts but I did have one)

Can you tell us a short joke? 
(Not so short but cute... and given my Scottish roots...)

I was testing children in my Glasgow Sunday school class to see if they understood the concept of getting into heaven.
I asked them, "If I sold my house and my car, had a big jumble sale and gave all my money to the church, would that get me into heaven?"
"NO!" the children yelled.

"If I cleaned the church every day, mowed the garden and kept everything tidy, would that get me into heaven?"
Again, the answer was 'No!'
By now I was starting to smile.
"Well, then, if I was kind to animals and gave sweets to all the children and loved my husband, would that get me into heaven?"
Again, they all answered 'No!'
I was just bursting with pride for them.

I continued, "Then how can I get into heaven?"
A six year old boy shouted,

"Yu'v got tae be fookin' deid."

What makes you laugh most?
Gassing with my Robertson cousins after drinking copious amounts of red wine followed closely by candid moments at work. Have been known to laugh so hard, I’ve lost my mascara.

If you went to Disney Land what would you most look forward to?
A kid free zone? No seriously, the castle.

What was your favourite Children’s TV Show?
I didn’t watch a lot of TV when I was a kid but one show I never missed (or tried not to) was Forest Rangers.

What was the first book you ever bought for yourself? 
Between the local library, my parents, and one of my cousins, I always had plenty of books to read. The first one I would have bought for myself was either The Exorcist or The Amityville Horror, I can’t remember but I remember reading them both and once I started kept going until I finished.. non-stop. 

Did you ever play ‘Kiss Chase’ in the playground? 
Yes, although over here in Canada it went by a different name – just don’t ask me what we called it. Maybe Kissing Tag?

Thank you Melanie. Onto some questions about your books now please:

What genre do you write?
YA Crossover

Who is your favourite character in your books?
I have to say my favourite character in my book wasn’t there in the early drafts. She came along much later but has worked her way into my heart – wee Jenny.

Where do you think up your ideas for stories? 
Sometimes from actual events and then spin a work of fiction around them. Most times out of the blue and they smack me upside the head and say write about this.

What do you do to help you concentrate on writing? 
I turn off the radio, television and wi-fi on my computer so there are absolutely no distractions.

Could you please tell us something about you that doesn’t show up on the loveahappyending.com website. Surprise us! 
Okay, I’ve already faced 50 – sipped (no drank) champagne with my mum on my 50^th birthday three weeks after having a total hysterectomy – and I don’t regret having the surgery one bit. I’m at what London Life used to advertise as Freedom-55. Too bad I didn’t have the $$ to retire.

Many thanks Melanie. It's been really good to have you here.
Melanie's latest novel is A Shadow in the Past

A Shadow in the Past

When a contemporary teen is transported back through time to the Victorian era, she becomes A Shadow in the Past…

When nineteen year old Sarah Shand finds herself in Victorian Era Aberdeenshire, Scotland, she has no idea how she got there. Her last memory is of being at the stone circle on the family farm in the year 2010.

Despite having difficulty coming to terms with her situation, Sarah quickly learns she must keep her true identity a secret.

Still, she feels stifled by the Victorians’ confining social practices, including arranged marriages between wealthy and influential families, confronts them head on and suffers the consequences.

When Sarah realizes she has fallen in love with the handsome Laird of Weetshill, she faces an agonizing decision. Does she try to find her way back to 2010 or remain in the past with the man she loves?

You can find out more about Melanie and her latest release from the links below. Please click on the link below the blog tour button to see what Melanie is up to and where she will be next.

Website 

Blog– Celtic Connexions 

Facebook 

Twitter 

Publisher’sAuthor Page