Author of four books and a contributor to a couple more, Melanie Rodriguez discusses her experience with reverse ageism. You see, Melanie looks much younger than her true age. And, although looking young is great, there are some who have made assumptions about her–and sometimes it’s not always in a positive way. She also talks about other challenges she’s had, including sometimes not having the support to follow her dream to become a professional writer and how she’s handled prejudice from being biracial. Regardless, though, she says her struggles are what create her story and they’re also what drive her to keep her dreams alive.
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And if you prefer to read, here’s a transcript of this interview…
Melanie: 00:01 I get asked a lot, they’re like, oh, so are you out in New Mexico for school? And usually I’d laugh before I respond because I’m like, okay, that’s another one in the bucket, and then two, if I told you how, how old I really am and how long ago college actually was, you wouldn’t believe me.
Kathy: 00:22 Hello and welcome to The Inspire Cafe Podcast where we bring you conversations and inspirational stories of people overcoming adversity and then how they came out of it transformed with the positive outlook or outcome. People are incredibly resilient and we need to hear more if their stories. This is Kathy De La Torre.
Kathy: 00:43 Today we’re with Melanie Rodriguez, author of four books and a contributor to a couple more. Melanie discusses her experience with reverse ageism. You see Melanie looks much, much younger than her true age and although looking young is great, sometimes people make false assumptions about her and it’s not always in a positive way. She also talks about what other challenges
Kathy: 01:06 she faced, including not always having the support to follow her dream to become a writer and how she’s handled prejudice from being biracial. Regardless though, she says it’s her struggles that what drives her to keep her dream alive. We’ll have links to Melanie, her books and also a transcript of this interview at TheInspireCafe.com. And as mentioned in the episode, if you want to help out Melanie’s friend, please check out and buy the anthology, For Melissa, where the proceeds go to assist Melissa, who’s battling cancer. We’ll have a link for that on our website too. Okay. Let’s get to Melanie’s story.
Kathy: 01:45 Melanie, you’re a published author and I understand you’ve published four books so far. Is that correct?
Melanie: 01:51 That’s correct.
Kathy: 01:53 That’s correct. Okay, great. Okay, so I have to give listeners a little bit of a description of you because this is all audio. We did meet in person before and I thought you were about 15 or 16 years old, and I don’t mean that in a negative way. You just…
Melanie: 02:16 No, not at all.
Kathy: 02:17 you just look beautiful and young and happy and energetic. So when you told me you had some published books, I was. I was like crazy shocked, like a, what do you mean? How, how has that? That’s fantastic. That you accomplished so much so fast then you said no, no, no, I, I just look really young.
Kathy: 02:39 So if you don’t mind sharing, how old are you?
Melanie: 02:43 So, I am 28.
Kathy: 02:46 You’re 28. Okay. Now. So for everybody listening, you cannot fathom how young Melanie looks and it, it’s a great thing. It’s a great thing. She’s got great genes. You have great genes. So I just imagine that you get this all the time.
Melanie: 03:08 I really do. Especially because I’m in retail. I get asked a lot. They’re like, oh, so are you out in New Mexico for school? And usually I laugh before I respond because I’m like okay, that’s another one in the bucket. And then two, if I told you how, how old I really am and how long ago college actually was, you wouldn’t believe me.
Kathy: 03:30 So you have a script, right?
Melanie: 03:35 Yeah, I do.
Kathy: 03:35 Does it ever get old?
Melanie: 03:37 No, I mean in the beginning I used to get really upset because I wanted to be seen for my, you know, as my age. But then after awhile it was like, no, this is going to be fun. I’m just gonna have fun with it. Yeah, pretty much now it’s just like, it’s a game to me now and I’m like, I’ll let you guess how old I am while I’m helping you ring out these things.
Kathy: 03:57 Well, you know, I just see your future and when you’re 40 years old you’re going to look like 19 or 20. You’re going to get carded all the time. Just take advantage of that feeling. That’s really good.
Melanie: 04:10 Oh yeah. And it’s funny too because um, when you had met me as well originally I had makeup on it as well. You can imagine how I look even without makeup.
Kathy: 04:19 Um, yeah. You could be, you know, cast on 21 Jump Street if they ever bring that back.
Melanie: 04:24 You never know everything is coming back.
Kathy: 04:27 That’s right. That’s right. Okay. So let’s talk about that. Looking much, much younger. And you had mentioned to me that you had suffered from reverse ageism.
Melanie: 04:39 I have and I still do. Unfortunately.
Kathy: 04:42 And you still do. Okay. So how has that affected you both in your career and personally?
Melanie: 04:50 Well, one thing I will say at least for personally is its pretty hurtful just because you know that it’s what people say about assumptions like you, you can’t make assumptions about people. You kind of have to look at everyone with like an open mind and kind of see. You don’t necessarily have to know where they’re coming from, but just don’t assume that what you see is what you get. So for me, especially for working in retail, I’ve had a lot of people, again think that I was a college student or I would have a lot of customers, unfortunately not trust my word for a product that I’ve worked hard to learn and make sure that people get what they need just because they think I am unfortunately a 16 year old just there for a paycheck. Right. And then same thing, unfortunately with writing on my pages, my public pages as well, I kind of Mesh a lot of things besides my writing. I also do costuming. so a lot of times I’ll have some authors kind of see a lot of those posts along with my writing and they’re like, oh, she’s not really being serious about this. This is just, you know, some kid trying to find her when I’m like, well actually no, I’m published. This is what I want to do. Costuming as a hobby of mine that sometimes I mention with my writing as well, and you know, I’m, I’m here to work.
Kathy: 06:14 Right. When you come across somebody is particularly regarding your books and getting the word out there. Was there any particular event that just like you couldn’t believe that just happened?
Melanie: 06:30 There was a book group that I was in about three years ago. I actually published in 2014, so I’ve been published for four years now. That’s when I was trying to establish, you know, even just a minor foot hold just so I can figure out how everything works, how I can connect with other authors and whatnot is, you know, I usually get. I have gotten a lot of advice that, you know, as long as you find a writer groups and whatnot, you’ll have a really great network. But I did find one group, I will not name the group out of respect for a lot of the authors that I did come across that were very helpful, but it was kind of like a tit for tat thing and they would ask to help, you know, help with reviews and help with marketing. You know, you share this and I’ll share your stuff.
Melanie: 07:18 Which, you know, it’s not necessarily a bad thing because I don’t mind helping out fellow indie authors. Especially once they’re just starting because it is very hard. But I’ve kind of noticed that they were choosing favorites to go help. And when, again, unfortunately like with my profile pictures or if they were friends with on my personal page and they kind of saw my content. They kind of unfortunately believed that I wasn’t very serious about it, that I’m too young and I can’t possibly understand how hard this is. And it was just very, very defeatist at a time. But it also another strong motivator for me to prove a lot of these people are wrong, that I’ve known that I’ve wanted to do this since I was a kid. I’ve had this particular series, especially since I was 11 to 13 years old and everybody who knew me from high school and college always saw me writing and I was going to make this happen.
Kathy: 08:18 Right. So how do you handle the reverse ageism? How do you handle it?
Melanie: 08:26 I met sometimes I still get upset because it’s like, Hey, I did the same thing as you guys, you know, just because I’m younger, it doesn’t mean that I’m not putting in as much effort. But there are other times too where come to kind of just accept that this is something I’m going to keep having, unfortunately. Same thing, even when I have my booths at the local cons here and you know, mom would help me and they think she’s the author into like, Nope, this one in the costume is the one wrote it. It’s the same thing even with, you know, when I get people, they’re like, you’re still young. How did you do this? So I’ve learned that I keep a smile and kind of just treat it as a minor obstacle versus the larger one that I had when I first started a few years ago that I will rise above it. It’s not gonna stop me from doing something that I love and if they don’t like it or they’ll judge me right away, then you know, it’s not the audience that’s going to be for. It’s going to be for the ones that really want to just find a new read or learn something new compared to a lot of other vampire books out there.
Kathy: 09:36 You know? It sounds like you’ve learned to just be patient.
Melanie: 09:42 Yeah. Yeah. We have to have a lot of patience.
Kathy: 09:47 Yeah. I mean not only publishing books, that’s just a whole other story, but just dealing with people’s assumptions. As you mentioned before, I’m assuming your mom was the author and not you. And then assuming that you don’t have very much experience because you appear younger, then you are.
Melanie: 10:06 Yep, pretty much, um, even with newer authors that I’ll meet and whatnot as well. I met one writer group out here through a con and my boyfriend was helping me at the time and they were just like, wow, you’re the first young author I have seen in many years and I would laugh. I’m like, yeah, we’re out there. I always just braver to put my face out here because I actually do know several other writers that are, at least around my age, haven’t taken the process yet, but you know, I’m. They have been asking me for advice so I’m helping them out the best I can too. But in a way I’d like to think that because I’ve done this, that, you know, even yes, it’s a hard process, but anybody that believes in their dreams and have the means to do it, like even if the support system is very small, it goes a long way.
Kathy: 11:04 It goes a long way. So again, would you say your drive to show people that you can do it has been your motivator?
Melanie: 11:13 It’s been one of the biggest motivators. The other one also is that I have pretty much been around so many people that they’ll have their dream, but then all of a sudden after they finish college they ended up doing something else. And are stuck there and while I have to do a lot of side jobs just to kind of fund a lot of things, it’s still the fact that I’m working really hard on my projects and making sure my dream stays alive. My original dream was to get published and now my dream is to make sure that writing is the only job I’ll ever have.
Kathy: 11:48 Wow. That’s great. Well, I support you, Melanie. You keep with the dream. Keep that dream strong. Okay. So for your books, your John Euro, how would you describe it?
Melanie: 12:03 So I focus primarily in young adult fantasy. So fantasy can be kind of a broad term. It could be like medieval or kind of like what I do, which is a dabble of mystery as well as mythological creatures. But um, the young adult genre technically is for ages 13 and up. There’s another genre called new adult as well, which is usually for 18 and up, but I’d like to think that my books are actually good for all ages.
Kathy: 12:34 They’re good for all ages. I agree because I did read your first book, Child of Blackwen. It was very entertaining and I read it super fast. It was fun to read and I’m looking forward to reading your next one because you have to, right? Um, I’ve read that you said you’ve been compelled to write stories dictated by the voices you’ve heard inside your head since you were a child. What do you mean by that?
Melanie: 13:03 So ever since I was a kid, I always said that I wanted to be an artist and it’s interesting because even though I wanted to be an artist with paint brushes, I ended up being one of words and whenever I would just write, it always just felt like someone was kind of telling me a story or when I was writing a different character that kind of just popped up. Like I just felt like they were speaking to me. I wanted to have a specific type of life and I was just the vessel pretty much making sure that they can be heard.
Kathy: 13:35 To make sure that they can be heard. So how old were you when you actually started writing?
Melanie: 13:41 I started writing just a little bit, small stories, actually when I was 11. and those characters in particular, one of them I had in my head since I was 11, is actually Shadow. And from then on when I was 13 I just had this empty notebook sitting with me and I just decided to open it and write things down and that’s where Artemis actually came.
Kathy: 14:07 Artemis. Okay. She’s the heroine or the protagonist in your book. Is She any part of you? I mean, do you see you in her or do you relate to her? Is there more going on in the connection between you and her then then you would think?
Melanie: 14:25 you know, it’s interesting because a lot of people who know me very well think that I am her, but I’ve always said that she’s a stronger version than me. We do have a lot in common. I mean, she is, you know, a half human, half, half vampire. I’m biracial. So that’s something we do have in common. I also have had a quite a bit of trials myself, not nearly as to the level as she has, but I think that she has handled them a lot better than what I have dealt with, I’d like to say.
Kathy: 14:57 Oh, okay. Well let’s talk about that. You say that you come from a biracial family and there were some struggles with you growing up. So first of all, let’s talk a little bit about your family, where you come from and about your mom and your dad.
Melanie: 15:16 So I am originally from New York. I don’t have the accent. I never had it. And I tell people all the time, I’m originally from New York and they’re like, wait a minute, where’s the accent and why are you so nice? Because it is a little bit of a stigma where, you know, not all New Yorkers are, you know, the like the blunt, you know, hey, get out of my way kind of deal. It’s just typical, unfortunately in the city. I grew up in Queens and Bronx, New York. My Mom’s side of the family is Polish and all are in Queens. My Dad’s side of the family is Puerto Rican and they are all in the Bronx, so I’ve always grown up in a kinda like a multiple household situation because my parents are not together.
Kathy: 15:59 Oh, okay. So what was that like going up with the two different cultures?
Melanie: 16:04 Very interesting. I’m primarily stayed with my mom’s side of the family, so I actually picked up Polish pretty easily. My Dad’s side, however, um, even though I was around Spanish because of the so many different variations, like, you know, like the Dominican’s would speak a little bit faster in Spanish or kind of have like their own shortcuts for words. It was just really hard for me to pick up, but I can understand a part of Spanish. I just can’t say it.
Kathy: 16:32 Oh, okay. So you can understand listening to it, you just don’t verbalize it.
Melanie: 16:37 Yeah. Not without a lack of effort though. I tried very hard. It was very, uh, unfortunately infuriating for my Spanish teachers because again, my last name is Rodriguez. They’re like, how can you not understand this? And I’m like, I’m trying so hard. I really am.
Kathy: 16:52 I can completely relate to that. You also mentioned growing up, you didn’t always get the support for your desire to become a writer.
Melanie: 17:01 I did not.
Kathy: 17:02 What do you mean what happened?
Melanie: 17:05 So everyone knew that writing was something I really loved, but we did have some people that kind of viewed it as more of a hobby versus a job more so that there were a lot of expectations that, you know, I would go to business school instead. That writing would just be something I would entertain, that I could do, but I should have my head elsewhere and unfortunately focus on getting something that would get me more money, which was never something that always motivated me. I always wanted to do something that made me happy. I have seen, unfortunately, too many people, friends included, that are doing something that do not make them happy and make them miserable. And they tell me every time, especially since been following my dream was publishing that they wish they had been as brave as I was to say no, I’m going to do what I want to do.
Kathy: 18:00 So are these family members, were they your parents or
Melanie: 18:04 um, just some relatives. Um, more so like my parents were actually are very supportive about me writing and a lot of cousins have been very supportive. It’s a lot of my older relatives that unfortunately kind of had the mindset that I shouldn’t be doing this.
Kathy: 18:21 And how did that affect you growing up and you know, as a kid or teenager or young adult and haven’t published yet. And did you ever feel like, well maybe I should get a business degree or whatever, you know, follow the traditional footsteps. Did that ever cross your mind?
Melanie: 18:41 Believe it or not, No. I was just more motivated to do it, you know, to be able to publish them. I’m like, this is what makes me happy. I have the support of the people that they’re making it known that they’re going to help me with my dream. My mom especially, she was the biggest supporter I had while growing up or it and she was like, no, she has a gift and she’s going to follow it and I’m going to make sure she follows it.
Kathy: 19:05 That’s wonderful to have that support like that. And so did you say that you have mentors that are already published? Writers and.
Melanie: 19:14 Yes.
Kathy: 19:15 Okay. That makes such a huge difference. I think.
Melanie: 19:19 it does, it pretty much. Um, well when I had already published and I was trying to build a following, trying just to learn how it all works, just to try and connect with people. I did come across a few fellow indie authors that did pick up my book and were really intrigued with my work and then two of them, one of them, her name is Chess Desalls. She actually was the one who brought me into Spellbound. And then I had another author that I met from, from that program, Kathy-Lynn Cross. She was going to actually participate in the For Melissa anthology. She wasn’t able to unfortunately in the end, but she brought me into that one as well. They both really believed in my work and thought that I should be out there just like them. So it was really nice to have that kind of support.
Kathy: 20:08 I think that’s just so important to keep that dream going, to have people who are successful in their own right, supporting people in their dreams.
Melanie: 20:18 Exactly. Because self publishing is a really hard field that a lot of people still don’t understand that it really is. It’s kind of amazing when I’m trying to explain the process to them. They’re like, wow, so you really do all the work. I’m like, yes, yes. Oh yeah, but every book that comes out, you know, it’s still kind of like, oh my gosh, I’ve done it now and I need to get to the other part of the work. Writing the book honestly is the easiest part. Even though that in itself is a process, it’s pretty much the aftermath that’s the most amount of work.
Kathy: 20:52 Well, going back to what you said previously, when the naysayers were telling you, oh, you should go for a career that’s more traditional and that just made you dig your heels in further. That’s probably a really good trait to have when you’re struggling in the middle of the night trying to get things done and deadlines and all the work involved.
Melanie: 21:11 Oh yeah.
Kathy: 21:12 Let’s talk about your first book, Child of Blackwen. What was your inspiration for it?
Melanie: 21:19 Oh, where did it begin?
Kathy: 21:21 I know you said that you had thoughts since you were a kid and it was a long time coming.
Melanie: 21:28 It has. When I wrote the first version of it, it was my freshman year of high school and it was just in this tattered notebook that originally it was a brand new notebook and then because I had worked so hard on it, it ended up just being like this tattered mess and I still have it to this day.
Kathy: 21:47 Awesome. We’ll put it in the museum later.
Melanie: 21:52 Exactly. And um, in a way when Artemis first spoke to me, she was just a dhampir who kind of wanted to belong somewhere, which, you know, in high school everyone goes through the phase of wanting to belong to something or somewhere.
Kathy: 22:10 Okay. So can you explain for everyone what is a dhampir?
Melanie: 22:14 So a dhampir is a half human, half vampire. And in Artemis’ case, um, she believed she was an orphan and she was raised by elves.
Kathy: 22:24 Okay.
Melanie: 22:28 And pretty much the, uh, she knew that when she got older she, uh, she knew that her mother was murdered and then she kind of got dragged into a, I would say, pretty much control of the throne that she was actually the heir to once her mother was killed.
Kathy: 22:46 Okay, good. All right, let’s not give too much information about your book because I let people to go get it, but it’s really good. So let’s go back to your inspiration and, and where it came from.
Melanie: 22:58 So more so that the needs of belong more and you know, you don’t necessarily have to be around the family that you were born with, but you know, you can meet all these people that make you feel like your own kind of family.
Kathy: 23:14 Oh, okay. Okay. So going back to the protagonist, Artemis, you wrote that, that all of the hatred from the elves was because I was different from them. Would you say that her being an outsider, her feelings of being an outsider, was anything that you felt too growing up?
Melanie: 23:36 Absolutely. Actually, growing up as a biracial kid, an interesting process actually because I, I am visibly Caucasian even though at the Hispanic last name, so I have, you know, a lot of kids unfortunately call me a fake Hispanic because one, I couldn’t speak Spanish and two, I didn’t look like them. And then for the Caucasian kids because of my last name, they’re like, well, you’re kind of mixed so I don’t know how to look at you. And it was very hard.
Kathy: 24:09 That’s so bizarre that people take that perspective.
Melanie: 24:13 It’s so strange to you because, um, especially when you’re kids like you would think that you have the more um, the more open mindedness that you don’t necessarily think that, oh, I looked different so you know, I’m going to stay away from you. It’s just very strange and I’m all the way through high school. It’s something I’ve dealt with.
Kathy: 24:34 Right. And probably even a little bit beyond because I, even though I have a Spanish last name, I don’t speak Spanish fluently and so, and I’m very dark skinned as you know, people make assumptions about me and where I’m from and how I can speak and when I do talk like, oh my gosh, you don’t have an accent. Well, I was raised in California.
Melanie: 25:00 I know it’s strange. Um, just because it’s, you know, we are a melting pot so we’re not really just, you know, one true ethnicity. We’re a mixture of a lot of things and I don’t get it nearly as much today as I did growing up. But once in a while I’ll get someone that’s like, wait a minute. Rodriguez your Spanish. Yes, yes, I am. Oh, Polish. I’m like, well, what do you like better? I’m like, oh, I don’t like anyone better. I actually appreciate both sides of who I am. It made me who I am today.
Kathy: 25:37 That’s right. They sure did. So Melanie, would you say that the challenges you’ve overcome, the setbacks, the reverse ageism, all of that has helped you become a better writer?
Melanie: 25:53 It has. One, any author that says they don’t use life experience, I would have to say is minorly lying a little bit because how else can we make things more real? So a lot of times kind of like a healthy outlet sometimes when I free write. Like you know, if someone has upset me or you know, kind of like would question not only my motivation but you know, how I appear and whatnot, I tend to do that and somehow I find some really great villains or great supporting characters and kind of like how I would, how I would write and overcome that. So in a way it’s like, thank you guys because you’re helping me write better.
Kathy: 26:35 Yeah, right. Thanks for being such a jerk, because you just created a new character for me.
Melanie: 26:40 Exactly. And then the other thing too is, you know, I firmly believe in struggles because that’s the best learning curve that anybody can have. Now, If you’ve lived a charmed life and didn’t have any struggle, I wouldn’t say that you know, you’re not knowing life. But in a way, I find that the best kind of growth for someone comes through struggles and that’s kind of why I focus a lot on them in my stories too. I have a, I have one friend in particular that lasts because I have one character, Jack. He’s an elf mage in the story, I put him through a lot. And even as I write book three right now, I realize I have put him through so much more than all of my other characters and it’s not because I don’t like him. It’s just he has a touch of destiny about him and unfortunately anybody that has that will have the worst kind of struggles. And in a way I kind of kind of am thankful for struggles as well because if I didn’t have them, it would be hard for me to explain how someone could become this great person without them.
Kathy: 27:50 It builds character.
Melanie: 27:53 Yes, yes. And then you learn your true self through a struggle as well. Like you know, if you were in a hard situation, that’s when you kind of learn, hey, how am I going to go about this? Am I just going to sit and cower or am I going to do what I can to rise above it and do something about it? That’s kind of how I feel about struggles in general.
Kathy: 28:13 Oh, okay. So you see it as a challenge. How can I overcome this as opposed to being defeated by it?
Melanie: 28:20 Exactly.
Kathy: 28:22 Okay. So for all the listeners out there, let’s say there’s somebody struggling with continuing with their dream. Is there anything that you would like to share? Some words of encouragement based on your experience that you’d like to tell people?
Melanie: 28:40 I actually have several things. I would say.
Kathy: 28:43 Good.
Melanie: 28:44 The first thing is do not let anybody or money, the idea of money, stop you because yes, a lot of things are expensive. Self publishing is unfortunately very expensive. You know, even to this day like granted, if I had more money I would publish a lot more books, but don’t let that motivate you because if you’re doing it just to get money, it’s not going to bring you the joy that you should have. Honestly, it should be about doing what makes you happy. What makes your soul sing? For me, it’s always been books, it’s always been getting new books, getting new materials, meeting people, that love, that joy of it, and it’s Kinda like nourishment for the soul within you. When you kind of surround yourself around other people that honestly are amazed by your, what you do and believe in you. That’s pretty much as equal as money to somebody who unfortunately covets it. Honestly, do not let it stop you. You will find your path. You will always find your way and yes, there’s going to be struggles, but the best things don’t come easy.
Kathy: 29:59 The best things don’t come easy. Ain’t that the truth?
Melanie: 30:03 And even though like you would expect support from the people that you would think you would get, you know, for example, some of my relatives and whatnot, it is daunting, but if dreams you have to have a strong result, yes, there’s going to be some failures along the way. Yes, there’s gonna be days where, you know, in my case I look at old pieces of writing and cringe and wonder how I thought that was amazing at the time. But uh, anything can happen as long as you want it, so if you want it, it’s going to happen.
Kathy: 30:37 So if you want it bad enough, you’ll get it done.
Melanie: 30:40 Oh yes.
Kathy: 30:41 Oh yes. You’re a good role model for that, Melanie.
Melanie: 30:45 Thank you.
Kathy: 30:47 Well, okay, so I see that you have four books and the first two are series, right? Child of Blackwen and Mistress of Blackwen.
Melanie: 30:58 Correct.
Kathy: 30:58 So, Feathers and Fireflies. That’s not part of the series, that’s completely different?
Melanie: 31:04 Yeah, it’s, its own little novella.
Kathy: 31:06 Okay, good. So let’s talk about your exciting news. You have a new book coming out or did come out?
Melanie: 31:12 Yes, we got a new anthology that came out that’s called, For Melissa. And it’s actually a collection of novellas by about 15 indie authors that we all came together. Some of them are actually from the publishing company, Wild Dreams Publishing, and then there are others like myself that are outside the publishing company that were pretty much invited to come write and able to help create a collection to be able to make proceeds for the indie author, Melissa, that is undergoing a really hard time. Unfortunately, she has blood cancer. Oh, okay. Um, majority of the proceeds of this collection will be going towards her funds and it’s really nice being able to do something like that.
Kathy: 32:00 Wow, that’s wonderful. What a great group of people to do that for her. Now, are you working on any other new books?
Melanie: 32:08 Hi, I’m working on book three of the Artemis Ravenwood novels. So this one, yes, this is a, this one has been kind of a challenge because I’ve been working on this for about two and a half years now. And a year ago I was very afraid to make a decision that ultimately I made was to completely rewrite everything.
Kathy: 32:33 No Way. Really?
Melanie: 32:34 Yeah. Because I originally had the, uh, the drafts done, it was already, all I had to do is just look over and then get ready to be sent out, but it just didn’t feel right after I’d looked. I hadn’t looked at in a few months. And that’s what I tend to do. Um, I tend to use, keep away from the story for a few months so that way when I go back to it, I have fresh eyes, I can look over everything, see if I need to know, check for mistakes I should say.
Melanie: 32:59 And then you know, if I have to get rid of things. But when I just read it, I was like, wait a minute, this feels like it’s too much. I need to fix everything.
Kathy: 33:10 So did you have to just re edited it or did you start from scratch?
Melanie: 33:16 I started from scratch. The direction I was going in then just didn’t feel like I was giving that part of the story any justice, especially because that story, that particular arc of Artemis’ life is a lot more difficult than what we have discovered in the first two books. Okay. So it’s going smoothly now, thankfully.
Kathy: 33:37 Oh Great. So do you have an estimated date of publishing for that book?
Melanie: 33:42 Publishing? No, but the goal is sometime next summer to at least have the first draft done and at least about two rounds of edits, and then start the publishing process for it.
Kathy: 33:57 Excellent. Well, I look forward to that when it comes out. Okay. So I know we talked about a lot of different things. Is there anything else that you would like to share with listeners?
Melanie: 34:13 I would say again, always follow your dreams and if you’re looking for support, they’ll be in the places you least expect and that’s the best kind of support that, uh, in my case especially don’t let appearances full anybody and even though a lot of things could seem hurtful towards your character as well as your appearance, but it’s not what defines you. It’s how you act about it and it’s how you go about anything in life really
Kathy: 34:44 Terrific. It’s not how it defines you. Thank you Melanie. So if anybody who’s listening wants to connect with you, how can they find you?
Melanie: 34:56 So I am pretty active on facebook. I have an author page, it’s listed enter Melanie A. Rodriguez, and I do have a twitter and that’s actually the account I tend to share a lot of authors work with besides my own. That one is @Ravenwingwriter. And I actually have two instagram accounts. I have a private one which is also @ravenwingwriter. And I have a public one that’s called @kitsune_ravenwing and that actually is more of my costuming and my book marketing. So I encourage anybody who wants to come and share in my adventures that those are going to be the best ways to connect with me.
Kathy: 35:40 Okay, great. Thank you. Thank you so much for coming on the show, sharing your story, for writing your books and for inspiring other would-be writers to just keep on going, so thank you so much.
Melanie: 35:55 Thank you for having me. This has been such a blast.
Kathy: 35:59 You’ve been listening to The Inspire Cafe Podcast. You’ll find the show at theinspirecafe.com, and also we’re on facebook, instagram, and twitter. If you’d like what you’re hearing, please subscribe and share with your friends. Until our next conversation, thank you for listening.