We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Melina Morry. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Melina below.
Hi Melina, so excited to have you with us today, particularly to get your insight on a topic that comes up constantly in the community – overcoming creativity blocks. Any thoughts you can share with us?
I’m a Gemini, so I often have multiple projects on-the-go. And while that can feel overwhelming at times, I’ve found it also helps with writer’s block! When I feel stuck on one project, an idea is usually forming for something else. Right now, I have two full-length novels in progress and one novelette. Writing something shorter, like a 14,000-word novelette, helped me get some creativity out without feeling the pressure of a longer form novel. It’s also helpful to just step away from a project that you’re working on—for a day, a week, I even left a novel untouched for over a year and am now back to editing it. When you have some time away, you can really come back and see something with fresh eyes. As cliche as that sounds.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
I’m a mom to two-year-old twin boys and an author on the side. I love being able to write because it’s something I can squeeze in when the kids are playing or napping or once they’ve gone to bed for the night (although that’s usually when my husband and I kick back with some trashy reality TV). It was funny—when I finished writing my first novel, I was pretty pregnant and the question for a couple of months was, “What will come first: the twins or the book?” (Answer: the book.)
The kinds of books I write are the kind of books I like to read. They’re saucy, fashionable, scandalous, romantic, funny. I like to say that if I’m not serving looks, I’m writing books. It’s mostly true.
Currently, my debut novel The Manhattan Mishap can be purchased online through my bookstore or thousands of other bookstores, including Amazon. Don’t see it on the shelves at your fave shop? You can ask them to order it in! It’s also available as an audiobook on Audible.
My next book, a shorter novelette tentatively titled “The Fashion Girl Goes Home”, is publishing this holiday season!
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
Keep working at it. Don’t let anything hold you back from pursuing your passions. When I wrote my first novel, I was rejected by over 60 agents before finding an editor who believed in it as much as I did. Don’t rush the process, either. I knew I wanted to write since I was a little girl but it took until I was 30 for my first novel to come out. I created a career copywriting and blogging but the real dream was novels. And now that’s what I get to do.
As we end our chat, is there a book you can leave people with that’s been meaningful to you and your development?
When I was in sixth grade, I borrowed Confessions of a Shopaholic from my older cousin and it totally changed my life. Although I’m sure I didn’t understand half of the jokes or references at that age, I knew that I loved the lighthearted and sassy tone of the book and the main character, Becky Bloomwood. I became a ravenous reader of all of Sophie Kinsella’s books after that. Then, I discovered Plum Sykes and Lauren Weisberger, who also became favourites of mine. Soaking up stories by people you admire is such a great way to hone your own craft.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.melinamorry.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/melinamorry/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/melinamariamorry
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/morrymelina
