Welcome to Christian Bookshelf Reviews, Melanie!! Will you tell us a little about yourself? Sure--I'm a mom of two girls and passionate about the redemptive power of stories, both fiction and nonfiction. My husband's work in computer animation has moved us all over the country and we spent a season living in Germany, but we've finally settled (for now) in a beautiful valley near Portland, Oregon. I've written sixteen novels. Only thirteen have been published, but I labored just as hard over the three that are collecting dust! Our family is also passionate about loving kids who don't have safe homes which means our house is often quite full--and crazy loud.
What is your newest novel, Chateau of Secrets, about? Château of Secrets is about a French noblewoman named Gisèle Duchant who risks her life to hide members of the French resistance in the tunnels under her family’s château even as the Nazi Germans occupy her home. Seventy years later Gisèle’s granddaughter, Chloe Sauver, returns to the abandoned château to interview with a filmmaker named Riley Holtz. As Chloe and Riley begin to unravel her grandmother’s story, they are both shocked at the family secrets they uncover.
What would you say is your most interesting writing quirk?
Hmm...I don't know if it's interesting, but I have a hard time writing at home (easily distracted by laundry and dishes!) so I sip tea and write in all sorts of locations--a myriad of local coffee shops, the library, even a spa that lets me hunker down in their lounge for the day.
What do you like to do when you're not writing?
