Melissa Keir is in the Garden!

Another week in the garden, how I wish the weather would warm up. Everyone, grab a blanket, food, drink, and find a heater to snuggle up to, we have a guest! Please welcome Melissa Keir, winner of the February 2014 Reader’s choice award for her Chalkboard Romance, to Mary’s Garden!

Mary: Let’s get started, shall we? If any of you want to read her bio from her Web site, here it is: http://www.melissakeir.com/bio.html However, I want to hear between the lines. Melissa what do you as a person, not the author, do for fun?

Melissa: Thank you for having me Mary. I’ll just wrap this blanket around me like a toga and there we go! Do you think we are going to ever have spring? For fun, I love to wrap myself up on the couch and curl up with a book. The doggies lay with me and we even light up the fireplace. It’s a perfect way to spend a cool day. I enjoy spending time in the garden. I have a horrible brown thumb so nothing much grows but I plan out and plant veggies each year, then promptly give them over to my husband’s loving care.

Mary: What is the one thing on you bucket list that no matter what YOU ARE GOING TO DO before it’s too late?

Melissa: I am going to visit England. My dad made the trip a few years ago and loved it. He visited the places that still carry our family name. To walk in the streets or places that history has happened, to visit the cathedrals and museums…To have a pint at Watling’s Pub. That would be a dream come true!

Mary: See! Trips, are the best. I'm going to visit Ireland! Okay, to continue, now my curiosity is out of the way, tell us about your book that won the award, Chalkboard Romance.

Melissa: Chalkboard Romance is the tale of a one-night stand, which turns out to be a perfect match. When Lauren, a divorced teacher realizes that she could fall for the guy she’d been matched with, she bolts without leaving her last name or contact information. She thinks her heart is safe until he arrives at her school. Her one-night stand is the widowed father of one of her students. Conflicts ensue, as Lauren has to learn to trust her heart.

I love that Chalkboard Romance won the award based on votes from readers. It is also a recommended read from the SSLY blog who reviewed it. Knowing that readers have connected with Lauren and Mac, has meant the world to me.

Mary: What type of books do you write? Do you write only one type of genre, or many?

Melissa: My books are contemporary erotic romance novellas. Each story features small town living where everyone knows who you are and has a deep understanding of communities. I have only written in this genre. However, I may someday branch out.

Mary: What is the one thing a mentor or a workshop speaker told you that has helped your career?

Melissa: I am very fortunate to have many mentors in this business. My favorite piece of advice came from Liz Crowe early on in my career. She was the one who encouraged me to submit my first story to a publishing house. She said, “You have to try or you’ll regret it.” I did submit and got the contract. Since then, I call her my fairy godmother.

Mary: Do you a new release coming? If so, can you tell us a bit about it? Or what are you working on currently?

Melissa: I am working on edits right now for the second edition of Protecting His Wolfe. I had received the story back and have made changes to the story to deepen the mystery and connect Protecting His Wolfe to the sequel. Protecting His Wolfe is the first book in the Pigg Detective Agency Series about the oldest Pigg brother. Jonah Pigg is a police detective and has heard all the bad jokes about “Pigs and the Police department”. When he meets Betsie Wolfe, a murder witness, sparks fly. But when she is targeted by the murder, he has to protect her with his life.

I hope to have this book released by this summer. You can check out the cover and book trailer on my website for Protecting His Wolfe.

Mary: Where can your fans find you? Web site, social media, blog, and any place else you can share!

Melissa: Fans can find me on my website (http://www.melissakeir.com).
I have pages and information on all my books on the website as well as book trailers and a blog that hosts author giveaways and reviews.
I am also on Facebook and Author page
and Twitter (@melissa_keir).
I have an Amazon page
as well as a Pinterest site

Buy Links:
SECRET CRAVINGS STORE
Amazon
Barnes and Noble
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Thank you, Melissa, for letting us get to know you better! Come back and visit.

Thank you Mary for having me and sharing your blanket with me. I hope spring comes soon. We are sure ready for it after this winter!