I'm Melanie's husband. Til now, I've been fairly quiet in public regarding my wife's writing. Although I've praised her face-to-face, I've felt uncomfortable with posting any obviously biased reviews in public forums. However, now I have an obviously biased forum, the authors Web site, so I can praise away ;-).

In this document I'll provide my views on Melanie's writing. I'm doing this from memory, I have no copies of her books to refer to with me, so I may get some names and plot elements wrong; however, this should serve my primary purpose which is to point out the memorable elements of Melanie's writing that will stick with you, even years after you've read one of her books.

Iona

Melanie's first book, Iona, will always hold a special place in my heart. After years of watching her write stacks of unpublished manuscripts, field rejections, and search for an agent and other support, she had finally realized her dream: she was published! And I was there to witness it -- both the struggle and the payoff. The book is also special to me because, well... its a book. I'd better explain.

Both Melanie and I are bibliophiles, or book lovers. I read quite a bit, but my hunger for reading is nothing compared with my hunger for books. I own literally thousands of books. I fool myself with the thought that I'll read them all some day, but I don't need to read them to enjoy them. I like looking at them. I like holding and smelling them. I like seeing them and remembering a pleasurable past read. Mostly, I like knowing they're there.

So, keeping this sickness in mind, imagine the thrill I experienced when the shipment of author copies of Iona arrived and I was able to hold a book written by my wife. The rest have been great, but there's nothing quite like that first one.

Then I opened the book and started to read...

Iona, above all else, is steeped in rich atmosphere. From the beginning you're enveloped in the oppressive mists of the island on which the story unfolds. I particularly liked a section early in the book in which the hero (Nial?) is being rowed to the island in a small boat by an old codger (Cullum?) with a passion for whiskey (he's Scottish you know). I loved the description of the rough sea and the cliffs of the island, and the hero wondering when, not if, the boat would capsize and the sea would send his body hurling onto those cliffs. Of course, Cullum being experienced with the rough seas gets some enjoyment out of nettling Nial during the passage.

Another thing that I liked about Iona were the characters and the interactions between them. I liked the interplay between the heroin (Lona) and Nial as they attempt to resist falling in love. Throw in characters like Cook and Cullum (and a cat in the hall) and you have some real fun.

If I had any complaint about Iona it would be that it seemed to spend a lot of time forshadowing what was going to happen and made you wait until the very end for the action. Yes, I'm a male reader ;-).

All in all, this is probably my second favorite book of Melanie's. It exemplifies Melanie's strengths for research, atmosphere, character interaction, and above all... stubbornness. It took a while, but Melanie had finally been published.

Manon

Uh-oh, time to face the dreaded sophomore jinx. Melanie's second book, Manon, emphasizes action over atmosphere as a lone women, Manon, disguises herself as a man to avoid the dreaded Sassanach's... only to fall in love with a Sassanach magistrate. Yikes.

I liked Manon. Again it contained good character interaction. I think I liked this aspect of the book most. The hero squirming because he can't understand why he's developing such an interest in a young man. Manon at his country estate with the hero's mother and Manon's metamorphosis from scrawny man to beautify women. It even had a cool atmospheric opening in a seedy tavern outside which the hero and heroin have a gunfight with highwaymen. Fun stuff.

My only complaint with Manon is the obvious one... the cover. Let's face it, the girl on the cover looks like a chunky Christina Applegate (the daughter in Married With Children). I guess its true that you shouldn't judge a book by it's cover.

Night Visitor

OK, time to 'fess up'. I never read Night Visitor. This is strange because it's probably Melanie's most popular book. I don't recall what happened -- during the release I was probably busy at work or on a horror or sci-fi binge. Whatever the reason, I missed this book and never made it back to read it. I will however do so.

So, having not read the book, what comments can a bibliophile provide...

The cover art is great. The book has good heft and clear print. And it smells great ;-).

Amarantha

I liked Amarantha a lot because it contained the primary element that I look for in a book; namely, good writing. Her previous books were well written, but with Amarantha Melanie seemed to have hit her stride displaying comfort with her voice and letting the words flow.

Although Amarantha contained memorable scenes, these are overshadowed in my memory by the pleasure I experienced from the writing style. Again the book displays good character interaction as Amarantha stubbornly attempts to unmask the local preacher as a smuggler. Several scenes were very atmospheric including skulking around the drizzly moors, investigating burial mounds, and getting assaulted by a dragon in a local parade. Again, this is fun stuff.

With Amarantha, Melanie established a very comfortable and enjoyable writing style. For this reason, Amarantha is my third favorite book by my wife. This is getting good.

By the way, did anyone notice that this book is dedicated to me. Cool.

Belle

OK, if you've been paying attention so far, you'll realize that I've made it to Melanie's latest book and haven't identified my favorite. That's right, Belle is my favorite book by my wife. Why? Because its fun and well written. But my favorite book and I had a rocky introduction.

I was at work one day when my wife contacted me to let me know that Belle's cover art had arrived. Melanie described it as a truly ugly cover. Oh no, not another Manon cover. I had Melanie forward me a copy of the art via email and cautiously took a peek...

I really like this cover. Melanie described the model as being "horsey", but I think she's kinda cute. I also like the colors on the cover -- reminiscent of the Night Visitor cover. Did anyone else notice that this is the only cover showing a scene inside of a building? Anyway, over time Melanie has been talked into the fact that Belle has a nice cover. I don't think its her favorite, but its no longer described as "horsey".

Now, as to what I found between the covers: I liked it.

Continuing with the fluid writing style that she established in Amarantha, Melanie finally applies her skills to something light hearted... and I liked it. The hero and heroin in this book are forced to team up to survive drunken encounters at debauched parties, being publically ostracized, highwaymen, and even a landlord who has his guests for dinner... literally.

One of my favorite elements in this book is not a particular scene but rather a motif that plays itself out in a series of scenes. The hero and the heroin are obviously attracted to each other, but they were originally thrust together because they need one another. And how do they get what they need from each other? They're both card sharps, so they bet and gamble. However, what do you do when winning will get you what you need and losing gives you an excuse to give the winner what you've been dying to give them all along but haven't for the sake of propriety. And if you win, what do you ask for -- what you need or what you want. This is a great bit of mechanics used brilliantly to keep you engrossed until you just want to scream "Kiss her/him you fool!".

Combining action and character interaction in a well written book, Belle is my favorite book by Melanie.

Conclusion

Melanie now has three more books in the hoper. Dominion is awaiting release in August, Selkie next year, and an as yet unnamed book has just been submitted to Leisure for review. Who'd have realized she'd come so far so fast.

I'm really proud of what Melanie has accomplished. Not only has she become a fine writer, she's been persistent enough to be published. I think her writing future will get even better as her writing continues to improve and she refines her style.

P.S. Sorry, I have little information on Melanie's upcoming releases. I only read her books after they've been published in book form. Did I mention that I'm a bibliophile?