Interview with Melissa Francis

Melissa Francis is the author of BITE ME!, coming out this August. Mel is also a March baby - it's her big 4-0. (And I think 20 is a big deal. Eek.) So you'll definitely want to drop by her blog, where she's partying too. She can also be found on the Fictionistas' blog and her MySpace.

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1. Your book, BITE ME!, will be released in fall 2009. How are you preparing for the launch?

I'm getting a new super-secret website ready for launch...and planning a huge prize give away...with big, fun prizes. We're also printing t-shirts, stickers, bookmarks and vampire bite tattoos. Lots of fun stuff which will all be revealed when the new super-secret website is unveiled. Stay tuned!



2. The cover for BITE ME! has been released and looks lovely. How well do you think it fits the book?

Amazingly, it is almost EXACTLY like I had it pictured in my mind. I was so overwhelmingly happy when my editor sent me the cover. It really couldn't be more appropriate.

3. I see from your blogs you're on a quest for health. How do you stay motivated?

This is a new thing for me. I was an athlete in high school, but only did what was required to stay fit. Now that I'm *ahem* a bit older, I realize that I've done myself a world of hurt with all that yo-yo dieting crap. Everyone, including myself, wants the easy answer. But life isn't easy. It's not supposed to be. So last fall I just sucked it up and decided I needed a goal. I decided since 2009 was the year I turn 40, that this should also be the year that I get my butt off the couch. I decided to start training for a half marathon. And then a friend of mine and I started a blog about it. Telling people in the virtual world your goals keeps you very motivated. I don't want to let anyone down or fail. So I stick with it. Also, I'm really enjoying the exercising now--especially because I feel so good for the first time in years.

4. Okay, I'm in college. I'm obsessed with education and degrees right now. How has your education best benefited you? What do you use your English degree for?

I don't. Not really. I didn't get bitten by the education bug, I went to school because I was expected to. I made good grades for the same reason. I decided on an English degree because it came easily to me. I'm a writer, so naturally the storytelling points that I learned in literature and in creative writing come in handy, but overall, my degree is not what it could've been. I learned that way too late. I wish I would've appreciated my education a bit more. I wish now, I would've sucked the marrow from college. But I didn't. Live and learn.

5. What are some of your hobbies? What activities do you least like to do?

I love to make jewelry when I have time. It's another great way to express myself creatively. I do NOT like to clean house. At all. And very soon, I plan to pay someone to do that for me. :)

6. Who are some of your favorite authors? What book releases are you anticipating (beside your own)?

This is never an easy question for me! I grew up reading Judy Blume. I love her. For paranormal Gena Showalter, Kresley Cole, Colleen Gleason, Marley Gibson. For contemporary, Sophie Kinsella, Susan Elizabeth Phillips, and my critique partners Maria Geraci and Louisa Edwards (their books are out this year!)

7. What genres do you read? How does what you like to read affect what you write?

Obviously, I'm all over the board! I love YA, paranormal, I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE snarky first person contemps like Kinsella. I prefer to write in first person and when I read a good book, it always inspires me to write better. And when I read a bad book, it also inspires me to write better.


8. I noticed you're looking for a flamingo PEZ dispenser. My mom loves buying me PEZ dispensers; my favorite is shaped like a Walgreens semi. What are some of you favorite PEZ dispensers that actually exist?

I love the special edition Darth Vader dispenser. LOVE it. Oh...and Star Trek Pez. Sigh. I'm a nerd. I know.

9. Your birthday is in March too! Twenty years ago, did you expect your life to turn out the way it has? What were some of the best twists?
20 years ago I couldn't see into the next week, much less picture my life the way it is now. I was way to self-involved at 20 years old. LOL! The best twist was up and moving from my hometown to another state at the age of 30. That's when I started writing. It was completely unexpected and look at me now!

10. Finally, describe BITE ME! in three sentences of ten words each.

Um, I'm not really good at this kinda thing. LOL. BITE ME! is a little bit of snark, a little bit of sass and a whole lotta teenage (vampire) drama wrapped up in a pretty package. Here's the backcover blurb:

AJ Ashe isn't a typical seventeen-year-old vampire (as if there is such a thing as 'typical!') Her ex-boyfriend is now her stepbrother. Her two BFFs are in a huge fight and AJ's caught in the middle. She's totally framed for cheating on a Lit test. And now, apparently, the fate of humankind lies in her little undead hands. Like that's fair. What ever happened to the good old days when all a vampire girl had to worry about was the occasional zit and hiding her fetish for necks?

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Does that not sound awesome? Or am I just partial to vampire books? Plus, Mel has good taste in books, which is a good sign. (If you're okay with graphic sex scenes, Kresley Cole's Immortals After Dark series is the bomb. And I just finished my first Gena Showalter and now want to run out and read more.)