Interview: Melissa Hosack (writer)
Name: Melissa Hosack (click on her picture to learn more about her.)
Occupation: Author of Paranormal Romance
Holly: What made you want to write?
Melissa: I started writing when I was in 2nd grade. Immediately, I knew that was what I wanted to do with my life. I never looked back. Being a writer is who I am.
Holly: Why that particular genre?
Melissa:
I currently write paranormal romance. I throw in a dash of comedy as well. Vampires can be funny guys.
I originally started writing books for Children. When I was growing up, my father was a little strict. I wasn’t allowed to see rated R movies. In high school, I had to be sneaky and watched the movie Scream. After that movie, I was hooked on horror. I got ahold of Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice, and my vampire obsession started. Lestat and Buffy the Vampire Slayer dominated my high school entertainment.
Holly: Do you have any inspiration for getting your ideas for your stories? 
Melissa: My inspiration comes from the most random places. For my novel Deadly Encounters of the Supernatural Kind, inspiration popped into my head at a Baseball game. My husband and I were attending a Pirates baseball game at night. It got me thinking, ‘Has a vampire ever been to a baseball game? Most of them are during daylight hours.’ Of course, as soon as this thought entered my head, I knew I had to write a book in which that happened. Before the game was over, I’d come up with characters, a basic plot, and a few humorous ideas. In the end, Beau attended a Jets game. Baseball was changed to football, and the event was such a minor part in the story. An entire novel came from that one small question. 
Holly: On your first book, how many query letters did you submit before you found a publisher?
Melissa: This is one point that aspiring authors need to take in stride. Rejection letters greatly outweigh acceptance. I have more rejection letters than I care to think about. It is all about finding the right person for you at the right time. Never get discouraged.
Holly: Do you have an agent? Do you think you need one?
Melissa: Currently, I do not have an agent. I went directly through a small publisher, Whimsical Publications, who graciously accepted me without having an agent backing me up. I am still looking for that one right agent to represent me, but the search continues.
If you are looking for a big profit from your writing, I would suggest an agent to promote you and get your books into the hands of large publishing companies. If you would just like to see the characters you love in print and into people’s hands, you can do this without an agent. Small e-publishing companies are always looking for people. There is also self-publishing, though the cost of self-publishing falls solely on the author.
Holly: Anything you read that helped you on your road to being a published author?
Melissa : I read almost anything paranormal I could get my hands on. There are a few authors I really like who make me think I can do this, but I try not to let anything I read influence me. That can lead to accidental plagiarism.
I did have the opportunity to chat with one of my favorite authors, Katie MacAlister, and I met Mary Janice Davidson at an event she was having in Pittsburgh a few years back. Meeting two of my favorite authors was amazing. Both of those women are brilliantly talented. It is inspiring to see others doing so well.
Holly: Do you write in any particular way? Do you make an outline first?
Melissa: Usually, I get an idea. I’ll stew over it for a little, thinking up a few scenes that I would love to see written out. Then I put my pen to the paper. Many of my characters are very pushy for the spotlight, so they write their own stories. I’ll have an idea in my head, and I’ll start writing a chapter. Sometimes when I finish that chapter, I will look back and be surprised, because it wasn’t what I expected to happen. Some characters just take over and demand their story to be told.
Holly: Do you use the program “word” to write?
Melissa : I do use Word. I will usually start by scribbling a rough draft in a notebook before I type it up. After it is typed, I will usually go through a third time and read it to myself. That way, I am already on my third draft before I give it to my husband to proofread.
Holly: So have you had anything self-published? 
Melissa: I write a monthly short story article for the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) titled Frequent Flyer. Though the article is in print every month, I made the decision to get a collection of these articles put together into a book. I went through Lulu.com to have the books made up.
Holly: Anything else you are working on?
Melissa: I am always working on something! I have notebooks lying all over my house. Right now, I am currently working on the sequel to Deadly Encounters of the Supernatural Kind. The sequel is titled Supernatural Kid on the Block.
I am also working on the fourth book in a series I’ve written. It is about the end of civilization. It is a play on the classic zombie apocalypse. Only in this story, the heroine is saved by a vampire. Her sexy warrior battles to keep her alive, but for what? She knows she is nothing more than food supply to him and his band of bloodsuckers. What is more dangerous, setting out on her own in a zombie infested world or living with hungry vampires? Or perhaps falling in love with one of her supernatural captors?
I am also working on a book about the Mayan prediction that the world will end in 2012. The story follows characters from different parts of the world, showing an interpretation of what these fictional disasters might be like.
Also, I have a story titled Sunshine and Grimm. It is a comedy about a vampire detective named Alex Grimm. After a client of Grimm’s gets murdered under his protection in Vegas, he gets really drunk. Everyone knows drinking and Vegas aren’t a good combination. He wakes up without a clue to his activities the previous night and a quirky ex-cheerleader who claims to be his new wife. The situation would be troubling for a regular man. Try being a cynical vampire and secret detective while having a bubbly blond bouncing along behind you like a lovesick puppy.
Holly: Any advice for aspiring authors?
Melissa: The best advice is KEEP TRYING. Just because one person doesn’t pick up your novel, that doesn’t mean no one will.
Holly: What do you have planned for the future?
Melissa: Writing, writing, and more writing. I will keep doing my favorite thing and keep sending out query letters. I also have a novella coming out at the end of the year titled Hunter. It is being published through Whimsical Publications. Let’s just say Real Elves Don’t Make Cookies. Hunter defies all stereotypes. He is tall, dark, dangerous, and handsome. You won’t find a sexier elf out there!
Holly: What do you currently have published?
Melissa: I took a position with the Department of Homeland Security in which I am in charge of producing their newsletter for Western Pennsylvania titled The Patriot. I also write a monthly short story entitled Frequent Flyer for this paper. I had a short story, More Bark Than Bite, published in September of 2008 by Mystic Moon Press and a full-length novel, Deadly Encounters of the Supernatural Kind, published by Whimsical Publications in March of 2009. Hunter will be arriving at Whimsical at the end of the year.
If you would like to purchase her books, just click on the pictures.
To read a excerpt out of her book “deadly encounters of the supernatural kind” or to order a e-book click on the link
http://www.whimsicalpublications.com/melissa_hosack/Deadly_Encounters_of_the_Supernatural_Kind.html
