It is my pleasure to share the state of New York with some
fine authors. I think it is so important to not only support Indie Authors, but local Indie authors.
I’d like to showcase Melanie Nowak today. Melanie Nowak is from Bainbridge, New York, USA. Nowak’s most recently published work is Uniting Vampires (Vampiress Reigning - Part 1) (Book 1 of ALMOST HUMAN ~ The Third Series) (Just released on 10/27).
I had the privilege of reading her work, “Captivating Vampires” and have posted my reviews on “Amy’s Bookshelf Reviews” as well as did a showcase of the review on this blog. I have read a lot of her “vampire” books, the first series (“Almost Human”) and am working my way through the second series (“Almost Human 2”). I look forward to reading all of her work, including her third series “Almost Human 3”.
Here is the direct link to my review:
You can find Nowak on these social media sites:
Twitter: @MelanieNowak
About Nowak:
Melanie Nowak is author of the venomous vampire series ALMOST HUMAN, and a happily married mom of two boys. She holds a Master's Degree in Library and Information Science. Originally a Long Islander, she now lives with her family on a peaceful mountaintop in the forest of upstate New York. She has always had a vivid imagination and a fascination for the paranormal. Acting and singing are loves of hers as well. However, upon conceiving the idea for her ALMOST HUMAN series in 2003, she discovered a previously unknown passion for writing! Now she puts her over-active imagination to good use, creating characters she loves, and she gets to play all of the parts!
Questions that I asked Melanie:
Why do you write? I have my Master’s Degree in Library and Information Science, with a Bachelor’s in education, and had planned a career as a school librarian, sharing my love of reading with students. Through a series of unfortunate health events I found myself ill, injured, and unable to follow the path I had chosen. Luckily another path had already chosen me!
A few years earlier, I had begun writing a vampire story because I had an idea and characters in my head that needed to be immortalized rather than forgotten. I wrote my story, enjoyed it, and shared it with a few friends just for fun. When they suggested I try to publish, I did...diligently, but got nowhere. So I decided to just keep writing for my own cathartic enjoyment. I’d never planned to be an author anyway.
While at university, a professor to whom I’d mentioned my books told me about Amazon’s anticipated unveiling of the Kindle, and suggested I submit my books. I did...and they were accepted! I was among the first Indie Authors to have their books on Kindle when it was released in 2008! It was nice to have closure, feeling like I’d done something with the story and could move on to writing more. It was still just a hobby and I didn’t really expect much to come of it.
A few copies sold that summer and I got wonderful reviews, which was exciting - I had not done any advertising or anything, but people from across the country that I’d never met actually loved my books! Then disaster struck...I became very ill with rheumatic fever, (which is bad enough!) but to make matters worse, the illness swelled all my joints and aggravated bad injuries I’d had from a car accident years before and erased all the progress I had made with physical therapy. I was forced to long-term bed rest and had to forfeit the Librarian position I had lined up to begin in a few weeks.
My husband and I were devastated, and unsure what we would do, but they say when one door closes, another opens. Suddenly my books started selling like wildfire! I wasn’t exactly on the Bestseller’s List, but I sold 30+ copies a day for weeks straight! It helped support my family in a time of need and show me a new opportunity. Writing is now my saving passion. Although still plagued by some chronic health issues, I feel blessed that I am now able to stay home with my kids and write the stories I love!
Something separate from Writing? When I was younger, I dreamed of being in musical theater. I am an actress at heart (perhaps the reason I can embody my characters so well - I speak aloud every single word of dialogue and practically live each scene!) These days, the closest I get to a stage is the rare occasion that I am out for karaoke (and good luck getting me back off the stage! LOL)
Where to do you write? My husband and I recently moved our family to upstate NY (from Long Island NY) and I do have an office in my new home, but that is where I mostly do editing and formatting. The place where I really love to write, is with my laptop out on my back deck. We were lucky enough to find our dream home on a mountain surrounded by state forest. I have an amazing view for miles into the wooded valley, and often get to watch deer and other wildlife venturing into my yard as I write. Our move was fraught with difficulties, but when I can escape like that during my writing time, I think it was worth it!
What gives you inspiration? My writing is very emotionally driven. Each of my characters has been taken from the seed of something within myself. I have been lucky enough in my life never to have been sexually abused or addicted to drugs - but everything that goes into making up the personalities for my characters, how they feel and react to things, has come from some little grain of dealing with something in my own life - magnified. At some point in my life I have totally identified with and "been" these people. Even if it didn't outwardly show - this is how I felt and wanted to react. Giving voice to these personas is very cathartic!
As far as inspiration for the mechanics of my vampires are concerned, it’s an interesting story...
I’ve always been interested in bats. Vampire bats have a anticoagulant in their saliva called “draculin” (named after Count Dracula!) that keeps blood from clotting. I had the idea that such a thing would be useful for vampires as well - and what if they had something to keep the victim calm, like a drug?
I always wondered about a vampire’s ability to put victims in thrall. In old movies, vampires are always able to hypnotize people, and it’s never really explained. People are just ‘under their power’. I always wondered – why? How does it work? I put those questions together with the anticoagulant/drug idea, and took it further. What if vampires could inject their victims with venom – like a snake? Only the venom would not be deadly poison, but a narcotic combination of drugs that kept blood from clotting, kept the victim calm and even willing, and also could mark territory for the vampire – leaving a mark that other vampires could see. The vampire could then use the existence of this ‘drug’ in their victim’s system, to put them in thrall as well.
The idea of venomous vampires seemed so logical to me, that I assumed for sure that someone else had done it already. I began searching my library for a book like that, so I could read it! This was probably in the early 90’s and there weren’t very many vampire books around at that time. I never found what I was looking for, and I filed the idea away. It never occurred to me to write it myself, LOL.
In the late 80’s, I had discovered Anne Rice’s vampire chronicles and absolutely loved them. That was the first time I read something from the vampire’s point of view. The way that she captured emotions and described surroundings was mesmerizing to me, and I really connected with her story. I’m also a huge fan of the T.V. series “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”. Joss Whedon is a genius! That said - towards the end of the show, I started disliking some decisions the writers made. I understood their vision, but I also saw missed opportunities. I would have done things differently.
That started me thinking of my own storylines and my own characters, incorporating my venomous vampire idea. None of this was written down, just daydreamed during housework. Then one day I realized that a lot of the ideas I had were really good, and it depressed me to think that it would all just be forgotten. So, I sat down one night at the computer, to write out a few things so I wouldn’t forget, and could look back at them one day. The scenes just came pouring out and before I knew it, I’d been up writing almost the whole night! That’s when I realized that I had a real story to tell, and wanted to write it all out from beginning to end. That is how my ALMOST HUMAN vampires were born.
Advice to aspiring writers? Decide why you are writing. Is your ultimate goal to be on a bookstore shelf, or to tell an amazing story? If you just want to write but aren’t as emotionally connected to it, that is an entirely different path from someone who wants to truly express & share feelings and ideas; the difference between writing articles or informative observation pieces, and writing a novel. If you are passionate about your writing & want to share your story with readers, here’s my advice:
1st - If you have a story inside of you yearning to be told, then be unafraid to really give in to it and write your true thoughts and feelings. The passion will come through! You cannot write while worrying about who might read it or what they will think. First, be true to that inner voice and write the story that you want to write.
2nd – Edit – a lot. You’ve poured your heart out onto the page and it’s a moving and wonderful work. Now you need to look at it with a critical eye for grammar, story structure, and continuity. Understand the story structure of different genres and where your story will fit. It’s alright to blend genres, but labels such as YA and Adult fiction need to be discerned more carefully. Sex and language are not the only determining factors between YA & Adult. Also consider the complexity of plot, reading level of the vocabulary used and the intellectual focus of the story as it relates to age. Do not write “down” to your readers – it is important to be sure they can follow the plot and understand the story, but don’t be afraid to write something that will make people stop and think. Proper grammar, spelling and punctuation is so important I have to say it again. If you’re unsure about something – look it up! EDIT!
3rd – If you want to share your story, you will find a way. Independent publishing isn’t for everyone – neither is Traditional publishing. You have to figure out what is right for you. Large publishing companies will be hard to reach without connections. It’s not impossible (but close). Be aware - larger publishers often want you to edit your work to fit their image. Getting traditionally published is HARD. Even if you have the best book ever, getting the right people to read it will be even harder than writing it – you have been warned. I was rejected over 200 times without anyone even being willing to read my manuscript! There are many small presses that are more open to accepting new work without many changes, you just have to find the right one for you. I did some research and found that the small presses that were open to publishing my work, did not feel like a good fit for me, so I opted for Independent Publishing. Whatever publishing path you feel is right for you, do not give up!
Independent publishing is also a good option to keep your story true to your own vision – but be prepared to put in the effort. If you do not work hard to help your target audience find your book, and if your book is not of professional quality when it is read, your sales and reputation as an author will suffer. Make sure your book is the best it can be, and then find a way to help others find it!
4th – Believe in yourself and be strong. Publishing Independently can be frustrating and difficult at times. You need to have patience, a very thick skin and an incorrigible spirit. It takes a long time and a lot of effort to gain an audience who appreciates your work. Your audience deserves a professional quality book, and when you are working independently it is often more difficult to see your work with a discerning and unbiased eye. Almost all books get a negative review at some time or another. It is important to truly analyze the review to see if there is criticism in there that can help you improve. We are all learning everyday – no one and no book is perfect. I don’t think you should go changing your story to suit every reviewer’s whim, but don’t just dismiss a negative opinion out of hand. Make sure you honestly ask yourself if there is a good point in there to be learned from, and whether some tweaking might be necessary. Decide whether your story came across as you intended. If it seems that it did, and the reader just didn’t enjoy or agree with it, then that is their prerogative. If the reader seemed to miss your intent, then perhaps it wasn’t clearly expressed in the writing and you should consider toning it a bit.
5th - Decide how you will define your success. If to you, success = money, quit now, LOL. To me success is the feeling of accomplishment and the swell of excitement I feel when someone tells me my book really resonated with them. In my experience, take care of the emotional success and the physical success will follow. I concerned myself with telling a good story, putting in tons of work to research certain elements, refine and edit it to the best of my ability, and learned what was needed to publish and promote it. I make myself accessible to readers and view it all as a labor of love. Through that sincere effort, I have earned more loyal readers to my series than I’d ever expected. Now writing is my full time job and I can actually pay my bills with it!
What would you say to your fans?
To my current readers: I feel so blessed that you have found my books and felt the story and characters connected with you in some way! I am truly thankful to each and every one of you for taking a chance to try the work of an author you did not know, and I am so happy to have you taking this journey with me!
To all of the prospective new readers out there...I write my story because I have such love for it, but it’s hard for me to describe to others. If you want a story that may start out seeming familiar but then takes you down a rabbit hole of imagination to be different from all the other vampire books out there, with characters who resonate with emotion and a story that keeps you thinking, even after you’ve read the last page, then you may enjoy my ALMOST HUMAN series.
You can read free chapters on my website at: www.MelanieNowak.com. I hope you’ll check it out!
Describe your hometown in one sentence.
The hometown I grew up in was Port Jefferson, New York, and I can do it in one word: Expensive! LOL
Any final thoughts?
I will share with you my favorite quote:
"Books are the quietest and most constant of friends; they are the most accessible and wisest of counselors, and the most patient of teachers." Charles W. Eliot (1834 - 1926)
There have been times in my life when I felt very alone, and this quote truly sums up my love of books - there are characters who are my dear friends that helped me through hard times, and I revisit them often.
I hope that within my books, you will find a friend.
I would like to sincerely thank Amy for giving me the opportunity to tell others about my series – and readers, thanks so much for your enthusiasm and faithful support of ALMOST HUMAN!
~ Melanie Nowak
Books or Series
1. Captivating Vampires: ALMOST HUMAN ~ The First Series ~ Book 1
2. Vampiress Rising: ALMOST HUMAN ~ The Second Series ~ Book 1
3. Uniting Vampires: ALMOST HUMAN ~ The Third Series ~ Book 1
The ALMOST HUMAN saga is one story following the same characters chronologically, and must be read in order. You can jump in and read the first book of the 2nd or 3rd series without having read the prior series, but it is much more enjoyable if you start at the beginning!