JoeyPinkney.com Exclusive Interview
5 Minutes, 5 Questions With…
Stacey-Deanne, author of Melody
(Strebor Books)
(click on the pictures to see this book on Amazon.com)
Full of forbidden desire and unwavering strength in the face of danger, Melody is a chilling tale that will leave readers breathless as they navigate all the plot twists and turns. Struggling to survive until the end, the diverse cast of characters will be left questioning their loyalties, their passions and how far they might be willing to go to protect the ones they love.
Joey Pinkney: Where did you get the idea and inspiration to write Melody?
Stacey-Deanne: For some reason, I wanted to write a sexy thriller. I kept getting the vision of a strong, young woman who wanted to save her sister from something tragic. I soon developed the idea where Melody would begin to distrust her sister, Sarah’s latest boyfriend. At first I had it where Melody simply disliked him, but since I wanted this to be a thriller, my ideas heightened and I turned the boyfriend into a challenging menace. It became a race of good versus evil with Melody as the good and Keith (Sarah’s boyfriend) as the ultimate evil. But that wasn’t enough. I wanted something else to go on despite the main story. Soon, the second plot of the book, the serial rapist was born. From there my ideas naturally flew and I was hooked LOL.
JP: What sets Melody apart from other murder/mystery novels currently on the market?
SD: A lot! I think that most people who read it will agree that Melody is unlike any other novel ever written because of its distinction alone. Melody is one of few mysteries on the urban market these days. It is also one of few whose main character is a Latina. It is one of very few stories that can be defined in many different genres including, romance, mystery, thriller, suspense, women’s fiction, detective and crime fiction and chick lit. A big difference is the variety of spicy characters.
Melody has a racially diverse range of characters. The main characters, Melody and her sister Sarah are biracial. They are half-Latina and half-white. Melody also focuses on an interracial love affair between the two detectives in the story, Brianna and Steven. She’s black and he’s white. Keith and Lucas, Sarah and Melody’s love interests are white. There’s a minor character that’s gay. Another difference is that Melody is a two-plot story. You get two stories in one. While Melody races to save Sarah from Keith’s clutches, there is a serial rapist in the city preying on black women (two who are main characters). As a thriller, Melody holds numerous twists. There’s a lot going on in this book.
JP: As a best selling author, what did you learn from previous novels that you were able to apply to Melody?
SD: I’ve learned that I enjoy putting minority characters in positions they aren’t usually shown in. I strive to make my characters stand out and not be wooden based on stereotypes. My books are for everyone and what I’ve learned is that I enjoy writing a novel with diverse subjects and that it turns out, audiences appreciate this as well. Comparing this to my previous work showed me how great it works out to have such a diverse story as Melody. It fits in many genres and has characters of so many different races that its audience is endless.
JP: As an author, what is your writing process? How long did it take for you to start and finish Melody?
SD: I’m a fast writer unless something gets in the way. I first wrote Melody eleven years ago so I don’t remember just how long it took (laughing), but usually it takes me around three to four months to write a book and probably a month and a half to edit it. But it all depends on how things are going and whether my process is interrupted or not.
JP: What’s next for Stacy-Deanne?
SD: Many, many things! I have finished many novels and plan to publish them. I am excited that I’ve begun a series that stars the detectives from Melody. I already have two books from the series completed and I will be starting a third soon. I’ve also got other novels I’m editing. If things work out as planned then my next release will be the first installment of my cop series. I am very excited about this. I fell in love with the officers in Melody and there is so much I wanted to do with them.
Website link: http://www.stacy-deanne.net
Myspace link: http://www.myspace.com/stacydeanne
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