THE STORY BEHIND THE STORY
The Crane Family
Get a behind-the-scenes all-access pass to Melony Ann's The Crane Family Series!
***Synopis***
This series is a mafia series revolving around the Crane Family and those close to them.
The leader of the Crane Mafia is Ryan Crane. He’s the one his entire family and friends go to when they are in trouble and need the kind of help only he can give!
What is the sub-genre and trope? Did your characters lead
you to this genre or was that decided before the story began?
There are 9 different stories in the series. They are all Mafia Romance.
I have a Billionaire Romance, Office Romance, Forbidden Age-Gap Romance, College Romance, Cop Romance, and MM Romance.
Are you more character or plot driven?
I want to say both. I do. But my stories are all character driven.
I come up with a plot. I usually even map it out. Not like an outline, but I do write down the idea and map it out a little bit so I have direction.
From there? The characters completely lead it. Sometimes, they are nice to me and stick close to what I want to do.
Most of the time? They look at my idea, think how nice it is, then throw every single curveball they can at me and laugh the entire time.
With many main and secondary characters, how do you keep
them separated in your mind? Do you have
a story/vision board above your workspace?
For this series, since it was my first, I wasn’t as organized. I had them all in my head.
My girlfriend started a doc that we started keeping character names and bits about them. Which helped tremendously because by the time the series was done, I had so many characters that I kept having to constantly ask her questions like, “What was dude’s name that they are after?” Or, “The dude with the tattoo that we decided didn’t have one who Nick shot? What was his name?”
I know from previous interviews that characters take on a life of their own. Were any of the characters in this series determined to take their own direction instead of where you initially wanted them to go?
Holy God. All of them.
I had originally only intended writing Billion Dollar Love Story (Book 1). When I got some fairly good feedback, I actually decided to write a second one, Be Mine (Book 2).
The thing is, when I first initially started, Billion Dollar Love Story was a standalone, Mafia Romance. Be Mine was supposed to be an Office Romance not at all connected to the first one. That did not happen.
The next thing I know, the Crane Mafia is involved. Taylor and Nicole are screaming for another book for them, Protecting Her (Book 3), and my conclusion, Dangerously Forbidden Love (Book 4), was not a conclusion at all. Nick needed a story and Luke, who was never supposed to be gay, ended up with his own book and a whole different story line than what I had planned for him.
Before I knew what was happening, a whole series was born, and 2 prequels and a bonus book were written.
Are any of the male POVs based on anyone you know?
All of my characters are based on males I know. They take on qualities of friends or family or those who mean everything to me and are my entire world.
Bad guys are based on those I don’t like. In this series, I based my main character off a police officer who works in Florida and is a cover model. The other characters have traits of my loves.
Are any of the female POVs based on anyone you know?
The female characters all are based on me or my girlfriend.
As in the male characters, the bad girls are based on those I don’t like. They all take on both of our personalities through the series and their respective books. It’s hard not to do that. I feel like making them feel the most real is always the best option.
Was there any one character/scene
that was harder to write about than the other?
There are a lot of scenes that were difficult to write, but the hardest ones for me in this series was the one where Breetana talks about her past. Part of it was her being molested by her uncle. That happened to me. I used that experience in the book. Sort of a way to try and heal.
The other was pregnancy. I put it in because so many people were pushing for it on the app I initially started writing on. I felt like it was something I had to do to appease them, but I hated it.
First, I do not like pregnancy trope books. I don’t even like writing about kids. But the backstory behind that is that I never really wanted kids. I actually did get pregnant once and just when I was starting to get used to the idea of it and feel a slight desire to want a child, I miscarried. It was painful. I went through it basically alone because the person I was with was incapable of really understanding that I was hurting and needed support. So writing about it is painful for me.
What is your favorite book in the series?
I think my favorite book in the series is Dangerously Forbidden Love. It was the book I was just longing to write so I think that book will always be my favorite.
I know that we aren’t supposed to have “favorites” as far
as our children, but seriously, who’s your favorite character and why?
Ryan Crane is my favorite character in this series.
Ryan is based on the guy who literally gave me the courage to put myself out there and write. So, Ryan will always hold a special place in my heart.
Series question - Who is your favorite couple and why did you decide on their dynamics?
My favorite couple in this series is actually a split between Ryan and Arianna and Jason and Jessa.
Arianna and Jessa are both women who are strong in their own rights, even though they have their own struggles.
Ryan and Jason are both incredibly powerful and dominant men who can bring Arianna and Jessa into the light when they’re filled with their own darkness.
And, on the same point, Arianna and Jessa are the same way. They are light to Ryan and Jason’s darkness. I love that each character is an individual and can stand on their own, but they are so much stronger together.
How do you get inside these character’s heads to find
their perfect HEA?
I think working in first person POV is definitely the best way to do it because I am forcing myself to really think like them. I feel what they feel. They speak through me.
As odd as that sounds, I think it’s important to really allow myself to feel them and listen to them.
What scene in this book/series sticks out the most for
you? Why?
There are a lot of scenes that are truly dynamic, but one of the scenes that truly sticks out for me is one of the first scenes I’ve ever written involving Josh Lucinio and Jessa Holloway.
The growth he goes through throughout the book is truly something to behold, but the there’s a scene when the two of them are in a shed after they’ve both been kidnapped. I cried. A lot. Each time I read it, I cry even more.
Series - Were any of the books harder to write than
others?
His Heart was the hardest book that I have ever written. Ever.
There is so much going on in it. So many things come to light and come together that it was difficult to keep up.
Beyond that, though, Nick and Dani were two very difficult characters to write. I saw them one way. They didn’t agree. When I finally started listening to them, though, the book started flowing so much better for me.
This question is if you write in MULTIPLE POVs not just
the hero and heroine - I love the multiple POVs in a book. It’s not just the hero and heroine, but we get
inside the heads of multiple characters throughout this series. I feel that it gives the story further
depth. Do you think you will write
another book or series following this multiple POV outline?
I have a few books in this series that are multiple POVs. It was necessary to do them the way that I did. I love doing them. I love being able to show different characters.
The issue is that they sometimes end up taking the book. Like in His Heart. Robby and Luke sort of stole the book.
And in Be Mine. Taylor and Nikki stole the book.
And then in their story, Protecting Her, I think Arianna and Ryan really shined.
It’s hard to find a balance and tell all of their stories equally with just as much love and attention. I can’t say I will do it anymore because of the amount of backlash I got for it, but I there’s a possibility. It depends on the characters who are speaking to me.
How long did it take you to write this book/series?
Just over a year. I started it on the Chapters App in January of 2020. I started publishing and taking it off the app in August 2020. I finished it and all of the rewrites that needed to happen from the App and to publishing in October 2021.
How did you come up with the title for your book and series?
They honestly just came to me. I discussed them a bit with another person because I was nervous about them, but they are all just things that I thought about that seemed to fit the book.
If you met these characters in real life would you get along?
I think I’d get along with all of the main characters. But there are characters I’ve written that if I met them in real life, I’d throat punch them in a heartbeat. Matthew Lucinio is one of them. He’d also get a good swift kick to the balls.
Series question – Did you know in advance that you were
going to write this as a series or did one of the characters in book one demand
their own story?
Nope. Ha! This was supposed to be dipping my feet into the writing world after being gone for so long. But then Ryan just wouldn’t be quiet and other characters started talking with very loud voices!
If your book/series were made into a movie, which actors
do you see as playing your characters?
Oh boy.
Jason Crane and Jessa Holloway – Jamie Dornan and Pheobe Tonkin.
Chase Shaw and Breetana Carter – Chris Hemsworth and Reese Witherspoon.
Taylor Reddick and Nicole Carter – Ryan Reynolds and Holland Roden.
Ryan Crane and Arianna Massena – Daniel Rengering and Danielle Campbell.
Nick West and Dani Jade – Matt Bomer and Sandra Bullock.
Luke Massena Robby Earnhart – Tyler Hoechlin and Colton Haynes.
Ethan Crane and Jenni Crane – Peirce Brosnon and Julie Andrews.
Can you give us a hint as to what we can expect next? Whether a new book and series or a sequel to an existing series? Can you share a small tease?
Well… You’re hearing this first…
The Crane family is going to get a HUGE makeover.
New covers. New edit. New content. Just… New.
It’s scary. It’s beyond that. It’s terrifying. But it needs to be done, and I am so, so excited for it!
A bit of a tease? What brought the changes on is a character in another series that had flat out NOTHING to do with the Crane Family. I just recently wrote a cross over between that series and the Crane Family.
And now everything with Crane’s have changed. Well, not everything. But something big happened that needs to just… be…
Stay tuned! It should be out at the end of this year!
Check out all my interviews/reviews for Melony Ann!
https://readingbydeb.blogspot.com/2022/06/author-at-glance-melony-ann.html#more
Bio:
Melony Ann began writing short stories and poetry as a child. She continued honing her craft over the years until she took the plunge and began publishing her work, despite having severe anxiety.
Melony writes contemporary romance stories that are full of suspense and a lot of steam.
When she isn’t writing, she is loving her family and working to make her life something she deserves.
Melony believes that if her writing can inspire just one person, then all of her hard work is worth it.
Her hope is that her writing allows each and every one of her readers to escape for a little while. To dive into a different world one book at a time.
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