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 6 different stories in the series. They are all Mafia Romance.
The tropes include Billionaire Romance, Office Romance, Forbidden Age-Gap Romance, College Romance, Cop Romance, MM Romance, Enemies to Lovers, Best Friend’s Little Sister, and Insta Love.
There’s even going to be a Forced Proximity! I’m so excited for them!
Are you more character or plot driven?
I have tried to be plot driven, but my characters just literally want none of it. They lead the story. It’s theirs. I’m just here to write it and share it with the world!
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?
I am a little more organized with this series. My girlfriend keeps a doc for me with all of the characters and their characteristics and age and names. It’s the only way I can keep them all organized since it’s connected by the characters of the Crane Family Series.
I even tied it together with one of the books from my Beautiful Dream Series so there is a lot to keep track of. Thank God for her or I’d be a mess!
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?
All of them. Literally ALL. OF. Them. Ha!
I wanted Alex Lucinio to be jaded. Hard. Complete asshole. I wanted Rising From The Ashes to be an Office Bully Romance. Yeah. That… did not… happen. At all!
Alex took the story in a totally different direction and set up the entire series for me. Only it was not at all as I’d planned.
And then Gavin in the Player’s Rebel. He was supposed to be sweet. Gavin is not sweet. Gavin is an absolute demon who lives up to his asshole reputation very, very well. So far, even Josh is totally different than I imagined him!
Are any of the male POVs based on anyone you know?
I try to base my male characters on the males in my life I love and admire and look up to.
Ironically, though the males in this series have started out that way, and then taken on their own characteristics and run with them.
Are any of the female POVs based on anyone you know?
I tend to base all of the female characters in some way or another on myself or my girlfriend.
But these characters are different. They’re very… what’s the word? Opposite in a lot of ways of me or my girlfriend. Like the males, they do have some of the same qualities, but they are also very much their own selves.
Was there any one character/scene that was harder to write about than the other?
It’s always difficult to write about violence and things like abuse. In this book, there are mentions of that, and even then I get a little teary.
For this series? So far the hardest thing to write was in book 2. I won’t give anything away, you’ll have to read it, but the last few chapters were hard because of the events. I get very attached to my characters so what happens is very emotional.
What is your favorite book in the series?
My favorite so far is The Player’s Rebel. But I think my favorite of the series is going to be Josh’s book, which hasn’t been written yet, but I am so excited for it. I can’t wait!
I know that we aren’t supposed to have “favorites” as far as our children, but seriously, who’s your favorite character and why?
I really love Gavin and Josh in this series. They are both so incredibly protective and very much the opposite of how they’ve been portrayed in the past series.
Josh was really just coming into himself. Now that he’s stepped in and filled the role he was always meant to, he’s shaping up to be one of my favorite men of every single character I’ve written.
Gavin has always kind of been a background character so I was so incredibly excited to share his story, and I love how truly loving he actually is under the gruff exterior he portrays.
Series question - Who is your favorite couple and why did you decide on their dynamics?
Oh gosh. So far, my favorite couple is Gavin and Harleigh.
They are very much opposites, and I truly love an opposites attract age gap story, which is why I wrote them that way. But I don’t think it’s going to stay that way because the dynamic between two other characters in this series, that I won’t give just yet, is phenomenal.
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.
That’s a very author thing to say, but I think in order for them to get to their HEA, it has to be their story. It can’t be forced or it sounds fake and unrealistic.
What scene in this book/series sticks out the most for you? Why?
There are a lot of scenes that are truly dynamic. But my favorite so far is a scene in North Pole, Alaska.
Gavin and Harleigh are enjoying being with each other at a Christmas bake-off contest, even though Gavin is there because there’s danger lurking. The scene is a nice break in the incredible amount of drama and action that happens in this book.
It shows how much they truly do care for each other, even though their relationship has to navigate through the treacherous waters of the entire rest of the book.
Series - Were any of the books harder to write than others?
I’ve struggled with this series, honestly. I think it’s because of the fact that I jumped into it right after finishing the Crane Series.
I gave myself no break and dug myself right into a mental health hole. Now that I am on a writing break, things are starting to flow again. I feel a lot better about this series and where it’s going. I’m excited for it again!
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?
This series doesn’t have multiple POV’s.
It’s very difficult to write like that because I have to get into all of their heads. It sounds really strange, but that takes a huge toll on me. Because I honestly feel my characters, writing in multiple POVs subjects to me a lot more emotions.
I find writing in more than just the MFC and MMC is better for me from an emotional standpoint.
How long did it take you to write this book/series?
Well, I had a lot of other things going on this year.
I think I probably could have finished the whole series in a year if I didn’t also have two other series I was writing as well as a book for an anthology (that turned into it’s very own series).
I also wrote a book specifically for my newsletter subscribers. So, it’s been very busy. I think this series will be finished in 2023 or maybe 2024.
How did you come up with the title for your book and series?
We played around a lot with the titles for this series. But my girlfriend and I had a lot of fun with them! We really try to fit them to the book and the overall series theme.
Rising From The Ashes, the first book in the series, is all about the Lucinio Mafia rising above the drama that came before them and tried to destroy them while Alex, who really had a hard time with all of it, comes back with a vengeance and finds his true love, despite the idea that he never would.
The Player’s Rebel is all about Gavin meeting the woman he knows is his forever. He quits his player ways and covets Harleigh, who is very much a rebel and dances to her own tune.
If you met these characters in real life would you get along?
I really love all of my characters. I feel I’d get a long with them in real life. At least I hope so because they are all incredible!
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?
This was one of the only series that I knew would be a series!
I knew I wanted to branch off the Crane’s and tell the stories of the other men in the series, and I’m so happy I get to do that!
If your book/series were made into a movie, which actors do you see as playing your characters?
Goodness. Okay. Umm…
Alex Lucinio and Raleigh Knight – David Gandy and Gal Gadot
Gavin Vandenberg and Harleigh Harlow – Luke
Damon Knight and Lance Engle – Cheyanne David Jackson and Lance Bass
As for the rest of the couples… Well, I can’t give that away just yet!
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, my book in the Love and Unity Anthology has turned into a series…
So, expect the Forbidden Temptation Series to be coming soon!
I have a new book coming for my newsletter.
Something I’m really excited for, though… And you’re hearing this here first… We’ve got a combined author series coming out that I’m soooo excited about! I can’t wait for it. Look for it in July!
Check out all my interviews/reviews for Melony Ann!
https://readingbydeb.blogspot.com/2022/06/author-at-glance-melony-ann.html
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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One guy. One. My best friend, Lance.
We’ve worked together in the Lucinio Mafia for years. We’re close. He’s out, and he’s proud of it. It’s something I’ve always admired and secretly loved about him.
Just when I start to feel comfortable with myself and we’re ready to reveal our relationship, though, chaos in the form of a sixteen-year-old girl whirls into our life, turning it upside down and backwards. She needs our help. We need her light.
But with her comes a Texas sized tornado of mayhem and a lot of questions that beg to be answered. I’m just not convinced we’ll get those answers before the twister licking at our heels swallows us all whole…
Trigger Warnings:
Mafia Romance/Dark Themes/Physical Violence/MM Content
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