Dear Reader…
Thank you for reading Northern Echoes and starting Caitlin’s adventure into Web of Echoes.
Web of Echoes is such a different story from what I’ve written in the past. Under my RM Alexander pen name, I’ve focused on romantic suspense within different subgenres. But a couple years ago, after playing Tomb Raider on the PS4, an idea came to me about a character who was a little bit Tomb Raider and Indiana Jones in a story that’s a little bit Outlander and a little bit National Treasure. I wanted to draw on my love for adventure and my passion for travel.
So while all these thoughts are circling my brain, I shot out a text to my critique partner turned writing buddy. We went back and forth for more than an hour as I rattled on about my ideas and the concepts for the story. In the end, she did what she always does and listened, gave a little input, and Web of Echoes was born. Only there was one last problem.
Web of Echoes, though it had a romantic relationship as a very minor subplot, was NOT a romantic suspense. It didn’t fall under anything that my readers expected from an RM Alexander novel, and that could be a problem. So back to texts with my friend, and she agreed there could potentially be a marketing issue. After some more back and forth, we came up with the new pen name, Melody Ash which would be used for any project not focused on romance. Just like that, all the bases were covered, and the project began.
And that pretty much covers how both Web of Echoes and Melody Ash were born. It’s been an awesome adventure, and I hope it’s one you enjoy as much as I do.
Always and Happy Reading,
Melody Ash
My first attempt at writing came at ten years old while, during a sleepover, I tried writing a ghost story. In sixth grade, I entered my school’s writing contest, and in college, my writing professor allowed me to work on a novel instead of following the curriculum.
But at the time, writing was only a hobby I enjoyed. I picked it up, put it down, sometimes for months or years at a time, but I didn’t think of it as a career. Instead, I majored in communications with the goal of a career in journalism. After a couple of years, I changed course and entered the travel industry. Travel had always been another love, especially to Walt Disney World, and the choice seemed the perfect fit. I opened my own travel agency and grew it from the ground up until the Great Recession of 2008 rolled in, along with the blessing of my first child.
With her birth, I left behind the office career and finally admitted what I already knew – I wanted to spend my life creating on paper what played in my head. A series that had already been haunting my dreams for months that I knew would be my first attempt to break into the publishing world.
After releasing romantic suspense under the pen name, RM Alexander, Caitlin Benoit started whispering in my ear and her story started forming. My passion for adventure and travel bled onto the pages as Caitlin was launched into the adventure of a lifetime. But because the story wasn’t focused on romance, I knew I needed a new pen name that would be focused more on UF / Sci-Fi, and Melody Ash was born.
As a complex PTSD and trauma survivor, I often write characters who often face the worse circumstances and must search for their inner strength. It is my hope readers not only connect with the characters and stories but also are encouraged, as they read the last word, that their real-world problems can be overcome.
Outside my writing world, I spend my time with my husband, two children, and Pomsky (who you’ll likely find posted on my social media) in Indiana. I still love to travel and am addicted to orange juice, Ghirardelli chocolate, and adventure.
You can visit Melody’s website at www.melodyash.com and connect with her on Facebook and Tik Tok.
Caitlin Benoit assumed the next destination would be her time, her world. Instead, the stone thrusts her further into the past and onto a different continent.
Now in 1831 England, she’s discovered by William, the Duke of Lancaster. By sheer luck, he’s willing to allow her into his manor. While she fights to gain a footing in this new time, Caitlin discovers the stone also ripped John from Charleston.
Everything she thought she knew about how the stone worked is false, and neither John nor her understand how to escape the grip of the past. As they work to uncover the mystery of the stone, an acquaintance of the Duke plots an intricate scheme certain to destroy them all. She and John must solve the puzzle in an unknown amount of time or risk getting stuck—or buried—in 1831.
Book Information
Release Date: March 3, 2020
Publisher: Independent
Soft Cover: ISBN:979-8619635171; 301 pages; $9.29; eBook $4.99
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3IQZteU
No comments:
Post a Comment