Melissa Hope is passionate about helping writers improve their craft and connect with the writing community. She escaped the frostbite normalcy of Canadian winters to live in Florida with her family, bipolar cat, and growing collection of scuba gear. You can visit her website to watch free writing tutorials.
We chat with middle grade author Melissa Hope about her debut novel Sea of Kings, writing, book recommendations, and more!
Hi, Melissa! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?
Hello, hello, hello! Thank you for having me. I’m a debut author of the action-packed middle-grade, Sea of Kings. Always a Canadian at heart, I have since moved South to Florida to be next to–you guessed it–the sea! I love to travel and I’m down for any adventure so long as I can sleep in a comfortable bed at night.
How is your 2021 going in comparison to that other year?
It’s been wonderfully busy! Since the new year started, I’ve had a baby, moved into a new home, and now I’m launching my debut novel. I feel extremely blessed.
Quick lightning round! Tell us the first book you ever remember reading, the one that made you want to become an author, and one that you can’t stop thinking about?
Ah! Okay…okay…. the first novel I remember reading was The Boxcar Children, the one that made me want to become an author may have been Harry Potter, and the one I have never stopped thinking about was Ella Enchanted.
When did you first discover your love for writing?
What a good question! My love for writing began with poetry and journaling. I journaled all the time as a kid, and it really helped me become familiar with expressing my thoughts and developing my author voice, but I didn’t pursue writing books until college. As I kid, I wrote poems for my family and entered a few national contests and was published.
Your debut novel, Sea of Kings, is out April 27th! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?
Epic Brother Adventure –Buckle Up
What can readers expect?
Author Andrea Wang may have described it best when she said, “Sea of Kings starts off with a bang–or rather, a skull–and this compelling, fast-paced middle-grade adventure will keep you reading until the dramatic end.” You can expect to laugh out loud or grip the pages in terror, sometimes even on the same page, and maybe even melt a little in your heart.
Where did the inspiration for Sea of Kings come from?
My husband was tagging sharks in the Bahamas when he came up with the idea of island kingdoms. After sharing this with me, we wrote the first draft together and it just grew and grew from there! Our two royal brothers came quickly too, and I knew I wanted them to have a true swashbuckling adventure together.
Can you tell us about any challenges you faced while writing and how you were able to overcome them?
Oof, where to begin? Sea of Kings was my first completed novel, and I learned a lot about writing, publishing, and even developing productive writing habits during that time. My biggest challenge with Sea of Kings was probably with “Killing my darlings” as they say. I wrote the first draft before I knew anything about plot or character, so I needed massive edits, but I wasn’t prepared to give up all of the ideas I’d already written. It was a struggle at first to toss out the old to make room for the new.
If it’s not too spoilery, were there any favourite moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?
My favorite character to write is Dagan, or Dagan and Noa together. I love the sibling banter and the creative ways Dagan finds to cause trouble. Sometimes it’s so natural how they talk that it feels like they are writing themselves onto the paper!
What was the road to becoming a published author like for you?
It took about six years of writing and editing before Sea of Kings was picked up by Jolly Fish Press. At times, it was extremely disheartening, but even as I wrote other books, I knew I couldn’t give up on this one story. And I’m so grateful for Kelsy Thompson and Jolly Fish Press for taking a chance on me!
What’s the best and the worst writing advice you have received?
Worst: “Just self-publish.” There is nothing wrong with self-publishing, but if an author tells you they want to publish traditionally, don’t try to persuade them otherwise. If they fail, so be it, but let them go after what they want.
Best: That’s tricky…I’ve received so much great writing advice over the years… It’s probably the writing tips I’ve learned about plot structure. I think they should teach Save the Cat Writes a Novel by Jessica Brody in high school. I cannot believe how many years I spent not knowing the simple formula to all stories!
What’s next for you?
I’m working on a few new projects, a middle grade, and several picture books, but I’m mostly keeping it slow and just enjoying this moment!
Lastly, do you have any book recommendations for our readers?
There are so many great books coming out. A recent one I loved was “Alone” by Megan Freeman. This list has several amazing MG and YA books releasing in 2021 and it’s worth a look!
