BookWire - Meet The Author - Melanie Jackson

Melanie Jackson is a fourth generation Californian who lives in Silicon Valley with her husband and a pet cat. She is a member of the Clan Gregor Society of Scotland, the McAdams Historical Society, and is the co-founder of CYBER CLAN, the Internet home for tech-inclined clanfolk. She is a connoisseur of poetic doggerel and an enthusiastic gardener.

Neela Sakaria: Tell our readers a little bit about your book, AMARANTHA. What inspired you to write it?

Melanie Jackson: Amarantha is a stand-alone story, but also the third of a trilogy of books that looks at the aftermath of the second Jacobite Rebellion. The first book, IONA, deals with a rebel who chose to remain in Scotland and attempt the rebuilding of her clan under English occupation. MANON is about a spy who went to London to carry out a last mission for the doomed cause. Amarantha looks at a soldier who has become a man of God and sworn to war no more, but who can still not abandon his compatriots and has chosen to help by running what we in the states later called an underground railroad. He has made arrangements with the smugglers of Cornwall to carry hunted
patriots over the channel to safety in France.

NS: In what ways do you think it is different from NIGHT VISITOR?

MJ: NIGHT VISITOR is a time-travel fantasy though it is based around an actual historic event (the execution of the Piper of Duntrune). It has a ghost and fairies, and deals with the war in Scotland that broke out because of the division of loyalties to the unhappy and doomed Charles I. A century of religious strife separates these two stories, as well geographic locale. For those who enjoyed this book, there are a couple more paranormals coming. DOMINION (a story of reincarnation) will be out sometime in the second half of 2002, and THE SILKIE (about the sealmen of Scotland) will hopefully be out early in 2003.

NS: What do you think accounts for your fascination with 18th century England and Scotland?

MJ: That's easy-- family history. My love of things Celtic came in with mother's milk. Also, I like to write about places and eras not too far removed from our twentieth century perceptions of the world. If one goes too far back in time it becomes difficult to explain the very different views of culture and religion that existed without giving a complete history lesson. Right now I am working on a story set in the 16th century and am finding that a rough period to translate into modern terms.

Until the tragedy of 9-11, most of us had no firsthand experience with the sort of religious fanaticism rampant in this era. Many wouldn't have believed in their heart of hearts that there was actually a time when people-- and governments-- routinely murdered whole races of people over differences of religion.

NS: Tell us about Amarantha's character -- what was your motivation/inspiration in developing her? What do you like most about her? What is her biggest fault?

MJ: Amarantha is in crisis. Most of my heroines are at some sort of crossroads in their life when the books begin. In Amarantha's case she has been orphaned and lost the man she thought she loved to the Jacobite rebellion. Her anger at this political cause and her dead fiancé, who left her to follow Bonnie Charlie after making an enraging I-could-not-love-dear-so-much-loved-I-not-honor-more speech, is part of what she must work her way through before she can find peace.

She has also become a great heiress and is being pursued by fortune-hunters. Left suddenly on her own, she is seeing London society and its hypocrisy for the first time without a parental filter. Unable to cope with so much change all at once, she decided to retreat to her folklorist uncle's home in Cornwall and take a little time to discover what she actually believes, minus the societal expectations of London's avaricious upper-class. Once in Cornwall she stumbles into the hero's activities on behalf of The Cause and becomes reluctantly involved in aiding escaping rebels. As to what I like most about her -- that would have to be her unflinching courage in evaluating all the tenets of faith and life that she had been raised with, and discarding those that were no longer of use to her emotionally and spiritually. Her biggest fault was a common one; an inability to trust in love when it was finally offered to her.

Neela: What is it like being labeled as a writer of romance novels? Do you mind being categorized? Is there any sort of stigma associated with it?

MJ: There are stigmas attached to this title, but not by the genre's readers. The sometimes unpleasant remarks and strange questions usually come from people that don't read in the genre, or have perhaps tried one book, and not understanding the subtext of the language or the symbology used in the stories, have decided that all romances are either rank foolishness or "female porn". Since I know that this is not true, I have no problem with being a romance writer. But I have to admit that I would prefer to be thought of as a writer and not as a writer of only one genre (especially as I also write mysteries and am trying to crack that market as we speak). It would probably also please my male readers if the books were labeled as something other than romance, though it hasn't stopped them from reading them and writing to me. About 25% of my mail comes from male readers, and it is a pleasure hearing from them because they bring an entirely different view of the world with them.

MJ: Cyber Clan is an on-line fraternity of Scottish diaspora -- particularly from Clan Gregor. Thanks to the wonders of the internet, distant kinsman from all over the world can get together and "chat". The website at www.employees.org/~mcgregor/ has a lot of historical and cultural information about ancient Scotland.

MJ: Yes, writing is part of the routine. It's my job and it gets the same time that I would devote to any career. I used to begin by writing very early in the morning, but have slipped my hours to later in the night. This allows to get out during the day. It is also wonderfully quiet in the evening and I'm not often interrupted by the telephone (instrument of Satan).

MJ: Some people may be hesitant to try a romance because of it being labeled as some sort of sexual step-child of "women's fiction". In some cases, since the designation of "romance" covers so many genres, this may even be a deserved brand. But as with every genre, there is probably some author who will speak to you. The trick is finding the right one. Most of the big names in the field write in more than one genre. Finding some of their work in mysteries, fantasy, science fiction or mainstream fiction may be a way for you to ease into this strange, new world. There are also many books out there dressed up as something else but that are romances at heart. You may -- oh gasp! -- have already read one all unbeknownst.

As to whether my stories are your potential cup of tea ... my books are rich in histrorical detail. They aren't modern tales with characters dressed up in costumes and acting out roles on a well-lit stage. You are going to feel the loss of modern conveniences. The books aren't erotica (though there is some sexual content). And they tend to be fun without being fluffy. My editor -- and many blessings upon him! -- has not asked me to compromise on exploring the intelligence of the characters and the complicated situations they find themselves in. Rather than forcing me to use last year's bestseller blueprint he has let me write my cultural collisions as I see fit. I think this makes him -- and my publisher -- very brave. It is, after all, so much safer to follow a trend than to attempt to set one.

If you have a love of things Celtic and like to wander through a living portrait of the past, then come by my website and read some excerpts. It may help you decide if I am the right storyteller for your next mental vacation. And please do write to me with questions you may have about the worlds in these books, or with thoughts or observations about the characters and plots (melaniejaxn@hotmail.com or P.O. Box 4792, Sonora, CA 95370 or leave a message in my guestbook at www.karenafox.com/melaniejackson/ ).