Author Talk with Mel N. Choly

Hi! A.C. here, and we at The Writer’s Block are so excited about our first Author Talk! Today, we have Mel N. Choly hanging out with us. She is the co-author of The Orion trilogy, to be published soon, and is working on numerous personal projects.


1. Mel, can you tell us why you started writing? What motivated you? Why do you love it?

What began my sad existence as a writer? I write so everyone can have the joy of reading how I think. My motivation is to give people a world where they can lose themselves in a totally unreal existence. And I love it because I’m an artist. It’s just what I do. I’m a very specific artist, also.  


2. What are you currently working on?

As you said, I am working on The Orion. Also a dreadful book which drains my creativity like a leech, The Tower Series: Isles of Ruin. Then of course my beloved book, Chasing Shadows: Fear Strong, which is perhaps to become a series of its own. And against popular belief, The Tower Series is not a... ahem.... ‘rip off’ of Lord of The Rings. Do not listen to the deceitful demi-demons that plague the author world with their lies and smelly breath. 


3. What do you struggle with as a writer?

Unruly characters. Many of my most loved have pasts that make me—the author—shudder straight out of my pants. Because of this, they tend to be a bit... rebellious. On example: I was writing a perfectly fine book one day when one unperfectly fine character said something he wasn’t supposed to and the strings of fate and destiny were torn cruelly from their original perch and left to hang in empty air. One might say, “why not just delete what the character said?” but to be frank, what he said was quite genius and a witty come back to be envied. So it was worth bloody sweat and the long days it took me to slowly retie those strings and recreate my book in a totally new sort of way. 


4. Some watch movies, read books, or look through magazines. What are your main forms of motivation and inspiration?

First of all, magazines are nothing but pictures of vomit-worthy gossip about the latest nutty soul that decided to lick a barbie doll to it’s untimely death (that’s a long story about a woman. I’m not going to point any fingers but I’ll give you a hint... MILEY CIRUS.). 
In conclusion, I prefer to to read other books that are like my own.


5. Can you tell us what it was like to co-author a book? Was it difficult? Were there any slappy fights between you and your co-author?

Anastasia, my dear friend, has a one track mind. Once she has an idea, she has to have it in the book. I suppose it doesn’t matter much to me, but when it comes to humiliating one of my dear little characters, it may come to momentary blows. Then we make up over a cup of tea and some chocolate. After that, we play some polo, read a bit of poetry, procrastinate a little more, then we might go back to writing a month later.


6. You mentioned you were working on The Tower Series. Can you tell us more about your upcoming series?

The Tower Series is an extremely complicated book, but I will try to communicate some understanding. 
In an island named Saquraphine, there are seven ancient rings forged long ago for the protection of the land. When a dark, magical fog invades the land, poisoning the soil and sea, the rings come in handy once again to lock up this powerful creature in a tower, so long as the bearers of the rings keep the rings on.
thousands of years later, the story begins with a twelve year old boy names Jec, living with his adopter and teacher, Thymas, in a little library. One fateful night, Jec believes he’s found one of the ancient rings that Thymas has told him so much about. But if no one is wearing it, and the strange, mystical history of Saquraphine is true... The magical fog’s tower  must be weakening, and the creature inside has had years to plan a perfect escape. So it is poised, ready to strike, but it has to wait for the perfect moment, when its prison has weakened enough for it to emerge. No one knows when that moment may be, so Jec is forced into a crazy adventure with eight unlikely friends, two unearthly stalkers, and one very powerful villain.

I hope this makes sense.


7. Finally, Mel, we come to the biggest question of all. Why are you so melancholy?

Some people believe that, when given a name, that person is destined to live out it’s meaning. Mel means ‘Dark Beauty’ and while I sustain belief on the beauty part, I believe the dark part is quite true. I suppose living with such a terrible childhood may have helped a little, but I don’t know the exact reason. Or maybe I do, but I won’t tell you.