Melissa is a curly girlie after my own heart. We both love chick lit and she’s written a lot of it. Now Melissa’s new women’s fiction book tackles a topic we can all relate to (family drama and secrets; skeletons, anyone?) and it’s a book ripe for book clubs! See the reading guide link below. Melissa thanks for visiting with the Babes today.
If Oprah invited you on her show to talk about your book, what would the theme of that show be?
A: I really and truly almost made it on the Oprah show back in 2001 with my debut, See Jane Date. (The theme was Generation X vs. Baby Boomers, but my taped segment ended up on the cutting room floor.) The theme of the Oprah show about The Secret of Joy would be an Oprah classic: What makes a family? If a half-sister you never met, never knew existed, came knocking on your one day, are you family just because DNA says so? Does the word family, the word sister mean something in and of themselves? Oprah, this is so your show—call me! It’s funny that my sometimes motto is: if it can happen once, it can happen again, but in this case, I think I’ll be waiting forever. ☺
Ooh. So close, Melissa! On the bright side – look at you! – you’ve got a career despite not having appeared on her show! So, what was the most fun scene in your book to write? The most difficult?
A: I loved writing the first scene on the “love bus,” when Rebecca joins the quirky singles tour of Portland, Maine, that her half-sister Joy conducts from her orange mini bus. There are some characters on that tour. The most difficult was the opening scene, when Rebecca’s dying father confesses his secret: that he had an affair twenty-six years ago and turned his back on the resulting baby. Very emotional for me.
I can imagine. A relative of mine found out a secret about her parents after they both died and she felt betrayed for a long time. Do you have a muse, good luck charm, writing vice?
A: A little photograph of my then four-year-old son, hanging from the monkey bars with a comical little grin of pure happiness. It’s my favorite picture. Also: lots of Coke Zero, which tastes amazingly like regular Coke. Tootsie Rolls. And I’ll read a page or two from a novel I love, which is pure inspiration for me.
My 4 year-old would fight you for those Tootsie Rolls. What do you write on (type of computer, or notebook, etc.) and where do you write?
A: I use an old but beloved tiny Mac Powerbook. Something less daunting to me about writing an entire novel on a little screen.
Let’s pause briefly for a moment of silence for my black Macbook which died last year after my 4 year old sent it crashing to the ground. Okay, I’m better now. No, I’m not. Hold on while I go get some wine. Okay, back. Where were you? Oh, yeah, you have a Mac Powerbook and I don’t. Let’s move on. Have you had a “rock star” moment regarding your writing career? If so, what was it?
A: My debut novel, See Jane Date, brought a few rock star moments my lucky way. There was the almost-Oprah moment, and See Jane Date was made into a TV movie (I can still barely believe it happened) for ABC Family. And ridiculously fun: this is a question in the “written word” category in the 20th Anniversary Edition of Trivial Pursuit: What 2001 Melissa Senate title attempts to lure young female readers to romance novels by hearkening back to Dick and Jane? A: See Jane Date. That was unexpected.
What do you do to celebrate your writing successes?
A: My favorite way to celebrate selling a new book and seeing it in stores for the first time is to write. Seriously, the utter happiness inspires me because it reminds me (especially when I’m feeling low, low, low) that I can do it.
Describe your personality with five adjectives that would make your 5th grade English teacher proud.
Extroverted-introvert (she would be pleased by the paradoxical nature of the combination), benevolent, compassionate, unconventional, optimistic.
Some of my favorite adjectives in a person! Hurrah, Melissa and best of luck to you on the new novel.
Introducing THE SECRET OF JOY (Simon & Schuster trade paperback, $15.00) by Melissa Senate, the “warm, winning” new novel from the bestselling author of See Jane Date and Love You To Death.
Amazon Link: http://www.amazon.com/Secret-Joy-Melissa-Senate/dp/1439107173/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1258292510&sr=8-1
What would you do if you discovered you had a half-sister you never knew existed?
28-year-old New Yorker Rebecca Strand is shocked when her dying father confesses a devastating secret: he had affair when Rebecca was a toddler—and a baby he turned his back on at birth. Now, his wish is that the daughter he abandoned, Joy Joyhawk, read the unsent letters he wrote to her every year on her birthday. Determined to fulfill her father’s wish, Rebecca drives to a small town in Maine—against the advice of her lawyer boyfriend who’s sure Joy will be a “disappointing, trashy opportunist” and demand half her father’s fortune. But when hopeful Rebecca knocks on her half-sister’s door, Joy—a separated mother who conducts weekend singles tours out of her orange mini-bus—wants nothing to do with Rebecca or the letters her father wrote to her. Determined to forge some kind of relationship with Joy, Rebecca sticks around, finding unexpected support from Joy’s best clients—the Divorced Ladies Club of Wiscasset—and a sexy carpenter named Theo . . . .
The Secret of Joy is a Simon & Schuster Book Club Pick! For more information, check out the Reading Group Guide:
http://books.simonandschuster.com/Secret-of-Joy/Melissa-Senate/9781439107171/reading_group_guide
Praise:
“The Secret of Joy by Melissa Senate opened my heart, made me laugh, cry, and smile all at the same time. A don’t-miss read!” –New York Times bestselling author Carly Phillips
“The Secret of Joy is a warm hug of a book. Insightful, wise, and romantic, it’s as inviting as the small-town life it depicts.” –Claire LaZebnik
“A wonderfully heartfelt story about hope, possibilities and the yearning for real connections. Senate’s latest will take you on a much needed vacation, while sneaking vital life lessons in when you’re not looking.” –Caprice Crane
Author’s Bio:
Melissa Senate lives on the coast of Maine with her son and their menagerie of pets. She’s the author of eight novels (seven women’s fiction and one young adult) with two on the way. Visit her website (http://www.melissasenate.com) for more information and she’d love if you became her friend Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/MelissaSenate) and followed her on Twitter (http://twitter.com/melissasenate).
Readers, tell me what you think the SECRET OF JOY is in your own life with a comment below and one random commenter will win this PhiloSophie’s magnet set. The bottom quote reads “All I need in life I carry in a cute handbag.”