AAD Author Spotlight: Interview with Melanie Card

Please join me in welcoming author Melanie Card to the blog today as part of my Authors After Dark Spotlight series.



Twenty-year-old Ward de’Ath expected this to be a simple job—bring a nobleman’s daughter back from the dead for fifteen minutes, let her family say good-bye, and launch his fledgling career as a necromancer. Goddess knows he can’t be a surgeon—the Quayestri already branded him a criminal for trying—so bringing people back from the dead it is.
But when Ward wakes the beautiful Celia Carlyle, he gets more than he bargained for. Insistent that she’s been murdered, Celia begs Ward to keep her alive and help her find justice. By the time she drags him out her bedroom window and into the sewers, Ward can’t bring himself to break his damned physician’s Oath and desert her.
However, nothing is as it seems—including Celia. One second, she’s treating Ward like sewage, the next she’s kissing him. And for a nobleman’s daughter, she sure has a lot of enemies. If he could just convince his heart to give up on the infuriating beauty, he might get out of this alive… ~ goodreads | Amazon: Ward Against Death (Chronicles of a Reluctant Necromancer, #1)

Thanks for being here today Melanie!

Describe yourself Twitter style - 140 characters. YA Fantasy author who writes about dark magic, adventure, & romance. Also a cat lover addicted to chocolate and coffee.

Use the same format to describe your writing or your latest book. Ward Against Death: a reluctant necromancer who’s tricked into helping an undead assassin solve her murder.

Do you have any superstitions or rituals that you follow before writing? I try to stick to as regular as schedule as I can, so I suppose to you can call it a ritual. I make sure I get up with my hubby—when he goes to work, so do I. I always make a cup of coffee (sometimes two) and I don’t open my email until after 11am. Some days I can do it, some days I can’t, but I find I can get into a rhythm with whatever book I’m working on if I can stick with that schedule.

Do you have a favorite snack that you need to have around? I’m not much of snacker, but I always have a coffee or tea with me—particularly in the winter. I like warm hands when I’m writing, and I really like warm hands when I’m thinking. I find hugging my cup between my palms relaxing and can help me figure out motivation and plot problems when I’m stuck.

What are you most looking forward to at AAD in August? I can’t wait to meet everyone. I’m new to conferences (I’ve only done one other small, writer-focused conference) and think an intimate small conference like AAD would be perfect for me.

Is there a book you've recently read that you would tell everyone to go out and buy right NOW! Well I read a mix of YA and adult (and am crazy behind on my to be read pile). I recently finished Stacey Kennedy’s Supernaturally Kissed and would highly recommend it for those who love fast paced read with super hot, steamy chemistry between the hero and heroine. And for the YA reader (which also has hot but no graphically steamy chemistry) is Jennifer L. Armentrout’s Obsidian.

Karen here: Melanie is a new to me author. I’m discovering quite a few because of these spotlights. I was excited to discover that Ward Against Death is told in alternating pov’s with both Ward and Celia. It's rare enough to have a male pov but even rarer in UF/paranormal. I just downloaded the book and hope to review it soon.




About Melanie Card:

Melanie has always been drawn to storytelling and can't remember a time when she wasn’t creating a story in her head. Her early stories were adventures with fairies and dragons and sword swinging princesses.
Today she continues to spin tales of magic in lands near and far, while her cat sits on the edge of her desk and supervises. When she’s not writing, you can find her pretending to be other people with her local community theatre groups.

Connect with Melanie:
Facebook / Twitter / goodreads / Melanie Card.com