Welcome to romantic suspense author Melanie Atkins and congratulations on your February release 

of Valentine Vendetta. 

Let’s meet and greet Melanie before we talk about your books.

You write both paranormal and romantic suspense. Do you enjoy one more than the other, or is one 

easier to get into than the other?

So far, I’ve only written one paranormal, Truth or Dare.  I lean more toward regular romantic suspense.

I see in your bio that you wrote stories about your cats. As a cat person myself I’m wondering if we 

will see some of those stories in print? 

My mother wants me to write them, but no…I don’t plan to put them down on paper at this point.  Although I do 

have cats in some of my books.

And how do your furry felines help you write today?

My older cat, Flip, sits on my armrest while I write and gives me moral support, while Widget keeps me entertained 

with her crazy antics.

When did you first catch the writing bug and when did you know you had what it takes to get 

published?

I’ve always like to write—and was the only person I knew in school who actually enjoyed writing term papers.  

I quit writing after college when I got married, and then picked it up again after my divorce eleven years later.  I’ve 

became serious about it in 1999, and concentrated on learning all I could about craft, the industry, and today’s 

market.

Do you outline your stories before you write them, or do you "go with the flow"?

I used to just go with the flow, but since I’ve been selling on synopsis, that has changed.  I come up with a general 

premise, develop my characters, brainstorm my plot, and then write the synopsis.  That way, when I start writing, 

I know exactly where I’m going.  Some things may change along the way, but usually not anything major. 

Your most recent release is VALENTINE VENDETTA, a fun Valentine’s story that can be enjoyed any 

time of year. I think if a lot of us thought about it, we wouldn’t mind being ensconced at a romantic 

ski lodge with a hunky body guard. You add a great twist with Marc being Nikki’s high school nemesis.  Where did the idea come from? 

A boy in my neighborhood who used to get picked on all the time because he was the youngest in our “pack” of 

kids who used to play together.  After he grew up, he sought revenge on a few people…and let’s just say, payback 

was hell.  I was just glad I wasn’t one of them!  

Was there a friend in your childhood you wouldn’t mind a “do over” with?

Sure, if I could only see him sometimes.  He now lives in another state. 

Nikki is a steamy romance author, is there maybe a bit of Melanie in Nikki? 

Possibly.  I usually don’t write quite that steamy, but there’s a first time for everything.  And I do enjoy soaking in 

a bubbling hot tub with a glass of champagne in my hand.

Tell me Slade, from PRIME SUSPECT, is based on a real man! He is one of the hottest male characters 

I have read in a long time. What was it like bringing him to life on the pages of Prime Suspect?

Wow.  I love Slade, and I pretty much “channeled” him as I wrote Prime Suspect.  And no, he’s not based on 

anybody I know.  He’s purely a figment of my imagination—one I wish I could actually bring to life!  

Where did you get the idea for PRIME SUSPECT?

From watching TV.  I watch a lot of crime dramas in which the Assistant District Attorneys take the forefront in 

prosecuting crimes, and I started wondering what would happen if one of them were accused of murder.  The story 

grew from there.

Was there anyone in particular who helped you research that incredibly good suspect?

A friend of mine made a trip to New Orleans with me so I could take pictures and re-acquaint myself with the city, 

since I hadn’t been there in a while.  I did a lot of other research on the Internet and called various law enforcement 

agencies for information.

CHOSEN TARGET starts off VERY creepy. It’s that TV movie creepy where you are screaming at the 

main character “Don’t do it! Don’t get in that car!”  It borders just on this side of gothic. In 

HAUNTED MEMORIES you write in what was for me, a complete gothic mode even though it takes 

place in the present. Do you see yourself writing a true gothic piece?

I’ve always wanted to do that, but I just can’t seem to shake the contemporary feel.  Probably because I watch so 

many crime shows.  

CHOSEN TARGET is Cole’s, Slade’s boss from PRIME SUSPECT, story. He’s got some issues, did he 

have them when you first started to write the story or did they come as you went along?

He already had them.  I thoroughly develop my characters before I ever start writing.  Sometimes they still surprise 

me, but Cole and his issues about his brother came to me pretty much whole cloth.

You have tie-ins to Katrina and the Iraq war in the story. Was there a reason you went in that 

direction? 

I live in Mississippi and wanted to be as factual as possible about the hurricane, which devastated our state and south

 Louisiana, including New Orleans, because I know so many people affected by it.  The book was scheduled to come 

out after Katrina, so I incorporated the storm’s devastation into the plot on a rewrite.  As for the war, it went along 

with Cole’s character for him to be in the National Guard, and since many of those soldiers from my state have pulled 

more than one stint in Iraq, I thought it appropriate for him to have gone.  Again, I was trying to make my story as 

real as possible.

Cole or Slade—who would you rather have in your personal life?

That’s a toss up.  I love both those characters.  Don’t make me pick!

HAUNTED MEMORIES is VERY creepy. Even when the reader sees what is going on, there is still that 

“sleep with the lights on and a club by the bed” feeling. What was it like for you writing it?

I had a blast writing that book.  The house in my head as I typed was one my great aunt owned (which is still in my 

family), although the real one only had one story.  It was built in the 1920’s and had a creepy old well out back, 

a root cellar, and lots of spooky nooks and crannies.  I used to spend the night there occasionally, and I was always 

scared to death!

We meet J.T. in CHERISHED WITNESS. Did you know when you started his character you were going 

to give him a story? How did his story evolve?

J.T.’s story was actually Cherished Witness, the first book in my series, and the rest of the books grew from there.  

J.T. was Slade’s former partner at NOPD, and once I met him, I knew he had to have his own book.  Prime Suspect, 

his story, is the second in the series. All at once, I had a series going.  

I know this is probably an unfair question, but I’m going to ask it anyway. Of the whole New Orleans 

Police books, which is your favorite?

So far, Unwilling Accomplice, which will be released this fall.  Joe Riso makes one hell of a flawed, sexy cop hero.  

TRUTH OR DARE is your contribution to the Curse of the Midnight Star series and has an amazing 

cover. Where did the idea come from?

My publisher, Kristi Studts.  The Curse of the Midnight Star continuity series is her baby, and she designed all the 

covers for maximum impact.

What was it like writing that series compared to your police/suspense?

Extremely hard.  I don’t normally gravitate toward paranormal anything…so I really had to work at it.

VALENTINE VENDETTA is pretty short compared to your New Orleans series. Was it harder or easier 

to write short?

It’s hard for me to write short.  My plan for the story was for it to be a regular short story, but it quickly morphed 

into a short novella.

Lifetime has just come to you to make the New Orleans series into a movie of the week. Who do you 

cast in which roles and why?

Wow.  Now, that would be a dream come true!  I’d have to think about that for a really long time, because I have 

so many characters in that series and I don’t know the names of many actors and actresses.  But I do know that all 

the men would be tall, dark, and handsome, and the women would be gritty and determined!  

Do you have anything to add that I might have missed, like I don’t know, do you have a favorite 

review site?  Just kidding.  Please, what else can you tell us?

My first romantic thriller, Blood Rite, will be released in e-book format in March and in mass market print format 

in May.  Detective Nick Marconi, my hero in that book, is my favorite hero ever. 

Blurb:  Women who have dated New Orleans Police Department detective Nick Marconi are dying.  Haunted by the 

deaths of his sisters and partner, Nick is consumed with solving these brutal crimes.  He's walking a tightrope of 

control.  The only person who can help him is psychiatrist Gracie Simmons, whose bad-cop father is behind bars.  

Determined to see Nick as a man and not a cop, Gracie makes him her special project...which puts her at the top 

of the murderer's hit list.  For protection, she must turn to Nick.  Will he get to her in time?  

Anything you are working on now you can share with us?

I’m working on the sixth book in my series, tentatively titled Perfect Partner.  It is as yet unsold, but I have 

submitted it and hope to hear something soon.  Here’s the blurb:

Detective Abby Newman is stunned when ballistic evidence linked to a cold case disappears and higher ups in the 

department sweep it under the rug. Then she receives a death threat, and turns to the one man she knows she can 

trust, her estranged husband, FBI Special Agent Luke Spencer, who refuses to sign their divorce papers. Luke 

agrees to help her once he learns she’s found a link to the man who killed his parents twenty-four years before. 

But can they solve the crime before the murderer finds Abby?

Thank you so much for taking the time out of your busy writing schedule to chat with us.  We look 

forward to reading more of your magical stories some time soon.