Melsa M. Manton grew up roaming the mountains of Western North Carolina. An early education of Aliens, Predator, Terminator, and Stephen King led to a love of science fiction and she began writing as soon as her fine motor skills allowed.
She studied International Affairs in Washington D.C. with the intention of diving into the political realm, but ended up diving into the ocean instead. An avid scuba diver, she spent seven summers sailing and teaching diving worldwide. For the next ten years, the wanderlust took her all over the world, from Russia to Tasmania, with many places in between, and eventually set her on a path of holistic medicine. She runs Blue Desert Hale, a center for well-being, in the mountains of New Mexico.
Her life path has morphed considerably over the years, but there is one thing she has done consistently through it all. To write is to live.
Melsa’s personal motto: DREAM BIG OR DIE.
Melsa, thank you for joining us here on A Writer’s Block. In addition to your bio above, tell us a little more about yourself.
Melsa: Writing has always been my creative outlet, in one way or another. I spent my twenties traveling and scuba diving the world, my thirties running a retreat center in the high desert of New Mexico, and the theme of my forties is writing, really focusing on embodying the journey from writer to author.
I’m a big proponent of diversification, so I also own four rental properties, practice bodywork, host classes for teachers of alternative medicine, and have two kids. I stay busy.
Sci-fi/fantasy is my main genre(s), however, the thriller aspect came out strongest in my first series: Gemination. I’ve published the first two out of this six-book series (Hear No More and See No More), with the third (Speak No More) coming out fall of 2024.
When did you first think to yourself, “I want to be a writer”?
Melsa: It was one of those “spare time” ideas. Like, when you’re eight and you want to be an astronaut and the lead guitarist in a band and own a candy shop, and you’ll have horses and write books in your “spare time.”
What drew you to sci-fi and fantasy? What writers and books were your greatest influences?
Melsa: I grew up watching sci-fi and horror movies with my father from a fairly early age (much earlier than most). That probably had a bigger impact on me than books honestly. I was obsessed with the Alien, Terminator, and Predator movies in particular. When I got into books, it was the Lord of the Rings Trilogy that dominated my life for a while. And then I found Stephen King. Enough said.
Tell us about your journey to your first book being published? How long did it take you to write it? What avenues did you pursue to publication?
Melsa: I started writing my first book when I was around eight, but it wasn’t until I had my first child at age thirty-one that I really started to write it. Time isn’t actually valuable until it’s limited.
When I finished it, I thought, “Well, why not try to get in published? It won’t change anything if it doesn’t happen.” I queried lots of agents with one really promising response (an exclusive request for the full manuscript with info on my next three projects), who then disappeared into the ether.
Then a friend turned me on to the hybrid world. It took me four years to find a publisher and another four years after that for the book to come out. Only thirty-two years from start to finish!
HEAR NO MORE: Gemination, Book 1
Big Brother is watching, but he’s quite the elusive doppelgänger, and he’s not the only one watching.
Leyla Stone serves the world as International 911, stopping injustices before the public is aware of them. The Sedition Underground is her home, but when she unwittingly takes part in an unauthorized assignment, her home becomes hostile territory.
How do you find readers for your books?
Melsa: Still working on it. I know social media is the supreme being, but it’s not my jam. I’m trying to adapt.
What’s your favorite part of the writing process?
Melsa: The creation phase, especially when I solve a plot hole.
Least favorite?
Melsa: I love every detail of the writing process. What I don’t like is talking about it or broadcasting it. That’s why we write! We’re introverts at heart.
Do you think of a character first then learn the story? Or do you dream up a story or plot first then develop your lead character?
Melsa: The characters appear first, kind of a like a movie, and then I just follow them around and write down what they do. They take on a complete life of their own and often surprise me. Like, “Wait, I thought he was the good guy. He’s actually evil!”
Do you start with a theme, or a message or point-of-view you want to get across in your writing?
Melsa: At best, fiction is a vehicle for social progress. Each of my books and series have an underlying theme, a message for humanity.
Plotter or pantser? Do you outline your story before you begin writing and know in advance how it all comes out? Or do you just start writing and see where it leads?
Melsa: Pantser 100 percent, though I know exactly how each story starts and ends.
Tell us about your most recent book, See No More, Gemination Book 2.
Melsa: This is the second book in a six-books series. Gemination is a futuristic espionage thriller, heavy on the psychological thriller aspect. A three-way war between two top-level organizations and their collective defectives. The main character on the side of the defectives really starts to fight the battle within, while having to carry on the battle outside.
What do you do when you come face to face with your own psyche?
And it’s not one you recognize.
The Sedition is crumbling and The Faction is growing stronger, but there’s a chance that Stone can stop it. There’s a chance that equilibrium and order can be restored. Good, old-fashioned demolition-as-distraction becomes the strategy, in hopes of goading The Faction into making a mistake. Into revealing their eminence grise.
As defectives from both sides join Stone and nanotechnology renders privacy obsolete, the future becomes uncertain, sparking the volatile component of her psyche and threatening what remains of her sanity.
But the Faction is hunting Stone for more than just retaliation—they want her mind.
What’s your next project? Do you have a work-in-progress?
Melsa: Fiction: My second series is an urban fantasy trilogy. I wrote Book I long ago, before I published my current series. The Lore of Wings is about the true history of humanity, how we came to earth and what we’re really doing here.
Non-Fiction: With the rise of America’s Next Top Shaman (no, it’s not a reality TV show, but wait for it), I am co-authoring a book that unmasks the hypocrisy of alternative medicine and equips people with tools to find an excellent practitioner.
To be clear, I am a huge proponent of alternative medicine, but having worked in an administrative capacity as well, I’ve watched the “spiritual epidemic” in the west get out of control and have seen many people hurt by charlatans chasing money.
Health and wellness has become a fad, often to the detriment of those it claims to “help.”
Any advice or tips to aspiring or up-and-coming authors?
Melsa: Never give up, never surrender. Don’t get discouraged. Refine, refine, refine. Hone your craft.
How many books do you have planned?
Thirty-six total. Three of thirty-six coming out this Fall 2024.
Melsa, thanks so much for sharing your thoughts and words with us today, and best of success with this fascinating Gemination series.
For more information on how to find Melsa Manton and her books, see below.
GEMINATION: Speak No More
RELEASE DATE: FALL 2024
What happens when you come face to face with yourself, only… it’s not you?
Stone’s subconscious is stirring, growing impatient. Though her maker is dead, another is rising to take his place. Leyla Stone may have left the Sedition, but the experiments are far from over.