A Book and a Chat with Melissa Foster

My guest on today’s “A Book and a Chat” despite her love of reading and the written word, waited until all of her six children were at school, before starting to make her own way in the world on books. Now with two award winning books already receiving rave reviews around the blogosphere a third book and the way and several others in the pipeline, let alone options for films, in the case of Melissa Foster, this wait has been well worthwhile.

During the show Melissa shared with us, how her first published book “Megan’s Way” came about, also the fact it was actually written second and the equally well received “Chasing Amanda” was originally written under the title “The Knowing” was really her first written piece.

The seedling for Megan's Way came from an actual event that happened wth her mother, years ago, and the inspiration from the friendships came from a group of women that she grew up with.

About “Megan’s Way”

When Megan Taylor, a single mother and artist living on Cape Cod, receives the shocking news that her cancer has returned, she's faced with the most difficult decision she's ever had to make. The love she has for her daughter, Olivia, and her closest friends will be stretched and frayed.

Megan’s illness reawakens the torment of her best friend, Holly Townsend, whose long-held secrets and years of betrayal come back to haunt her. How does one choose between a daughter and a life-long best friend? Can the secret she has been keeping be revealed after years of lying without destroying everyone in its wake? Meanwhile, fourteen-year-old Olivia's world is falling apart right before her eyes, and there's nothing she can do about it. She finds herself acting in ways she cannot even begin to understand. When her internal struggles turn to dangerous behavior, even the paranormal connection she shares with her mother might not be enough to save her - her life will hang in the balance.

Megan’s Way is a journey of self discovery and heartfelt emotions, exploring the depth of the mother-daughter bond, and the intricacies of friendship.

This book won Melissa the 2011 Beach Book Award Winner (Spirituality), 2011 Readers Favorite Awards, Winner (Fiction/Drama), Finalist (Women's Fiction) , 2010 Next Generation Indie Book Award Finalist (Spirituality) and was a sign of things to come.


In “Chasing Amanda” the sublimely talented with such comments as “most intelligent, engaging and luminous books of it's genre in 2011” being freely dotted around reviews.

About “Chasing Amanda”

I will share the words of one reviewer to describe this great book…

Chasing Amanda transcends the conventional "who-dunnit" styled thriller yarn by introducing multiple potential antagonists into the narrative early that have you, the reader, thinking right from the get go. And just when you think that you might have figured the mystery out early, Melissa Foster throws in the most elegant curve ball that totally knocks you off balance and has you scrambling to revisit the clue-set once more in an attempt to regain the upper hand in the story experience. It is an intelligent mystery that is certainly the most unique I've read and it's definitely the most challenging - and I mean that in a good way.

We are witness to an unnerving tale - set in Boyd's, an 'every-town' in rural Maryland, USA. Through the eyes of Molly Tanner, an engaging woman who presents an attractive dichotomy of hardened determination underneath a vulnerable exterior, we journey through a complex narrative which has at it's center, a missing young girl for whom time is fast running out.

Molly's unique gift for clairvoyance - which is both a blessing and a curse, becomes a vital tool in the search for the missing child but it puts her at odds with the town's folk, the authorities and even her husband. It is here, in the relationship with her husband Cole that we are able to access the roots of Molly's "Knowing" and how it has impacted on her and her family.

Author, Melissa Foster, paints in several key back stories that serve as powerful drivers of the central plot and she handles them with an almost surgical grace, integrating them into the narrative so that they become a natural extension of it.

Her attention to characterization too, is a joy to read and none of the actors in Chasing Amanda, are there to simply be. The relationships are fully realized and they are sometimes painful to bare witness to. Motivations are defined cleverly and are revealed as they need to be. This is, once again, the genius of Foster's prose. Each of her characters serve the story wonderfully and it makes for a very satisfying reading experience.

The sense of mystery, tension and atmosphere are imbued deftly into the narrative and like Kwei Quartey - who I reviewed last week - Melissa Foster's style is sensorial - visual, aural and tactile. If you let it "Chasing Amanda" is a story that you can experience rather than just simply observe.

Dean Mayes… “Elegantly Chasing - A Conversation with Melissa Foster & A Look At Chasing Amanda. “

As author Jennie Shortridge wrote…

"Melissa Foster is a wonderful connector of readers and books, a friend of authors, and a tireless advocate for women. She is the real deal"

So listen now and share an interesting and entertaining show as I spend thirty minutes sharing "A Book and a Chat with Melissa Foster".

Barry

Direct link to the show
A Book and a Chat with Melissa Foster

or you can download the mp3 file of the show from
"Melissa Foster"

You can find out more about my guest and their books at:
"Melissa Foster - Chasing Amanda"

Barry Eva (Storyheart)

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