Author Interview

Melissa Miller, author, and CEO of Solstice Publishing

I’m excited to welcome Melissa Miller as a guest to my blog. She is not only a publisher, but she is a best-selling author on Amazon. She writes under the pen name Lizzy Stevens. Melissa and her husband Steve Miller have written many books together. They have two awesome boys. 

Kat: In addition to being the CEO of Solstice Publishing, you are also quite a prolific author in your own right. How many books have you published?

Melissa: As of this interview I have 28 books in all. I’m currently working on several others. I don’t normally bounce around. I have always written one book all the way through before starting another, but for some reason I had all these ideas in my head at once 😊 so I currently have 3 that I’m working on right now.

Kat: I read Ravencrest book I and found the storyline very interesting. Can you tell us when book II will come out?

Melissa: Thanks so much. I’m glad you enjoyed it. The plan for book 2 is Summer of 2019. I don’t generally take as long to get sequels out but I had a lot of unexpected things come along throughout the year that held it up.

Kat: What genres do you write?

Melissa Miller: I don’t stick to a genre. I write the story that pops into my head. I have written Woman’s Fiction, Romance, Paranormal Romance, Christian Fiction, Fantasy. Like I said I just write whatever story pops into my head.

Kat: Do you have a favorite genre?

Melissa: I guess if I had to pick I would say Woman’s Fiction and Fantasy. In Woman’s Fiction, a writer doesn’t have to worry about fitting into a mold.

Kat: What are some of perks about being a writer? Why, and a little about one of your novels.

Melissa: I like to make up realms. Like in “Karma is A Bitch” where I don’t have to follow any rules. It’s about a whole way of life that doesn’t exist and a realm that doesn’t exist.

Description of Karma Is A Bitch:

Karmas are immortals who keep people in line. They live by the motto “Do bad things and bad things will happen.” Tessa Waters is one of the best Karmas of the Karma realm. However, she isn’t the fastest. She watches over the realms. Earth is her main realm. When she sees someone misbehave she sends down a Karma punishment on that person. The punishments are always funny and make the other Karmas laugh. But she wasn’t fast enough. The head Karma thought it would help Tessa become faster if instead of watching from a far she would go down to Earth and pass out the punishments up close. She could not return until she hit 100 Karmas. Tessa thought that would be no problem. Until the trickster of all tricksters, Loki, got in her way. How was she supposed to pass out Karmas if Loki was in the way playing pranks on everyone? Now Tessa had to deal with the trouble makers and Loki. How was she supposed to hit her goal of 100 and make it back home?

Kat: Of the books you’ve published, do you have a favorite?

Melissa: My favorite story out of all my books is “Don’t Make A Wish” I wrote that story with my husband and my two boys. We sat together in the living room while I took notes. When we finished talking it through, I wrote the story. That book is 100% for charity, and all proceeds go to The Epilepsy Foundation.

Kat: What is easier for you, to title a book, or naming characters?

Melissa: For me, and I’m probably just weird, LOL, I always title my books before I start writing them. I get an idea for a story, title it, and then start writing it. Titles are not my problem. My problem is character names. I have the entire story in my head, ready to write, but I can’t decide what I want to name my characters, LOL. I may start with one name, and then think another would be better and end up doing the search/replace feature on word.

Kat: How much of your writing is based on your own experiences or those of someone you know?

Melissa: I think every author puts a little bit of themselves in their stories. It can be something as simple as a favorite food, a nostalgic place one attended as a kid, even a favorite shampoo. Simple little things that nobody would even notice.

Kat: What kind of research goes into writing your books?

Melissa: I honestly don’t do much research. I hate to research. But that’s where Steve comes into it. He doesn’t mind the research.

Kat: What criteria do you use when selecting the cover for your books?

Melissa: For my covers, I will go through stock photos until I see something that really fits what I want to show about my books. My criteria are that I don’t do the curly, fancy hard to read fonts. I want a clear and very easy to read book cover. I don’t want the readers to have to work extra hard just to figure out what the title of my book is. Your book has to sell itself based on a small thumbnail most of the time. Readers are scrolling through Amazon looking for their next read. You are not going to get their attention if your font is a big curly hard to read mess. Or it looks like some kind of carnival full of all these different color fonts and curly, cursive hard to read fonts. So, for me my title and my author name are the same color and very clear and easy to read.

Kat: Is there anything you would change about your books?

Melissa: No. They might not be perfect but it’s what I wrote. I don’t dwell on it. When the book is done and up for sale I move on to my next story.

Kat: Which of your books would you most like to see made into a film?

Melissa: That’s a hard question. I have so many books out there and then to pick one, hmm. My favorite book is “Don’t Make A Wish” but some of my other favorites are “A Lost Memory” “Winter Romance” “Blackbeard’s Treasure”.

Kat: When and why did you begin to write?

Melissa: I wanted to tell stories.

Kat: When did you first consider yourself a writer?

Melissa: When I signed my first contract.

Kat: Describe your writing style.

Melissa: My writing style is probably odd. LOL I don’t make myself write. I write whenever I get the mood. When I have the extra time then I sit down and start writing. I don’t do rough drafts. I sit down at my computer and start typing. Then I do a proofread myself fixing everything that needs fixed before sending it to my editor. Then I do 4 rounds of edits and a proofread. Then I send it to a couple other people to do a proofread on it.  “Ravencrest book one Lucinda’s Story” went through 8 rounds in all before I released the book and it’s only around 60 pages long.

Kat: What is the hardest lesson you had to learn as a writer?

Melissa: My hardest lesson was to learn to be thick skinned. I was super naïve. I found out later that anyone can leave a negative review for your books without even buying your book. You can always tell if they bought it or not. If a customer buys the book on Amazon it says “verified purchase” by the review.

Being a publisher and International Best Selling Author I’ve upset some people over the years. Maybe we didn’t publish their book or maybe we did and they didn’t have the success they wanted. It’s just something one gets used to after a while.

Kat: Do you have any advice for new writers?

Melissa: My advice would be not let others discourage you and keep you from writing. Everyone isn’t going to love your book and that’s ok. It’s your story and you should never change it for one person. Leave it alone.

Kat: What motivated you to start Solstice Publishing?

Melissa: I wanted to help authors get their stories out there. I had signed with a company before I opened my own and it wasn’t a good experience. So, I decided to open my own company and make it a place where authors felt like they are part of a family. A place where they felt like I was there for them and they could come to me if they needed to. And that has been how I have run this company for ten years. I have talked to the authors like they were friends and family. They have come to me with their problems and I’ve been there for them through their difficult times. I have shown them that they are people not just a product I’m selling in a store.

Kat: What do you look for when you’re deciding whether or not to accept a book for publication?

Melissa: We look for an original story. Don’t tell us that your story is like this movie or that book. We are not looking for something already out there. We are looking for an original story.

Kat: You obviously have a lot on your plate. Yet, you are able to respond almost immediately to questions from Solstice authors. How do you manage to stay so organized?

Melissa: I don’t know that I would call myself organized. My husband says my desk looks like a bomb went off on it LOL.  Basically, the short answer is that I get a lot of support from my family.

Kat: What do you like the most and the least about being the CEO for Solstice?

Melissa: I love that I get to help authors fulfill their dreams. It’s not easy being an unknown author. I mean you are competing with well known, famous authors who have been around for years. They put a book out and it goes straight to movie or tv show. It’s hard to compete with that. The part that I don’t really like much is the disappointment that some authors have. They sign a contract with all these expectations and then they might get low to no sales month after month. It takes time to get your name known and for books to start selling. A lot of the authors had dreams of writing a book, getting a publisher, and then making millions. But that just isn’t the way it works. Trust me I wish it was LOL. So, the disappointment the authors feel is my least favorite thing of it all.

Kat: Who are your favorite writers?

Melissa: Oh I have too many to even come close to naming them all. Some of my favorites are Stephen King, Cassandra Clare, Nicholas Sparks.

Kat: What kind of music touches your soul?

Melissa: I listen to a wide variety of music. 

Kat: What do you want written on your headstone?

Melissa: She was a great mother and wife.

Ravencrest

Lucinda Ravencrest’s whole world was turned upside down when her aunt that she barely knew left an estate to her. There were stipulations to it. She could not sell the estate and she had to take care of the people who lived there was what she was told.

What she found out when she got there was nothing like she was told. Secrets started to come out, and some were downright crazy

Lucinda didn’t know whether to run or to embrace this crazy new life. How was she to handle all of this?

Buy: https://www.amazon.com/Lucindas-Story-Book-One-Ravencrest/dp/1976995736

Don’t Make A Wish

A portion of all of the proceeds of this book will be given to: The Epilepsy Foundation “The National Office accepts direct donations via mail at: Mailing Address: Epilepsy Foundation 8301 Professional Place East, Suite 200 Landover, MD 20785-2353 Telephone: 1-800-332-1000 This book has two short stories in one. The first one is: Don’t Make A Wish. Written by International Best Selling Author Lizzy Stevens her husband Steve Miller and their two boys Jason Miller and Noah Miller. Tara’s day goes from bad to worse when she finds a lamp while cleaning out her grandma’s attic after she died. She found an old lamp with a note attached. ““Whoever finds this lamp, Take my advice. Do not rub the lamp. Do not make a wish. Put it back where you found it and run away.” Tara thought her grandma was just making a joke until she accidentally rubbed the lamp and the genie popped out. Mark, the Genie of the lamp, was not very happy to be a genie any longer. He wanted out of his life. So what he did to show that he wasn’t happy was that no matter what the person wished for he would twists and turn the words of the wish and make it a little more fun for him and not so much fun for the person who made the wish. After two wishes went in the wrong direction, Tara wished to be left alone which in turn, Mark sent her to a deserted Island. He thought he was being his usual funny self until his punishment was to be sent there with her, but he was sent without his powers. How will this all work out for Mark and Tara? How will they get off the island without his powers? The Second Book Is the Amazon Best Seller “A Lost Memory” written by Lizzy Stevens and Steven Miller. Amazon Best Seller #36 in Kindle Store >Kindle eBooks > Fiction > Genre Fiction > Romance > Short Stories Alley wakes up in a strange bed. She has no idea who she is or where she is. Pain shoots through her head like a bolt of lightning every time she moves. As she drifts off to sleep images of a faraway land and a handsome man with sandy blonde hair and six pack abs fills her head. He keeps saying “Alley come back to me.” Who is he and how does she know him?

Buy: https://www.amazon.com/Dont-Make-Wish-Lizzy-Stevens/dp/1625264828

Follow Melissa on media:

www.lizzystevens.blogspot.com

AMAZON AUTHOR CENTRAL:

https://www.amazon.com/Lizzy-Stevens/e/B005HZRTP2/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1528909593&sr=8-1

TWITTER: https://twitter.com/LizzyStevens123