Melissa Payne
Melissa Payne is the bestselling author of The Secrets of Lost Stones. For as long as she can remember, Melissa has been telling stories in one form or another—from high school newspaper articles to a graduate thesis to blogging about marriage and motherhood. But she first learned the real importance of storytelling when she worked for a residential and day treatment center for abused and neglected children. There she wrote speeches and letters to raise funds for the children. The truth in those stories was piercing and painful and written to invoke in the reader a call to action: to give, to help, to make a difference. Melissa’s love of writing and sharing stories in all forms has endured. She lives in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains with her husband and three children, a friendly mutt, a very loud cat, and the occasional bear.
Instagram: @MelissaPayne_Writes
Favorite non-reading activity?
I live in the mountains at about 9200 feet of elevation so I love any and all opportunities to get outside. Hiking, running, skiing, yoga, you name it, if it gets me out and into fresh air and with family or friends then I’m game. And I’m a sucker for podcasts, old and newly discovered. There’s something about the act of listening that awakens a part of my brain and expands my thinking about the world and people, which often leads to a creative brainstorming on how I can bring the things I’ve learned into a story.
Have you ever experienced Imposter Syndrome?
Oh, yes, all the time. And not just as an author, but as a mother of teenagers and as a woman in her middle years. How did that happen? That’s the fascinating, disconcerting and mildly irritating thing about life. It moves so quickly that one day you’re fresh out of college and wondering what the world holds for you and then BAM! you’re juggling a writing career, young adults, and another birthday, and none of it feels like you’ve earned it.
Not all books are for all readers… when you start a book and you just don’t like it, how long do you read until you bail?
I finish nearly all of the books I set out to read, even if it means I leave the book to read two or three others and then come back and finish it later. I’ve learned that, sometimes, a book that doesn’t grab you at first might just take your breath away if you push through to the end. One of my favorite books is A Man Called Ove and that’s one I almost stopped reading at the beginning because I found it too slow. But some of the best stories are earned, and that one was a beautiful tale of grief, resilience and new beginnings that deeply touched me, and the journey to get there was worth every page and every scene, even the slow ones.
What’s the difference (at least for you!) between being a writer and an author? How do you shift gears between the two?
I’m a writer when I’m head-down and focused on the story at hand, when my characters crowd around me at night and my head is filled with outlines and plot points and arcs and pacing. I’m a writer when I’m single-focused on completing the story and seeing it through revisions and edits to its book form. When it becomes a book, I’m an author who thinks about marketing and publicity and sharing my story, connecting with readers and thinking in broader strokes about my writing career. Wearing an author hat, is like coming up for air from the sea of writing and looking around. How is my last book doing? My current book? Are my stories floating, sinking, or flying? And then submerging back into the warm water of creating, which is my absolute favorite place to be.
What brings you great joy?
All the usual suspects: family, friends, pets. Watching my children grow into these really neat humans and knowing that one day I get to be friends with those people. Not yet though, I’m still in full parent mode. Having my parents live close by and getting to be friends with them now, although occasionally I still call in the daughter card when I need a shoulder to cry on. Twenty plus years of marriage with my husband that somehow just gets better with every year. And getting to live out my dream of writing every day and creating stories that explore people, relationships, beautiful settings, and that allow readers to escape the stresses of the world, at least for a little while.
