Dragon Soul Press took the time to interview Melody Lee Quinn, an author featured in the Fairy Rites anthology.

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Follower of Christ. Weaver of Words. Book Dragon. Mother Bear. Drinker of Coffee. Hi. My name is Melody Lee Quinn. (Maiden name Miller.) And that’s me!

1. What prompted you to begin writing?
   • If I believe my parents – which is a wise thing to do – I’ve always been a writer. My fifth grade teacher Mrs. Verrault was a huge encouragement to me and gave me the confidence I needed to pen my first “book”. I illustrated it too. My mother made so many copies, I’m sure to never
     lose it. My great grandchildren will be reading the playground romance written by their ten-year-old grannie.
     Over the years, my writing life fluctuated with my responsibilities. I wasn’t one to finish projects,
     but I loved to start them. I had to stop writing stories in college. I just didn’t have the time or energy. That’s around the time I began writing articles for various online sites and blogs. But that, too, became too difficult to keep up.
     I thought my inspiration for writing fiction might have petered out, but something wonderful happened during my first pregnancy. My author brain underwent a renaissance. Since then, I have had two babies, started many fiction and non-fiction projects on track to actually be finished (and countless that won’t – oh well!), participated in multiple writers conferences, wrote two books just for me that I printed locally, finished my first high fantasy novel, published that novel online, and published a story in a Dragon Soul Press anthology. And I’m not ready to quit!
     All that to say – if you’re going through a dry spell as a writer, a reader, a dancer, an artist, a
     whatever you are – do not give up. Take your rest. Keep your notepad close. And always keep
     dreaming.
2. Do you have a favorite story or poem you’ve written? What’s it about?
   • “My Baby Boy is Sweet” is a poem/song that I wrote and recorded on the piano for my son when he was two-ish years old. I hope to turn it into a board book one day and share it with other moms and sons. In it, I let myself be honest with the fact that little boys are made of “sugar and puppy dog tails”. It’s not all sunshine and rainbows. But at the end of the day, despite my frustrations, I just wanted to wrap him up in a big hug and sing him a song. So that’s what I did, and I made something that we both couldn’t help but laugh at. We still sing it together two years later. Writing something that gives lasting joy to those who read/hear it just makes my heart sing.
3. How many projects do you have planned over the next few years? Tell us about one.
   • So many. I am that person who always has to keep her phone notes open and a pencil nearby
     with a notepad handy, because I am always coming up with ideas and tweaking outlines and
     writing, writing, writing. I pen novels, short stories, articles, poems, songs. It’s how I process my
     life and the world around me.
     Right now, I have a couple projects I’m balancing simultaneously. I have a high fantasy series
     titled “Allegories of Aonta”. The first book is available on Laterpress; I’m writing the second one
     right now. I also have a book of short stories I work on when I need a break from “A of A” but
     want to keep writing within the fantasy genre. Both books will be finished within the next two
     years. I’ve promised myself that.
     But what’s really exciting me right now is a series I’m hesitantly outlining. It’s got an inn and a
     wishing well and a forest full of interesting creatures, a middle-aged mother who takes the
     leading role (something completely different for me), and it’s full of the joy of faith. In my head,
     that should all come together to make an uplifting series in the fluffy faith fantasy genre. Is it
     really going to come together, how long will that take, and am I actually going to call it Fluffy
     Faith Fantasy?….No clue. But again, writing is how I process my life and what I’m going through,
     and this story really speaks to my heart right now.
4. Where do you draw inspiration from?
   • Everything. Everyone. Life.
     It’s kind of cliche to quote this, but “be careful what you say to me or I may end up turning you
     into a character in one of my stories.”
     When I’m frustrated with my husband I call him “Dunivalian”, which won’t be good if he ever
     reads the first book of my high fantasy series. But he hasn’t yet, so I can keep using it!
5. Who is your favorite author / what is your favorite book?
   • One of my all-time favorite authors is Shannon Hale. The Princess Academy. The Goose Girl.
     Enna Burning. River Secrets. These are all titles I’ve had on my bookshelf since middle school,
     and I don’t see myself ever giving them away. I bought copies for my nieces that I’m reserving
     until they’re old enough for them, but my copies will remain with me to read again and again
     until they fall apart. They’re full of magic and wonder and love and young protagonists who take their faults and their wounds and, instead of trying to bury them or remove them, they use them to grow stronger. A powerful message for any young reader.
6. What is one goal you have for your writing future?
   • I want to finish my Allegories of Aonta trilogy and start marketing the series as a print collection.
     Then I want to take all the songs that I’ve written for and about my children – our lullabies, happy songs, and praise songs – and turn them into a collection of board books with piano music. Those two projects are dear to my heart.
7. What do you hope readers enjoy most from your work?
   • No matter the setting, genre, or medium that my stories are presented in, I always hope that
     readers will find some truth to connect with their own lives. I remember what I love about Hale’s stories, how she hits young readers with hard truths about what it looks like to face the bad parts of life and of ourselves head on. I try to show those similar kinds of struggles in my own writing with an extra sprinkle of hope. I love when a reader says, “Yeah, I saw myself in that.”
8. Where can readers learn more about you?
   • You can connect with me on Linktree, Facebook, or here.