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FROM REJECTION TO . . . Having survived eldest child syndrome and an introvert nature in an extrovert family by disappearing to read and write stories, I received my first rejection slip (from Argosy magazine) at the age of 14. I later worked as secretary to Paul Gallico, American author of Snow Goose and The Poseidon Adventure.
MY AIM - TO HELP OTHERS: This was followed by fifteen years of my husband's adultery, overlapped with thirteen years of my middle daughter's heroin abuse, so I’m sure you won't be surprised when I tell you that my aim, in writing, has always been to comfort / encourage / support and advise my readers with the same comfort, encouragement etc. that I've received.
. . . SUCCESS - MY BOOKS: To begin with, this meant writing numerous magazine articles and non-fiction books under various pen names (Meg Scott and Merrilyn Williams) on coping with an unhappy marriage, forgiveness, divorce, debt, drug addiction, bankruptcy and single parenthood. Eventually, these attracted the attention of major publishers and I was commissioned by Hodder & Stoughton to write biographies, one of which, The Last Mountain, became a Sunday Times No 4 Bestseller.
SPEAKING / RADIO / TV: One of my books, Stepfamilies, and another about my daughter's drug addiction, led to many speaking engagements, invitations to run writing workshops in various UK locations, and radio broadcasts on phone-ins, and chat shows, including the Caroline Martin Show on BBC West Midlands and Woman to Woman on Premier Radio. My most recent interview - on BBC Radio Devon - is still available to listen to on my Home Page www.melmenzies.co.uk .
FICTION: After an enforced break from writing for some years during which I had to earn a living (no, even with a bestseller you don't make enough to live on) I took up writing again and turned to fiction - family dramas with a page-turning mystery. My novel, A Painful Post Mortem, was based on my daughter's death, while later books form part of a series in which quirky counsellor, Evie Adams, helps to solve the problems and mysteries in her client's lives. Set in the historic Roman city of Exeter, Time to Shine, is a mystery solved by a marriage mender, while Chosen? - set in Dartmouth and Kingswear - involves a dashing American seeking to resolve the mystery surrounding his adoption.
TO BUY BOOKS OR ASK ME TO SPEAK AT AN EVENT: For further details, to purchase books, or to make arrangements for me to speak at an event, see my website: www.melmenzies.co.uk
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