Mel is here from the Land of the Koala!!

  This week's Feature Friday is Mel from Mellywood's Mansion!  She is awesome and does some great crafts, especially jewelry..and has a craft room I love!

        1.You live "Down Under."  Is it as awesome as we in North America think it is?

Between wrestling crocs and riding our kangaroos, it's pretty awesome! To be honest I love my home, most of us live in close vicinity to the beach and there is nothing better than a warm day, chilled wine, BBQ and the beach.

 

2.  One of your recent projects is your crafting room and you also host Inspiration Café and have a linky party....what's your favorite leisure activity?

I love crafting its my thing but my favourite thing to relax is to sit outside with a bottle of moscato and just chat with Jules.

 

3.  Speaking of leisure--you don't have much, because you have a whole bunch of kids.  Yet, you are pretty successful at keeping them out of your blog.  Is this intentional? How difficult is it, when they are so much a part of your life?

It is somewhat intentional, being the mother of teenagers I feel they need to keep their life private I don't want them to feel anyone with an Internet connection can find out things that might embarrass them. Although they don't mind when I make a bit of fun like the "Hey Girl" post. I also started blogging when I finished working, I missed having a place where I was just me, everywhere else I'm someone's Mum or wife so I didn't want to make it about them.

It's not really difficult, it's easier to write about myself than them.

 

4.  Beer or wine?

Wine, and preferably anything made by Brown Brothers

 

5.  If you could take a month-long vacation (without children), where would you go?

I'd love to go to Italy, I once heard there are streets that just sell leather purses, that's my idea if heaven!

 

6.  Who was your favorite Spice Girl?

Ginger Spice, she was always a bit sassy, I like that!

 

7.  Are all the guys in Australia cute surfers?

No!

 

8.  Charcoal or fog?

Charcoal

 

9.  Be honest--how do you REALLY feel about burlap?

When I started reading blogs it was when burlap was everywhere and immediately I decided I wanted some, it must be amazing stuff. So I looked everywhere and I couldn't get it, I kept asking for burlap and I would get an odd look and was told they didn't have it. So eventually I decided to order it online and googled it. Turns out we call it hessian here and I nearly wet myself laughing, as a kid if you ruined your clothes you were threatened with wearing a hessian dress.

Having said that, there are some amazing crafts made with burlap/hessian.

 

10.  Are there any bloggers whose posts you can't wait to read?

Too many, in fact the worse thing since starting my own is that I don't have the time to keep up with all of them, I love people who make me laugh.

As you can see, Mel is delightful and honest--and a breath of fresh air in blogland.  My mother used burlap as a threat, so Mel is someone after my own heart!

Carolyn Hart---an Agatha for the new millenium!

Kicking off a new season with another author--Carolyn Hart!

Carolyn Hart is a long-time favorite of mine (y'all know I LOVE MYSTERIES!!) and her Death on Demand series is reminiscent of Agatha Christie's Miss Marple books, with Broward's Rock, South Carolina substituting for St. Mary Mead.  Annie Darling is a younger, more attractive, married version of Miss Marple...but it's all about the small-town ambiance that makes these books enjoyable.

Like the other authors...Ms. Hart graciously answered my silly questions and we exchanged many e-mails where we discussed books and the writing process.  Here's the gist:

1.  Broward's Rock seems like the perfect resort town.  Is it patterned after a real-life place?

    Ans. We started vacationing on Hilton Head island in the 1970s. Broward's Rock is a fictional version of Hilton Head as it was in the '70s though BR is much farther off shore. The alligators nosing through dark water, the scent of sea and sand, and the rustle of palm leaves are very real.

 

2.Your new mysteries are set in Oklahoma, which seems a stretch from South Carolina.  Where do you live?   (I promise not to stalk you!)

   Ans.  I live in Oklahoma, vacation in South Carolina. I've enjoyed using local backgrounds in the Bailey Ruth ghost series and also in What the Cat Saw, though both towns are fictional. My first book set in Oklahoma is Letter from Home, a story of the homefront in WWII.

 

3. Here's the segue--what is your decorating style?

 Ans.    My mother collected antiques and loved stately surroundings. Once when asked what decor I admired, she paused, said thoughtfully, "Carolyn likes everything to be spare. Windswept." I always thought that was very accurate. 

 

4.  What is the writing process like for you?

 Ans. Painful. Agonzing. Discouraging. I am always terrified I won't be able to finish the book.

 

5.  I have written a couple of blog posts on voice--how important do you think it is to keep it in mind as you write?

    Ans. Voice is inherent in writing and not something that has to be created. Voice is who you are.

 

6.  You have won numerous prestigious awards for your mysteries.  In twelve words or fewer, how does that feel?

    Ans. Heartwarming.  Because readers read the books, I am able to be a writer. I am forever grateful. 

 

7.  Any words of wisdom for those bloggers who wish to write professionally?

Ans. Care passionately about what you write. Somewhere an editor will care.

 

KIRBY here:  As I mentioned, she and I exchanged numerous e-mails over the course of a week, and she was nothing but encouraging to this wanna-be writer.  To take the time to help a sister (in crime) out was a lovely thing to do!  Thanks, Carolyn!!