Monday 12 November 2018

Introducing Canadian Author Melanie Robertson-King

A very warm welcome to Canadian author Melanie Robertson-King on the Reading and Writing Blog today. I’ve known Melanie online for several years and was delighted to finally meet her and her lovely husband at the Society of Authors weekend conference last year. I’m looking forward to reading Melanie’s latest novella, It Happened on Dufferin Terrace, especially since I had a wonderful visit to Quebec City some years ago.

Melanie has kindly agreed to tell us a little about this new series but first, here’s a short blurb about the Dufferin Terrace story.


It Happened on Dufferin Terrace

Miracle on 34th Street meets Sleepless in Seattle

Toronto business consultant, Serenity Layne, knew the only person she could depend on was herself. Married to her career, she has no time for other pursuits and life’s intangibles.

Widowed for three years, Roger Scott, a data security specialist in Quebec City, is a single parent to his ten-year-old son, Adam.

On a day out on the Plains of Abraham with their black Labrador retriever, Roger’s cell phone rings incessantly. Adam has played matchmaker and put his father’s profile on a number of online dating sites.

The week before Christmas, Serenity is heading up a series of meetings after a six-month study of the Canadian retail chain, jonathans. After an unpleasant encounter with one of the store managers, she escapes from the boardroom of the Château Frontenac Hotel, only to be bowled over by Roger and Adam’s dog.

Guilty over the accident, Roger invites Serenity out for a drink by way of apology. Over the course of the week, and spending time together, feelings long dormant for Roger are re-awakened. At the same time emotions foreign to Serenity fill her with contentment and happiness.

Will the couple get their happily ever after?

It Happened on Dufferin Terrace is available from:
amazon (paperback and; kindle); kobo; Barnes and Noble

Writing a New Series

Thanks for inviting me to your wonderful blog to talk about my new series of sweet romance novellas - the It Happened Series - which will be set in various picturesque locations across Canada.

You’re very welcome, Melanie! It's a great idea for a series and I love Canada.

The first one in the series is set in old Quebec City which to me, is the closest thing to being in Paris without the expense of a long flight. I’m fortunate to live within 500 km so can drive there in about six hours.

In addition to being set in beautiful old Quebec City, It Happened on Dufferin Terrace is also a Christmas novella. The city is magical when it’s decorated for Christmas and New Year. I’m not sure if your readers are familiar with the movie It Happened on 5th Avenue, but that’s the inspiration for the book titles.

In It Happened on Dufferin Terrace, Serenity Layne is a career-driven woman who doesn’t believe in anything but hard work. Roger Scott is a widowed father bringing up his ten-year-old son, Adam, on his own. Can we say Miracle on 34th Street meets Sleepless in Seattle? Hope so, because that’s the tagline I’ve used for the book.

Roger has four siblings (Christopher, Amy, Melissa, and Michael) who will appear in their own stories in the series. Although she loathes to admit it, Serenity has a brother (Erik) who will also get his turn in the spotlight.

Other books in the series (in no particular order) are:
  • It Happened at Percé Rock (stars Roger’s sister, Melissa, her partner, Gareth, and Melissa’s black and tan Dachshund, Buddy.)
  • It Happened at Niagara Falls (stars Roger’s brother, Michael, Jennifer Fox, and her Corgi, Zeus.)
  • It Happened at Lake Louise (stars Roger’s brother, Christopher, Lori Brownlee, and Chris’s Great Dane, Wolfgang.) For this one, I’m seeing her in the role of dog rescuer during the wildfires in Fort MacMurray.
  • It Happened in Gastown (stars Serenity’s brother, Erik, Hilary Dunbar a constable with the Vancouver Police Department, and her German Shepherd, Xena, a police dog in training but flunks out of school.
The final book in the series is homeless. It Happened in/at ??? (stars Roger’s sister, Amy, Kyle Ferris, and Princess, Amy’s whippet).

In each of the books, the four-legged, furry canines will play a part in bringing the couples together.

Perhaps your readers can help determine a location for the last book (I refer to it as last because of its homeless status)?

Now there’s a challenge, everyone! Can I suggest Banff (the Canadian one) please? 
Thanks for featuring on my blog, Melanie – I can’t wait to read It Happened on Dufferin Terrace.

About Melanie Robertson-King

A native of eastern Ontario, during her pre-school years, Melanie Robertson-King lived in a winterized cottage on the shore of the St Lawrence River. Before starting school, her family moved to Brockville where she received her education, including a post-secondary degree in Computer Programming.

Growing up as an only child, Melanie was an avid reader and remains so to this day. She knew then one day she would be a writer. When she wasn’t talking about her dream of becoming an author, she wrote stories and began honing her skills at an early age.

Melanie’s father was a Scottish national. He came to Canada as a ‘Home Child’ through the auspices of The Orphan Homes of Scotland. She promised herself that one day her feet would touch the soil in her father’s homeland. That first trip was in 1993, and she’s not looked back since, having returned to the auld country a further eleven times and is looking forward to trip number twelve. On one of her many trips to Scotland, Melanie had the honour of meeting Princess Anne (The Princess Royal) at the orphanage where her father was raised.

Encouraged to study Highland Dancing, she competed locally. Her final competition took place during the summer of 1969, a few short months after her father’s death, at the 1000 Islands Highland Games. In that last event, she won the Silver Medal in the Sword Dance.

Melanie began her professional writing career in non-fiction. She published eight of her articles. One graced the cover of an international publication. At the same time, she continued to develop her writing voice: short as well as novel-length work.

When she’s not sequestered in her cave writing, plotting or editing, you’ll find her out and about. In addition to writing, she loves to travel, prowl through cemeteries (the older, the better), and photography.

It Happened on Dufferin Terrace is her seventh book.

You can connect with Melanie on her website; Celtic Connexions Blog; Facebook Author Page; Goodreads; Twitter @RobertsoKing

5 comments:

Melanie said...

Thanks for hosting me here today on your great blog, Rosemary. I'm so glad to hear you've spent time in Quebec City and enjoyed your time there.

Rosemary Gemmell said...

You're very welcome, Melanie!

Carolb said...

Sounds like it will be a fabulous series, and dogs playing their part in the romance is always a delight.

Thank you Melanie and Rosemary.x

Rosemary Gemmell said...

Many thanks for commenting, Carol!

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