Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Melanie Mar. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Melanie, appreciate you joining us today. How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?

I share in most of my interviews that I am actually a native Spanish speaker. Writing, especially in English, wasn’t something that I thought was going to be part of my life. It was something that came very naturally as well as unexpectedly. When I moved to the United States a young girl,I read a lot of books, which I think were the primary tools that were subconsciously used later on as I decided to wander into the world of writing. Knowing what I know now after hundreds of books, I think I would have liked to take up official writing classes aside from the creative writing high school electives. I would’ve liked to learn the framework for storytelling from a more skeletal point of view versus dissecting them from already full out plots. However, I do think that the skill to deconstruct a story enough to the point where I was able to build my own without any true training was worth the lack of preparation. As a published author now, I do have my research that I do prior to starting any new stories, and I have since then gone back and ensure that I am as versed in the basics of structure, but that doesn’t change the fact that writing wasn’t something that I formally studied and that’s not something I’ll be able to ever change. When I was in college, I studied psychology because I grew up with the mentality that we had to have a career that made money, something that could support me in my family in the long run. That idea that stability should be put before happiness definitely was a huge obstacle for me but I am so glad that I was able to find a comfortable balance and that I am where I am now.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I am a fantasy author, my debut romantic fantasy novel came out in August 2024 and it is the first of five books in the Sun and Shadows series. The first book, Of Stars and Lightning, definitely made its way around the block before finally landing with Conquest Publishing, which is my home indie press now. I wrote it initially when I was going through a pretty rough wave of postpartum depression after having my first daughter, then re wrote it entirely a couple of months later before deciding to query to agents for possible publication. After many, many rejections, I came across independent presses that were accepting un-agentes manuscripts and that is how I came to Conquest. I’ve always been drawn to the arts, not only in writing, but also traditional art like painting and sketching and digital art as of late, so I do some digital Illustrating on the side.
Overall, I just feel so lucky to be in a space that is so welcoming to my craft and forever grateful to have found supportive community. Sometimes it’s so surreal that I get to have this experience and I’m in a position that many artists dream of. It’s my goal to give back to the community and to give back to those who are seeking to grow as artists.
Something that I would love for my readers or followers to know is that I do everything that I do with genuine care and my platform is a safe space for everybody, from established authors to baby authors to aspiring writers to whatever else you can think of.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect of being a creative is seeing how impactful something you didn’t think would, be can be. I get readers that take away so many things from my writing and it’s indescribable to know that something that you created helps another human being through hardships. As artists we get to talk about essentially anything in such a public way and that comes with a great deal of responsibility. It’s rewarding to be able to inspire others with our platform, as it’s often such a coveted one.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

So, although this answer is a little out of topic, I think it’s such an important one to get out there. After learning this, my life completely changed and the way I view not only myself, but others became entirely different.
One of the hardest lessons I had to learn is that love is not hard.
Growing up, I saw a lot of discourse that if you wanted a relationship, of any kind whether it be romantic or platonic, to work it required sacrifice, a lot of difficult conversations and a lot of compromise. Yes, they do require compromise and difficult conversations, but I’ve learned now that it’s not in the way it was portrayed in media, conversations or even books.
I was in a relationship for a very long time where I thought that I had to compromise the way that I felt for the sake of keeping peace. Where we had our ups and downs, but that was OK right? Because that’s how relationships are supposed to be. Rocky, but prevalent at the end.
Sparing you the details, I left that relationship after a very rude awakening. I realized that I was the only person in charge of my own happiness. That I wasn’t going to get it from anyone else, that I was responsible for removing myself from situations that did not serve me. I realize that I was in a very privileged position to be able to completely derail my life and make a decision that truly honored how I felt for once, and understand that not everybody has that same reality. But what I learned from that period in my life is that no type of love should be hard.
Love is kind, love is understanding, love patient. Love is honoring and respecting the existence of another human being, so much that you truly listen to them. You see them. And you wholeheartedly accept who they are as an individual. Obviously, this can come with hardships. But what I’m trying to get across is that it should be navigational. A relationship shouldn’t be turbulent, tsunami filled waters without a clear visible point of respite somewhere.
Love is not potential. Love is not one sided sacrifice. Love is not hoping that there’s an island somewhere to rest after treading water for so long.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://MelanieMarbooks.com
• Instagram: https://Instagram.com/sosawnin
• Twitter: https://X.com/sosawnin