Interview with the Cupcake Cupid, Melissa Groeling

There are very few authors whose guts I admire because of their pursuit to take on something difficult, such as a subject that's usually a taboo or people just don't like to talk about or it raises the hairs on the back of their necks. No, I'm not talking about horror as in the genre but about horror as in real life. One of the authors who gets a bow of admiration from me is MELISSA GROELING who tackles themes that dig super deep into the human soul. Last year, I read Ms. Groeling's Traffic Jam and was stunned by her accurate portrayal of human trafficking. This time around, Ms. Groeling doesn't disappoint as she takes the themes of child abuse even deeper and makes them more visual in Lights Out. Her books are no sort of lovey-dovey-scratch-the-surface-of-some-cruelty-everyone-is-happy-in-the-end type of stories. They hit the nail on the head; they make you think; and most importantly, they make you wonder what you would do should you ever witness such horrors.

Without further ado, here's Ms. Melissa Groeling!

Welcome, Melissa. You're the biggest cupcake lover I know, so please accept these homemade red velvet cupcakes with whipped cream frosting.

Thanks so much for having me, Aneta. It’s good to be here. Hey look! I brought cupcakes for us to munch on, too. Hope you like chocolate!

Did you say chocolate? I think we'll end the interview now and just dig in. One can never have enough cupcakes or chocolate, for that matter.
[after full bellies and some crumbs around our mouths we contently continue]

AC: I read your novel Traffic Jam last year. It deals with some really dark elements, such as human trafficking. Do you explore the dark side of humanity again in Lights Out?

Oh yeah. In fact, Lights Out takes it one step further. I kept out a lot of graphic material in Traffic Jam, mainly because it was geared towards young adults. But Lights Out is no holds barred. In some ways it shares a lot of the underlying themes of Traffic Jam, but it goes a lot deeper. It really explores what people are truly capable of doing in certain situations. And it’s not pretty.
AC: What inspired you to write Lights Outand how much research went into it? Any personal experiences?
I’ll tell you what, if I had any personal experience that went into this story, I’d be in a padded cell, wearing a straight jacket. The entire plot was so outside of my realm of experience that a lot of research had to be done. I added my own twist to things but after I was done with the story, my browser was full of the creepiest things ever.***Gosh, my browser was like that when I did research for The Guardian.
AC: How do you write? Do you outline and follow chapter by chapter, or do you wait until the story’s magnitude can’t be contained in your mind and you have to pour it out on paper?
I have often tried to write using an outline but it just doesn’t work for me. I know authors who use white boards, sticky notes, all types of things to keep everything straight but my head gets so filled up, I end up forgetting half of it, which sends me through the roof because my pen can’t keep up! So usually I just write and see what happens and hopefully it’s something good!***Yes, I agree. I do the same thing.
AC: Stephen King says “you only have a season (3 months) to write a book” after that, you should abandon it and work on something else entirely, then come back 6 weeks later, re-read, and start revising. Do you agree? How long does it take to write a good story?
I totally agree with abandoning a story then coming back later to revise. That gives you a chance to clear your head. But 3 months? If I didn’t have to work full-time then that would definitely be doable. But I need a paycheck so 3 months turns into about 1 year…maybe 1 year and a half, depending on how many brick walls the writing hits. J***Same here. I need a paycheck, so writing usually takes a back seat.
AC: Do you have a book to which you constantly go back and from which you constantly draw inspiration? If so, which is it and by whom?
Wow, that is a really good question. Let’s see, I don’t have a favorite book, per say, but anything written by Christopher Rice tends to kick me in the right direction. His handle on human emotion is completely awesome and real. Dean Koontz’s earlier books have always inspired me in the weird department and Dan Simmons is great with the atmospheric element.
AC: With the flood of self-published authors, small presses, and vanity presses, I feel like the “big houses” have a lot of competition. They are very selective and often end up kicking their butts for not signing someone special. Do you know of a book/author that/who has been underappreciated and everyone should read his/her book?
Oh, man, there are so many underappreciated authors out there—yourself included, Aneta---I can’t pick just one. I think the “big houses” need to get with the program and start branching out to the smaller presses and the self-publishing programs. I can’t stand that so many of the big publishing companies won’t even consider someone who doesn’t have an agent. I mean, if that’s the only deciding factor, then they’re missing out…big time.***Awww. Thanks for the compliment and right back at ya.
AC: And on another note, there are books whose reviews and bestseller lists rave greatness, but the story, the characters, or the premise is either a copy cat of something really good or it sucks all together. Do you know of a book like that?
Oh…my…God, Aneta, this happens to me ALL THE TIME! Sorry about the caps but seriously, it’s always so disappointing when a book doesn’t live up to the hype. I mean, I know this business is completely subjective but even so, you have to wonder how these books get published in the first place. I remember giving the Twilight series a shot. I thought, hey, they were going to make it into a movie so I wanted to get the book in first because you know the movies are never as good as the books. Needless to say, I was so disappointed with it, I didn’t even finish it. And the rest of the series? Didn’t even touch it. I know there are so many people who’ve enjoyed that series but to this day, I can’t understand all the hype. It confuses me. (sorry, all you Twi-hard fans out there.)***No need to apologize for the caps. I've also tried to read Twilight and almost passed out in agony. How did that ever get published, I will never understand.
AC: What do you think is more important: A great story, a great cover, or a great promotion?
That’s a tricky question. All three are so important. You need a great story to tell. You need a great cover to catch the eye and you need to always promote the heck out of it. All three go hand-in-hand but now that I think about it, how can you tell if you’ve written a great story? You may like it. Your mom may like it. Your writing group may like it too. But if the random reader doesn’t like it at all, then what? It’s a tough thing to balance but then again, to quote the great Tom Hanks from A League of Their Own, “It’s supposed to be hard. If it wasn’t, everyone would do it.”
AC: And finally, do your characters take on some qualities of the people you know?
Oh yeah and man is that fun. I’ll never admit it either even when someone asks me, “hey, is that me?” I always reply, “I don’t know. Is it?”***LOL. It's so fantastic to have that kind of power. Aaah, it's good to be a writer.
LIGHTS OUT blurb: Even when the lights are out, he can still see you… Paul Holten’s profession doesn’t leave much room for doubt or conscience but he’s reaching his breaking point. The nightmares are getting worse, the jobs are getting harder to finish and the volatile relationship with his boss, Aaron, is falling apart. Now faced with the possibility of an impending death sentence, Paul makes the fatal decision to run. Drawn into one hellish situation after another, he’s forced to confront his dark past---and wonder if perhaps dying isn’t the better option.