(Super fun giveaway info at the bottom of this post!)
Okay, let’s just get something out on the table once and for all:
I HAVE A CRUSH ON MY OWN FAKE HERO. ♥♥♥
I know, you totally didn’t know that. I totally haven’t talked about it tons on Facebook and everywhere. I totally haven’t been obvious about it.
(Lies.)
FINE. I’ve been crazy obvious about it. But just in case you’ve managed to escape my onslaught of gushiness, here’s the gist of it: Logan Walker is the main character in my 2016 release and I swear, I think I loved him the first time I wrote his name. And then I wrote 95,000 words about him and loved him even more.
Aaaand then I saw the cover model portraying Logan on the front of the book and might’ve honest-to-goodness felt my heart start doing jumping jacks.
Some people might say I love him too much. But here’s the thing: I’m not married. So I basically have a right to fall in love as often as I want with as many fictional men as I want. (Married people, I don’t know what the protocol is for you. Discuss amongst yourselves.)
AND I think I’ve managed this irrational crush fairly well. I have only done a few, um, slightly off the rails things, such as…
…Framing his book cover photo.
But I mean, I’m an author so this is as much sentimental as it is anything, right? Not really so weird.
…Making his face my iPhone wallpaper.
It’s just such a pretty face! Can you seriously blame me? Possibly a little weirder than the whole framing his photo thing, but still…
…Giving a charitable donation in his honor.
OKAY, this is a story: So for my day job, I’m a communications coordinator at a nonprofit and one of the things I do is manage our website. Recently I added a new donation page to the site. I wanted to test out the page to make sure it was working, so I made a small donation. There’s a “tribute” section on the page that lets you make donations in honor of other people. Originally, I thought it’d be funny to make my coworkers laugh by giving a gift in honor of my favorite band. (Ahem, NEEDTOBREATHE. ♥♥♥ )
But then an even better idea presented itself. And voila, I made a donation in honor of Logan.
The best part?? Our awesome gift processing people entered the information into our database and now Logan Walker, a fictional person, has a REAL record in our database! I LOVE IT. I was going to take a screenshot of his record to show you, but then I realized that might break some kind of confidentiality rule. (I mean, he’s fake, but our database and his record are real. LOL!) Instead, here’s a picture of the receipt I received.
See his name in the first line?? Oh, and if you’re wondering why it’s addressed to Sparky, that’s another long story.
(Actually, it’s not a long story at all. I accidentally set a fire in our office kitchen about a month after I started working here and they’ve called me Sparky ever since.)
…and finally…
The BEST thing I’ve done as a result of this silly, irrational crush??
Wrote a Christmas book about it!
I did! I wrote an e-novella about an author who has a crush on her cover model. It’s called One Enchanted Christmas and it releases December 8. But you can preorder now for just 99 cents! (That price’ll go up soon after it releases, so snag it cheap while ya can!)
Just a few deets:
This takes place in Maple Valley, Iowa–same town as the Walker family series It’s just a bit longer than the novella I released earlier this year, Three Little Words (about 130 pages, 33,000+ words) and it’s currently available for kindle. On release day, it’ll also be available on Nook, Kobo, iBooks, etc.
And guess what! Several awesome friends are also releasing Christmas books this year. The wonderful Amanda Dykes gathered us together and arranged a giveaway that includes all our books AND a cozy electric fireplace. You can enter by filling out the entry form below. The contest is open until December 4.
Thanks, guys, for letting me gush endlessly about my own fake character! I’m glad something fun and productive came from it and hope you LOVE the Christmas novella.
Comments 14
Oh, Melissa! Just another reason to love you and think you are one of the best authors (and friends) out there! Hugs to you on this day! And if I do win this giveaway, know that my friends out here in CO will be waiting to borrow these books from me. Like … waiting on my doorstep and opening the box for me. ;o)
Author
Awww thank you, Beth. I <3 you!
Melissa, you are so much fun! Thanks for hosting this giveaway!
Author
Thanks for stopping by, Beth! 😀
Melissa, you are just too stinkin cute!! You know that?!! So, is your cover model crush. I can’t wait to read your Christmas book. 🙂
Author
Thank you, Dana! I really hope you like the novella. I’m pretty excited about it. 🙂
I’ve read “Three Little Words”, and just finished “From the Start” last night. Enjoyed both, and now I am looking forward to Logan’s story. Needtobreathe is my absolute favorite, too, so I picked right up on your mention of the band and the character named Bear.
Author
OH yay! Thanks so much for reading the books, Rachel. That is always a blast to hear.
And hooray for another NTB fan. I am, hmm, shall we say, a wee bit obsessed. I adore them. <3
Haha! Have you seen them live? If not, you MUST!!!
Author
I have! Four times. And it’s not nearly enough! I’d follow them around the country if I could… 🙂
Haha, you’re funny and quite clever!
Only you would think of such a GENIUS idea! 🙂
Can’t wait to read your Christmas story, Melissa!
Author
LOL thanks, Alexis! It was one of those stories ideas that presented itself so naturally and obviously I just had to write it. 🙂
So cute! I heart these behind the scenes looks at the writing process. Thanks for sharing about your crush, Melissa. 🙂
Author
You are more than welcome, Rissi. I will basically take any excuse I can get to talk about Logan. Hehehe…