Biography

"I’m not a big fan of flying- never sleep well on a plane- but I still love to travel."

        - Melissa James

Born and bred in Sydney, Australia, my family and I currently live in northern Switzerland. I love being close enough to drive to Germany and France and in the past have enjoyed visits to China, England and America. But my favorite places in the world have always been Down Under- the Kimberley Range, Kakadu National Park and my beloved Blue Mountains.

 A former nurse, waitress, shop assistant, perfume and chocolate demonstrator, I'll try almost any adventure to see what it feels like. Except bungee- or base-jumping (shudder) and I’m still working up my nerve to try skydiving. I do recommend learning to fly...doing a loop is awesome. I enjoy life and subscribe to this quote from the famous Aussie movie, Strictly Ballroom: “A life lived in fear, is a life half-lived.” The characters in my books, whether it’s suspense, historical, deep family drama or comedy, tend to live the same way. 

I fell into writing by accident when my husband brought home an article stating how much romance author Emma Darcy earned, and thought, "I can do that!" Well, it took 9 years all up to get published, but about 3 years of concentrating on romance (I’d written one or two romances, then turned to mainstream for 4 or 5 years, then returned to romance in 1997 when an agent told me to join Romance Writers of Australia).

After entering three contests, I got editorial interest in a book I'd written then called Dark Knight. That editor continued to help me, and I learned so much. In 2000 I won a contest called The Romance Writers of New Zealand’s Clendon Award and Leslie Wainger, the final judge, bought my book, which was published as Her Galahad in 2002.

To fast forward a bit, I’ve published both romantic suspense and romantic comedy and now write for Harlequin/ Mills & Boon Romance, as well trying to break into the mainstream market with two Georgian historical stories and a biblical fiction novel with a tragic love triangle that sees the fate of an entire kingdom rest in the heart of a 17-year-old girl, written from Bathsheba’s viewpoint.

As you can see, I’m not afraid of trying new experiences in my writing as well as my life. The best advice I can offer to both aspiring and new authors is don’t try to be the next so-and-so who’s already at the top of her game -be yourself, the best YOU that you can be, and don’t be afraid to write something others say won’t sell. I think about 27 contest judges, editors and agents said that about Her Galahad…