Melodie Campbell has been a banker, marketing director, comedy writer, college instructor and possibly the worst runway model ever. Melodie got her start writing comedy so it's no surprise her fiction has been described by editors as "wacky" and "laugh-out-loud funny." Melodie has over 200 publications and six awards for fiction She was a finalist for the 2012 Derringer (U.S.)and Arthur Ellis (Canada) awards for crime writing. Melodie is the Executive Director of Crime Writers of Canada.
The Goddaughter, a comic crime caper, received the following review from Library Journal: "Campbell's comic caper is just right for Janet Evanovich fans. Wacky family connections and snappy dialogue make it impossible not to laugh." Library Journal, Sept. 2012
Writing Screwball Comedy – and Loving It!
By
Melodie Campbell
“I
had the flu once. It was terrible. I couldn’t eat a thing for three hours.”
I hope you giggled at that line. I think it’s one of my best. And yes, I am a tad fond of eating. In fact, you could list it as my major hobby.
My name is Melodie Campbell, and I write
comedies. (This is a self-help
group, right?) Sure I’d like to kick the
habit and write a ‘real’ book with literary merit.
Okay, so that’s a lie. Leave The
Goddaughter behind? Not write a
sequel? I’m starting to
hyperventilate. Actually, I love writing
comedies. It’s in my blood.
A GREEK MASK
Some people are born beautiful. But most of us aren’t and we look for ways to
survive the slings and arrows of life.
Sometimes we choose to hide behind a mask. That Greek Comedy mask was the one I picked
way back.
As a means of self-preservation in the
cruel world of teenagers, I looked for the ‘funny.’ More often than not, I made fun of myself. This was easy to do. I knew the target well and there was a wealth
of material. And it didn’t hurt anyone
else, so people liked it.
When I left school and had a ‘real’ job,
I started writing stand-up on the side.
I rarely delivered it – usually I wrote for others. That led to a
regular newspaper humour column, and more.
So when it came to writing romance novels,
I fell back into ‘safe mode’. Write it funny.
IT’S AN ADDICTION
Worse than chocolate and foreign Counts…
Comedy writers take a situation, and ask themselves ‘what’s the worst
thing that could happen now?’ And then,
what’s the funniest?
What’s the worst thing that could happen to The
Goddaughter when she is reluctantly recruited to carry hot gemstones over the
border? Predictable would be: she gets
caught at customs. But I don’t want
predictable. I want funny.
Instead, they
get stolen. By a complete amateur! It’s embarrassing, that’s what it is. How is
she going to keep this from her new boyfriend Pete, who thinks she’s gone clean? And what the heck is she going to tell her uncle, the
crime boss?
Nothing, of
course. She’s going to steal them
back. Or die trying.
And
hopefully the audience will die laughing.
But why do it? Why does an
otherwise sane individual write zany and some might say silly comedy, and risk
the inevitable hit from critics who say your book is without great literary
merit?
One reason, and one reason only: many
readers love it. Their comments and
reviews are heart-lifting. I’ve
lightened their day with romance and laughter, and in some cases given them a
story they can escape into, over and over again. These readers are the whole
reason I keep writing screwball comedies.
Yes, it’s true. It wouldn’t be
fun to write if I didn’t have warm and generous readers.
Melodie
Campbell has over 200 publications and was a finalist for the 2012 Derringer
and Arthur Ellis awards. She is the Executive Director of Crime Writers of
Canada.
Library Journal says this about Melodie`s third
novel, The Goddaughter (Orca Books):
``Campbell`s
crime caper is just right for Janet Evanovich fans. Wacky family connections and snappy dialogue
make it impossible not to laugh.``
THE
GODDAUGHTER
Gina Gallo
would like nothing better than to run her little jewelry shop. Unfortunately, she’s also The Goddaughter,
and, as she tells her new friend Pete, “you don’t get to choose your
relatives.” And you can’t avoid them
when you live in Steeltown, and they more or less run the place.
When Gina is
reluctantly recruited to carry hot gemstones across the border, the worst
happens: they get stolen. By a complete
amateur! It’s embarrassing, that’s what
it is. Pete and Gina have no choice but
to steal them back, even though philandering politicians, shoe fetishists and a
trio of inept goons stand in their way.
It’s all in
a day’s work, when you’re The Goddaughter.
Short Excerpt from THE GODDAUGHTER
We got through the border with no
problem at all. Of course, it`s much
easier to get through borders without a semi-frozen dead body pretending to be
asleep in the back seat.
The Goddaughter
Gina Gallo is a gemologist who would like nothing better than to run her little jewelry shop. Unfortunately she's also "the Goddaughter," and, as she tells her new friend Pete, "you don't get to choose your relatives." And you can't avoid them when you live in Hamilton and they more or less run the place. When Gina bumps into Pete at the Art Gallery Gala, sparks fly. So do bullets, when her cousin Tony is taken down by rival mobsters from New York. It turns out Tony was carrying a load of hot gems in the heel of his shoe. When Gina is reluctantly recruited to carry the rocks back to Buffalo, the worst happens: they get stolen. Pete and Gina have no choice but to steal them back, even though philandering politicians, shoe fetishists, and a trio of inept goons stand in their way. It's all in a day's work, when you're the Goddaughter.
Gina Gallo is a gemologist who would like nothing better than to run her little jewelry shop. Unfortunately she's also "the Goddaughter," and, as she tells her new friend Pete, "you don't get to choose your relatives." And you can't avoid them when you live in Hamilton and they more or less run the place. When Gina bumps into Pete at the Art Gallery Gala, sparks fly. So do bullets, when her cousin Tony is taken down by rival mobsters from New York. It turns out Tony was carrying a load of hot gems in the heel of his shoe. When Gina is reluctantly recruited to carry the rocks back to Buffalo, the worst happens: they get stolen. Pete and Gina have no choice but to steal them back, even though philandering politicians, shoe fetishists, and a trio of inept goons stand in their way. It's all in a day's work, when you're the Goddaughter.
Giveaway Details
1 Ebook of The Goddaughter
Ends 2/3/13
I've never read a humorous crime novel, but I have to admit, you've got me interested.
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