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Interview with Melanie Jo Moore, author of Letters to Young Chong

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Tell us about Letters To Young Chong

Letters To Young Chong is my first book in a planned series of memoirs. All of my life I have enjoyed being a storyteller. In LTYC, I share tales from my friendship with Melissa Moore. She moved to my very rural neck of the woods when we were approaching our teens. Even before we knew one another, everyone assumed that we must either be related or the same person with a typo. Once our bond was formed, we were inseparable and a serious force of trouble. The book gives you a peak into how our friendship developed. My readers describe it as a book that causes you to burst out laughing, but there are serious subjects and tearful moments encountered along the way. I recommend a stiff drink to accompany readers during the book.

Who is Melissa Moore? Someone famous?
Melissa is one of the greatest friends I could have ever asked for.  She’s not that cutesy Hallmark kind of friend with roses and puppies and kittens.  She’s the friend who will tell you how it is whether you like it or not.  She’s the friend that will trip you when you are walking together in the grocery store. She’s the friend who will leave you when you in the backseat of the car, drunk beyond drunk snuggled up to a lifesize Bunsen Muppet (true story).  She is that friend that is there no matter how dirty and rotten the situation.  I hope she can say the same of me.

Is she famous?  To me she is.

What would you say if someone asked you why they should read a book about the friendship of two real people that they don’t know?
There’s sex and booze throughout the story.  I mean, if that doesn’t pull you in, what does?  Speaking as a reader myself, I sometimes need that book that makes me want to call my best friend up and say, ‘hey, long time no see!  Let’s go get drunk.’  We need a reminder that we should stick close to those we love.

So what genre is it?
I had originally been told that I was writing a memoir that was Chick-lit. I can tell you though a good handful of my readers have been men … and they have loved it. It’s definitely a memoir, it’s definitely adult humor, and I definitely think it could be enjoyed by anyone over the age of 18.

So that’s the demographic of reader it will appeal to?
I think it will appeal to readers who need a break from serious reads. Occasionally we all need a good book that makes us giggle and gives us a chance to reminisce our more youthful years. I know this contraindicates the ‘serious subjects and tearful moments’ comment earlier, but it is about real life. Life isn’t always sunshine and hopscotch. You have to figure out how to make your good times override the horrors of your life. This book will get you in touch with that.

Sounds good to us. So how long did it take to write?
LTYC took about two years. Once I developed a fan club at work, I was encouraged to move along at a nice pace. A group of coworkers were reading the book chapter by chapter as I spit them out. Every day they would ask, “are you done with the next chapter yet?”

What was the most challenging part of your creative process?
Life interfering with passion. As much as I love to write and enjoyed writing LTYC, I was working a full-time job and going to college. There were times I had to tuck responsibility in a pocket and do what made me the happiest. I would be studying skeletal anatomy of the cat and before I knew it I was sucked over to Letters To Young Chong. I just couldn’t leave it alone. After I finished the book, I sadly put it aside and concentrated on college work. It was the right decision at the time, but a painful one for sure!

Skeletal anatomy of cats? Maybe you should tell us a bit about yourself.
I live on the Eastern Shore of Virginia. It is a rural peninsula that is often forgotten on maps and in general. I’m thankful that I grew up in a quiet neck of the woods which allowed me to learn how to entertain myself. Also, I can’t imagine what kind of trouble I would have been able to get into if I was raised in the city.

I am a licensed veterinary technician. Working with animals gives me a chance to get away from people, which is something I think we could all use from time to time. I am absolutely obsessed with pigeons.

Have you got a blog where readers can keep up with your work?
No, but that is my plan of action list. You know, when I’m not at work playing with blood or poop at an animal hospital.

How can we follow you on Facebook and/or Twitter?
https://www.facebook.com/LettersToYoungChong.

Where can we buy your book?
Amazon ( US, UK) and Barnes and Noble.

What’s next?
The next memoir I’m publishing is Tomato Stakes, The Memoir of An Unhealthy Obsession. You’ll see many familiar faces from LTYC resurface along with many new friends and enemies.

What can we expect from the rest of the series?
More sex and booze, for sure.  A lot more laughs and probably a few moments where readers will want to bang their head on the wall and scream, ‘WHY?!?”

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