About the Author: Melissa Wiesner
What would you like readers to know about you?
I didn’t start writing until I was in my 30’s... I’d never taken a writing class or even written a short story before I sat down to write my first novel. The first draft was absolutely terrible, but I found wonderful writer’s groups to give me feedback, and I kept writing and revising. And eight years later, my seventh and eighth novels will be published! It’s never too late, and there isn’t one formula for success.
What music do you listen to (if any) when you write?
I have a playlist of approximately 1,000 songs that I listen to while I write. Apple Music tells me that this equals 2.5 days of music! I've built this playlist over the eight years I've been writing, and the songs that I add vary depending on the type of book I'm working on. When I was writing a road-trip novel that takes place in the western US, I listened to a lot of folk and alt-country music. When I was working on my latest book The Second Chance Year and needed a girl-power vibe, I added a lot of pop music from Pink and Taylor Swift to the playlist!
What books or authors inspired you to become a writer?
I read my first Kristan Higgins book while sitting in the NICU where my son (a preemie who came almost four months early) spent the first four months of his life. Kristan has such a talent for writing stories that are both heart-wrenching and funny, and they were exactly what I needed to get through that very hard time in my life. A couple of months later, after my son came home (he's a healthy 10 year old now!) I was looking for more books by Kristan and stumbled upon an interview where she talked about being a mom who started writing while her small children napped. I thought, "I could do that, too."
It was a huge honor for me when Kristan gave a quote for the cover of The Second Chance Year.
About the Book: The Second Chance Year
What is your book about for those who haven’t read it?
The Second Chance Year is the story of Sadie, a pastry chef who had an absolutely terrible year. She lost her job and her adorable NYC apartment after telling off her boss for bullying people at work. To make matters worse, her boyfriend broke up with her when she refused to put up with his sexist coworkers.
When we meet Sadie, she’s unemployed, crashing at her brother’s best friend’s apartment, watching the Golden Girls on repeat, and eating Nutella straight from the jar. She can’t help but wonder if she’d known then what she knows now, would she have made different decisions, and would life be so much better?
Sadie has the chance to find out when her best friend drags her to a carnival-themed New Year’s Eve party, and she meets a fortune-teller who offers her a wish: start over from the very beginning of her terrible year and do it all over again.
What has been your inspiration for writing it?
I imagine that at some point, most of us have something in our past—whether it’s a moment, a day, or maybe even an entire year—that we’d love to go back and have a second chance to do differently. This was my chance to explore whether going back and changing the past is really such a good idea!
What was your favorite scene or part of your book to write?
The Second Chance Year takes place at a café where Sadie meets a quirky cast of characters who become her “found family.” I had so much fun writing the scenes at Higher Grounds Café and exploring all the different personalities of the people who spend time there.
Where can your book be purchased?
Anywhere books are sold! You’ll find specific bookseller links here:
To the Future Writer:
What advice would you give to aspiring authors who want to write a book?
I love this question because I didn’t grow up wanting to be a writer or studying the subject in school. I was well into adulthood before I wrote my first novel, and I’m living proof that anyone can do it! My first draft of my first book was terrible. Embarrassingly bad. But it’s supposed to be bad, that’s why it’s a first draft. I think that’s where so many writers get stuck, though. They get in their own head and start worrying that their work isn’t good enough. You’ve got to move past the doubts and just get the book out in all its jumbled, disorganized, sometimes embarrassingly bad glory. Then you can focus on turning it into something great.
What’s next for you? Any events, upcoming pubs, etc.
My next book, Wish I Were Here is about a Type-A math professor who wakes up one day to find that her identity has disappeared. There are no government records of her social security number or driver’s license at the DMV, her bank accounts have shut down, and Human Resources won’t let her start her new job until she can prove she exists. So, she has to enlist the help of her free-spirited doorman and his huge, loud, chaotic, Italian family to help her get her identity back.
It’s available for preorder now!
Where can we find you:
Website: https://www.melissawiesner.com/
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What’s on your TBR list?
I’m currently reading an ARC of Kate Robb’s upcoming book, Prime Time Romance. I connected with Kate this past year because her book, This Spells Love came out on the same day as The Second Chance Year. They’re both romcoms with a touch of magic, so naturally, we became friends! We’re planning a fun giveaway together for our fall book releases (Prime Time Romance and Wish I Were Here) which are both a little magical as well!