The Secret of Hillcrest House

Melanie King

Canada4 Books

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BIOGRAPHY
Everything you wanted to know about Melanie but were afraid to ask...

A native of eastern Ontario, during her pre-school years, Melanie Robertson-King lived in a winterized cottage on the shore of the St Lawrence River. Before starting school, her family moved to Brockville where she received her education, including a post-secondary degree in Computer Programming.

Growing up as an only child, Melanie was an avid reader and remains so to this day. She knew then one day she would be a writer. When she wasn't talking about her dream of becoming an author, she wrote stories and began honing her skills at an early age.

Melanie's father was a Scottish national. He came to Canada as a 'Home Child' through the auspices of The Orphan Homes of Scotland. She promised herself that one day her feet would touch the soil in her father's homeland. That first trip was in 1993 and she's not looked back since, having returned to the auld country a further eleven times and is looking forward to trip number twelve. On one of her many trips to Scotland, Melanie had the honour of meeting Princess Anne (The Princess Royal) at the orphanage where her father was raised.

Encouraged to study Highland Dancing, she competed locally. Her final competition took place during the summer of 1969, a few short months after her father's death, at the 1000 Islands Highland Games. In that last event- she won the Silver Medal in the Sword Dance.

Melanie began her professional writing career in non-fiction. She published eight of her articles. One graced the cover of an international publication. At the same time, she continued to develop her writing voice: short stories (both fiction and non-fiction) as well as novel-length work.

Her debut novel, published by 4RV Publishing, A Shadow in the Past, came out in the summer of 2012. Melanie even made the trip to the Kansas Book Festival in September to celebrate the launch of her novel. She met her publisher and editor face-to-face for the first time, along with two other authors from the publishing house.

Other works by Melanie include a compilation of short stories, The Consequences Collection; a children's chapter book geared to ages 7-11, Tim's Magic Christmas; and a short novel set in a fictitious Eastern Canadian haunted house, The Secret of Hillcrest House. Her short story, Cole's Notes, was included in EFD1: Starship Goodwords, published by Carrick Publishing, 2012.

The sequel to her debut novel, Shadows From Her Past, came out in the summer of 2016. She released her latest novel, YESTERDAY TODAY ALWAYS, in September 2017.

When she's not sequestered in her cave writing, plotting or editing, you'll find her out about. In addition to writing- she loves to travel- prowl through cemeteries (the older the better):- and photography.

Cole's Notes has been re-edited and is available as a free read through her website and blog.

It Happened on Dufferin Terrace is her seventh book.