Title: The Stories We Don't Tell
Author: Melissa Thayer
Genre: Contemporary
Release Date: May 15, 2015
Publisher: Booktrope Publishing
“Growing up had stolen the truth of us.”
A life worth living is a life worth sharing. Growing up in a small town in Montana not worth a name, that kind of life is not one Nick can manage, let alone comprehend. When fate gives him an existence he can barely recognize, he searches for meaning in the future he wishes existed, and attempts to escape a past that cannot be told, save for in the pages of a faded memory.
Melissa Thayer’s lyrical and poignant debut novel, part confession and part wistful longing, is an incisive look at love and loss, and what remains of a soul that is dashed against the rocky shorelines of hope.
To be honest, it was music. Song lyrics, the emotions felt from just the right sound of a bow across strings—music is what made me want to write in the more contemporary/literary style genre, especially for The Stories We Don’t Tell. Music has always made me feel things I became compelled to translate into words. Sort of a challenge to myself, I suppose.
When writing a book, what is your favorite part of the creative process?
Finishing. Alright, I’ll be somewhat serious. For me, it’s the unfolding of the story. I always have at least a loose outline to work from, but it’s the fun of that first draft when everything that comes out is a new idea. But then, I love revising. Love. There’s something about making the sentences work that is so satisfying. I wish I could revise my daily conversations because then I’d never sound like an awkward idiot.
When reading a book, what genre do you find most interesting/intriguing?
First, I love family stories, which could be any genre. Maybe it’s because you can have some crazy characters who the protagonist has to put up with because it’s a relative. Second, I really don’t have a preference of genre, if a story pulls at me on the first page, I’m in. Though it does help if there’s a little weird or surreal. Just enough to make it feel like it could really happen, but takes you out of your normal reality.
If you could co-author with any author, past or present, who would you choose?
Neil Gaiman. In my opinion, which counts for nothing, he’s hands-down the best storyteller presently alive. His imagination is fantastic. I’m not a fangirl. I don’t even like all of his stuff, but he seems like a kind person and someone who would be fun to collaborate with.
Have you always wanted to write or did it come later in life?
I’ve honestly been writing as long as I can remember having the ability. The furthest back I can recall, in regards to writing, was a poem about the rain written when I was six years old. I’ve never known life without writing. I used to read my terrible stories to my grandpa, and he would tell me what worked and what didn’t. Most of it didn’t, but I was like twelve or something and writing epic sagas about the Vikings and Normans, or there was my first book about the Greek and Persian Wars when I was eleven. Everything was drama and people dying tragically. I wish he’d lived long enough to see me write the way he wanted me to.
Sin City native Melissa Thayer writes fiction that touches upon the timeless truths of the human condition in poignant and thought-provoking ways. She enjoys writing about people and connecting readers with her characters.
She currently lives in Washington with her husband, daughter, and three cats.
THE STORIES WE DON’T TELL is her debut novel.
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