Melanie Dickerson's novel for young adults, "The Merchant's Daughter," has won the Carol Award as the best novel written for young people in 2011 from the American Christian Fiction Writers. The medals on the table are the medals her books have won at the Christy Awards. (The Huntsville Times/Kay Campbell)
MONROVIA, Alabama – Melanie Dickerson, who writes value-filled books for young adult readers, brought the trophy home from the Carol Awards, held in Dallas in September.
But if you left it up to her, the trophy would have two names on it, not just hers.
“I don’t believe I would have won any awards, if it had not been for my editor,” Dickerson said Monday.
She was describing what it was like to accept the award for first place for her "The Merchant's Daughter" in the books for young adult readers during the conference.
“My editor kind of reins me in. She takes my story and makes me make it better.”
Dickerson's stories are good. Her first book, "The Healer's Apprentice," was a finalist in 2011 for both a Carol Award, from the American Christian Fiction Writers, and a Christy Award, given by a group of Christian publishers. "The Merchant's Daughter" was also a finalist in this year's Christy Awards.
People who have read her books don’t believe her modest assessment of her abilities. Dickerson has set her first series of what will be four novels in Medieval Europe, in a time of serfs and Lords, servants and kings.
"Oooh, I love a good romance novel! And Melanie Dickerson writes very sweet romance novels," writes "Novel Teen" in an Amazon.com review. "But they're fairy tales, and fairy tales always include an evil villain and danger.
"‘The Merchant's Daughter’ did not disappoint. I loved Annabel and Lord Ranulf's characters. I loved the initial misunderstandings, and I especially loved how it all worked out in the end.”
Dickerson, who is completing the editing of “The Fairest Beauty,” a story based on “Snow White,” works at her own craft. Shy to read her own works aloud, she took a while to find a scene in “The Merchant’s Daughter” to read for a video to accompany this story, leafing through the pages of the book.
“I always see a word I think I should change,” said Dickerson, whose first career was as a special education teacher. “I wonder, ‘Why did I put it that way?’”
Recognizing the choices she has a writer is one reason she is constantly reading about how to improve her writing. At the conferences that surrounded the awards banquets, she attends workshops on different aspects of plot and character development.
Dickerson also helped organize a writer's group that meets monthly at the Madison public library, North Alabama Writers. Get information about that from her directly at Melanie@MelanieDickerson.com.
“If I didn’t keep reading articles and books and going to workshops, I think my writing would let my weaknesses come through more,” Dickerson said. “You have to know what your weaknesses are so you can work on them.”
And if that’s sounds like a life lesson any Christian can appreciate, well, that’s OK with Dickerson, too.
“The messages in my books aren’t necessarily Christian, but my characters are Christians and are very mindful of what God would think of their actions,” Dickerson said.
Dickerson's next novel, the final one in this contract with Zondervan press, takes a plot line from "Cinderella," and develops the lives of some of the characters readers first meet in "Healer's Apprentice" and "Fairest Beauty."
Below is the trailer introduction that Zondervan produced for the book --
Author's note: Updated 10-2-12, 12:57 p.m., to include writer's group info.