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Melissa Ferguson is the bestselling author of titles including How to Plot a Payback, Meet Me in the Margins, and Famous for a Living. Her latest novel, The Perfect Rom-Com, is out now.
Melissa lives in Tennessee with her husband and children in their growing farmhouse lifestyle and writes heartwarming romantic comedies that have been featured in such places as The Hollywood Reporter, Travel + Leisure, and The New York Post.
In this Two Weeks Notice twist for booklovers, The Perfect Rom-Com is about an aspiring author who agrees to ghostwrite novels for a vain, demanding woman in a deal to get her own book published, but when the novels become smash hits, the agency, and specifically—her agent—realizes he can’t let her go.
That sounds wonderful! Can’t wait to read it. Let’s get to know Melissa as she talks about becoming an author, what she likes best about the rom-com genre, favorite part to write and more!
What are some of your favorite novels?
I have always loved P. G. Wodehouse and his old-fashioned British wit. He’s one of the most widely read humorists of the 20th century and for good reason. His creative, playful use of words always makes me laugh.
When did you know you wanted to become an author?
I had just finished up my master’s degree and was pretty much stranded in an Extended Stay hotel in a new city and state while my husband was working long hours in construction management for what was supposed to be a short-term job. And being broke with nothing to do, one can only circle the parking lot of the hotel so many times before hunting for something new. I had no friends, no job, no intent on getting a job there, and no money, so I did what so many of us are lucky enough to get to do: read.
At my younger sister’s prompting, what I got sucked into reading at that time was something that was wildly popular, theTwilight saga. I flew through those books in a couple of weeks. Then one day I saw a woman at the grocery store who had, of all things, a Twilight themed tattoo on her neck.
And I thought, Stephanie Meyer has impacted this woman, and the world, so deeply that this woman decided, for good or bad, to put this on her body as a result. An author has carried her own message out into the world and it has been reached by millions. I wondered what it would look like to write my own message into a fun, fictional story.
I had nothing to lose, so I opened my computer that day and began writing. And that day was the day I surprised myself with a passion for writing stories.
What drew you to the rom-com genre?
I’ve always loved You’ve Got Mail and stories with happy endings, fun middles, and hilarious starts. When my agent suggested I consider writing romance I told him I wasn’t interested initially, but then clarified that rom-com was another matter entirely. Two publishers wanted to take on my rom-com as soon as I finished, and that first three-book deal was my start.
What can readers expect from The Perfect Rom-Com?
Readers can expect The Perfect Rom-Com to be a booklover’s twist on Two Weeks Notice. Happy. Humorous. And of course, with love.
What was your favorite part or chapter to write?
I loved writing the first chapter because the scene where the aspiring writer Bryony Page walks into that writer’s conference and meets the agent is a humorous moment that hits all too close to home. When I stepped into my first crazy writer’s conference pitch session years ago it was so ridiculous, and I’ve been itching to write about it since. I hope readers love that scene as much as I did writing it!
What are you currently reading and what’s on your TBR (to be read) list?
My sweet friend (who I also met at a writer’s conference) Rachel Linden has Recipe for a Charmed Life out that I’ve been meaning to read for some time! RaeAnne Thayne also just sent me her new book, The December Market after she so sweetly endorsed The Perfect Rom-Com and it also looks so charming. And my friend Bethany Turner has a new book, Cole and Laila are Just Friends that will be hilarious as usual.
