Article : Valentine’s Day Interview with Melissa Hill, Kate Thompson and Tracy CulletonI was commissioned by Woman’s Way magazine to interview Melissa, Kate and Tracy for Valentine’s Day. Here are their stories. Enjoy! Melissa Hill
The couple went through a bad patch and split up for a time, but when they started talking again Kevin proposed and Melissa said yes immediately even though she was only 24. They planned to marry on a beach in Barbados but Melissa’s mum was too ill to travel so they tied the knot in Ireland instead. But ever the romantics, they got married again on their honeymoon in Bali. They haven’t spent a day apart since their first wedding day. Kevin, 32, runs a property agency, selling property in Eastern Europe, Cape Verde and Portugal, which gives Melissa a great excuse to tag along. She loves travelling so this suits her down to the ground. ‘I just bring my laptop and I can work from anywhere around the world,’ she says. ‘We’re off to Paris around Valentine’s Day.’ Lucky girl! ‘Valentine’s Day used to be a nightmare’, Melissa admits. For many years the couple ran a successful gift delivery service, All Occasions, which they sold at the start of last year. ‘It was so busy; we were flaked out on the couch by the evening. Last year was the first time we hadn’t done the gifts for seven years and Kevin sent me flowers on Valentine’s Day to mark it.’ Kevin reads Melissa’s books when they are finished and gives constructive criticism. But are any of her heroes based on him? ‘No, not really,’ Melissa says. ‘My mother thinks Kevin’s in them though.’ She laughs. ‘But some of his characteristics do creep in. My leading men tend to be supportive, like Kevin. But it’s not conscious.’ She advises would be writers to ‘write from the heart’. ‘Don’t write for the market,’ she says. ‘Get immersed in your characters and enjoy what you’re doing.’ ‘When Never Say Never went to number one last year Kevin went out and bought me a ring,’ Melissa says with a smile, showing me her diamond sparkler. ‘If he’s going away and he knows I’m here working he’ll hide a box of chocolates in the house for me.’ What a sweetie! Melissa’s latest book is Wishful Thinking. Her website is www.melissahill.ie Kevin’s property company is www.overseaspropertycentre.net
Quick Questions Your favourite romantic writer? Patricia Scanlon, I absolutely love her Your favourite romantic film or book? Cousins, a film with Ted Danson and Isabella Rossellini Your favourite romantic place? Bali Your idea of a perfect romantic evening? Out for a nice meal with Kevin, on a beach maybe Your ideal romantic hero from a book? Mark from ‘Three Times a Lady’ by Sarah Webb
Tracy Culleton
But it hasn’t always been easy for the couple. Tracy miscarried their first child, a huge blow to both of them. When Tadgh arrived they felt lucky and blessed. But they have a strong relationship, which gets them through the tough times. So how do they keep the romance in their relationship alive? ‘We love to walk together,’ Tracy says. ‘We talk. We laugh together a lot. And we make time for ourselves as a couple. Time on our own. Peter and I have to remember we were a couple before Tadgh came along and we’ll be a couple when he’s gone.’ Tracy combines her writing with her EFT practice. She’s just finished her fourth romantic novel and is taking a break to write a non-fiction book about how EFT can help writers. ‘EFT is related to acupuncture,’ she explains. ‘Instead of using needles you tap on the energy points so it’s painless and easy to use. It removes negative emotions and limiting beliefs.’ Sounds ideal for all those blocked writers out there. She will sell it as an e book on the internet. And does she have any tips for prospective romantic novelists? ‘Buy my e book,’ she quips. Tracy’s latest book is More Than Friends. Details of her books and EFT practice: www.tracyculleton.com
Quick Questions Your favourite romantic writer? Marian Keyes Your favourite romantic film or book? Rachel’s Holiday, a great contemporary romance Your favourite romantic place? Home Your idea of a perfect romantic evening? Dinner in a good Indian, just the two of us Your ideal romantic hero from a book? Luke from Rachel’s Holiday, a very modern anti-hero
Kate Thompson
It was serious from the beginning. ‘I was going out with someone else at the time,’ Kate admits. ‘I had to drop him. And now we’ve been married twenty years - wow!’ As a couple they are very close and Kate describes them as ‘best friends’. ‘He’s more romantic than I am,’ she says. ‘And we have great fun together. We have a very similar sense of humour.’ A wicked one, I suggest and she gives a wide grin. They got married in 1986 after several years together, because of a dress. Kate explains ‘I was in New Jersey doing Congreve’s play, Love for Love, and Malcolm was in Galway. My friend Monica Crawley, a designer, worked out a design for my wedding dress. I rang Malcolm and said ‘the dress is designed will I give the go ahead to make it?’ And he said ‘Ah, yeah, go ahead.’ So that was when the date was set - an excuse for a party and an excuse to wear a beautiful dress.’ Their daughter, Clara was born a year later. Kate started writing after nine years in possibly her best-known role, Terry Killeen in RTE’s Glenroe. Her first novel, ‘It Means Mischief’ was a huge bestseller and she hasn’t looked back. She’s about to record the audio books of Living the Dream and Sex, Lies and Fairytales in a studio in London and is very excited by the prospect. She’s no stranger to audio books, having worked as a much in demand voice over actor for many years, but this is the first time she’s recorded her own novels. Kate tries to write every day. ‘I enjoy it so much,’ she says with a smile. Kate is lucky, Malcolm reads her work daily and gives her practical advice. She also has another invaluable reader, friend and fellow writer, Marian Keyes. Her most recent novel, Sex, Lies and Fairytales, is one of the very first web-linked novels. ‘All the characters have their own websites,’ Kate explains. ‘Pixie, Rory . . . Malcolm and I did them (the websites) and it was the most enormous fun. They were a way of saying thank you to the fans. And while I was writing the blurbs for the Pixie books I thought why don’t I just write the novels? So I did. And Pixie’s first book is coming out in the spring with New Island publishers. It’s called ‘Hard to Choos’.’ And what advice would Kate give budding romantic novelists? ‘Read,’ she says firmly. Kate’s latest book is Sex, Lies and Fairytales. Her website is www.kate-thompson.com
Quick Questions Your favourite romantic writer? Jilly Cooper Your favourite romantic film or book? The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks Your favourite romantic place? The West of Ireland Your idea of a perfect romantic evening? Dinner in Jamaica, after scuba diving. With champagne of course! Your ideal romantic hero from a book? Rory McDonagh (one of my characters!) |
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