Today we’d like to introduce you to Melody Felix-Prieto.
Melody, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I know this may sound cliche, but for as long as I can remember, I’ve always wanted to be a writer. I wrote my first screenplay when I was ten-years-old, and I’ve been writing ever since. After my mother remarried, she moved our family from Los Angeles to a small town in Georgia where I grew up. I didn’t grow up rich or had many friends at school.
My mom could hardly afford school supplies for us, let alone nice clothes. She always complained about money and quickly adopted my step-father’s negative view on life. My step-father wasn’t very pleasant to be around either. He was a pessimist who loved hitting me and my two younger brothers anytime we forgot to take out the trash. Writing became an outlet for me. It was my way of escaping my reality.
But then something changed as I got older; I allowed fear and doubt enter my mind. I let the negative comments from my family and other people convince me that I wasn’t ‘pretty enough’ to do this, or ‘smart enough’ to do that. For years, I believed this lie. The false belief that I wasn’t good enough. So I stopped writing. Not for lack of passion, but because I no longer believed I could do it. I felt I wasn’t smart enough or creative enough to be a writer. As a result, I coasted through life with a void that couldn’t be filled by other ventures I tried. I got into acting when I was younger, only to find I hated it. I attended film school because I thought I wanted to be a director but realized I hated standing on a set for 12+ hours, all the while thinking of all the unfinished stories I had stashed away in my hard drive.
In 2015 after I’d given birth to my son, I decided I could no longer listen to the negative chatter. There was an Untitled screenplay I had been working on since I was fifteen-years-old that needed to be written. For some reason, I was called to write it as a book instead. The day I sat down at my dining room table to write, I knew it wasn’t going to be an easy task, but I also knew I couldn’t let the story die with me. Besides, what did I have to lose anyway? Time? I had plenty. Sanity? Gone along with sleep.
Fast forward three long years later, THE TRAGIC + DIVINE was born, a young-adult, paranormal romance story about a young girl from a small town in Georgia who reluctantly falls in love with a fallen angel. Today, I am currently working on book #2 in THE TRAGIC + DIVINE series. Though I still struggle with self-limiting beliefs, I don’t allow the fear to linger. It’s my time. And I’m ready to see what happens next.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
It has not been a smooth road (I wish). My main struggle was getting out go my own way. I kept resisting my writing journey through procrastination, laziness, and self-doubt. My biggest advice I can give to young women: do not allow fear or self-doubt creep into your mind! Get out of your way. Whatever your goal, do it now–not tomorrow or the day after. I regret not continuing my writing journey early on even though I knew it was the path I was meant for.
We’d love to hear more about your work.
I am the author of the young adult, paranormal romance series THE TRAGIC + DIVINE, which follows the story of Alexis Minerva, who falls in love with bad-boy fallen angel Milo James.
What’s the most important piece of advice you could give to a young woman just starting her career?
Write. Everyday. Don’t give up. There is an audience for your story.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.melodyfelixprieto.com
- Email: melodyfelixprieto@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/melodyfelixprieto/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/melodyfelixprietoauthor
Image Credit:
Melody Felix-Prieto
Cover: Dissect Designs
Suggest a story: VoyageATL is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
