Staff Profile of the Month: November

From romance to wizardry, Melinda McRae explores the unknown in her novels

By Ashley Wiggin

By day, she’s helping faculty and staff as a Web information specialist in the TIER department of the SoN. By night, she’s a romance novelist, crafting tales of love, desire and intrigue in her Ballard home.

Melinda McRae, who has worked at the School of Nursing since 2000, began writing romance novels in 1987. Most of Melinda’s books are set in the Regency period in England, a short time from 1800-1820 made popular by the work of Jane Austen. Thus far, she’s written nearly 20 novels, the first published in 1991 and the last in 2001. Along the way, she’s also contributed to several compilation books and research articles on the Regency time period.

Melinda’s favorite of her books, “Married by Mistake,” (1992) tells the tale of two brothers, one of whom is a staff officer in the military and has agreed to an arranged marriage. Unable to leave his post, the elder brother stands in and accidentally finds himself married to his brother’s fiancée.

A native of Seattle and a graduate of both UW and WSU, Melinda is currently working on her next novel, which will take on a new genre: a combination of history, fantasy and romance. “It’s all about a wizard, who gets tied up in romance….” she said. “It’s always continuing to develop as new ideas are coming to me.” The book is still in development, and she hopes it will hit bookshelves in the next few years.

Research is one of her favorite parts about being a writer. “When I graduated from college, my parents gave me a lifetime membership to the alumni association,” she said. “The library resources here have been great for doing research for my novels!”

Aside from working on her new novel, Melinda enjoys knitting and beading, and is pursuing a second master’s degree in technical communication. She also speaks at and frequently attends local conferences for romance writers. She loves Halloween and is addicted to garage sales and “True Blood” on HBO.

For more information about Melinda and her books, visit her website www.melindamcrae.com