Melody Carlson is the award-winning author of more than 250 books with sales of more than 7.5 million, including many bestselling Christmas novellas, young adult titles, and contemporary romances. She received a Romantic Times Career Achievement Award, her novel All Summer Long has been made into a Hallmark movie, and the movie based on her novel The Happy Camper premiered on UPtv in 2023.
In this interview, Melody shares some of her thoughts regarding her latest book, Welcome to the Honey B&B.
FF: Can you please provide a brief summary of your new book, Welcome to the Honey B&B?
With a moody teenager in tow, Jewel McKerry returns to the family farm to help her aging parents. Turning the old farmhouse into a charming B&B seems like a fun solution to looming money problems, but juggling her dad’s dementia, an old flame, and the oh-so-helpful neighbors is not exactly what she had in mind when she uprooted her life.
FF: Your female protagonist, Jewel McKerry, is ready for a life change and decides to return to her rural hometown in Oregon. What circumstances led to this decision?
Her primary motivation was her adolescent daughter Cooper, who was making questionable friends and choices. Jewel’s focus on successfully running her art gallery had distracted her from her single-parent goals (and life in general). Disillusioned with city life, she was ripe for a change. Plus she knew her mom Honey desperately needed help with her ailing husband early onset dementia.
FF: Jewel’s new neighbors have been labeled “trouble.” Why did they receive this title, and can you provide readers with more information on their backstory?
Thanks to early undiagnosed dementia, a few years ago her dad, CT, impulsively sold off a large portion of the farm that had been in his wife Honey’s family for generations. When she got upset, he began to blame the neighbors for buying the parcel and (in his mind) a feud was begun.
FF: Why did you decide to have one of your characters struggle with early onset dementia?
The biggest challenges facing this family seem related to CT’s diagnosis of frontal-temporal dementia (FTD). Not as well known as Alzheimer’s, FTD is aggressively progressive and can start early (average age is sixty). My husband began showing symptoms at sixty and, after many tests, was diagnosed in 2022. At sixty-seven, he is greatly diminished, and I’m his main caregiver. I’ve always believed my life challenges were meant to be shared as a teaching tool in the form of story, and FTD is no different. But I hope I handled it with a light hand. One thing my husband and I discovered early on is that humor helps a lot! I tried to include that in CT’s character as well.
FF: Your book addresses overall themes of life and humanity and love and forgiveness. Can you expound on why you chose to include these topics in your novel?
It was impossible not to embrace these themes in a family that had suffered numerous breaks, heartaches, and dysfunctions. When all three of these generations are suddenly thrown together in a difficult situation, they’re forced to face their unresolved issues.
FF: What do you love most about writing contemporary romance?
I honestly don’t think of myself as a “romance” writer per se. I love writing stories about everyday people with everyday contemporary problems and then stirring in a sprinkle of color, a sparkle of hope, and a dash of romance.
FF: With over 250 books written, it seems you’ve done it all! Is there a genre or subject you have yet to explore that you would like to?
I keep thinking I’d like to write a memoir. I started one years ago and really enjoyed it. I’ve been sort of haunted by the idea of finishing it. I’m not sure it’ll ever see light of day, but it’s not your typical story . . . more of a faith walk with lots of twists and turns.
Welcome to the Honey B&B
Melody Carlson
Revell
Genres: Romance
Release Date: March 4, 2025
ISBN-10: 0800746023
ISBN-13: 978-0800746025
Book Summary:
Jewel McKerry’s last few years have been challenging, and she is ready for a change. She has decided to return to her small hometown in Oregon. Her plan is to help her mom, Honey, care for her dad, who has early onset dementia. But traveling this journey with her mom is easier said than done. Jewel’s beekeeping-obsessed father can be a humorous handful, and her own daughter is fighting the move.
With household finances tight, Jewel proposes that they expand the family business beyond beekeeping and light farming and renovate the historic farmhouse to create a B&B. As the family bonds together in this shared venture, Jewel encounters new neighbors and a contractor, who used to be an old flame.
Juggling home renovations, family dynamics, and potential romantic interests, Jewel soon learns that it takes a village to keep a man with dementia (and a goofy sense of humor) from unraveling everything. Can a handsome widower and his teenage daughter be the key to making all this work?
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