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Senior Inspirational Reviewer |
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MEET THE RT BOOKREVIEWS REVIEWER MELISSA PARCEL
(Article published in Romantic Times BOOKreviews Issue #295, September 2008)
RT senior inspirational reviewer Melissa Parcel may appear ordinary,
but her friends might disagree. "I read over 200 books a year," she says.
"That's not unheard of amongst RT readers, I'm sure, but in my circle of
friends it makes me an oddity."
A "straight-A bookworm" since her early days, Melissa was born again as a
teen. "I have gone to church my entire life, but I accepted the Lord when I
was in high school, after attending some youth retreats and camps," she
says. It was also through a church group that she met her husband of 11
years, LeeRoy, who brought a daughter, Kimber, to the marriage. "Her mom
passed away when she was 11, right after we got married," Melissa relates.
"So I have been essentially her 'mom' for 11 years and consider her my
daughter."
A former hospital dietician, Melissa attended grad school at University of
Iowa but otherwise has lived her whole life in the Pacific Northwest, which
she says she loves "almost everything about -- including the cool, often
rainy weather." Plus, "Every activity and terrain is an easy day's drive or
less -- the beach, the mountains, the desert, big cities, professional
sports," the Seattle Seahawks fan continues.
Melissa is often asked by friends and acquaintances, even her kids'
teachers, for book recommendations. For those who are wary of
inspirationals, she suggests books by Angela Hunt ("her current Fairlawn
series, set in a funeral home, is definitely one that could draw in readers
who like a moral book without it being overly preachy") and Lisa Wingate.
Besides inspirational books (and the Bible, which she tries to read every
day), Melissa enjoys some chick lit, romantic suspense, narrative
nonfiction and mainstream titles by Jodi Picoult, Jacquelyn Mitchard and
Fannie Flagg, and suspense books by Dean Koontz and Harlan Coben.
There's one trend in some inspie books that she doesn't like much: too much
sensationalist sin and not enough redemption. "There's a current series
right now that is bordering on too much bad behavior," she says. "At the
end of the second book of the series, we haven't come to the redemption
part of the story yet. I don't think that's what readers of Christian
fiction are looking for," she continues. "If there's bad behavior, I don't
think they want it to drag on and on -- at least I don't, anyway."
We asked Melissa a few questions:
Where do you live? Kelso, Washington (state!)
Married/kids? Husband LeeRoy, three children -- Kimber (22), Logan (9) and Grace (8)
Pets: Casey is our Corgi dog, Phoebe
is a calico cat, Daisy is a male rabbit (we thought he was a girl when we first got him) and my husband is very into
tropical fish so we have hundreds of fish (seven fish tanks)
Age: 39 (really!)
Day job: Stay-at-home mom
Dream job: Lying on a beach reading!
How did you come to RT BOOKreviews? Vickie McDonough, a former RT
reviewer, and I reviewed for the same website online and became friends.
When she had her first book published and moved on from reviewing for RT,
she recommended me for the position. I started out reviewing Love Inspired
books and Steeple Hill single titles, and then took on more of the
responsibilities. I believe I started in 2004, but it could have been 2003.
I'm not sure any more!
Favorite genres: Contemporary Christian fiction,
mysteries, mainstream fiction
Four or five all-time favorite authors: Francine Rivers, Angela Hunt, Charles Martin, Rosamunde Pilcher
Favorite fictional hero: I have no idea. I do like strong Christian male characters in stories.
Favorite real-life hero and heroine: My parents. They have shown me
unconditional love and support throughout my entire life.
Favorite book when you were a child: Little House on the Prairie series
Book you are an evangelist for: REDEEMING LOVE by Francine Rivers; most recently, ANIMAL, VEGETABLE, MIRACLE by Barbara Kingsolver.
Book that changed your life: THE BIBLE
Favorite TV shows: Lost (I am totally addicted), Amazing Race, House, Survivor
Hobbies: Reading (what else?) cooking, baking, learning about eating more locally and sustainably, blogging
Lifelong ambition: I'm very content with my life and am happy with
everything I've accomplished so far. I can't really come up with anything
major that I'd still like to do.
Where's the farthest you've traveled? Caribbean, Mexico, Canada
Your best feature or talent: I am fantastic at spelling.
Webspace: melissaparcel.blogspot.com
Where do you lurk on the Internet? paperbackswap.com
-- Compiled by Liz French |
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