Power Magazine 2025 Feature

While we prepare for the 2026 issue of Power Magazine, we’re taking a moment to revisit a standout from last year — our 2025 feature with the one and only Melody Carlson. Enjoy!

A Life in Fiction: Faith, Grit, and the Stories That Endure

Featuring Melody Carlson: A Trailblazer in Faithful Storytelling and Genre-Bending Grace

Whatever your aspirations are, I believe every person dreams of sitting down with someone in their field that’s “made it.” This might be more prevalent amongst the creative community, where we wear our hearts on our sleeves and our souls cover the pages of books or canvases. Some sit patiently behind a lens waiting to capture a brief moment of perfect time. Others hum melodies and harmonies until the words catch up to create a perfect song. In each of these, we give a piece of ourselves, and then we put it on display for the world to judge—and the world certainly does.

Having the opportunity to talk to someone who has been through it and come through the other side successfully—and somehow still intact—is an unimaginable honor and one that I had the privilege and pleasure of having with Melody Carlson.

To say I was nervous would be an understatement—but the moment I found out that Melody’s first published novel was titled Jessica (later re-released by its original name, The Long Way Home), I knew that all would be well. It was so much more than I could have asked for—it felt less like an interview and more like girls gabbing about life, passion, and the God that guides it all. Melody has such a wonderful heart, and her history of stretching the boundaries of Christian fiction resonated beautifully with my spirit and the goals of In The Name Publishing to share stories of broken and imperfect people who are saved by grace in a world that sometimes seems to have given up on hope.  

We’re excited to have you join us as we dig into the life, career, and legacy of Melody Carlson.

So many of our contributors are just starting out on their creative journeys and would love to hear about yours. When did you know that you were going to be a writer?

Honestly, I loved stories from the youngest age. I wrote all through school. In sixth grade, I started a newspaper for our school and wrote most of the content myself—using pseudonyms and even my friends’ names because I couldn’t get them to write. I just wanted to tell stories.

All through school, teachers would say, “You’re such a good writer,” but I took it for granted. I think when something comes easily, you don’t always recognize it as a gift. I try to point that out to kids when I speak at schools—listen to what others affirm in you. If it’s easy and you’re good at it, that might be your gift.

I kept writing—newspapers, PTA newsletters, and journaling. Then one day, my oldest son, a voracious reader, wanted to read Stephen King. He was only twelve. I’d already found everything I thought was appropriate, so we went to a bookstore. As we browsed the young adult section, I read a few first pages and thought, “This is so bad… I could write badly too!”

So, I went home and started writing a book. I didn’t know what I was doing. I was running a daycare preschool at the time. While the kids napped, I’d grab a yellow legal pad and write as fast as I could. I filled the whole pad with a book.

My husband got me an electronic strip typewriter—this was before computers. I’d write a thousand words, hit print, and out came the page. No memory, no saving—just typing and printing. I wrote another whole book that way.

Eventually, I moved to a DOS computer and kept writing. I started submitting work and sold pieces pretty quickly—not books at first, but articles. I couldn’t understand why no one wanted to buy a book. Turns out, I was writing fiction for the Christian market, which wasn’t very open to it at the time. Only a few authors like Janette Oke were getting published.

I kept going. I had five books written before I sold one. Then I went to work for a publishing company, and everything changed. I ran a whole line, learned the ins and outs of publishing—it was better than a master’s degree. When I left, I had several books published and was fully launched.

Because I started writing during nap times at the preschool, I learned to write fast. That’s how I’ve been able to publish over 250 books in 30+ years. It’s kind of unexplainable—but it started with a yellow legal pad and a calling I didn’t even realize was mine.

From preschool teacher, to the publishing world, and then a published author—but not just published, really doing well—what was that transition like?

It all happened so fast. Looking back, I can see how God was directing my path. Between teaching preschool and writing during nap times, I became an executive assistant at an international adoption company. That experience led me to a publishing house—where my best friend had married the VP. I became his assistant, and when everyone left, I took over the department.

Nothing in life had prepared me for that. I just figured things out on the fly. I was a writer and an editor, and I kept quiet about the fact that I was publishing books with other houses like Bethany and Nelson. Eventually, I published several books with the company I worked for—sometimes submitting under other names to avoid bias.

It was a whirlwind. My boys were teenagers, we relocated, and my plate was overflowing. I had the energy back then, and I won some awards early on. That confirmed my decision to leave a very good job—one where I’d climbed faster than any woman had in that Christian publishing company. That’s a whole story in itself.

When I transitioned to full-time writing, doors flew open. I started speaking at conventions—even though I didn’t enjoy it. I thought fiction writers could stay behind the veil, but that changed quickly. Suddenly, you needed a platform, even for fiction.

I always joke that Hollywood did authors dirty. It’s always “I wrote a manuscript and now I’m suddenly famous the first go around,” which most of us won’t see—but it seems like things really did take off for you early on.

I had a lot of rejection letters. I could’ve wallpapered my bathroom with them. But I ended up publishing with nearly every one of those companies over the years. So I always tell people: don’t give up.

It was the heyday of fiction—late ’90s through about 2012. Then the economy shifted, and many traditionally published authors turned to self-publishing. They’re doing great. I tried it too, but I’m a terrible marketer. That’s not modesty—it’s fact.

Back in the day, publishers hired publicists for me. Then came virtual assistants. I went through several before finally hiring a friend who’s great at social media. She helped launch my recent book, Welcome to the Honey B&B, which has really taken off—surprising everyone.

I credit part of the success of Welcome to the Honey B&B to my virtual assistant—but also to the content. It’s about my husband’s dementia and passing. There’s not much out there in the form of novels that are honestly written from lived experience. This one was.

So many authors can relate to that—we want to sell our books but also don’t really want anybody to know us. And you’re right, the publishing world has changed so much with so many options and self-publishing really has exploded. But your journey from legal pads to social media and staying relevant through all of those changes is incredible, especially with content that doesn’t really fit what we’d call traditional Christian fiction!

It’s been a long journey, but a good one. And yes, my first published novel was Jessica in 1996. It was republished later under its original title, The Long Way Home. But I loved that it was called Jessica—the editor believed in me, even though it was offbeat for Christian fiction. It’s about an adopted girl who runs away and ends up with a motorcycle gang. Not exactly your typical inspirational plot!

Eventually, I got the rights back and re-released it myself. The company I worked with went out of business, but that book was part of the early five I had written. I also did a post–World War II series for tween readers—the Alison O’Brien Series. I still get letters about it. Baker still publishes it, though it was Bethany at the time.

Then came two novels—one of which won the RITA Award in 1998. That was a shock. I was up against Terry Blackstock, Angela Hunt, and Francine Rivers, who had won so many times they retired her from the category. My book wasn’t even considered a romance by some, but it had a love story woven in. The next year I was a finalist again, and honestly, I was relieved not to win—it wasn’t a romance either.

I eventually left RWA, but I also won a couple of Gold Medallions early on. Those awards helped get things rolling.

Your journey is so inspiring. It’s what every author hopes for—those moments of breakthrough. But it’s hard. The rejection letters stack up. The market is oversaturated. And now, if you don’t have a name on social media, it’s tough to gain traction. What would you tell someone just starting out—sending out queries, facing rejection, wondering if they’ll ever get to do this the way they dreamed?

When I got rejection letters, I’d say to myself, “You don’t like that book? I’ll write another one.” And I did. I kept submitting. My mom always said I was stubborn, and you have to be. You need thick skin. If you can’t take critique or rejection, publishing will crush you.

But don’t take it personally. Sometimes it’s just timing, market trends, or what a publisher is looking for. I always tell people: just write. Don’t second-guess yourself while you’re writing. If there’s a story burning in your heart, get it out. Don’t self-edit mid-draft—it’ll stop you cold.

The most helpful thing for me early on was my critique group. They were amazing—some published, some not—but all supportive. We moved 30 years ago, and that ended my first group. But about 10 years ago, my friend (now my virtual assistant) wanted to start one. We’ve been going strong ever since. There are eight of us now, and I love these women.

People have told me, “You can’t write a psychological thriller that glorifies God.” They say addiction, abuse, mental health—those topics don’t merge well with faith. But I disagree—and you seem to as well as you tackle some of these issues. How do you blend faith with these hard realities in a way that’s true to life and still glorifying to God?

I try to write books that offer hope. Not necessarily a “happy ending,” but something that leaves the reader with grace and compassion. I want to show reality—what it’s really like—without sugarcoating. But I also want to show that healing is possible.

In Finding Alice, I created a place where someone with schizophrenia could receive the help they needed. People asked, “Does that place exist?” I said, “No—but it should.”

Most of my books offer help and hope. When Finding Alice came out over 20 years ago, there were few resources. Now, there’s more awareness, more support. I want readers to walk away with compassion—for those struggling, for those misunderstood.

In Welcome to the Honey B&B, I wrote about FTD—frontal temporal dementia. People didn’t understand it. So, I did what I always do when I can’t explain something: I wrote about it. I’ve written about OCD, addiction, suicide, and grief. And in every one of those stories, I’ve made sure the answer is Jesus.

We love that—it is so in line with our vision and our hearts. One last question before we switch to the topic of your new novel that was released in September. We live in a world that glorifies smut. It’s everywhere—TV, books, even ads. You’ve won awards for romance, even when people said your books weren’t “romantic enough.” How do you navigate that tension in a faith-based way?

Years ago, someone used the metaphor of old Hollywood: they’d imply something happened but do it behind a closed door. You trusted the audience to understand without showing everything. I’ve carried that into my writing. I believe readers are intelligent. You don’t need to rub their noses in it.

I recently read a book I liked [name/title redacted]. It was good but had a lot of gratuitous content. Some of it fit the era, but I kept thinking, “Close the door.” If I’d been the editor, I would’ve said that. I just don’t like media that overexposes. Let people imagine. Let them feel the weight without the excess.

Exactly! We can figure it out and don’t need line-by-line details. Thank you for staying true to your voice. Now, let’s turn to your newest novel Once Upon a Christmas Carol. I am giddy about this—what a title! Carol is a modern-day Scrooge, coming from a dysfunctional home, born on Christmas day, and totally over the holiday season—I love her already. But before we dive into that – we have to acknowledge that holiday releases have become like a tradition for you. Was that on purpose or did you just fall into these Christmas novels?

You know, I think this is my 25th Christmas novella. It’s hard to believe—it started about 25 years ago. I don’t even have all of them in my office anymore. There are just so many. It all began with my favorite editor—someone I’d known for years. She was the one who acquired my very first book, and we worked together on many after that. We both bounced around between publishers a bit, and eventually she landed at Revell. She reached out and said, “I want to work with you again,” even though I don’t think I’d published with Revell at that point.

She had this idea for something she called a “Christmas novella.” And at the time, no one in the Christian market was doing that. Maybe there was one out there—I remember checking Barnes & Noble to see if anything like it existed. I think Grisham might’ve had one, but of course, he’s Grisham. He can do anything.

So I told her, “Let me think on it. Let me noodle on it and get back to you.” And of course, the next day I had an idea. I think I called it Angels in the Snow or maybe Footprints in the Snow—I can’t even remember now. But they contracted it, and back then, I could sell a book with just a sentence. I know—it’s not fair!

It was an experiment. A smaller hardback book, something beautiful. Some of them turned out more beautiful than others, but that first one did well. So they said, “Let’s do another.” And here we are—I just turned in number 26, and I’m contracting more. It’s become a tradition.

We love that sort of tradition! Okay—let’s talk about Carol again. She’s coming from this dysfunctional home. She hates Christmas, she’s a modern-day Scrooge—and on the other side, we have Melody Carlson, the “queen” of Christmas stories. What is it like writing the complete opposite of that?

She’s a Grinch, for sure. And writing her was…timely. I wrote this book last summer while caring for my husband, who was dying. I was pretty gloomy and in a different state of mind, and I thought, “Yeah… I’m not very excited about Christmas either.” He passed away at Christmas. So writing Carol—someone who hates Christmas—felt strangely fitting.

I’m so sorry. That’s heartbreaking, and yet, it makes the story even more powerful.

You know, it was interesting, and what’s really interesting is, right now, life is imitating art. A woman recently came into my life—someone whose family I’ve known for years, on both sides, but I never really knew her. She’s 40, but I call her a youthful 40.

We connected in this amazing, only-God-could-do kind of way. Just a few days ago, we were talking during this odd stretch of cold, rainy weather—after weeks of 100-degree heat—and she asked if I’d ever consider going on a tropical Christmas vacation. She said she was dreading winter, and honestly, I was too.

We live about two hours apart, but I told her, “I always host Christmas. People expect it.” I’ve got two sons, some neighbors, and a tradition of serving Italian food on Christmas Day—which, funnily enough, made its way into this book.

So here we were, talking about escaping to the Bahamas, and I suddenly realized: this is just like my book. In Once Upon a Christmas Carol, the younger woman—Carol—gets stranded in snow country with her estranged aunt. And the older woman in the story? She’s recently widowed and not feeling very festive. That’s me.

When I wrote it, I could relate to both characters. I felt grinchy and sad. My own family was a little dysfunctional, but my grandparents loved Christmas. Thanks to them, I grew up with these magical holiday memories. My husband’s birthday was Christmas Day, and I gave Carol that same birthday in the book.

There’s so much life reflecting art and art reflecting life. Honestly, I don’t even remember writing it—I was so stressed. I had to hire a caregiver to sit with my husband while I worked. It was a hard season, but somehow, the story came through.

That’s so hard. Was there any healing in revisiting the story?

I never reread my books. I’ll spot-read a few lines before an interview, but that’s it. I wouldn’t have even connected the dots if I hadn’t been talking with my now “adopted daughter.” We’re jokingly adopting each other. She’s never had a real Christmas—no fire, no food, no people. But she will this year. I like to decorate, and you know the fire is going and the food is flowing, and there are people around. She’s not had that—same thing with the character in this book. She’s not had that either.

That’s a perfect transition into our final question. Carol starts out in a place of anger and disappointment—she’s stuck in that emotional fog that so many of us can relate to, especially around the holidays when those feelings tend to get amplified, like what you just shared. How do you take a character like that, drop her into snowy Michigan, and still weave in themes of hope and transformation? How do you bring those pieces together in a way that feels honest, but still full of joy?

Well, her aunt plays a big role in that. She’s grieving too, but she’s also this genuinely gracious, kind, faithful woman—someone Carol has never had in her life. She didn’t even know she had an aunt, so meeting her is a kind of awakening.

What’s interesting is that the aunt knows a lot more about the family history than Carol ever did. She helped raise Carol’s mother and understands the deeper reasons behind some of the dysfunction. She’s much more gracious towards Carol’s mom than Carol has ever been able to be.

That dynamic forces Carol to confront things she’s never dealt with. Their relationship starts off pretty rough—it’s awful, really—but because of the circumstances, they’re stuck together. And that’s the beauty of fiction: you can’t always resolve everything, but you can move it forward. You can progress the healing.

In real life, it’s not always that tidy. But I do believe that being in a loving, warm, gracious environment can change people. When you’re around someone who surprises you with grace, unconditional love, or acceptance—especially when you’re not used to it—it can shift something inside you.

Carol was craving that, even if she didn’t know it. Looking back, I think writing her story was a bit of a romp—fun in its own way, even with the heavier themes.

It’s such a relatable story for many! We are so excited to be able to share your background and journey with our readers and learn more about how Carol came to be and the heart behind Once Upon a Christmas Carol. I can’t thank you enough for taking the time to sit with me for Power Magazine’s special Christmas edition. It’s so fitting to highlight you and your work in this launch, and it means the world to us that you’re willing to do so!

About the Author

Melody Carlson is the award-winning author of more than 250 books with sales of more than 7.5 million copies sold, 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. She and her family live in central Oregon.

Get Connected:

MelodyCarlsonBooks@gmail.com.Facebook: @MelodyCarlsonAuthor Instagram: @AuthorMelodyCarlson

Do yourself a favor and pick up a copy of Once Upon a Christmas Carol today!