I was born in Georgia and grew up wanting to be a writer. Because my father and I worked together in local little theater productions, my focus was on becoming a playwright.

     Aiming for glory on Broadway, I moved to New York City, but I couldn't interest anyone in the plays I'd written. After a couple years of steady rejections, I was mature enough and had leaned enough to understand why no one wanted my plays: they weren't very good.
   

     At the time, I was supporting myself as a photographer specializing in children and their pets. (Photography was an art I'd taken up at sixteen when I won a camera in an "I AM AN AMERICAN DAY" speech writing contest).

     There was a lot of creative satisfaction for me in capturing the personality of a child on film, especially when it made the parents and grandparents so happy. That was a thrill, and it made me realize that perhaps I wasn't meant to be a writer of plays.

     Through a mutual friend, I met a nice, cute, and very smart man with a wonderful sense of humor. We fell in love and a year later we were married. Because he was an agent who represented television producers and actors, we went out to dinner most evenings with his clients, but one night early in our romance, when he had no business obligation, he suggested that we order something to be delivered. I told him that I'd rather cook dinner myself; Beef stroganoff. He liked it so much he raved to his friends and colleagues that I was a terrific cook. What he didn't know was that beef stroganoff was the only thing I knew how to make! The next day, I enrolled in a New York City cooking school.

     It's an amazing irony that learning to cook (and enjoying cooking and creating dishes so much) eventually led me all the way back to writing. Now I'm writing a series of "culinary mysteries" that is published by Berkley Prime Crime. It's a particular joy for me because my favorite form of entertainment reading is mystery novels.

    

     The first book in the series is called KILLER MOUSSE and will be published on February 5, 2008.

   The Large Print edition of Killer Mousse, with that beautiful parfait-glass cover, will be published by Thorndike Press on August 20, 2008. If anyone wants The Large Print edition, it can be ordered from Amazon Books, or by contacting Thorndike Press directly, at 1-800-223-1244. 

     Currently, I'm writing book number two, which will be titled DEATH TAKES THE CAKE. It will be published in February of 2009. Also, in 2009, I'll have a mystery short story published in an anthology from the American Crime Writers' League. The tentative title of the anthology is MURDER PAST, MURDER PRESENT.

     I live in Los Angeles, California, now. Recently, I lost my beloved dog to inoperable cancer and kidney failure. She'd graced my life for ten years and eleven days, ever since a close friend found her when she was an eight-week-old abandoned puppy. She passed away on the last day of 2007, leaving an immense hole in my heart. Happily, I have many photos of her, alone and with the cat who was her loving four-legged companion.

     I've never had a pet that wasn't a rescue. Meet my new best friend, Amber, a female German Shepherd born without a tail. She was given to German Shepherd Rescue, a no-kill shelter, on April 19, 2008, and I adopted her the next day. When she came home with me, she was a 3 months old, grayish, fuzzy puppy. Three and a half weeks later, she was already becoming a sleek young lady. I am in awe of the wonderful people at German Shepherd Rescue in Burbank, California. They're all volunteers; no one gets paid. All donations go to the care of the dog orphans they rescue. If you want to look at some of their gorgeous residents, their web site is www.gsrescue.org. Because I'm a writer, I work alone, but thanks to Amber, I'm never lonely!

     On a professional note, I belong to the Mystery Writers of America, the Writers Guild of America, the American Crime Writers League, Sisters In Crime, and the Authors Guild. This is another irony: I never used to belong to organizations, but I've made some precious friends in these.

     Thank you for visiting my web site. I hope you enjoy Chapter One of KILLER MOUSSE, and the recipes from my kitchen and from the kitchens of friends who were kind enough to let me share them with you. Keep checking the site because more recipes will be coming. For example, in DEATH TAKES THE CAKE (which revolves around a cake baking competition) I had to invent a cake for heroine "Della Carmichael" to enter. My neighbors enjoyed being the "taste testers," and they are all still healthy and still speaking to me.   MW

BOOK REVIEWS

"A delectable novel full of delicious moments and charming characters, Following cable TV chef Della Carmichael is like a sweet and spicy trip into the fascinating, and often perilous, world of television cooking shows. An appetizing debut!"
          Earlene Fowler, author of the Benni Harper Mysteries

"Della Carmichael is forty-seven and proud of it; she can cook up a storm, captivate a cable TV audience, enthrall an arrogant L.A. reporter and chaser of twentysomething hotties, and catch a murderer. More power to her! Melinda Wells provides an exciting, tightly plotted culinary thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat."
          Nancy Fairbanks, author of Turkey Flambe

"Killer Mousse is a treat, a classic culinary mystery played out against the eccentric backdrop of cable TV. Melinda Wells gets it all right, blending an artful plot with engaging characters in a fast-paced whodunit as satisfying as Della's 'Gangster' Chicken Cacciatore.
          Harley Jane Kozak, Agatha, Anthony and Macavity award-winning author of Dead Ex.

"Killer Mousse is that wonderful combination of mystery, romance, redemption, and girl-power. Melinda Wells gives you genuine insight into what's really going on behind the scenes."
          Linda Dano, Emmy Award-winning actress, talk-show host, designer and author of Looking Great...It Doesn't Have to Hurt and Living Great.

"Killer Mousse is a scrumptious morsel of mystery and mayhem. Take a pinch of murder, a dash of danger, stir it all together... Cooking show maven Della Carmichael is poignant and savvy -- an amateur sleuth to savor!"
          Linda O. Johnston, author of Flight of the Iguana