Although Melanie Lane Wells, Hinesville native, says it took her a little under a year and a half to produce the final copy of her novel “Hidden Secrets in Sandy Cove,” she admits that her debut novel has been in the works for years—sixteen years to be exact.
“I’ve been writing it all my life. I have notebooks full of different versions of the story,” Wells said of the 330-page novel set in Virginia Beach, which she describes as a hybrid of romance and suspense.
The publishing of the novel was a surprise to both herself and many of those around her. “I never thought I’d be a romance novelist,” said Wells. “But my mother was the most excited. She called everyone.”
When she’s not self-publishing novels, Wells works at the Cherokee Rose Golf Course where’s she’s been employed as a bookkeeper for six years. But you would never know that the woman who takes your cash at the snack bar was novelist, for she is very humble about her achievements. “I didn’t really tell anyone about it until it was done,” Wells said.  
But her writing career is far from over. While she’s still soaking in her literary accomplishment, only a month after receiving the final product she’s already started on her second novel with the working title “Dana’s Diary.”
As for creative inspiration, Wells credits her bright ideas to her love of reading (particularly Julie Garwood and Jude Deveraux) and her inner artist. “I have a very vivid imagination.”
But novels aren’t the only things she interested in writing. Lately Wells has been taking classes and experimenting with writing children’s stories. And, with two children of her own, she gets plenty of good ideas and feedback.
For more information about Melanie Wells or her novels, visit www.53351.authorworld.com.