In this week’s episode, I spoke with Melissa Bond, author of the memoir, Blood Orange Night. Melissa Bond is a narrative journalist and poet. During her years of dependence on benzodiazepines, Melissa blogged and became a regular contributor for Mad in America. ABC World News Tonight interviewed her for a piece in January 2014. She is a respected writer on the perils of overprescribing benzodiazepines and has been featured on the podcasts RadioWest and Moms Don’t Have Time to Read Books. Her memoir Blood Orange Night was selected as one of the best audiobooks of 2022 by The New York Times and Moms Don’t Have Time to Read Books. Learn more at MelissaABond.com.
I am a fan of memoir and after hearing her speak on another news podcast, I picked up her book from the library. I couldn’t put it down. I love her writing style so I took a chance and I reached out to her over social media.
Today, we talk about how she got started writing as a child, the difference between poetry and spoken word, journaling, her love of being a journalist, her book Blood Orange Night, benzodiazepine medication and what it means to be addicted to them, how she managed to write a blog while at the same time fighting for her life, running a Kickstarter to fund her first draft, I read an excerpt of her book, how she wrote a traumatic event without it being a detailed list of bad experiences, the release of the book without the final chapter, the addition of the final chapter in the paperback release, the compulsion to write, the decision to publish traditionally, spending a year querying agents, and much more.
To learn more about Melissa:
Follow her on Instagram: @melissabauthor
Website: www.melissaabond.com
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