Melanie Lageschulte Books In Order

Publication Order of Mailbox Mysteries Books

Publication Order of Melinda Foster Books

Publication Order of Short Stories/Novellas

Melanie Lageschulte is a chick-lit and literary fiction author from Iowa. She grew up on a farm in northern Iowa, where she spent a lot of time with a wide assortment of four-legged friends. As an adult, she spent much of her time telling the real-life stories of Iowa as an editor and reporter. She started out as an obituary’s writer for “The Des Moines Register” before she became features reporter and then editor. Melanie found the going tough when she lost her job in 2014 and had to turn to fiction writing to keep herself sane and give her creativity an outlet. Her efforts bore fruit when she published her debut novel “Growing Season” in 2017. Her debut novel went on to spawn several more titles in the bestselling “Season” series. Melanie also has a novella titled “A Tin Train Christmas” that she published in 2017.

Unlike many authors who always knew they were destined to become authors, Lageschulte had no such thoughts even when she worked for the newspapers. She had never thought of fiction as something she could do professionally, though she had once created a long-form narrative project inspired by her family’s service in the Civil War service. While it was a non-fiction work, she included a few dramatic elements and surprisingly found that she loved writing it as opposed to the short form she was trained to write as a journalist. After she was laid off from her job, she decided to cover the same themes in fiction form though it needed so much work and research that she opted to write something more positive. As such, much of the “Seasons” novels are written to be fun given that Melanie wanted to make the project a bright spot when things were not going so well in her life. She did not have a full-time job, had lost her cat to natural causes and Fremont Creek had jumped its banks to destroy her parents’ property and home. As such, being able to get into the cozy mystery world was a welcome escape during these difficult times.

Melanie Lageschulte set out to just write what she knew, though her circumstances provided a lot of inspiration. Having been devastated after losing her job and living in uncertainty and a loss of income, she found herself in a very dark place. She started cutting back and living simply as she became acutely aware of what was more important in her life. Melanie had lived in the urban areas though she grew up in the country for much of her childhood. She thought it would be better if she combined the two worlds and started kicking ideas around. The lead in her “Season” novels breaks away from the banality of everyday life which is what every person craves to do at one time or another. While she never had an inkling of how the process would go, she just started and kept going. It was, for the most part, finding a balance between moments when nothing seemed to be happening and creating compelling action scenes. Since she was a new author with no connections and no experience, it was an arduous journey to get her words and ideas from her laptop and into the readers’ hands. Melanie had to design her covers, take her own photos and even paginate the interiors. She even drew the maps of the farm and the small town of Prosper without an editor which was quite different from what she was used to having come from traditional media. But she does assert that her experience in the media served her well as she still had to ask why is the story important and why does the telling of it matter? It all came back to telling people’s stories and this she knew how to do from her time as a journalist.

Melanie Lageschulte’s debut novel “Growing Season” is a heartwarming novel that introduces the lead character of the Melinda Foster series. Melinda was at a turning point but then she sees a “for rent” sign pointing down a dusty road and takes it. She had been working a copywriting job and is now about to turn forty when she is hit by the news that she no longer has a job at the Twin Cities advertising agency. She is struggling and trying to find her way through one of the most difficult periods of her life when a phone call forces her to go back home to Iowa. It is not long before she is living in the old farmhouse in rural Iowa. She is also working the ancient hardware store owned by her family in the little town of Prosper and is in charge of caring for the farm animals She never expected anything good to come out of her move back home to Iowa but soon things are taking a turn for the better as Melinda begins to thrive. Full of memorable characters the novel is a compelling celebration of the joys and pains of rural life.

“Harvest Season” by Melanie Lageschulte opens to Melinda Foster enjoying her new life in rural Iowa. At the opening of the novel, it is August and her garden is overflowing with fresh goodies. Two months after taking what was an unexpected break from her chaotic life in the big city, her efforts at making sense of her life seem to be paying off. During this time, she has become an expert at wrangling flocks of stubborn sheep, outsmarting some headstrong chicken and also learned how to preserve farm produce to sell later for a profit. But even in Prosper the little town in Iowa, things are always changing. When one of the employees of the hardware store makes a startling announcement, Melinda is forced to take a trip to Minneapolis. Back in the big city, she realizes that she has established such deep roots in Prosper. As the seasons change and the months roll by, she has to make the choice between an uncertain future and happiness and the security that city life and a job offered.

Melanie Lageschulte’s “The Peaceful Season” opens to Melinda Foster packing away all the memories of Minneapolis, the place she once called home. A reflective hush comes over the farm and the surrounding fields as the holidays beckon. Melinda has several ideas that she has gone over several times and now believes will make for a perfect season. She has to prepare her animals and farm for the winter, host the Christmas dinner for her family, and use the marketing skills she had to make the holiday festival the best Prosper ever had. But then a mysterious visitor comes in and Melinda learns that there is more to Christmas than expensive decorations and elaborate celebrations. With the help of new and old friends, Melinda learns that she is truly home at last rather than just for the holidays.

8 Responses to “Melanie Lageschulte”

1. Linda Ferguson: 9 months ago

   Love your books In this season series. Can’t wait to get started on the next series. Usually I’m done with the series after reading about 2 or 3 and can’t finish them But I do love this. Wish they would have gone on forever… All the Characters are my friends as well as characters in your book Thanks So much for a great read. Also love the way you write. I lived in Rock Island for over 30 years so know the area well.

   Reply
2. Joan: 1 year ago

   Love your books. Can’t wait for new reads.

   Reply
3. Bruce Dinsman: 2 years ago

   it would seem that you are a victim of your own success. I read the entire Seasons series as they came out and liked the new Mailbox Mysteries so much that I went looking for more and found that it was just a new release. Now I’m jonesing for a fix of Iowa. Help?

   Reply
4. Maureen: 3 years ago

   Please say there will be more to this series. I already ordered the kindle version of firefly season. Can’t wait to read it. The only problem is I get it and read it so fast!!!!!!. Please let there be more to come!

   Reply
5. Sara Carlson: 3 years ago

   When is the 10th book in the series’s going to be published???

   Reply
   • Graeme: 3 years ago

     Scheduled for October 26th, 2021.

     Reply
6. judy loveland: 4 years ago

   I this series I hope there will be more t this than what there already are. I read the first book so fast is was that good.

   Reply
7. Kathy: 4 years ago

   I love your books.

   Reply