Episode 132
How Nashville Shaped an Author's Life and Her Novel, The False Flat -132
On this engaging episode of Author Express, host Kathleen Basi welcomes Melissa R. Collings, an award-winning author and self-described “unicorn” of Nashville. Discover the creatively charged vibe of Nashville beyond its country music roots, and hear how Melissa’s background as a spine surgery physician associate influences her writing. The conversation teases at her emotional and witty novel, "The False Flat," inspired by real-life cycling stories and her own biracial identity. Wondering how a Cap’N Crunch cameo or a wild Bonnaroo festival scene fits into the story? Find out how Melissa faces complex themes like social anxiety, belonging, and finding light in dark times. If you crave authentic author insights, personal reflection, and the perfect blend of romance and drama, this episode will inspire and surprise you.
Melissa R. Collings is an award-winning author and former spine surgery physician associate who traded the OR for the page—but brought the scalpel-sharp emotional and psychological depth with her. A biracial writer with an endless fascination for life’s contradictions, she writes stories that reflect complex relationships, rich representation, and the many ways identity shapes who we are. Her novels will make you laugh, wreck you a little, and stay with you long after the last page—always balancing light and dark, laughter and heartbreak, glitter and charcoal smears. When she’s not writing or plotting, you can find her chasing her two kids in Nashville, studying preventative health, or losing herself in a painting. Her imagination never fails to get her into trouble, and she lives by the philosophy: nothing is impossible, and everything is better with glitter—except surgical wounds.
You can find Melissa online or subscribe to her weekly newsletter for behind-the-scenes bookish fun, medical moments, and reader extras:
Newsletter: melissacollings.com/newsletter
Website: melissacollings.com
Facebook: @MelissaRCollingsAuthor
Instagram: @melissarcollings
Support your local bookstore & this podcast by getting your copy of The False Flat at Bookshop.org
A little about today's host-
Author and musical composer Kathleen Basi is mother to three boys and one chromosomally-gifted daughter. Her debut novel, A SONG FOR THE ROAD, follows a musician on an unconventional road trip. Bestselling author Kerry Anne King writes, “In a novel filled with music, heartbreak, and surprising laughter, Basi takes us on a journey that encompasses both unimaginable loss and the powerful resilience of the human heart.”
Meaty, earnest, occasionally humorous, and ultimately uplifting, Kathleen’s fiction highlights the best within ourselves and each other. She writes monthly reflections on life, writing and beauty on her newsletter. Subscribe at https://kathleenbasi.substack.com/.
Be sure to follow or subscribe to Author Express wherever you listen to podcasts and to follow us on Instagram @AuthorExpressPodcast
Learn more about our hosts, the guests we've had, and their books -
Transcript
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Kathleen Basi [:Welcome to Author Express. Thanks for checking us out. This is the podcast where you give us 15 minutes of your time and we give you a chance to hear the voice behind the pages and get to know some of your favorite writers in a new light. I'm one of your hosts, Kathleen Basi. I'm an award winning musical composer, feature writer, essayist, and of course, storyteller. Let me tell you a little about today's guest.
Kathleen Basi [:Melissa R. Collings is a former spine surgery physician assistant turned award winning author whose emotionally layered fiction will make you laugh, maybe wreck you a little, and almost certainly stay with you long after the last page. When she's not writing or plotting her next story, she's chasing her two kids, curating her beloved weekly newsletter or losing herself in a painting. Welcome, Melissa, to Author Express.
Melissa R. Collings [:Thank you, Kathleen. I am so excited to be here.
Kathleen Basi [:It's so good to have you. I want to ask you a couple of questions, but let's start with the standard first question, which is what is the most interesting thing about where you come from?
Melissa R. Collings [:I think this is a fantastic question. So I am from Nashville, Tennessee, of course, and I think most people, when they think about Nashville, they think about country music. And so I wanted to really highlight that this place, this city, is so much more than country music. It is an eclectic, its city teeming with creativity. So many people for music, writers, food, everybody coming together and like giving this creative space, all with this like Southern charm background. I mean, this is a place I've been talking to, looking into, visiting Europe and talking to friends about what it's like in New York and things like that. Having this conversation about how people don't typically smile on the street and you know, we don't wave, you know that that's considered odd. A lot of the Instagram people or Instagram videos that I've been watching about going to Paris and things like that, they're like, don't, don't smile.
Melissa R. Collings [:We're skeptical of that. And isn't that funny? So here, I mean, this is the south, but we smile and wave at random strangers. It's like, do you know that person? Well, no, but why not smile? Why not, you know, wave? And so that is, I think that's characteristic of Nashville. But everybody, it seems like everybody here is from somewhere else. So I was born in Nashville, so I'm considered a unicorn because so many people have come in exploring different areas, exploring different aspects of, of this life here. So I think that is probably one of my favorite things about Nashville. Even though there Are so many that I could choose from.
Kathleen Basi [:That's fun. I told you on email that I had applied to Vanderbilt University when I was going to. When I was looking at colleges. And so there was a period of my life where I thought I might actually be there. Didn't end up that way.
Melissa R. Collings [:But I wonder if, like that whole pathway, like, do you ever wonder what your life would be like if you.
Kathleen Basi [:Oh, of course. Of course.
Melissa R. Collings [:Yeah. Yes.
Melissa R. Collings [:Completely different. I like to think about that sometimes.
Kathleen Basi [:I would never have met my husband, so I always remind myself that I am where I'm meant to be.
Melissa R. Collings [:I love that. I think that's important we find different. You know, you came to Nashville and that probably led you, influenced you in some way, you know, even though you didn't end up staying here. I like that. I like thinking about things like that. Where we are meant to be. Where we are. Where we are meant to be.
Kathleen Basi [:Meant to be. That's right.
Melissa R. Collings [:Yes.
Kathleen Basi [:So tell me, this book has a strong bicycling component. So are you a cyclist yourself?
Melissa R. Collings [:No, I am not. Okay, so the false flat is a cycling term. It is where the road ahead looks flat and easy to ride, but in reality there's this subtle incline that wears your legs out. So it's a metaphor for my main character's life. But I do not cycle. My father in law cycles, though. And this idea for this book came from him. And he told me about this beautiful story about this couple who had met in a cycling group and this man who was almost too good to be true, and how he influenced this woman who really didn't.
Melissa R. Collings [:Hadn't really found her place and she found herself through a relationship with him. But it was. And it was such a beautiful story.
Kathleen Basi [:And it was a true story.
Melissa R. Collings [:It's based on a true story. I didn't know the people, but it was just. He gave me this little snippet and I went from there because it was a challenge for me. I didn't write women's fiction, romantic fiction. I didn't write that. I lived and read psychological suspense and thrillers. Oh, yes. And so it was a challenge that I decided to take on.
Melissa R. Collings [:And the characters kept talking, but I had to lean on him for the bicycling stuff. And that was a lot of fun. I did have one moment where I got on the back of a bicycle inspired by this story, which is wild in my neighborhood, and I am flying down the sidewalk and I'm thinking, oh, my goodness, I am a cyclist. This is amazing. I can't believe I haven't done this. Penelope is right. Well, that was a little downhill, and I didn't realize it. So coming back, I realized, ooh, I am not a cyclist.
Melissa R. Collings [:Let me just leave that on the page.
Kathleen Basi [:This reminds me of my husband and I took our kids to Estes Park, Colorado, a number of years ago, and we were staying at this place called Overlook Ranch, which was absolutely beautiful, but it was at the top of a hill. And I knew this because I had tried to go running, and it's at an elevation, of course. And so I went out for a little while and came back. And when my husband went out to run, he's like, well, I'm going to go to blah, blah, blah, blah. And I was like, you know, I feel like you should go down a mile and up a mile and down a mile and up a mile. No, no, no, I'll be fine. And he's. And then he comes back and he's just about dead.
Kathleen Basi [:He's like. He's like. I thought it was going to be so easy coming back. Oh.
Kathleen Basi [:Anyway, your story just reminded me of that.
Melissa R. Collings [:Oh, I relate to that so much because it is. It's that it's kind of that metaphor for life. You think it's going to be easy. You think you can do this thing, and then you're like, oh, wow, right? I did not do this thing.
Kathleen Basi [:So I invited you on because I loved your book the False Flat. So can you kind of summarize it for us in one sentence?
Melissa R. Collings [:Yes, absolutely. So this book follows a socially anxious but professionally capable woman rebuilding her life in a new city, Nashville, with the aid of Cap' N Crunch, of course. And she has to confront the past that she tried to outrun in order to claim the future and the love that's finally within reach.
Kathleen Basi [:Beautiful. It's a beautiful book. Is there a scene or a moment in the book that feels particularly personal to you?
Melissa R. Collings [:Okay. When you first started that sentence, I started thinking about one of my favorite scenes, but it is not personal to me. One of my favorite scenes is the Bonnaroo scene where we have the LSD Marshmallow. I've never done drugs in my life, so I cannot relate to that. But what's personal to me is Penelope is biracial, and she did not start out biracial. But as I grew to find my author voice, I realized that to have her be biracial was probably would resonate more for me, and I connected more with her by making her biracial. But there's a scene in the book, that's fairly vulnerable for me. Now, I am not like Penelope in most ways, but I gave her my hair struggles and I gave her the struggles of a biracial woman that I experienced.
Melissa R. Collings [:And one of those scenes when she had when she was young where she was essentially bullied, that was very personal for me. I'm gonna get a little bit deep here, Kathleen. Please be like, oh, okay, please. This is kind of personal. But when you are biracial and a lot of people, it's not just being biracial. It's when you feel like you're in the middle. And I think all of us in some ways feel like, well, you don't quite belong to this group and you don't quite belong to this other group, and you're kind of floating in the middle and you're just not sure where to put your feet. This was kind of that.
Melissa R. Collings [:The experience that she had. So that scene. And you. You may remember the scene I'm talking about where she is kind of a flashback to when she was young and bullied over this and her hair was involved. But essentially it boils down to that feeling of not really knowing where you belong in this world and then having. And then finding. Finding your place. So.
Kathleen Basi [:And that's like the story that. That's. You know, they say you find the thing that makes it so personal that it becomes universal. And I feel like that's what. That's what you've got in this story. It's beautiful.
Kathleen Basi [:I'm so glad. I'm so glad.
Melissa R. Collings [:Thank you so much.
Kathleen Basi [:One of the things that people talk about a lot is that there's humor and there's like almost sort of rom com, but then it's very. People were like, I don't. If you look at the reviews, people are like, I don't. Didn't expect to cry this much. Emotionally wrecked. As you said in your bio. How do you balance writing a compelling story and exploring such complex themes as you do social anxiety and. And feeling to find your place in the world?
Melissa R. Collings [:Okay. I think that I realized that this is my style, and I don't. My husband called it a "rom dramedy" where it's a little bit rom com, little bit drama, little bit tragedy. This is me. So when I talk about, you know, being, I am mixed in all the ways. So I really love to laugh and I love to make people laugh. And I love the lightness in life, the magic of life. I think it is important to take any dark thing and find the light inside or shine light or on it.
Melissa R. Collings [:You know, some things, you know, that are dark might not have light inside. But so I think that that is important. I think there is light that we need to focus on. But I also think that life is so hard. I have had so many struggles in my life, and I think having walking through those things is one of the most important things we can do in life. And what I mean by is we don't pretend it's not happening. We acknowledge that sometimes life stinks and we find our way. I like writing, writing through that process and coming out on the other side, letting people see through character.
Melissa R. Collings [:And this has not been a struggle that I have had a lot of things Penelope went through. But, you know, we can all relate to this really hard struggle that you go through. But how do you go through it? You know, how do you get to that other side? How do you find the light in the darkness? And I think that's really what my goal is. I love exploring complex human emotions because we have them and they're real. But I also love having a good time. So, yes, it is. It's funny because people are like, well, this. I thought I was in for a rom com because it is very rom com y in the very beginning, but I think that's.
Melissa R. Collings [:I pretty much realized with all the books that I've written, I'm always going to go to that deep place because I think that's important.
Kathleen Basi [:I knew there was a reason I wanted to interview you. We're like, right on the same page here.
Melissa R. Collings [:I love it. I love it. Yeah.
Kathleen Basi [:So what part of the writing process do you enjoy the most?
Melissa R. Collings [:Oh, my goodness. I love so many aspects of the writing process. I think after I have that first draft down and going back through and revisiting my pages and really polishing it is my favorite part. I love drafting. It's fun to explore, but it's a little bit stressful. I love when the book comes out and everybody starts reading it, but it's also a little bit stressful. You know, it's like, oh, how are people gonna take this? And, you know, so many unknowns. But when you have a draft and you are just, you know, the character and you are adding flair and polish and nuance, that's my favorite part.
Kathleen Basi [:This is just a wealth of great material you've given us today if people want.
Melissa R. Collings [:So I love talking about it.
Kathleen Basi [:Oh, I know. I can tell. If you wanted to have people come find you, what's the one place they should go?
Melissa R. Collings [:My website, melissacollings.com It's melissacollings.com. I go by Melissa R. Collings, but there is no R in my website, so. And you can sign up for my newsletter there. You can see all of my social media stuff. I do a weekly newsletter. I love doing that and it's one of my favorite way of connecting with people.
Melissa R. Collings [:We just passed the one year anniversary of the False Flat being published and so I did a giveaway in my newsletter to celebrate that and I asked a question to my audience of like, what. What is going on in your life that you're either super excited about or not or you know, like what you're dreading. And I got so many fun responses. So I love, I love corresponding with people in that way.
Kathleen Basi [:That's really fun.
Melissa R. Collings [:Yeah.
Kathleen Basi [:People like to talk to the authors that they love.
Melissa R. Collings [:I do. I mean, I love going to different events. I was at an author event last night for a and you just hear so many the behind the scenes look at everything that they're doing and you get to know a little bit more about them. Because when you're looking at a book, you get curious like, where did this come from? And what's the voice behind all of this? So I think it's fun too. And here I am. I'm just.
Kathleen Basi [:Yeah, and that's exactly what we're doing here, the voice behind your favorite books.
Melissa R. Collings [:And I'm not even thinking about that.
Kathleen Basi [:That's right, Exactly. You're a natural. So as we close today, tell me, what's the Booker story that's inspiring you the most these days?
Melissa R. Collings [:I am inspired really lately by Abby Jimenez. She writes romance because what I write, a mix of women's fiction and romance. But Abby Jimenez really dives into that emotional space and she does kind of what I'm doing, balancing the humor with the deep places. So I think when you can connect emotionally to characters and just like go through that experience because there's chemical reactions happening when we read and I find that part fascinating. She does a fantastic job at that. I feel the stakes, I feel like emotionally ramped up when I'm reading her stuff. So I'm very inspired by her and authors who really delve into that emotional space.
Kathleen Basi [:Very good. All right, well, thank you so much for being on Author express with us today. Melissa. Everybody check out her book, The False Flat.
Melissa R. Collings [:Thank you, Kathleen. I've had a great time.
Kathleen Basi [:Thanks for joining us today. Reviews help other people to find us. So please take a minute to give us a rating and leave a few words. We'll be here again next Wednesday. In the meantime, follow us on Instagram at Author Express Podcast to see who's coming up next. Don't forget, keep it express, but keep it interesting.
