Meet Melissa Pleckham | Writer & Performer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Melissa Pleckham and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Melissa, can you tell us about a book that has had a meaningful impact on you?
I’m going to cheat a little bit here and name a book that is actually a series of books: Dangerous Angels by Francesca Lia Block, aka the Weetzie Bat books, which completely changed my life when I read them as a teenager. I grew up in southern California but I wasn’t born here, and I always felt out of place until I read these books, and really everything Francesca has written. She helped me fall in love with Los Angeles in all of its gritty, magical glory, and that love has shaped my life and a lot of my own writing. By the way, Weetzie Bat was published in the late ’80s, but Francesca continues to put out amazing work today — I also highly recommend everyone read her latest novel, House of Hearts, which is dark and beautiful and romantic and intensely sad, and will make you want to visit the desert and the Salton Sea immediately.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Right now my focus is on my writing: I write horror with a dreamy-magical twist, emphasizing atmosphere and character over gore and shock value. What if Sofia Coppola directed a skin-crawling ghost story? What if Lana Del Rey headlined a midnight vampire ball at one of the crumbling old movie palaces downtown? That’s the kind of vibe I hope to convey. I’ve published a number of short stories in the past few years, but I’m currently excited about finishing my first novel, which is set in LA. The biggest challenge I’ve encountered has been my own self-doubt, and the most valuable lesson I’ve learned so far is that you have to advocate relentlessly for yourself and your work; no one’s ever going to “discover” you. You have to make your voice heard!

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Oh man, this is my area of specialty — I know I’m going to forget some things, but here goes! My absolute favorite place in Los Angeles is the Magic Castle, so I would have to wrangle an invite for that. And if price is no object, let’s go the full nine and book a Houdini seance! I would also want to take them to some of LA’s great historical restaurants: Musso & Frank in Hollywood, the Tam O’Shanter in Los Feliz, and the Smoke House in Burbank. I love hiking in Malibu, especially to the ruins in Solstice Canyon, and if there’s an open house at JPL then we might as well swing by the Devil’s Gate Dam near Pasadena so I can talk about one of my favorite underrated LA weirdo luminaries: Occultist/rocket scientist Jack Parsons, who was one of the founders of JPL before his untimely demise via mysterious explosion in the 1950s. And of course we would have to make some time to have lunch or coffee and stroll the Halloween district in Burbank — the stretch of Magnolia Blvd. that includes Halloween Town, the Mystic Museum, Dark Delicacies bookstore (technically not on Magnolia, but very close by), and so many other great shops. We’ll conclude with some tiki bar hopping, if they’re up for it!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I would love to dedicate my shoutout to my husband, Ken Ramos, who is an extremely talented director, musician, and film editor. We’ve been together since I was 18 years old, and his unwavering support and creative insights have been absolutely invaluable to me. We’ve collaborated on a number of projects, from bands we’ve played in together to screenplays we’ve co-written to short films I’ve acted in that he’s directed, but even when I’m working on my own I know I can turn to him if I get psyched out or logistically stuck. He always reminds me that my stories are worth telling, if for no other reason than because they’re mine.

Website: https://www.melissapleckham.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mpleckham/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@mpleckham/

Image Credits
Featured photo by Lisa Whitmore