This month the Cheltenham Literature Festival will be celebrating its 70th anniversary, with hundreds of events, workshops and shows going on throughout the ten days.

The longest-running literature event in the world, it will see well-known faces from the world of sport, politics and television come to the town between Friday 4th and Sunday 13th October.

One person who won’t have to travel too far for her appearance at the festival is Melanie Golding.

The Gloucestershire-based author had her first novel, ‘Little Darlings’, published this year by Harper Collins.

“’Little Darlings’ began life as a short, contemporary retelling of a twin changeling tale,” explained Melanie.

“As the narrative developed, I realised it was definitely a novel, and began to rethink my concept. I started it on the first of October 2015 and it sold to HQ (HarperCollins) in November 2017. During that time I also completed an MA in creative writing at Bath Spa University.”

Originally from Leicestershire, Melanie moved to Gloucestershire in 2007, after living in both Leeds and Sheffield – where her book is set.

Over the years she has worked as a music teacher and home-based childcare provider, but says writing has always been a part of her life.

“I’ve been writing forever, though for a long time I wrote lyrics and songs rather than novels,” continued Melanie.

“I started making my first serious attempts at writing novels around 2005. At the time I was teaching music in a secondary school in Doncaster.”

‘Little Darlings’ tells the story of a new mum who becomes convinced that her babies have been stolen and replaced with ‘evil twins’ – “the reader needs to work out if she’s mad or if she knows something we don’t,” added Melanie.

The novel has received almost unanimously positive reviews, including praise from The New York Times and The Guardian.

“I’m so honoured that the book has had such a warm reception,” said Melanie, “especially from such great publications as these. It’s a dream come true, and yet I can’t quite believe that it’s real.”

The book – which has also been optioned for the screen – has elements of the thriller, mystery and horror genres, and Melanie says she has always been drawn to stories of this nature.

“I loved thrillers and horror as a young person, starting with Ian Livingstone and moving on to James Herbert and Stephen King.

“Though King is much more than a horror writer – he has a range of subject matter and a straddling of genre that I aspire to in my own writing – I was drawn in by his early works.

“Horror isn’t all about the shock factor. Scary stories allow us to process our fears about life, to put them in a safe place rather than avoiding them.”

‘Little Darlings’ itself depicts a fear that many women have about childbirth, that of postnatal injury and depression.

It’s a subject that Melanie, who is a mother herself, thinks is important to talk about.

She said: “I think it would benefit everyone if more realistic birth stories were shared widely, especially with young women and men, those who haven’t been through the experience or may never go through it.

“Depression and injury following birth remain subjects that people don’t really encourage conversation about. Being more open about what can and frequently does go wrong can only be a good thing.

“It is surprising to me, discovering the places where taboos are still firmly in place, especially among women in the age of the over-share, with social media and so on.”

Melanie’s upcoming event at the Literature Fest is called ‘Mothers In Crime’, and will also feature author Bev Thomas.

The discussion will be based around the roles of mothers in the respective stories, and the mental health taboos, like postnatal depression, that are raised.

For Melanie, it’s set to be a landmark occasion.

She added: “I am very much looking forward to battling the imposter syndrome and appearing at the Lit Fest as an author, alongside a whole host of astonishingly accomplished authors.

“I did once read at the festival as part of the Stroud Short Stories ‘Best Of’ event a couple of years ago. I’m completely thrilled to have my name in the programme – another dream come true.”

‘Mothers In Crime’ will be at the Cheltenham Literature Festival on Wednesday 9th October at 2.15pm.