About

My name is Melissa, and I’m a writer from small-town New Jersey. I have a bachelor’s degree in English, a minor in Spanish, and a master’s in TESL (Teaching English as a Second Language).

While my writing journey began as soon as I could put words on paper, my publishing journey didn’t start until 2009, when my short story “The True Gift” won a contest hosted by The Old Schoolhouse magazine. My firstborn novel was published in 2013, and through my four years of college I wrote and edited many articles for my university’s news page (including my personal journey through the Literature Capstone class). In 2017, the online magazine Unravel published my creative non-fiction essay “The Second Soul.” In between projects and classes, I’ve also done small jobs as a freelance writer and editor. I’m currently writing the four-book fantasy series I’ve been working on since before high school.

When I’m not writing or working, you can predictably find me reading a book, playing piano or guitar, petting my rabbit, spending time with friends, or helping at my church.

If you have any questions or would like to learn more about my books, please feel free to contact me. I would love to hear from you!

My local library still has my book in circulation!

Some random facts in case you’d like to learn more about the writer:

  • Favorite movies: Lord of the Rings, the Bourne trilogy, Rogue One, Courageous, The Dark Knight trilogy, Beauty and the Beast, Pete’s Dragon, BBC’s Sherlock, Sue Thomas, F.B.Eye
  • Favorite authors: Megan Whalen Turner, J.R.R. Tolkien, C. S. Lewis, John Flanagan, Shannon Hale, Eloise Jarvis McGraw, Lloyd Alexander, William Shakespeare, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
  • Favorite snacks: dark chocolate, white cheddar Cheez-its, lime tortilla chips
  • Favorite ice cream flavor: mint chocolate chip
  • Favorite animals: cats, horses, rabbits, otters, dogs
  • Favorite composers: John Williams, J. S. Bach, Howard Shore, Kyle Landry, Joaquín Rodrigo, Audiomachine
  • Former/future lives: FBI agent, actress, martial artist, nurse, horse rider under a big sky
  • Favorite Bible verse: Isaiah 55:8-9, “‘For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,’ says the LORD. ‘For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.'”