Welcome
Hi! I'm Melissa.I revere the read-aloud.As a social worker (and forever child), I've seen how much magic rests in that ritual.I'm drawn to writing stories that honor moments of shared time between a child and a loving adult, and that burst open any dams blocking connection, communication, or wonder.
About Me
I had a nightmare about fish in 1989 and avoided the ocean for decades. (Did you know that if a fish were to touch you, you'd turn into one?) But a so-called friend talked me into confronting that fear with SCUBA diving...So here I am confronting my fear of baring my creative heart to a world that might judge it and reject it. (I mean, even The Beatles and Taylor Swift have haters).I've been a foreign policy wonk in DC, a fellow at Harvard Kennedy School, and a social worker in Scotland. The thread connecting all is my love of my fellow humans and my hope for a future where people are secure, loved, and curious about (not threatened by) difference. I write for a better world. The kids of today deserve it. So do the fishes and birds and slugs and ferns.PS: I am still a teensy bit scared of snorkeling--I might bump into the fish at the surface! At least in the deep, you have water below AND above to avoid any collision.
On Books
My first grade teacher pulled me aside one day to read a book on a topic that the adults around me were struggling to talk about. That topic was death. And our moments together with that book planted the seed of healing.Years later, another death, and another book: "...to have been loved so deeply, even though the person who loved us is gone, will give us some protection forever." (Dumbledore to Harry at the end of the Sorcerer's Stone).My mother's no longer here but her love pours through me and through my writing. Her love and joy is too bright to stay bottled up in me or hoarded within my family. I haven't been able to write that perfect book to capture the eternity of a mother's love, but one day...In the meantime, below are some of the topics of my read-alouds:- Found family, flying ice cream, food-motivated dogs;
- Rainbow sherbet skies, and reaching for the sky;
- Presents! (and presence and birthdays);
- Coral gardening (and birthdays);
- Connection among difference;
- Spinning a story (with Arachne);
- Bee stings, honey bees, and Zeus;
- Missing hamsters (er, hamSTARS);
- The measurement of time across time...and also I sometimes write in rhyme. (Unpopular, I know, but I have a handle on meter and it's gloriously fun for writers and readers).