Writing, Design, and Marketing for Writers
My Story
For the Love of Books
All my life I’ve loved books—the feel of them, the smell of them, and their ability to transport me to new places and envelop me with new ideas.
My life has always been sprinkled with the joys of books in countless ways: cracking open a brand new journal, delving into an online textbook, sitting in a café or library engrossed in an irresistible read, listening to a good story, or just perusing bookstores.
A Writer's Journey
I wrote my first award-winning short story How the Toucan Got Its Colors in eighth grade and, unsurprisingly, years later found myself at St. John’s College in Santa Fe, reading the Great Books program. In 2008, I self-published my first book and in 2013 my nonfiction book, Dizzy Sushi, was published by Tres Chicas Books.
Over the past 20+ years I have worked in the print, film, publishing, marketing, and non-profit worlds, and because writing and book design were always highly integral to the work I did in these areas, I've been fortunate to have honed my skills amidst a whole lot of real-world experience.
Changes ... and a New Calling At My Doorstep
When I lost my job in June of 2020 due to COVID, I went back to school and finished a Criminal Investigation Certificate, deciding I would become a paralegal focusing on yet another passion of mine: criminal justice.
But then, just as I was submitting countless job applications, I was also beginning to be approached by poets, writers, memoirists, entrepreneurs, and publishing companies looking for writing inspiration, editing, design, printing, and other book-related assistance. I was looking everywhere for a job, but when I looked right in front of me, I saw that I already had one. So I started Facing Pages ... and the rest is history.
Facing Pages is a book services studio that helps writers and publishers like you get your book done. From story consultation to distribution advice and everything in between, Facing Pages is there at every stage to help you turn your book dream into reality.
And now…Sunday Writers! I am offering this 10-week writing class three times per year. Check it out here.
Melissa's Books
DIZZY SUSHI
From a gaijin youth hostel to an ancient Kyoto farmhouse, “Dizzy Sushi” tells the tale of a year of being an outsider in a country that is a paradox of beauty and difficulty. As each chapter unfolds in a new house, this traveling couple grows further apart until a startling discovery pulls them back together to make the decision of their lives.
An artfully detailed, articulate, and authentic memoir of self-discovery, “Dizzy Sushi” is about what can happen when you test the boundaries of culture and commitment.
ANGEL SOMEONE
A lyrically written novella that takes you from the heart-stopping scene of an accident through the minutes, hours, days and months that follow the tragic death of a pet, and the grief and healing of a family. “Angel Someone” is a uniquely-told story about the love of a pet even after they’re gone, and the emotional impact such a loss carries. If you are looking for a contemporary, thought-provoking book for someone who has just lost a pet, “Angel Someone” will share their grief and comfort them.
KIZUNA: FICTION FOR JAPAN
Three prefectures in northeastern Japan are devastated by a magnitude 9.0 earthquake, and a massive tsunami that takes the lives of 20,000 people. 75 authors from 11 countries came together to collaborate on a mixed-genre anthology of short stories to benefit the orphans of the disaster-stricken Tohoku area. Horror, humor, human drama, science fiction, fantasy, absurdist, bizarro, weird, new wave, bugpunk, Cthulhu, Sherlock Holmes, historical fiction, “I” stories, crime, and much more.
Melissa's Awards
2020 Cover Design Finalist, NM-AZ Book Awards, “A Hundred Cups of Coffee,” M. Sagan, Tres Chicas Books
2014 Finalist, NM-AZ Book Awards, “Dizzy Sushi,” Tres Chicas Books
2012 Best of 48Hour Film Project, “Baking Bad,” script supervisor
2011 Best Crowdsourced Mobile App in MIX Mobile Apps Challenge for “Shady Parking”
2008 Rhode Island International Film Festival, 1st Prize, Short Screenplay, “ID”
2006 Winner, New Mexico Holiday Writing Contest, “Night of Shiva”
2006 Discovery Prize, Recursos de Santa Fe, “Dizzy Sushi”
1999 ADDY Awards for Excellence in Advertising, Santa Fe, NM
1987 Henry Austin Prize for Poetry, “Zafu,” St. John’s College, Santa Fe, NM