Hi there!

I love all things creative, including crafts, art, and writing.

I strive to live a life where I fully embrace creativity in as many forms as possible. I have so many more ideas I want to explore fully!

I’m a writer and published author; poet; crafter and artist; radio show host; coffee enthusiast; lover of beagles; Colorado native; and mountain girl.

I’m particularly fond of the neophyte writers, the hesitant scribblers, the hidden wordsmiths who “only want to write the family Christmas letter” or know they want to blog but freeze at the blank screen. We all started right there!

I am also blessed to have many writer, author, and poet connections who are published in multiple genres and publications.

I have a diverse background.

My background is varied. It makes life fun and makes me uniquely equipped to inspire writers to embrace creativity, fun, and playfulness, and renew that creative passion.

A few endeavors…

• Current President of the Western Colorado Writers’ Forum
• First Vice President/Communications Chair for the Denver Woman’s Press Club 2019-2021 (now I contract with them for social media and website work)
• Radio Show Co-Host of LIT Radio on KAFM, where we explore all things, language, books, poetry, storytelling, and literature here in the Grand Valley (Grand Junction, CO)
• First place winner of the 2022 Mesa County Library Poetry Contest, Adult Category
• Two poems published in April 2022 edition of Bristlecone Magazine
• Creativity Retreat for Writers conceived and hosted by, you know, me
• A 20-year career in social work working with at-risk adolescents in the foster care system (and a psychology degree)
• Creator of the Butt in Seat Writing Group in Grand Junction, Colorado, currently on hiatus
• “Accidental Entrepreneur” where I formed my own social media business specializing in authors and writers, and became known as Social Media Melody (oh, the alliteration) – I continue to work with a few select author clients
• Founder of Colorado Women in Social Media, a group that is now concluded
• Communications Specialist in Douglas County government
• Writer for Examiner and Associated Content, early content writing sites that are now defunct
• Creator of the weekly Writer Chicks Coffee Club in my local area (Grand Junction, Colorado)
• Published in Stories Gathered at the Kitchen Table: A Collection of Women’s Memoirs
• Successful Etsy store owner back when Etsy still fully embraced non-commercial individual and small business artisans
• Speaker and workshop presenter at a variety of conferences and organizations
  • • Western Colorado Writers’ Forum
    • Featured Speaker at WordUp! Open Mic in Grand Junction, CO
    • Ghost Writers Conference, Georgetown, CO
    • Castle Rock Writers Conference
    • Heart of Denver Romance Writers Mini-Conference
    • Colorado Gold Conference (Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers)
    • Author U Extravaganza
    • Social Media Success Retreat for Writers and Authors
    • Social Media Day Denver
    • Lighthouse Writers
    • The Southlands Business Team
    • The National League of American Pen Women
    • Heart of Denver Romance Writers monthly group
    • Social Media 101 Denver
    • Denver Startup Week
    • Parker Chamber of Commerce Young Professionals Group
    • Boulder Writers Alliance
    • Creating “Buzz” in Social Media for Social Connections, Iowa
    • Upper Midwest Social Media Conference, Iowa
    • Author University  – multiple speaking engagements
    • Leadership Douglas County
    • Rocky Mountain Chapter Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI)

Somebody else wrote this about me, and I appreciate it so much I’m leaving it on this page. “No matter the industry, her clients and colleagues love her passion, ability to inspire creative and innovative ideas, ‘hug’ them with her words and the smile in her voice, and deliver razor-sharp insight in a humorous style.”

More below if you want to keep reading!

Why yes, I do have testimonials on this page.

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I was raised in a small rural town called Palisade on the western side of Colorado, known for peach orchards back in the day and now for wine. I moved back to the Western Slope after living 30 years in the Denver Metro area. I’m ecstatic to be back with my family and lifelong friends.

Here I am with my beloved beagle Lacey, who went over the Rainbow Bridge a few years ago. I miss her every day.

One of my favorite coffee cup says “With enough coffee, anything is possible.” I still intend to get that t-shirt that says “Bring me coffee and tell me I’m pretty.”

My former Denver-based weekly writing group professed admiration for my ability to write poetry on the spur of the moment. Nobody’s more surprised than me about that, I can tell you. With weekly practice over the years, I became able to get into the writing groove quite quickly.

I am currently submitting poetry to a variety of contests and working on a collection for publication.

To contact me, please utilize my contact form.