03. Taking self-publishing into her own hands w/ Melissa Puritis

Done with waiting, she took herself off the shelf by writing and publishing her mystery book in less than a year.

Melissa Puritis, a single mom, middle school English teacher, and author of Shadows by the Lighthouse, is on the show today.

In this episode, she discusses the large gap between young kids’ books and young adult novels, as well as the lack of time for student creative writing. Melissa also shares how she manages to sit down and write and why writing makes her a better parent.

We also talk about why it's important for parents take themselves off the shelf and pursue their own dreams. Melissa shares what she experienced while pursing the typical publishing route, why she chose to self-publish, and how she made that happen. And we discuss many of our and our kids’ favorite books.

Get Melissa’s books:

• Shadows by the Lighthouse:
  https://www.amazon.com/Shadows-Lighthouse-Melissa-Puritis/dp/057834503X
• A Team Betrayed (A Summerset Island Mystery):
  https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BFGBM7NR/

Connect with Melissa:

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Summerset-Mystery-Series-107130935242604
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/melissa.reads.it.all
• Website: https://melissapuritis.weebly.com/

Books mentioned during the show:

• The Hardy Boys series, by Frank and Joe Hardy
• Harry Potter series, by J.K. Rowling
• A Court of Thorns and Roses series, by Sarah J. Maas
• The Awakening, by Kate Chopin
• Less Than Zero, by Bret Easton Ellis
• Where the Wild Things Are, by Maurice Sendak
• Pirate Boy, by Eve Bunting
• I Love You Forever, by Robert Munsch
• The Bad Guys series, by Aaron Blabey
• Captain Underpants, by Dav Pilkey
• Dog Man, by Dav Pilkey
• I Survived audio books, by Lauren Tarshis
• Paddington audio books, by Michael Bond
• Magic Tree House series, by Mary Pope Osborne
• Dragon Masters series, by Tracey West
• Appleblossom the Possum, by Holly Goldberg Sloan

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