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Melissa M. Miller

@melissamwrites

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✍🏻 writing fantasy and speculative
✨ querying The Way Between Worlds
👉 sharing my writing journey and SFF book recs
📍Cotswolds, UK 🇬🇧 | 📚 28/30
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Hey everyone! It’s been a long while since I introduced myself here and since I’ve got a few more follows lately, it feels like a good time to do a re-introduction! 👋🏻 I’m Mel, a fantasy writer and reader on a daily quest to find magic on and off the page ✨ 📍 I live in the Cotswolds (UK) with my other half and our rescue cat, Callie ✍🏻 I’m getting ready to query a folklore-inspired epic fantasy I’ve been working on since 2020 When I’m not writing (or working), you’ll find me... 📖 reading 📚 browsing bookshops 🖼️ creating art (drawing, painting and - more recently - linocut print!) 🚶🏻‍♀️ walking in the countryside or by the coast 🥂 out discovering new places to eat and drink 🥰 spending time with friends and family (often playing board games) 🤗 catching up with my writing community What you can expect from following me here: 👉 Updates on my writing journey 👉 Writing tips and advice I’ve picked up along the way 👉 Bookish recommendations - mainly fantasy, speculative fiction and horror, though I read broadly! 🙌 So, if you’re a fellow writer, reader or fantasy fan, I’d love for you to stick around and say hello! What’s the best book you’ve read lately? ——— #writing #writer #books #writersofinstagram #fantasy 📸 headshot by the lovely @tompepperdine (with stars added by me 😁✨) by @melissamwrites
When people ask what my story is about, I’d love to have the gift to tip the story out of my mind and into theirs. I’d show them: 🐺 the ancient wolves that roam the mountains and woodlands 🐉 merpeople riding sea dragons just below the waves 🪽 the royal line of a winged race unravelling with deception and hidden lies ⚔️ soldiers training to protect humanity in a world where they are second class citizens - one young woman among them hiding a secret that could end her life 🗡️ a coveted sword of legendary power, its true potential lying in wait 🩸 and a nightmare army intent on destroying it all Would you wander through this world? ——— #bookaestheticreel #bookaesthetic #books #fantasy #bookstagram #writers #fantasybooks #writing #bookvibes #darkfantasy #highfantasy by @melissamwrites
Some of my favourite 5 star science fiction and fantasy books for readers new to the genre. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I’ve included a mix of classic fantasy alongside some more recent releases. How many of these SFF books have you read? 📚🤓 ——— #fantasy #fantasybooks #sciencefiction #TBR #books by @melissamwrites
Fabulous day at the @goldsborobooks inaugural Fellowship Festival in Brighton yesterday! Eight inspiring panels with brilliant authors. Plus lovely to catch up with fellow writers and bookish friends 🐉❤️✨ thanks to Goldsboro for a fun event! —— #writingcommunity #bookstagram #writing by @melissamwrites
If my querying manuscript THE WAY BETWEEN WORLDS was a film poster 🎬🍿🎥 She needs the sword to save humanity. He wants the sword to save his skin. Only one can win in this star-crossed race for survival. In honour of all the recent book to film adaptations 🙌 which book adaptations have you enjoyed the most so far and which are you most excited for? —— #bookstagram #fantasy #writer #thebookwasbetter #movieposter by @melissamwrites
How’s everyone else doing with their 2026 reading challenge? I’m pretty certain I’ll make it to the end of the year having read at least 26 books, but not going to win the side quest of all the books on this list! Tell me, are there any I should bump up the list for 2026 or read asap in 2027? —— #books #bookstagram #reading #readingchallenge #fantasy by @melissamwrites
With Halloween coming up next week, here are some scarily specific book recommendations for spooky season that span genres - hoping there will be something for everyone! 🧙🏼‍♀️🧛‍♀️🐺✨🩸🎃👻 Which book most appeals to you most right now? ——— #books #bookrecs #bookstagram #halloweeen #spookybooks by @melissamwrites
September highlights ☀️🍁 Started the month in the blistering heat of LA and ended it sliding into brisk autumn in the UK, with some wicked jet lag in the middle. 🤪 It’s been a transitional month on the writing front too. I started querying again after making edits over the summer. (Wish me luck, friends.) I also wrote the first few words of my new project! The blank page has been vanquished! Now to finish the first draft… only another 80,000 words (or so) to go… ✍🏻 September was also an absolutely top tier month for new book releases - many final instalments in series I’ve really enjoyed! I managed to catch @rmgillig in London on the final night of her UK tour promoting The Knave and The Moon, hosted by @toribovalino The Knight and the Moth was one of my favourite reads last year, so looking forward to reading how the duology ties things up! 🌙 I also went along to @authorpenncole night in London on her tour promoting the last book in the Kindred’s Curse Saga, Burn of the Everflame. Absolutely loved this epic fantasy romance series so far, so I’m super excited to find out how it finishes! The book is an absolute chonk, which brings me both immense joy and fear. I know I will have an emotional hangover once I’m done reading it. 🔥🫣😭❤️ September was a great reading month! I read: ✨The Outcast Mage by @annabelcwrites - massive congratulations to Annabel who picked up a well-deserved @britishfantasysociety Newcomer award a few days ago! 👏 🌹The Thorn Queen by Sasha Peyton Smith 🤖All Systems Red by Martha Wells 🌵The Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst 🏺The Odyssey by Homer - as a re-read for book club. To top it off, I went to a great workshop session on keeping a reading journal at @waterstonescirencester, met up with writer buds and had lots of cat cuddles 🥰 What are you reading at the moment and do you keep a reading journal? ——— #writing #writer #bookstagram #fantasy #book by @melissamwrites
Started the new story on Monday - I got out of my notebook and onto a scrivener document! After at least 18 months of thinking about this story and planning bits of it around drafting and editing, this felt so good! 🙌 It took me three hours to write around 600 words - very slow! But that’s not unusual for me when I’m starting out a new project and finding my way. I wanted to make it read well on a sentence level and add description (which doesn’t come naturally to me). And, to be honest, the reason for that is that it’s rough going from polished draft to first draft again, so I allowed myself the indulgence of lingering a while. I’ll speed up as I let go of the idea of perfect in favour of done. In other words, shutting my editor brain off and engaging my scrappy first draft writer brain. But hey, the main thing is that I’m no longer facing a blank page - there are words! Characters! A world is forming! And that feels awesome ☺️ by @melissamwrites
Sharing 7 changes I’m making to my writing process as I start drafting my next novel in case these are helpful to others too! What have you learnt from past writing projects that you’ve brought into current projects? Tell me what’s worked for you - I love hearing about other people’s processes ☺️ —— #writing #writer #writershelpingwriters #writingcommunity by @melissamwrites
Books you couldn’t pay me to… 📚🙅🏻‍♀️🤑 • stop recommending • put down while I was reading • take off my TBR • not finish the rest of the series they’re a part of • stop day-dreaming about reading in the future • remove from my pre-orders • stop reading by the end of 2026 Tell me if any of my current (and future!) favourites are on your list to complete by the end of 2026! ——— #books #bookstagram #bookrecs #bookrecommendations #booksta by @melissamwrites
Cosy fantasy book recs please! 📚✨ I recently finished The Spellshop by @sarahbethdurst , which I loved! 🥰 It features runaway librarian Kiela and her sentient spider plant friend Caz as they escape the burning capital, saving precious books from burning. They sail to an island beset with magical storms and nosy inhabitants, where Kiela tries to fit in and help out by casting surprising (illegal) spells that attract all sorts of (un)wanted attention… Needless to say, I’ll definitely be continuing the series! I thought cosy wasn’t for me until I read this one. The setting was small, but the stakes were pretty high throughout, which I enjoyed! Let me know your favourite cosy fantasy read in the comments 🙏👇 ——— #cosyfantasy #fantasybooks #books #bookstagram #booksta by @melissamwrites

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