About

Hello there!

I'm Mel.

"Sometimes you just have to take the leap and build your wings on the way down" - Kobi Yamada

I grew up in concrete jungles in Southeast Asia (Hong Kong, Singapore, very briefly Taiwan) ... books were my refuge and inspiration. I loved the way words made me feel; alive, illuminated, tickled, inspired, understood.

The world of words and ideas seemed impossibly expansive and interesting. [This spell has never broken!]

Words became a big part of my life, very early on.

As I read, I copied down quotes and passages I liked in stacks of notebooks. I also found myself enjoying writing all the time (when I wasn't reading). I exchanged notes and letters with friends, journalled, and attempted stories. Later, I blogged, and at various times in my working life I have been lucky enough to be paid to write.

As a young girl I dreamed of writing a book!

Then, fear and perfectionism got in the way.

Little did I expect that my first book would not be a delicious fictitious story, but a memoir. I wrote How to love with a healing heart as a new-ish wife and first-time mama to a sweet baby girl. (I wrote a lot of it during nap times, with a lot of prayer and husband-encouragement!)

In the words of Anaïs Nin, I "write to taste life twice, in the moment and in retrospect". I share my work with the hope of passing on a measure of inspiration, connection and joy to readers—just as so many writers have done for me all my life.

Originally from Singapore, I am now based in Auckland, New Zealand with my husband, Jarred, and our three children.

And above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don't believe in magic will never find it.

Roald Dahl
A photo of an open laptop and a sleeping baby - a mama carving out time to write
Writing the beginnings of my book
An illustration of our family in 'Simpsons style'
Someday I will update our 'fam portrait' with the third addition to our family! Art by makemeyellow.co

Contact me

Contact

You can also find me on Amazon, Goodreads, and LinkedIn.

Scroll to Top