Melanie Woodward
Melanie’s dream of being a writer started at just nine years old when her first ‘novel’ found its way onto the page. She is a story-telling magpie – capturing family stories and fairytale weddings through her photography studio, creating tales of heartbreak or elation through her dance school, and hiding adventures in the pages of her stories. From this, all she wanted to do was inspire and guide children, including her own. During her MA in Writing for Young People at Bath Spa University, she learnt her voice mattered too and her unique perspective of being Malaysian-English is what inspired Mei and the Black Heart.
Mei and the Black Heart
Upper MG Contemporary magical realism
Mei wants to be the same as everyone else. When hiding from bullies becomes her whole existence, her mum moves them to her ancestral home in Malaysia. But being of dual-ethnicity, Mei doesn’t fit in here either. Desperate to appease her mum, Mei risks it all to retrieve a stolen heirloom – a black heart locket. Treacherous landscapes, tormenting weather and dangerous criminals stand in her way of finding the locket and returning home. With the help of the 12 animals of the Chinese zodiac, will Mei embrace who she is and stand up to the bullies? An own-voice magical realism adventure, where learning to love who you are will help you find home.
You can contact Melanie via email and follow her on X (Twitter) and Instagram.