science, conservation, editorial, fiction, blurbs tailored to general public, literature
conservation, animals, film, romance, travel, health, sociology, cooking, biographies
Melody completed her master's studies in 2008 at Nova Southeastern University in Dania Beach, Florida. Her dual majors were marine biology and coastal zone management, finished with a thesis project on boater compliance with manatee speed zones which fueled her interest in focusing on manatee research and the coexistence of endangered species with human livelihoods and recreation.
Melody earned a bachelor's degree in biology from Transylvania University, a small liberal arts college in Lexington, Kentucky. Studies were completed in spring 2001.
As part of her employment with the conservation research non-profit Sea to Shore Alliance, Inc., Melody took on writing tasks of varying types and for various needs and audiences, including analysis and interpretation of data in scientific papers, simplified yet engaging real-time updates on individual animals for public consumption, and detailed breakdowns of projects in order to request funds or publicity.
Melody especially loves the article format because in conveying the information with or without the slant of a position, it opens a dialogue to a broad audience. She enjoys the ever-changing variety of topics usually on offer in this type of writing and has mainly written articles which were not part of her jobs in the science field.
Melody has completed but not yet published a fiction novel in the women’s literature genre. One of her favorite features of this mode of writing is the ability to take the reader on a longer journey, with time enough to become invested in the elements of a story or viewpoint before rounding the curves ahead. She also enjoys that the research usually required for a lengthy project teaches the writer a lot as well.
