***Melanie's debut novel, GIRL OF LORE, hits shelves April 21, 2026! Preorder it now to get the deluxe limited edition with sprayed edges and gold foil!***

Before embracing her love of monsters and sneaking into the fictional world of GIRL OF LORE, Melanie Dale published a bunch of nonfiction books, shambled around as a zombie on TV, and survived cancer. She’s written episodes for the anthology horror television series CREEPSHOW and over a decade of essays for COFFEE+CRUMBS. While she’s won no awards for literature, one time she won a Halloween costume contest and still feels pretty stoked about it. When she’s not writing, she’s teaching yoga or battling her own brain. She lives in the Atlanta area.