Hi- My name is Melissa L. Gill, and this is NOT my ultrasound. And no, our friend the ape had nothing to do with this either. Yes, I’m sure.

So why am I showing you this?

1. It’s pretty darn cool that gorilla and human ultrasounds look so similar.

2. This blog IS hosted by a story reading ape.

3. I am a docent at my local zoo, and we are expecting a baby gorilla too!

Being a docent and educating people about the wonderful animals that share our world has been one of the best experiences in my life. I’ve learned so much about all sorts of animals from gorillas to Kirk’s dik-dik.

One animal that I was already familiar with was cats. I’ve had cats in my life as long as I can remember, and now consider myself a card carrying cat lady. So most of my stories include cats in some capacity or another. But my first published works are all about cats.

After working at a mainstream bookstore and seeing how much of the marketing and publicity debut authors are required to do to sell books, I decided to bypass traditional publishing and self-publish my books.

I decided to write about the first cats who colonized North America and the people they brought with them.

My first novel, Salt and the Sea Venture, was based on the 1609 shipwreck of the Sea Venture. Told by Salt, a scrappy white cat who joins the voyage. Salt gives a cat’s eye view of his adventures during what turns out to be a harrowing journey to the New World.

Once in Jamestown, VA, Salt and his mate Katie do what cats do, make more cats. These cats became some of the very first domestic cats to connect with humans in the New World.

Pepper and Pocahontas is about one of Salt and Katie’s daughters, Pepper. She meets and becomes bonded with the legendary Pocahontas and shares her life, learning the ways of the Powhatan people.

On May 1, 2015 my third book, Morton and the Mayflower, hit the shelves. Morton, one of Salt’s and Katie’s sons was born in Virginia, but returned to London with his person, Stephen Hopkins. In 1621 Morton and Stephen return to the New World, this time on the Mayflower.

So now I’m working on “Sage and the Salem Witch Trials,” along with promoting my work and trying to sell books.  I just got a brand new website, which I’m really excited about. You can check it out at: Melissalgill.com

I’m also on:

Facebook – Twitter – Pinterest – LinkedIn – Google+

My books are avaiable at:

Barnes & Noble  –  iTunes/iBooks  –  Kobo

Amazon:

UK – USA – Canada – Australia