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Melissa Newton, who goes by the author name of M. Newton, found her passion in writing through roleplaying. A roleplayer from the age of three, Melissa grew up exploring the lands of make-believe as different characters. Her brothers, Christopher and Michael, would often include young Melissa in their games of Dungeons and Dragons, thus fueling her love for character and world design. In her middle school years, she spent most of her time on a video game called Neverwinter Nights on a Harry Potter-based roleplaying server. Here, she met some of her closest friends and most importantly, her husband, Matthew, who is an avid roleplayer himself. After years of roleplaying together and talking out-of-character, even their closest roleplaying friends attended their wedding. Their son will be stepping into his first character’s shoes in a few years’ time.

Not only has roleplaying shaped her personal life, Melissa’s career has come to life through the practice as well. Her co-writer, best friend and partner in crime, S. Richardson, has been roleplaying with Melissa for over a decade. They met online when Melissa was just in middle school, and they have been roleplaying and writing stories together ever since. Not only have they grown into a life-long friendship, they have also become partners in writing and publishing their book series. Both women contribute their own characters, plotlines and extensive lore to make the series the heart of their works. It is written entirely through active roleplay. You can read all about the series and the status of the series’ publication here.

About her blog:

As the series’ publication process continues, Melissa still itches to be productive in her writing. She has made a blog dedicated to her passion in roleplay and writing to help other roleplayers/writers who may just be starting off. Her lessons are also aimed at more experienced roleplayers/writers as well, covering topics like (but certainly not limited to) advanced world building techniques and language design.