About the Author
When author Melissa Puritis created a mystery story for her eighth grade language arts class, she was hooked. Years later, no need to discuss how many, she has published a thrilling murder mystery for middle-grade readers, Shadows by the Lighthouse. The novel is inspired by a crime that occurred in a North Carolina beach town right around the time she was in middle school and which remains unsolved to this day.
Melissa believes a good story is one that makes a reader feel something and relate to its characters. With her own book, Melissa fell in love with her characters, many of which are based on people in her life. She hopes her young readers will come away from her book realizing that we all feel out of place sometimes but, with faith in ourselves, we can make amazing things happen. |
When she isn't writing page-turning mysteries for kids, Melissa enjoys reading, listening to true-crime podcasts, and running. She and her son, Avery (fun fact - also the name of the thirteen-year-old protagonist in her book, per his request), spend their time together on hikes and adventures, playing board games or soccer depending on the weather, watching Carolina Panthers games, taking guitar lessons, and, of course, reading.
A middle school English language arts teacher, Melissa and her son live in a small beach town in coastal North Carolina, like her story’s setting. Shadows by the Lighthouse is her debut novel. |