Melissa Sarno

This morning, Tyler and I had a discussion about ‘stopping by’. About the knock at the door, the unannounced, the smile, the hug, the we’re here when we never said we’d be. It surprised me when Tyler, who lets nothing bother or fluster him, said he’d prefer to be prepared. It surprised me when I, who, if I could, might edit every conversation I’ve ever had, every word that’s ever come out of mouth (such is the control I wish to have over my interactions), said I’d love for al

A lot of things have changed since the birth of Little O. One of the biggest of those changes…I did not return to my job. I made the decision to leave long before I was pregnant, quietly building a network around me so I could walk away. I interviewed at other companies, turned down a job offer for a not-quite-right fit, turned down another due to poor timing, all the while, keeping my head down, trying, and often failing, to tune out the corporate noise, while working on nov

A few friends tagged me in this blog tour about my writing process. I apologize for the long-ish post but I hope you’ll read it all: I’ll celebrate those who tagged me, then tell you a little about my process and tag two writers I’d love for you to meet, if you haven’t already. All-righty then. On with the show. I was tagged by my friend, Susan McCulley, who has a wonderful blog, Focus Pocus. Susan is a Nia instructor and writer and all around beautiful person who I love. She

I’ve written a lot, over the years, while riding on subway and train cars. It’s resulted in dozens upon dozens of sketches where I capture moments, real and imagined. It’s no wonder, then, that in all the years sending work out into the world, only two small stories have ever been accepted for publication and they’ve both been part of what I shall now call the subway series (like baseball but more lyrical.) So, I’m happy to share one of those stories, this flash piece in the

I watched the Tony Awards last night, an event I’ve avoided in recent years. I’m not going to pretend I ever experienced any real heyday in theater (unless anyone considers the 90’s a heyday) but there was a time when I used to see a lot of shows, finding my way around the staggering ticket prices (there are ways and they require a lot of time, something I don’t have a lot of these days.) In my humble opinion, Broadway, in an effort to become more accessible, has become comp

Today I get to share something really special with you all. The cover for RED BUTTERFLY, a novel in verse by the lovely Amy Sonnichsen. The book will come out in 2015 and I’m so thrilled for Amy, who writes so beautifully and who I am lucky to call a friend. I’m also excited to join in the celebration because, this cover, this cover, you guys, it is just beautiful. Isn’t it? So fitting for the words and story that are inside. Kara never met her birth mother. Abandoned as an i

I know I’m not the first to say that the hardest part about writing is the waiting. It’s in the wishing. It’s sending the work away, far from your heart, and hoping something for it. I recently sent a lot of work out to various people and publications. When I’m in that space of waiting, I always work on other projects, throw myself into the next something, pretend I don’t care about the words that are out of my hands. I pretend I know to expect nothing. I pretend I know the w