Melissa McPhail is a classically trained pianist, violinist and composer, a Vinyasa yoga instructor, and an avid fantasy reader. A long-time student of philosophy, she is passionate about the fantasy genre because of its inherent philosophical explorations. Melissa loves sailing, skiing and discussing books and philosophy-not necessarily in that order. The first two novels in Melissa's fantasy series A Pattern of Shadow and Light were finalists in ForeWord Magazine's Book of the Year contest. The third book in the series, Paths of Alir, received the IndieFab Silver Medal for Fantasy Book of the Year. Melissa lives in the Pacific Northwest of the United States with her husband, twin daughters and four very large cats. She is known for being an engaged author on social media and welcomes your thoughts on her work, the fantasy genre, or independent publishing. Look for her on Twitter or Facebook, or via her website and blog at http: //melissamcphail.com.
