Melissa Russell, Neighbor

A Florida native, Melissa Russell has lived in a handful of<br>different cities in the Sunshine State, but calls Tampa her home. She is comfortably settled into an adorable bungalow with her husband and their seven-pound wonder dog, Samson. She enjoys eating sushi and loves how her dog smells of sunshine on a summer day.

A lover of books, Melissa has had a torrid affair with words since she first learned how to sound them out in her head. Already an avid reader in grade school, she soon discovered that writing her own stories could be just as fun. Thus the journey from soul-searching poetry to bizarre short stories developed into an outlet Melissa<br>could call her own.

It only seemed natural that Melissa would pursue a career in writing. In a few short weeks, she will be the proud new owner of a hard-earned degree in Journalism from the University of South Florida. While she thrives in writing stories of mythical creation, Melissa found she enjoys writing stories about people she meets as well. Inspired by author Sara Cisneros’ view that everyone has a story to be told, Melissa took it into her heart to find people with stories to tell. That goes for the woman who dances at a bar to pay for school, to a mother and daughter who share the joy of adoption. Everyone has a unique story that longs to be told.

In the nature of an Aquarian, Melissa is always looking for<br>new ways to express herself. She originally found her voice in music, and started singing when she learned to string a few words together to make out a song. She owes her training to her mother, who has the soothing reincarnated<br>voice of Karen Carpenter. Melissa had the honor of singing with her mother countless times growing up until she was able to stretch her wings and perform on her own. Melissa has tried her hand at piano and is currently learning to pluck out tunes on her guitar.

When she is not conjuring up her next story, Melissa is<br>snatching her camera to hopefully catch a still shot of the world around her. While she is no Ansel Adams, Melissa loves to capture unique angles in architecture, nature and life in general. She finds that through the camera lens, she can see the world in a new way and hopes to convey that in her photos.