In 2009, I started writing a novel while traveling across Canada. I was thinking about art and failure and how life seldom meets our expectations. I finished the manuscript while studying Creative Writing at Concordia University in Montreal, went through several drafts, and over a decade later, I’m delighted that the book found a home.

My YA novel, Chasing Harmony, is available for pre-order now and releases on July 19! The publisher is Read Furiously, a small press which donates a substantial portion of proceeds to literacy charities. They have shown a wonderful level of care for my book. Take a look at the cover and layout and you’ll see what I mean.

I’m honored that Reads Rainbow has featured Chasing Harmony on their list of Contemporary LGBTQ+ releases this July. (The main character is bisexual.)

Here’s what the book is about.

“What happens when the music stops?

Since she was a child, piano prodigy Anna Stern has always stood out. As she becomes a teenager, Anna struggles to find her identity without the soundtrack of sonatas and concertos. There’s also the worry that comes with the crushing expectations of her musical gift and her parents’ imploding marriage.

Anna finds refuge in her best friend Liss, who is full of magic and escape plans, and the mysterious new boy at school… which becomes more complicated when she develops feelings for both of them. Most importantly, Anna has concerts to perform that will determine the course of her future as the haunting spectre of burnout lurks close by. As everything builds to a crescendo, what follows is an authentic life in the making.

Melanie Bell has created a compelling coming-of-age story for those that can relate to the search for untapped potential. Told in alternating timelines, Chasing Harmony reminds us of the exhilarating feeling that comes with hearing your heart’s song.”

And here are some places it’s available for pre-order:

The Furious Reader – https://readfuriously.com/products/chasing-harmony
Bookshop – https://bookshop.org/a/3392/9781737175896
Barnes & Noble – https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/chasing-harmony-melanie-bell/1141640134?ean=9781737175896
Amazon – https://amzn.to/3nKS1rK

You can find Chasing Harmony wherever books are sold. Soon the physical copies will be in bookstores too!

In other publishing news this month, I have a poem in the Spoon Knife 6: Rest Stop anthology, and a story (about a woman who inherits a family home in England – but it comes with a chilling catch) in Cossmass Infinities, Issue 9.

I can’t wait for readers to pick up Chasing Harmony, and I hope some of you will see yourselves reflected in Anna’s journey!