It is her habit of analyzing things that annoy which started Melissa's road to writing. And it is her debut book, Theory of Rebellion, that said so much of the essence of Melissa Smith.
It is perhaps not a surprise to find out that our author has a background in Education. She has taught students from preschools to 8th grade and worked with kids in classes with Individualized Education Plans. Her love of music has earned her an Associate Degree in Music Arts. Still, her personal interests – from Sciences to diverse reading materials that included science fiction, comic books, anime, and manga – have eventually pushed her to write her own stories.
For Melissa, observing and understanding adolescent angst is both a challenge and a problem that needed to be solved. It wasn't just her experiences in school but her exposure to the same adolescents later in her adult life that allowed her to have a better, more aware perspective of what they go through. She knew how hard it is for anyone to find and act authenticity as they were learning more about themselves while stepping into the threshold of adult life. There were a lot of anxieties and fear at this stage as teenagers learned more about their weaknesses, power, and strengths. The memories of her high school life allowed her to imagine characters that she believed are heroes. And as music is a source of joy for her, these heroes turned into a rock band in the world she created in her writings to make them real people.
Melissa believed in her core being that no discrimination and prejudice should stop anyone from searching for and living their authentic self. No matter what they do, this may alienate and make one look like a rebel, but they can only find that true happiness and content by being as honest as one can be about what they truly are.
This is why she chose an African American teenage girl as the protagonist in her series, talented but bullied in secret, who fought for what she truly wanted to be instead of succumbing to peer pressure of her age. Two quotes greatly influenced her writing of the story. One was from To Morello – "The most powerful music is music with purpose." The other was something she came up with herself, from all the pain and suffering she had experienced, and the love she bore despite all these – "All hate comes from Love, all pain comes from Comfort, and understanding both can bring you content." It was almost spiritual and spoke of what life truly is.
Melissa is currently busy working on a series of short stories and on a novel of science fiction drama.
She continues showcasing her art and poems on her social media accounts. You can follow her on her accounts. Most of her works and news about her are on her Facebook page: #TheoryofRebellion, and Instagram: @MelsTheory.
You can also visit her website for more of her official updates regarding her books and other projects at https://www.melsrebellion.page
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