Melanie S. Hatter had two big publishing successes in 2011. Her novelette, “Taking the Shot,” was published in electronic format by Etopia Press, and her novel, “The Color of My Soul,” was published by the Washington Writers’ Publishing House. Her essays have appeared in Moxie, ACE Dialogue and Emerge magazines, and her short stories have appeared in The Lipstick Pages and Diverse Voices Quarterly. Melanie’s short story, “Obsessed with Claudia,” won the First Annual Romantic Tales Writing Contest. She received a bachelor’s degree from Hampton University and graduated from the master’s in writing program at Johns Hopkins University.