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Melanie Senn
ALLi Author Member
Location: United States of America (the)
Genres: Mental Health, Mind Body Spirit, Self-Help/Personal Development, LGBTQ+, General Nonfiction, Literary Fiction, New Adult, Academic, General Fiction, Narrative Nonfiction, Womens Fiction, Advice & How To, Psychology, Horror, Historical Fiction, Memoir
Skills: Press/Media Interview, Self-publishing Workshop/Training, Speaking Engagement/Lecture, Writing Workshop
Author and freelance journalist Melanie Senn was born in Camden, New Jersey—the resting place of Walt Whitman—but was raised in California from the age of 5 by a single mother. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Latin American Literature from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and a master’s in English from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, where she taught for many years. She’s lived in Mexico, Chile, and Argentina and is highly proficient in Spanish. She freelances for KCBX, her town's NPR affiliate station.
Murray: A Novel is Melanie’s first work of fiction. Melanie learned about Murray Hall while researching a graduate school paper on Walt Whitman, which led to many years of research about Murray’s life and 19th century New York City. She lives with her husband, musician Derek Senn, her two hungry teenage sons, Charlie and Diego, a female orange tabby named Maverick, and Margo, a beagle—on Murray Avenue!
Melanie Senn's books
Murray: A Novel
Murray Hall lived in New York City during the second half of the 19th century. An immigrant from Scotland, he was known as a cigar-smoking, whiskey-drinking, poker-playing bon vivant. A Tammany Hall politician, Murray ran an employment agency and worked as a bondsman. He was married twice— his first wife mysteriously disappeared. His second wife had a daughter whom Murray adopted and doted upon. He loved being a father.
The death of Murray Hall on January 16, 1901, shocked many people, including his closest friends.
Murray, it turned out, had not been born a man.