On today’s episode we get to chat with Melissa Gowdy Baldwin, a Dystopian Fiction author with a penchant for pairing music and astrology signs with all her characters. A veteran teacher, mother, cat and dog lover, Melissa has taken her educational experience in American Studies and English and Creative Writing and channeled it into her first novel. A book that engages in dialogue about social issues and expectations of both men and women, The Marriage Wars: Book One is part of a larger project which includes a trilogy, two prequels, and a novella if the audience asks.

Not long after having her first child, Melissa started writing longer length novels as a way to process her world and the new identities she was embodying. When marriage equality became a focus in the country in 2008 and again in 2012, Melissa created a world highlighting the hyper-focus obsession the country has with ideas of marriage. With her background in gender studies and research on marriage, race, and sexuality, the dystopian world and its rules came natural to her. After putting the book on the back burner because of a second child and a successful teaching career, Melissa went back to school for another Masters and finished writing the book during the pandemic. As the world unfolded around her, she was able to channel observations in her post-pandemic, post Roe v. Wade, and post equal marriage law setting.

By including relatable morally gray characters in a not too distant future, Melissa creates a dystopian story that speaks to universal truths about choice, voice, and power. Eager to finish book two of the trilogy as well as write her first romantic comedy, Melissa hopes her readers see themselves in the characters and the situations asking for those characters to make a choice even with the consequences.

You can learn more about her on her website www.melissagowdybaldwin.com/ and follow her on Instagram www.instagram.com/melissagowdybaldwin/ -which will be the best place to be kept up to date on her book release

Support your local bookstore & this podcast by getting your copy of The Marriage Wars: Book One at https://bookshop.org/a/

A little about today's host-

Shawna Rodrigues left her award-winning career in the public sector in 2019 to consult and publish her first novel Beyond the Pear Blossoms. Her desire to connect and help others led to the launch of her podcast The Grit Show shortly thereafter. When she learned women host only 27% of podcasts, her skills and passion led to the founding of the Authentic Connections Network. She now helps mission-driven entrepreneurs better connect with their audiences by providing full-service podcast production and through a community for Entrepreneurs & Podcasters – EPAC. Podcasting is her primary focus, so she continues to support the writing community through this podcast, and her writing time is mostly focused on anthologies.

She offers a free 7 Steps to Perfect Your Podcast Title to anyone interested in launching a podcast. You can also follow her on Instagram-@ShawnaPodcasts, and learn more about the network and community at