I am Melanie van den IJssel – born and raised in the Maasduinen, professional story collector and semi-legal tea drinker. For years I wrote columns for the Maasduinen Courant. These days I just type here, in my own digital hut on the heath.
I believe in the power of the small: a forgotten glove on the sidewalk, a cat that deliberately ignores me, or a conversation that starts with “you here too?” and ends with a life lesson.
With my pen (and the occasional keyboard that gets stuck) I try to capture moments that you would normally shrug off. Here the ordinary becomes delightfully extraordinary.
About me
Melanie, Story lover. Emotion junkie. Part-time philosopher in the queue at the bakery.
I come from a region where you encounter more birds than people, and that says enough. My youth consisted of endlessly staring at clouds and making things up about everything that moved (or didn’t move).
What started with a school essay about a mud puddle, ended in a career in which I would extensively analyze that same mud puddle in 800 words. And I even got compliments for it.
What makes me happy
- Things you can’t google
- Sentences that are exactly right
- Animals with attitude (hence: Snowflakes and Piglets)
- People who have lost themselves a bit, but remain calm about it
My work
Below is a selection of my writings, brainwaves and textual slip-ups (the nice kind).
Columns (for the Maasduinen Courant)
- Coffee with Kor
- Sheeps on the tundra
- The farmer without a farm
- The blackbird as an alarm clock
Short Stories
- James the tomcat
- Henny the spider
- Writing Neighbor
Blogs
Everything that doesn’t fit into a neat genre but had to be written. Think: small annoyances, big feelings, and cats occupying my keyboard.
Books
- Collection of stories James the tomcat – from orphan to big red tomcat
- Collection of stories James the tomcat – Tomcat talk
- Coincidence doesn’t exist
- Autumn writings
- Henny the Spider Autumn troubles
- The Berlin Kingfisher
- Henny the Spider and his garden friends
Services (Yes, I also work on order – provided you have Tea)
I write things. For people. About people. And sometimes for cats too, if they pay enough.
Think of
- Columns with a wink (or two)
- Portraits that your mother would be proud of
- Copywriting without cliché
Send an email, throw a message through my digital mailbox, or send a carrier pigeon with flair.
You can send an email to melanievandenijssel@gmail.com
Snowflakes and Piglets – Where pigs fly, snowflakes dance, and even the most ordinary Tuesday suddenly turns out to be a story.
