Melissa Muldoon is the “Studentessa Matta.” In Italian, “matta” means “crazy” or “impassioned.” She promotes the study of Italian language and culture through the dual-language blog StudentessaMatta.com. Melissa began the “Matta” blog to improve her own language skills and to connect with other language learners. It has since grown to include a podcast, Tutti Matti per Italiano, and the Studentessa Matta YouTube channel. Melissa also created Matta Language Immersion Tours, which she co-leads with Italian partners in Italy. She has a B.A. in fine arts from Knox College, and a master’s in art history from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana. She studied painting and art history in Florence.

Dreaming Sophia is Melissa’s first novel about Italy and Waking Isabella is her second novel. Both stories weave together historical facts with an imaginative story line, focusing on Italy, the language, art, and culture. It is the desire of the author to introduce her readers to the world of art history and inspire them to learn the Italian language.

When Melissa is not traveling in Italy, she lives in the San Francisco Bay Area. She is married and has three boys and two beagles named Sinbad and Moka.

Melissa designed and illustrated the cover art for both her novels. More information is available on the author’s website: www.MelissaMuldoon.com