iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Reposted by Mellifera Muses 🐝

Mel | Comms Specialist @melleesmith.com · 03/04/2026

Hope y'all are having a Very Good Friday. For the first time in 6 years, I submitted a short story for publication. Fingers crossed. 🤞🩷

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Reposted by Mellifera Muses 🐝

Mel | Comms Specialist @melleesmith.com · 29/03/2026

The best ideas grow in your subconscious, fertilized by time, space, neglect. The best ideas are delicate flowers: you'll rot the roots, wilt the blooms if you overtend them. #Writing #WritingCommunity

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Mellifera Muses 🐝 @melliferamuses.com · 28/03/2026

Yes. Will this be shared / published digitally anywhere? If so, censoring the word will actually cause your piece to *show up* for folks who have the full word muted on their socials. So could have the opposite effect. I'm also biased toward calling a thing what it is, especially in literature.

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Mellifera Muses 🐝 @melliferamuses.com · 25/03/2026

This is a lovely poem, and a beautiful portrait. ❤️ Really resonates with me as I also lost my father last month. Sending hugs and light to you and yours.

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Mellifera Muses 🐝 @melliferamuses.com · 24/03/2026

Did you know you can commission me for poetry, short stories, obituaries, and more? 💛🐝 Prices start from just €3. Backed by: - 25+ years' personal writing experience - 10+ years' freelancing experience - 2 writing degrees Book here: ko-fi.com/melleesmith #AmWriting #Commissions #WritingCommunity

ko-fi.com

Mel Lee-Smith's Bookings

Bookings Open! Click to see Mel Lee-Smith's booking menu.

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Mellifera Muses 🐝 @melliferamuses.com · 24/03/2026

"La Alegria" toledo is my all-time favorite sandwich— pairs so well with soup. 🍲 #Haiku #PoetryDaily #Poetry #Poem #MelliferaMuses #WritingCommunity #AmWriting

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Mellifera Muses 🐝 @melliferamuses.com · 14/03/2026

My (writing) commissions are officially open! ✨🍯🐝 Finally got the commissions page up on the website. Check it out! melliferamuses.com/commissions

Screenshot of the Commissions page of the Mellifera Muses website. The main color scheme is honey yellow. The top section shows 3 cards with some text summarizing Mellifera Muses poetry, flash fiction, and short story commissions, including starting prices and requirements. Following the commissions cards are two cards with links to past commissioned pieces, including a poem and a short story.

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Reposted by Mellifera Muses 🐝

Mel | Comms Specialist @melleesmith.com · 10/11/2025

Dad hit his head climbing up the dresser, just like me and my sister did when we were little: an excruciating parallel. #Poem #Poetry #AmWriting #Dementia #DoHashtagsEvenWorkOnHere #OrAmIJustOld

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Mellifera Muses 🐝 @melliferamuses.com · 10/11/2025

"Three lifetimes later, you wake to an ache in your left hip." Mellifera Muses' first commissioned short story — "Quest Started: A Man and His Cat" — is now live! A Fallout-inspired short story / side quest for my pal Keith: #AmWriting #WIP #WritingCommunity #ShortStory

melliferamuses.com

Quest Started: A Man and His Cat | Short Story by Mellifera Muses

'Three lifetimes later, you wake to an ache in your left hip.'

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Mellifera Muses 🐝 @melliferamuses.com · 22/09/2025

"Living so far away, and knowing Mama couldn’t care less about receiving a bouquet, I decided the best birthday gift I can give her is this story, this not-so-random love letter on a Sunday, just because." Flowers for Mama is up now. #AmWriting #MelliferaMuses melliferamuses.com/flowers-for-...

melliferamuses.com

Flowers for Mama | Short story by Mellifera Muses

'Some people let this world make them ugly, but not Mama — her light just keeps growing brighter.'

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Reposted by Mellifera Muses 🐝

Mel | Comms Specialist @melleesmith.com · 11/09/2025

The @melliferamuses.com newsletter is coming along! 🐝 My first newsletter will publish later this month. Will share the subscribe form soon!

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Mellifera Muses 🐝 @melliferamuses.com · 16/06/2025

What else can I do, under the weight of all this grief? Just become a creature of the earth again, I guess. — #Poetry #AmWriting #ShortVerses #MelliferaMuses

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Mellifera Muses 🐝 @melliferamuses.com · 29/12/2024

Some days, the heartache hurts worse than others. Like a bum knee on a rainy day. Sometimes, your climate just irritates your old wounds, and you can't really put a finger on why. #Writing #AmWriting #MelliferaMuses

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Mellifera Muses 🐝 @melliferamuses.com · 03/12/2024

Bend your life into whatever shape you like, and know that sorrow will thread through every part. Even when your suffering makes no sense, it is unavoidable. #Poetry #AmWriting #MelliferaMuses

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Mellifera Muses 🐝 @melliferamuses.com · 21/11/2024

I’m so sorry to hear about your mum 😢 I remember us taking about her back on Twitter. All the best books start out as just-for-fun projects 😄 how many beta readers have you worked with on it in that time?

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Mellifera Muses 🐝 @melliferamuses.com · 21/11/2024

Shut UP, Gary, you’re gonna make me cry 😭

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Mellifera Muses 🐝 @melliferamuses.com · 20/11/2024

Yes, please do send over a couple chapters! Especially for the one you wanna query. I know you've been working so hard for (how many?) years now, and I can't wait to see you take that next step!

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Mellifera Muses 🐝 @melliferamuses.com · 20/11/2024

Wait, did I not tell you?! Wish on a Red Bird got published! 😍 deepsouthmag.com/2020/03/09/w...

deepsouthmag.com

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Mellifera Muses 🐝 @melliferamuses.com · 20/11/2024

This is actually so on brand for you lol

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Mellifera Muses 🐝 @melliferamuses.com · 20/11/2024

You already know it, my friend! 😊

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Mellifera Muses 🐝 @melliferamuses.com · 20/11/2024

Replying bc no edit button — I'm allowed to say that, because I'm from there 🤣

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Mellifera Muses 🐝 @melliferamuses.com · 20/11/2024

Keep it classy, South Carolina... 🤦🏻‍♀️

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Mellifera Muses 🐝 @melliferamuses.com · 20/11/2024

Comment "FIRE" to STEAL my playbook! Ah man, it's nice not to see any of that shit here, lol.

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Mellifera Muses 🐝 @melliferamuses.com · 20/11/2024

They're constantly screaming, "If you don't like it, then leave!" And then when you do leave, they follow you. 🤦🏻‍♀️

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Mellifera Muses 🐝 @melliferamuses.com · 20/11/2024

Aww thank you so much 😭 You got the first comment! I'm so sorry to hear about your uncle. And thank you for sharing that photo — the love y'all have for him really shines through 🥰 Thank goodness for happy memories. I don't know how anyone who has to go through this could cope without them.

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Mellifera Muses 🐝 @melliferamuses.com · 20/11/2024

It’s only a matter of time before the LinkedIn broetry style makes its way to Bluesky 😂

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Mellifera Muses 🐝 @melliferamuses.com · 19/11/2024

Thank you! Yes, grief is the worst. It’s hit me really hard the last few years. My dad has dementia, so it’s been an ongoing thing. But I handled some of the bigger milestones a lot better than I thought I would. Always here if ya wanna swap stories 😊

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Mellifera Muses 🐝 @melliferamuses.com · 18/11/2024

Thank you so much for saying this, my friend. Makes me feel good! I haven’t produced a ton since we last talked, but I do have a new writing website with a few pieces — same as my handle. A lot of my recent work has centered around grief — my dad got sick, then I lost my aunt. Slowly coming back…

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Mellifera Muses 🐝 @melliferamuses.com · 18/11/2024

🥹 so blessed to have folks like @gavrushka.bsky.social in my corner! 💛

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Mellifera Muses 🐝 @melliferamuses.com · 18/11/2024

@gavrushka.bsky.social Gary! I’m so glad you’re here, it’s Mel from way back in the Twitter days 😊 I’ve been looking for you and all my old pals since I joined! Hope you’re doing well

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Reposted by Mellifera Muses 🐝

Alex Lopez @alexlopezwrites.bsky.social · 18/11/2024

what if your ideas are as in love with you as you are with them? what if your creativity spends its days dreaming about you too? what if art is a co-creation between you (the vessel) & the eternal source of all things? what if this act of making is the universe experiencing itself through you?

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Mellifera Muses 🐝 @melliferamuses.com · 18/11/2024

Iconic behavior 🤣 Very curious to know the story behind this, but feels like a risky google, lol

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Mellifera Muses 🐝 @melliferamuses.com · 18/11/2024

Assuming you're talking about hair, yes, we know what a fringe is! And that's what we call it too. (I also know what a minge is... though I might've learned that one after I moved here 🤣)

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Mellifera Muses 🐝 @melliferamuses.com · 18/11/2024

He does look a fair bit wobbly here...

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Mellifera Muses 🐝 @melliferamuses.com · 17/11/2024

What made you stop using it if you don't mind my asking? I use Notion for basically everything so I'm biased, haha. But I don't use it for writing most things. I keep all my drafts in Scrivener.

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Mellifera Muses 🐝 @melliferamuses.com · 17/11/2024

I built a word count tracker in Notion where I log all my writing sessions. It's pretty basic — each log includes the date, time, word count, project, and short description of the session. And then the charts/formulas do the rest! 🤩 I also use Notion for marketing/publishing. It's so powerful!

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Mellifera Muses 🐝 @melliferamuses.com · 17/11/2024

Hi! I'm Mellissa, aka Mel. Been writing and telling stories my whole life. Some of my work lives on melliferamuses.com, but I'm also working on: - a fictionalized biography/Southern lit novel - a short story about Celtic mythological space vampires - a guide on activism for people with BPD/cPTSD

melliferamuses.com

Home

Poetry, short stories, and other creative bits to make your day a little sweeter

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Mellifera Muses 🐝 @melliferamuses.com · 17/11/2024

I also just wanna celebrate myself. There are so many projects I never started because of imposter syndrome. I'm proud that I can now say: "This thing doesn't exist, but it's needed. And I'm just the person to create it." I'm proud that I can actually trust myself to write world-changing things.

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Mellifera Muses 🐝 @melliferamuses.com · 17/11/2024

Am creating an outline for this project. I haven't made an outline since probably 2019? And I only do it for my bigger projects. I'm lost. How does one outline? Without just making a messy bulleted list of stuff you wanna cover? #AmWriting #WritingCommunity

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Mellifera Muses 🐝 @melliferamuses.com · 17/11/2024

I want this to be a learning opportunity for him, and for the other 2 men who witnessed this exchange: our husbands. If my words can make him stop and think and try to do better, then I’ve done some good. And that change in his own behavior will have a ripple effect in his relationships.

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Mellifera Muses 🐝 @melliferamuses.com · 17/11/2024

Before we all went to bed, he made a point to ask me for a hug. And he even gave me a “peace offering”. Now, here’s the thing: I don’t want him to simply adjust his behavior around ME. I want this interaction to make him question where the impulse to make “jokes” like that comes from.

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Mellifera Muses 🐝 @melliferamuses.com · 17/11/2024

And I told him to remember all the shit happening with 🍊 in the States. I said, “It’s hitting me and [other friend] really hard. How do you think it makes us feel to hear you say stuff like that, especially now? Even as a joke.” I could see in his eyes when it clicked.

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Mellifera Muses 🐝 @melliferamuses.com · 17/11/2024

I appealed to him to put himself in my shoes, and in our friend’s shoes (also an American woman). I told him to remember Gisele Pelicot, and the athlete who was set on fire whose name escaped in that moment but will not escape me again, Rebecca Cheptegei.

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Mellifera Muses 🐝 @melliferamuses.com · 17/11/2024

When I returned, he asked me, “Hey Mel, can I have a quick sidebar?” We walked out the front. He apologized profusely and sincerely. He acknowledged it was misogynistic and said that’s not how he wants to be. I told him I accepted and appreciated his apology — but I pressed a bit more, too.

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Mellifera Muses 🐝 @melliferamuses.com · 17/11/2024

IDR exactly what I said (again, pub), plus I was so angry in that moment. But I do remember telling him misogyny wasn’t funny. I remember speaking firmly but not aggressively. And I remember ending with, “Know YOUR place,” and then turning around to go smoke. Such a satisfying mic drop moment. 🎤

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