<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><rss xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" version="2.0"><channel><title><![CDATA[Melissa A. Ivanco]]></title><description><![CDATA[Writer, artist, guitarist, veteran, author of a series you probably haven't read.]]></description><link>https://www.maimurray.com/blog-1</link><generator>RSS for Node</generator><lastBuildDate>Mon, 11 May 2026 03:12:55 GMT</lastBuildDate><atom:link href="https://zh.maimurray.com/blog-feed.xml" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml"/><item><title><![CDATA[MilSpouse Stuff Your Kindle - 8 May]]></title><description><![CDATA[It’s almost time for MilSpouse Stuff Your Kindle Day , where a bunch of us military-affiliated authors got together and decided to make an e-book FREE for the day! This year: it’s May 8th. So consider this your heads up so you can add that date to your calendars. For the entirely of 8May26, you can stuff your kindle (or whatever else you use to read e-books) with a bunch of fiction and nonfiction alike, all written by veterans, servicemembers, and spouses! There are more of us than you might...]]></description><link>https://www.maimurray.com/post/milspouse-stuff-your-kindle-8-may</link><guid isPermaLink="false">69bdab57cf14a7a450c9d907</guid><category><![CDATA[Writing]]></category><category><![CDATA[Bookish]]></category><pubDate>Mon, 04 May 2026 16:12:05 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/c7537c_cccb1227959345139b34f447fb0334ce~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_1000,h_900,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Melissa Ivanco-Murray</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[April Book Review: .dot/slash(magic) by Liz Shipton - bookish]]></title><description><![CDATA[April was crazy busy for me. CRAZY busy. However, I refuse to go a whole dang month without reading, and I managed to squeeze in a book. That’s right, I, your voracious-reader-host, only read one book this month. I think this marks the first time since my first summer training when I arrived at West Point, during which I was literally forbidden to have any books in my room (or any down time, for that matter), that I went a month without reading at least three. Even when I was in command and...]]></description><link>https://www.maimurray.com/post/april-book-review-dot-slash-magic-by-liz-shipton-bookish</link><guid isPermaLink="false">69eb789f8d49bd7442f187e0</guid><category><![CDATA[Bookish]]></category><pubDate>Thu, 30 Apr 2026 17:00:22 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/c7537c_219ad07f7eb341aa8cfa334f46c1f511~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Melissa Ivanco-Murray</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[New WIP: Radical Women in Russian Folklore]]></title><description><![CDATA[Vasilisa Mikulishna, as drawn by yours truly in ProCreate on my iPad Because of my fun doctoral research into Slavic warrior women (in case you missed any of the series of blogs I’ve been posting), I was approached to contribute an article for an anthology about Russian radicals and folklore. While the timing isn’t optimal, between querying The Night Chemist, my husband about to graduate vet school, and us being about to move to a different state...I accepted. Because I have zero chill and...]]></description><link>https://www.maimurray.com/post/new-wip-radical-women-in-russian-folklore</link><guid isPermaLink="false">69eb7793762b43f618244d6e</guid><category><![CDATA[Writing]]></category><category><![CDATA[Art]]></category><pubDate>Mon, 27 Apr 2026 16:03:07 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/c7537c_c35e919581814f6284f0a2c3e80f055b~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Melissa Ivanco-Murray</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Upcoming QuestPit Event]]></title><description><![CDATA[So on the 29th I’ll be throwing my proverbial hat into the proverbial pitching ring by participating in the QuestPit event on social media. I deleted my Twitter account after Elon took it over (ew), which is where the pitch event originated, but it looks like you can do the whole QuestPit thing on Instagram, Bluesky, &#38; Threads now, too. So here’s hoping someone actually bites on my pitch. Querying sucks, as many aspiring trad-pub authors before me have said and many more after me will say....]]></description><link>https://www.maimurray.com/post/upcoming-questpit-event</link><guid isPermaLink="false">69a312df177696dbd353cdd4</guid><category><![CDATA[Writing]]></category><pubDate>Thu, 23 Apr 2026 17:10:07 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/c7537c_4bb22a07dc9d4d809241112d22b98cd3~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Melissa Ivanco-Murray</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Slavic Warrior Women, pt. 5: Hippolyte]]></title><description><![CDATA[Link to full dissertation,  Amazons, Shieldmaidens, and Daring Polianitsy : Slavic Warrior Women in Medieval Literature and Folklore : https://libraetd.lib.virginia.edu/public_view/r207tq787   Time for Slavic Warrior women, part 5! Today we’ll start talking about the mythological Amazon queens whose narratives are best known, starting with—you guessed it—Hippolyte!   Mosaic of Amazon fighting Greek Warrior As is often the case with heroic figures from bygone eras, several conflicting and...]]></description><link>https://www.maimurray.com/post/slavic-warrior-women-pt-5-hippolyte</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6994a411c79c0a57be8a4b1a</guid><category><![CDATA[Warrior Women]]></category><pubDate>Mon, 20 Apr 2026 18:27:06 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/c7537c_589db1c0bdf94a578e83f5e4cad343d3~mv2.webp/v1/fit/w_1000,h_684,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Melissa Ivanco-Murray</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Vanishing Calluses &#38; Such]]></title><description><![CDATA[Alas, we used to practice in Bob's Basement Confession time: I haven’t guitared in forever. Ever since I started working on The Night Chemist  (working title), I have had a hard time motivating myself to focus on my music. At first, it was because I just I was so excited about my new project; the novelty kept me hooked. Then, I started to stagnate. I found myself playing the same songs over and over, mindlessly, rather than trying to actually improve or learn/write anything new.   Eventually,...]]></description><link>https://www.maimurray.com/post/vanishing-calluses-such</link><guid isPermaLink="false">69b317c660bf8f6bb4f0588a</guid><category><![CDATA[Music]]></category><category><![CDATA[Writing]]></category><category><![CDATA[Life]]></category><pubDate>Thu, 16 Apr 2026 17:48:06 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/c7537c_8846a374da854c768d3eb5bb8c0d314a~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Melissa Ivanco-Murray</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Calling All Beta Readers: "Poisoned Plums" is ready for you!]]></title><description><![CDATA[Alright, time to put out another call for beta readers! I’m going to be pretty selective with who gets to give feedback on this one, 1) because it’s a short story, 2) I plan on using this as a freebie story for people who sign up for my mailing list, and 3) I want to prioritize those beta readers who actually read fast and give good feedback. So yeah  Initial round of revisions and tweaks and edits for “Poisoned Plums” is complete, so it’s time to get a set of eyes on it—or a few sets,...]]></description><link>https://www.maimurray.com/post/calling-all-beta-readers-poisoned-plums-is-ready-for-you</link><guid isPermaLink="false">69b31d3760bf8f6bb4f0637a</guid><category><![CDATA[Writing]]></category><pubDate>Mon, 13 Apr 2026 17:09:04 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/c7537c_0088daac77d3499981bd6bdb337b9213~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Melissa Ivanco-Murray</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Slavic Warrior Women, pt. 4: Warrior Women of Antiquity]]></title><description><![CDATA[Link to full dissertation,   Amazons, Shieldmaidens, and Daring Polianitsy : Slavic Warrior Women in Medieval Literature and Folklore : https://libraetd.lib.virginia.edu/public_view/r207tq787   Time for Slavic Warrior women, part 4! Today we’ll be tackling an introduction to the Amazons and Scythians of Ancient Greek Literature, and then I’ll be going into some of the case studies I actually used for the extraordinary women whose narratives formed the backbone of my dissertation (but we’ll...]]></description><link>https://www.maimurray.com/post/slavic-warrior-women-pt-4-warrior-women-of-antiquity</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6994a0dc159d7fac9644d42c</guid><category><![CDATA[Warrior Women]]></category><pubDate>Thu, 09 Apr 2026 18:15:05 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/c7537c_77539b37dfe84bd7afbc72fc1ff5f96c~mv2.avif/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Melissa Ivanco-Murray</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Story Art Galore]]></title><description><![CDATA[I do a lot of things when I’m not writing, and not just guitaring. I’m an all-around creative person. I am constantly in a state of creation. Sometimes I sew clothes or costumes or crafts, sometimes I make jewelry, sometimes I make seasonal wreaths because I’m never happy with what’s hanging on my front door...but a lot of times, I draw. I used to paint, but that got messy. Then I went crazy with my Copic markers, but I had a kid and those are way too much temptation for him, so I had to put...]]></description><link>https://www.maimurray.com/post/story-art-galore</link><guid isPermaLink="false">69b2fcfdd558374c818d5bf9</guid><category><![CDATA[Writing]]></category><category><![CDATA[Art]]></category><pubDate>Mon, 06 Apr 2026 19:58:05 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/c7537c_aa90fabef3c44b6eb793d8439a466813~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Melissa Ivanco-Murray</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Book Review: A Feast For Starving Stone]]></title><description><![CDATA[Beth Cato, A Feast For Starving Stone . How epic of a title is that?? First, the blurb, courtesy Goodreads:   Two countries at war. A delicious taste of magic. And a fierce princess comes of age in a rousing adventure by the author of A Thousand Recipes for Revenge. Princess Solenn’s marriage into royalty should have unified the continental neighbors of Verdania and Solenn’s homeland of Braiz against a common enemy. the country of Albion. Thanks to Albion’s cunning sabotage, Verdania is now...]]></description><link>https://www.maimurray.com/post/book-review-a-feast-for-starving-stone</link><guid isPermaLink="false">69cd77002a4608ae001a949d</guid><category><![CDATA[Bookish]]></category><pubDate>Wed, 01 Apr 2026 19:55:41 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/c7537c_bcfe79a3d867486f8dc1409e4f0211ca~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Melissa Ivanco-Murray</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[March Reading Roundup]]></title><description><![CDATA[Time for this month’s reading roundup! This was a finishing-up-series kind of month. But I’m doing this whole thing where I try to read newer books, rather than just binging The Sevenwaters Trilogy  or The Dragonriders of Pern  for the dozenth time. I’m a nostalgia reader by default (but then, I’m also still listening to the same bands I loved in high school).   I made it through six books in March (although technically I started reading Heir to the Shadows at the end of February). Still a...]]></description><link>https://www.maimurray.com/post/march-reading-roundup</link><guid isPermaLink="false">69bd5649f20a14d18812394c</guid><category><![CDATA[Bookish]]></category><pubDate>Mon, 30 Mar 2026 16:31:06 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/c7537c_b60e8dc257ff45c483d61d83a1cb34e1~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Melissa Ivanco-Murray</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Slavic Warrior Women, pt. 3: When Women Go to War]]></title><description><![CDATA[Link to full dissertation,   Amazons, Shieldmaidens, and Daring Polianitsy : Slavic Warrior Women in Medieval Literature and Folklore : https://libraetd.lib.virginia.edu/public_view/r207tq787   Time for Slavic Warrior women, part 3! Today we’ll be talking about the Spirit of the Warrior, and what happens when women get involved. For funzies, I’ve included an old picture of me in uniform, for I remain a grumpy veteran. This post will probably piss off everyone, on either side of the political...]]></description><link>https://www.maimurray.com/post/slavic-warrior-women-pt-3-when-women-go-to-war</link><guid isPermaLink="false">69949d8148e1ffd8ef76e891</guid><category><![CDATA[Warrior Women]]></category><pubDate>Thu, 26 Mar 2026 17:55:07 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/c7537c_29578d28078740cb865bd0c2a72cd6e6~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Melissa Ivanco-Murray</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Short Story Update: First Draft is Complete!]]></title><description><![CDATA[Alrighty, so I’m done with my first draft of the short story, “Poisoned Plums,” that I’ve been working on the past few weeks. Well, maybe a month. I forget when exactly I got the idea and began brainstorming how best to turn that idea into a story. How long I've been working on it isn’t important lol. What is  important is, now that the first draft is done, I can take a short break to work on something else before diving back in for the initial round of revisions and rewrites. The story is...]]></description><link>https://www.maimurray.com/post/short-story-update-first-draft-is-complete</link><guid isPermaLink="false">69b3056fecfce39c49aa6b3b</guid><category><![CDATA[Writing]]></category><pubDate>Mon, 23 Mar 2026 18:32:08 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/c7537c_0088daac77d3499981bd6bdb337b9213~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Melissa Ivanco-Murray</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Brand New Mailing List]]></title><description><![CDATA[I've got news! Sort of. It's small news. I have been bouncing the idea around for a while now of creating a brand new mailing list from scratch, since I never really figured out how to get the first one going with any consistency. They have a ton of new tools nowadays for organizing and scheduling email newsletters, so I'm going to try this again! I've got a lot of topics and exclusive goodies and such that I plan on covering in these emails, but I promise I won't spam your inbox. My goal is...]]></description><link>https://www.maimurray.com/post/brand-new-mailing-list</link><guid isPermaLink="false">69a5f6d3a1cf5821abc7cb1b</guid><category><![CDATA[Writing]]></category><category><![CDATA[Life]]></category><category><![CDATA[Bookish]]></category><pubDate>Thu, 19 Mar 2026 16:45:08 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/c7537c_7d05b99c2e6847d5ab66913b750d1d83~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_1000,h_630,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Melissa Ivanco-Murray</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Slavic Warrior Women, pt. 2: A Question of Genre]]></title><description><![CDATA[Link to full dissertation,   Amazons, Shieldmaidens, and Daring Polianitsy : Slavic Warrior Women in Medieval Literature and Folklore : https://libraetd.lib.virginia.edu/public_view/r207tq787 It's time for part 2 of my Slavic Warrior Women series! This time, we'll be delving a little deeper into the concept of genre, which is integral to understanding how history becomes literature. Put on your academic hats, and let's dive into how historical Scythians became fictional Amazons and later, the...]]></description><link>https://www.maimurray.com/post/slavic-warrior-women-pt-2-a-question-of-genre</link><guid isPermaLink="false">699499fda8ff0d3b097ff002</guid><category><![CDATA[Warrior Women]]></category><pubDate>Mon, 16 Mar 2026 17:40:05 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/c7537c_77539b37dfe84bd7afbc72fc1ff5f96c~mv2.avif/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Melissa Ivanco-Murray</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Ink &#38; Iron Challenge]]></title><description><![CDATA[Now that March is almost half gone, I suppose I should actually explain why I’ve been more active on social media than usual: I am participating in a social media/writing challenge with one of the writer groups I’m in. With querying being as slow and frustrating of a process as it is, it can be difficult to maintain momentum and motivation while playing the waiting game. It’s hard not to resent the “gatekeeping,” even though I know it’s not the agents’ fault that they can accept so few new...]]></description><link>https://www.maimurray.com/post/ink-iron-challenge</link><guid isPermaLink="false">699b2402cfa5020e41bc0819</guid><category><![CDATA[Writing]]></category><category><![CDATA[Life]]></category><pubDate>Thu, 12 Mar 2026 16:46:08 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/c7537c_477c3bd4c7544a7b8619f673ab9bc11c~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_1000,h_630,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Melissa Ivanco-Murray</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Short story in the works: "Poisoned Plums"]]></title><description><![CDATA[I haven’t posted much about my own writing in a while, so I figured we’re due an update on that front. Last month I started working on a short story that takes place about six months prior to the beginning of The Night Chemist  (working title). In broad strokes, the short story involves Aylin Aga (26) investigating whether she is the intended target of a potential poisoning, which took down one of her professors, all while studying for her chemistry licensing exam. Thus, we get to see the...]]></description><link>https://www.maimurray.com/post/short-story-in-the-works-poisoned-plums</link><guid isPermaLink="false">699b1e6733aebccb4869a5ca</guid><category><![CDATA[Writing]]></category><pubDate>Mon, 09 Mar 2026 16:21:09 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/c7537c_0088daac77d3499981bd6bdb337b9213~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Melissa Ivanco-Murray</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Slavic Warrior Women, pt. 1: Introduction]]></title><description><![CDATA[Amazons, Shieldmaidens, and Daring Polianitsy : Slavic Warrior Women in Medieval Literature and Folklore   Last May, I graduated with my PhD from the University of Virginia in Slavic Languages &#38; Literatures. Over the course of my research (almost seven years from my first day of grad school through defending my dissertation), many many MANY folks told me my topic sounded fascinating. Obviously, I’m biased, but I agree. Since I get so many questions and requests to read it, generally followed...]]></description><link>https://www.maimurray.com/post/slavic-warrior-women-pt-1-introduction</link><guid isPermaLink="false">699495917e0fff329614f6f8</guid><category><![CDATA[Warrior Women]]></category><pubDate>Thu, 05 Mar 2026 18:24:09 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/c7537c_d9bceee555c04640abbef70590d3f068~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Melissa Ivanco-Murray</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Slavic Tarot is Sold Out for Good]]></title><description><![CDATA[I posted about this on Instagram a while back as my stock of Slavic Tarot decks was dwindling and then, alas, exhausted, but I figured I should probably talk a bit more about its creation process and why I ultimately discontinued printing it here, for those who are curious or have been pressing me to make another printing.   I’ll begin with why I stopped, which I guess is beginning with the ending: printing costs have skyrocketed. They are absolutely bonkers  high right now. As a result, I...]]></description><link>https://www.maimurray.com/post/slavic-tarot-is-sold-out-for-good</link><guid isPermaLink="false">69947be2a8ff0d3b097f9e03</guid><category><![CDATA[Art]]></category><pubDate>Mon, 02 Mar 2026 18:00:21 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/c7537c_dfdba0e5e4424ee6bd905a41bdb4bff7~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Melissa Ivanco-Murray</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[February Book Review: She Who Became the Sun]]></title><description><![CDATA[As promised, I’m back with a more thorough review of my favorite February read: Shelley Parker-Chan’s She Who Became the Sun . Going to try to do this without giving away too many spoilers, but we’ll see how well I succeed. I’ll start with just a copy/paste of the book blurb from Goodreads, because I don’t feel like inventing my own blurb when a) writing blurbs is HARD, yo and b) the blurb already exists. Work smarter, not harder.   In a famine-stricken village on a dusty yellow plain, two...]]></description><link>https://www.maimurray.com/post/february-book-review-she-who-became-the-sun</link><guid isPermaLink="false">699473aa159d7fac9644571b</guid><category><![CDATA[Bookish]]></category><pubDate>Sat, 28 Feb 2026 17:15:07 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/c7537c_27d0ee689dd444f4976e41cca6e8c1d0~mv2.jpeg/v1/fit/w_179,h_282,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Melissa Ivanco-Murray</dc:creator></item></channel></rss>