Melissa (a.k.a M_A_Hartman) is bringing some mystery in Chapter 7 of the Lost Cradle.

However, before we unravel it, we want to ask her some questions. Let's sit for a moment. 

Dear Melissa
We are glad to have you on board for this SciFi Relay adventure.
And we want to thank you for spending this moment with us for this interview.

Tell us a bit about yourself, your journey as a writer and your foray into the Orange part of the web (a.k.a. Wattpad)

I've been creating creatures and spinning stories since I was six years old. Since I just turned 41, well, that's a long time to be stuck in one's head! It's always been my dream to be a published author, and because I knew Wattpad has a track record of turning online stories into actual books ... how could I pass up the opportunity?

1, 2, 3... Tell us about ONE story you would have wanted to write, TWO authors you admire, who inspire you.... THREE characters who often come into your mind when you start a new story...

One story -- The one that I've been working on since 1996 and haven't felt satisfied with any of the edits yet! 

Two authors -- Mercedes Lackey and Anne McCaffrey. I devoured their books as a teenager. 

Three characters -- A strong, female lead; a magical creature; a gentlemanly male lead.

What made you want to participate in the relay?

I participated last year and wanted to try again.

How did you find the experience?

Challenging. :)

What challenged you the most in this venture? Something that maybe brought you out of your writer's comfort zone?

I don't normally write sci-fi, despite being a Star Wars fan. It's easy coming up with magical creatures -- most of them are already written down in the annals of history. Aliens? Not so much!

Something we are most curious about... How about you give us a little teaser of your part in this story? A sentence or two that will keep us on our toes and impatiently wait reading your chapter?

The lead thug, a knobby creature with sickly yellowed skin and pale, watery green eyes, placed his three-fingered hand on the door to the elevator and leaned in. Hana winced as a sulfuric odor washed over and clamped a hand over her mouth as bile rose in the back of her throat.

And while we are feeling the tease, as we consider the Science Fiction genre, we are all expecting wondrous worlds and weird alien species... Can you tell us about one element you brought to the Relay, one element you created for this story? It may be an alien race, a location in space, or maybe a special technology... Tell us about this special character, object, environment or settings you built up for your part in the story. What was your inspiration for it?

The owner of the pawn shop. While I'll keep his appearance a secret, it's very fitting considering his Earthly counterpart.

And just to make it even more understandable. This little part of yourself you added to make the story even greater, can you give us a definition as if it was an entry in The Great Dictionary of Science Fiction?

Cralxaks's Pawn Shop -- A lot of junk packed into a tight space.

And because we want to know what happens next, let's read Chapter 7 now.Enjoy!