Short Bio

Manelle’s love of art and stories began with the books and movies she enjoyed as a child. It was a happy day when her mom finally let her get her own library card. (Then she accidentally ran it through the washing machine, but that’s another story.) Her love for storytelling had only grown as she found ways to share ideas through illustration and writing. She received a bachelor’s degree in illustration from BYU-Idaho and since then has illustrated many children’s books both working with publishers and through self-publishing.

She lives in Salt Lake City with her husband and two cats who are named after the weather (Muggy and Drizzle). She enjoys spending time with her family and watching Korean dramas. See Manelle’s work at http://talesfantastic.com/

Longer Bio

Like most kids who grow up to be artists Manelle always loved drawing. When she was young she spent hours drawing girls with very ruffled dresses and long hair. All the kids in her kindergarten class were impressed by her crayon drawing of a panda bear next to a palm tree. 

When she wasn’t drawing she consumed books. In sixth grade, she discovered Lloyd Alexander’s books and after reading the Prydain Chronicles she read everything else he’d written, often heading right to that section of the library to see if he had any new books.

As she grew up she never let go of the idea that she was going to be an artist. She started keeping a sketchbook in seventh grade and most people in her high school referred to her as the “girl who draws”. 

Sometime in college, she realized that her love of stories would translate well into creating children’s books. She graduated in 2004 from BYU-Idaho with an illustration degree and a beginner children’s book portfolio. 

After college, she got an in-house job doing page layout for an educational company and started marketing her portfolio to children’s book publishers. She started getting illustration jobs at the same time she wrote and illustrated her own book ideas. 

In 2014 she started Tales Fantastic as a place to practice writing and illustrating fantastic stories. In 2018 she wrote a short story and posted in on Instagram with illustrations for #mermay. It was so popular her followers insisted she publish it as a book.

Since then she’s four more mermaid books. At the same time, she finished a novel and with the help of her agent, Adria Goetz she is getting it ready to submit to publishers.

You can find Manelle online at talesfantastic.com on Instagram @talesfantastic and on TikTok @talesfantastic