Grace by Melinda Marchiano

Melinda Marchiano had cancer at the age of 12.  Two years later,  she retells her triumph in the inspirational and award-winning book, Grace.  TheMOV & Matt Hackney’s involvement can best be told in an excerpt from her book

Exactly one year before, I had been in the hospital getting my last chemo pumped into me.  I had worn a plastic crown… now I had a real one.  My make-shift, crepe paper sash had also transformed.  The maraca in my hand was now a trophy, and instead of a dirty, ugly diamond-print hospital gown, I was wearing a ball gown – a beautiful, purple, beaded ball gown.  And once again, life’s irony amazed me.

To top off the magical night, one of the judges approached me, a business card outstretched in his hand.

It read, “Matt Hackney.”

He was the judge who had displayed a great interest in my writing during the personal interview.  Standing before me in his white suit and shoulder-length hair, he, interestingly, resembled Jesus.  I was speechless when I heard the words he spoke.

“Melinda, I would like to help you publish your book.”

And, just like that, the broken pieces of my heart were glued back together.

~Page 259, Grace by Melinda Marchiano

You may purchase Grace on Amazon and follow Melinda’s journey on her site here.

How Did TheMOV Help?

With multiple judges on the board of the Santa Barbara Beaty Pageant met Melinda  and were immediately impressed.  After she won first place, we decided she would be a perfect fit for telling her story to the entire world.  We then met with Melinda and her mother over the course of a year to help her design her story and turn her thoughts into a collective piece of art.

We then helped the Marchianos open their own publishing company, Happy Quail.  At this time, we had the first copies of Grace published and it saw instantaneous success among the local community.  We then put Happy Quail in touch with larger publishing platforms and helped spark interest from Green Leaf Book Group, who now distributes and markets Grace.

Still young, we look forward to seeing future success from Melinda.