"Whatever you can do, or believe you can do, begin it now. Genius has boldness, power and magic in it. Begin it now!" - Goethe

Lucky Penny Press was founded in 2010 by Melissa C. Marsted who graduated from Harvard University with a degree in Classical Greek and a minor in art history. She was also awarded a graduate degree in Organizational Management from Antioch University, Santa Barbara.  As an avid reader, she developed a passion for reading children's picture books to her children who are now teenagers.  She has written nearly a dozen manuscripts with a particular emphasis on books that offer an educational element to familiar or historical topics.  Her boys are both actively involved in the process and progress of Lucky Penny Press. Her younger son has written three books for Lucky Penny Press, one of which is in translated into Spanish.  Lucky Penny Press allows other authors and illustrators to witness the birth of their creations, either in a hard copy format or to download as books currently for iPhones and iPads. 

On November 13, 2008 she lost her house in the Santa Barbara Tea Fire and all of her family's belonging along with an extensive collection of books and Caldecott and Newbery Prize winning books.  At the time, she was in the midst of self-publishing her first children's book, Pablito and the Speckled Bear.  In December of 2009, Joseph Bottoms and the Bottoms Gallery at the Four Seasons Hotel hosted a Pablito and a book signing for Pablito and the Speckled Bear with local illustrator, Ben Cicatti, who coincidentally also lost his house in the Tea Fire.  Soon after, with the launch of the iPad, Melissa with the help of DeAngelis Design Studios created the Lucky Penny Press web-site.  In November, 2010 Apple approved the Lucky Penny Press app. 

In addition, to reading and writing and encouraging her teenage sons, Melissa loves to participate in outdoor adventures and experiential travel with her family.  Together, they enjoy regular adventures that include snorkeling with sea lions in the Galapagos, rafting the Colorado River, mountain biking and canyoneering in Zion National Park, running the trails of Torres del Paine, Chile and kayaking and sailing in the Santa Barbara harbor.   Melissa has run 11 marathons, including one along the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu and hiked to the summit of Mount Whitney.  Melissa is a volunteer for Club West Youth Track and is a member of the Dos Pueblos High School Chargers Association. 

She currently lives in Santa Barbara, CA and is a member of the National Association of Women Business Owners, Independent Book Publishers Association, the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, the Association of Women in Communication (Santa Barbara) and the Harvard Club of Santa Barbara.  She also works as a writing tutor for the Writing Center at Santa Barbara City College and is most recently a client with the Scheinfeld Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation at Santa Barbara City College.

Mission Statement:
"Through my writing, my intention is to inspire a curiosity for adventure and to instill a respect and appreciation for nature and all that the world has to offer. Many of my themes reflect a sense of self-awareness, self-discovery and self-confidence. My hope is to have my readers believe that by living each day to the fullest, their dreams can come true."

Email: info@melissamarsted.com