Geraldine Valerie Whelan (born 2 December 1952), known by the pen name O. R. Melling, is a writer of fantasy novels, mostly for children and young adults.
[4] Melling was born in Ireland, but moved with her family to Toronto, Ontario when she was four.
[2][8] Melling has also worked as a teacher of Irish dance and been an officer in the Royal Canadian Navy.
[9] The critic Ciara Ní Bhroin has described Melling's novels as "weaving ... modern Canadian protagonists into ancient myth".
She identifies a "nostalgic, regressive strain" in The Druid's Tale, and writes that "Melling both confirms and denies traditional portrayals of Ireland and the feminine".