M. J. Brett

M.J. Brett (a.k.a. Margaret Brettschneider)

I started telling stories as a three-year-old abandoned on a farm in Missouri, where I told fanciful tales to my cat--the only one who would listen. But it was the coaxing of my high school students in Germany that made me finally write for others to read. With eight historical novels in nine years, and now a ninth, it seems now that I don't know how to stop!

A thirty-year teaching career, twenty-one of which were spent in Europe, seven stationed with the military on the infamous Cold War Border where evacuation was not an option, plus three years on an International Think Tank, have all given me unending potential scenarios for my stories of adventure, intrigue, history and camaraderie.

A mother fighting to protect her children in World War II, a skirt-chasing helicopter pilot flying over enemy territory, a grief-stricken widow, a teen of mean streets, a battalion commander torn between love and duty, a child's view of The Depression and war, a comedic pair of travelers falling into disaster after disaster, an elderly lady fighting for her independence, and a young deaf-mute fighting for acceptance during the intolerent 1880s when parents hid their handicapped children, are just a few of the characters who bring stories to life, both in comedy and tragedy. I find human nature endlessly fascinating, always full of surprises.

I now reside in Colorado with my retired Army husband, and a whole backyard of wild animals. I enjoy skiing, writing, and speaking with schools, book clubs, and civic groups on topics such as World War II, The Cold War, and techniques used in writing.

Book number nine has just arrived. It's called "Truth Lies Six Foot Under" and it's a true-crime drama of a cold-case multiple murder that was terribly botched by the sheriff. To protect the surviving family members from surviving Mexican Mafia drug lords, I had to change not only names, but towns as well. One assumes when one sees something going on, one should report it to "officer friendly," but when a struggling young student reports what he thinks is a drug transfer to the sheriff, his danger and anxiety only increase, including that for his young wife and four-year-old son. The tragedy that ensues rocks their famiy for two decades, with threats whenever they try to ask questions. Is it too late to find answers that could set this family free? Step over the shotgun at the door, and help us find the answers.

For more information on any of my books, see www.m.j.brett.com