Hi, I'm M.J.
I'm a lot of things at once: a mom, a writer, an ultrarunner, a former librarian, a psychology grad student, and someone who has been known to pair bourbon with a very good cheese and call it dinner. I live in the Dallas area of Texas, where I write stories, bake anything chocolate, and find my church on dirt trails.
I have run everything from 50Ks to 100-mile ultramarathons, more ultras than marathons, which tells you something about how I approach a challenge. I don't do things halfway, and I apparently enjoy suffering just enough to keep going.
I'm fascinated by how our minds work: why we believe what we believe, how our experiences shape who we become, and what makes us resilient when life asks more of us than seems fair. That fascination led me back to school for a second master's degree in psychology. It also, not coincidentally, found its way into everything I write.
In the winter of second grade, my son was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes just after his eighth birthday. Suddenly our family had a completely new normal.
What didn't change was him.
He is one of the kindest, funniest, most creative and hardworking people I know. He stands up for his friends. He makes people laugh. He carries more responsibility before breakfast than most adults carry all day, and he does it with a grace and resilience that honestly puts me to shame. By fifth grade, he was listing type 1 diabetes as his secret superpower on his back-to-school pages.
His secret superpower.
When he was first diagnosed, I did what any former librarian would do…I went looking for books. Specifically, I went looking for a book with a boy protagonist who had type 1 diabetes. A book that might help him see himself on the page. A book that might show him that his disease was part of him, but not all of him.
I couldn't find one.
The Story Behind the Story
So I decided to write it.
Bionic Boy is a contemporary middle grade novel about Andrew, an eleven-year-old with type 1 diabetes navigating fifth grade, a fractured family, the loss of his best friend, and the slow, hard work of learning to see himself clearly. My son’s favorite book when he was diagnosed was Wonder, so I wanted to write something with that same heartfelt, humorous spirit. A book for every kid who carries something invisible and just wants to be seen as more than what they carry.
I am currently querying Bionic Boy and am also at work on an adult women's fiction novel about — you guessed it — a trail runner.
Bionic Boy
Before my son was born I worked in libraries, which means I have strong opinions about books, cozy cushions, and the particular pleasure of a well-loved reading nook. I minored in English (history major, library science master's) before returning to school for psychology. Because apparently one degree is never enough when you're genuinely curious about everything.
I write to process life, to create stories, and occasionally to review books on my Substack. A few of my essays have been published on trail-running websites, and I had a poem published in Trail Runner Magazine, which remains one of my favorite things I've ever done.
If you're a T1D parent, a fellow writer in the query trenches, a runner, a reader, or someone who just found your way here…Welcome.