About M.J. Fifield
M.J. Fifield is a semi-functional bundle of anxiety with a totally unrelated addition to Dr Pepper, an absolutely necessary stockpile of purple pens and notebooks, and a completely healthy and normal obsession with medieval weaponry.
She writes because she loves it, publishes if she must, and markets wholly against her will. When she isn't thinking deep thoughts about grammar or devising ways to make her characters miserable, she's…Yeah. She's never not doing that. Never mind.
M.J. lives with her family in Florida.
Q & A
Frequently Asked Questions
What made you want to be a writer?
A need to justify the not at all excessive number of pens and notebooks in my office.
What's your favorite part about being a writer?
That moment when the final piece of the story puzzle falls into place, and I get to see the complete picture.
From where do you get your ideas?
Temu. Just kidding. The ideas can come from literally anywhere. Except Temu. I really was kidding about that.
Do you have a writing routine?
Absolutely. And it definitely never involves procrastination and/or crying under my desk.
Do you use AI to help you write?
No. I never have and never will use AI to generate any part of any of my stories. They have all come (and will continue to come) from that weird, little black hole that is my brain. Even the em dashes.
How do you handle writer's block?
Poorly, mostly.
Are your characters based on real people?
They really aren't. However, Rufus in Love & Other Lies was inspired by my own beloved German shepherd.
Why are you so mean to your characters?
Probably because I'm a Gen X kid who watched Artax sink into the Swamp of Sadness one too many times and never recovered.
Why haiku?
Why not? Also, I like the challenge of telling a complete story in just seventeen syllables.
Who are some of your favorite authors?
In alphabetical order: John Green, Philippa Gregory, Sharon Kay Penman, Maggie Stiefvater, Ellen Emerson White