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Meet M.J. Evans of Dancing Horse Press

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Today we’d like to introduce you to M.J. Evans.

M.J., please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I grew up in a family of dancers, artists, and musicians. But my voyage has been on a different course. My dance partner is a horse and I paint pictures with words. Only later in life did I learn that I am related to many famous authors, including C.S. Lewis.

Graduating from college with a degree in secondary education, I spent several years teaching and enjoying teenagers. My second career was as a mother of five children. I found this to be both challenging and rewarding as I creatively strove to help my children be successful. My horses and my interest in writing were put on hold only temporarily, however. I kept reminding myself that there is a time and a season. I returned to both horses and writing when the youngest child started school.

I have written fourteen books. Some are fiction, others are non-fiction. The non-fiction came first and have been very successful. I have learned that if you want to write a non-fiction book that will sell, it must fill a need. In my case, as a new-comer to Colorado, and pretty adept at hauling a horse in a trailer, I wanted to know where to find trails to ride. I gathered some friends and dubbed them my “test-riders.” Nearly every Friday for three years, we previewed a new trail that I had found by contacting local and state agencies. The result was “Riding Colorado,” a collection of fifty-two trails, and “Riding Colorado II,” fifty-eight more trails, evaluated from the equestrian’s perspective.

Even as I enjoyed the success of my first and second trail books, seeds of ideas for fiction stories kept sprouting in my brain. By this time, only one child remained at home and was now a teenager himself. This left me with even more time to pursue this simmering passion. I have always loved fantasy so I combined my love for horses and my love for fantasy in my first series of books: “The Mist Trilogy.” Through the process of writing and publishing these books, I began improving my craft as a writer and also learning the complex and quickly changing world of the publishing industry. I learned that authors are no longer dependent on agents or publishers and, after going the traditional route for my first four books, I went out on my own and started my own independent publishing company. I love both the freedom and creativity that this affords me.

While fantasy is my first love, it seems that every artist eventually reaches a point where they want to spread their wings and challenge themselves in a new direction. That happened to me with my award-winning book: “In the Heart of a Mustang.” This book, a contemporary coming of age novel, has garnered many awards and has been very successful, reaching #1 on Amazon numerous times. Yet, I still stuck with my love of horses throughout the book.

Most recently, I decided to try my hand at historical fiction. Quite by accident, I stumbled across the most amazing story of the Overland Westerners who hold the record for the longest horseback ride in history. In 1912, four men left their homes in Washington State with the intention of riding to every state capital in the US. Their goal was to receive fame and fortune when they arrived at the Panama Pacific International Exposition in 1915. Yet San Francisco did not put out the welcome mat. Instead of cheering crowds, their only greeting was, “Get them nags off the street!”

On this journey, the men wore out seventeen horses. But one horse made it the entire 20,300 miles. He was a little, black and white, Morab named “Pinto.” So, I decided that Pinto deserved to tell the story. It’s time to give this story the fame it deserves. This is my newest book and I am really proud of it.

As a teacher and a mother, I am well aware of how important it is for kids to read. Yet, finding quality literature for kids, especially the middle-grade and early teenage child, is often difficult. So that is the audience that I focus on. I write so that kids will love to read while gently teaching good values. I don’t use bad language, sex, or drugs in my stories. I want to leave something good in the world. I guess you can say, “Once a mother, always a mother!”

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
My success as an author, based upon the number of literary awards I have received, has amazed me. Yet, I have had to work hard for it. Working with publishers taught me that I don’t like to give up control of my creations. Some publishers were very willing to work with me. Others simply took over and wouldn’t listen to my input at all. Add to that, I learned that the author is the last one to get paid, and that payment is very low. But I’m glad I worked with publishers initially as I was completely ignorant about the publishing world. I didn’t even know what I didn’t know!

Marketing is also a big challenge for authors. It isn’t enough to just write and publish a book. With over a million books, between ebooks and print, published each year in the US, it is difficult to get even a great book noticed. Publishing houses do very little marketing for you. I was put on a conference call with my publisher’s marketing department, during which they told me all the things I needed to do. They weren’t going to do it for me. So, I decided to make marketing a creative endeavor as well. I took classes, read articles, viewed webinars and talked with other authors, all with the goal of becoming better at marketing. It is still hard. But, I have learned to focus on my readers and develop a following. My readers tend to be horse enthusiasts so I go where horse-people are.

We’d love to hear more about your work.
In 2015, I started my own independent publishing company to publish my books. By this time, I had quite a bit of exposure to and experience with the publishing industry. My company is called “Dancing Horse Press.” I am a writer. I format the interior of the books. I also handle the business details such as acquiring bar codes, ISBN numbers, Library of Congress numbers, and copyrights. I hire editors, cover designers, printers, and distributors. It is all very rewarding when that first box of books arrives at my door!

I am best known for my books about horses and horse-fantasy creatures written for middle graders. But I have found that adults enjoy my books as well. I am also known for my equestrian trail guide books. It has been such an honor to be the recipient of so many Literary Awards. While my friends and family naturally love my books, it is nice to know that the professionals do as well. I would say the fact that my books are clean and teach valuable lessons sets me apart from many others in my industry.

What has been the proudest moment of your career so far?
My proudest moment came the day I received an email from the parent of one of my readers. In the letter, she wrote that my books got her child to love to read. I cried.

I have also been proud to receive so many literary awards and great reviews. Literary Classics Book Awards said while awarding my book their gold medal, that “In the Heart of a Mustang” is one of the finest books ever written for teens and pre-teens.” Another critic compared “PINTO!” to the classic, “Black Beauty.” That is so awesome!

Pricing:

  • “PINTO!” Based Upon the True Story of the Longest Horseback Ride in History,” Retail $10.95
  • “In the Heart of a Mustang,” Retail: $12.95
  • “PERCY-The Racehorse Who Didn’t Like to Run.” Soft Cover $9.95, Hard cover “$16.95
  • “The Stone of Mercy-Book One of the Centaur Chronicles,” Retail: $10.95
  • “The Stone of Courage-Book Two of the Centaur Chronicles,” Retail $10.95
  • “The Stone of Integrity-Book Three of the Centaur Chronicles,” Retail $10.95
  • “The Stone of Wisdom-Book Four of the Centaur Chronicles,” Retail $10.95
  • “Behind the Mist-Book 1 of The Mist Trilogy,” Retail $10.95
  • “Mists of Darkness-Book 2 of The Mist Trilogy,” Retail $10.95
  • “The Rising Mist-The Final Book of The Mist Trilogy,” Retail $10.95
  • “North Mystic,” Retail $12.95

Contact Info:

Image Credit:
The personal photo was taken by Kathleen Bryan Photography

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