About Marilee Brothers

I've been in love with the written word since the age of four when I sat on my mother's lap, scanning the newspaper for the simple words she'd taught me. One of my first memories is of visiting the public library and returning with an armload of books. Even now, you can find me standing over the stove, stirring spaghetti sauce with one hand, an open book in the other.

Well... some day is here. I now write full time, and, with the support of my husband and an eighty-five pound black Labrador Retriever sleeping on my feet, I'm working on my fourth book. I hope you enjoy reading my books as much as I've enjoyed writing them!

Here's how Marilee Brothers became
the writer she always wanted to be...

With her fondness for blue sky, sunshine and mountains, Marilee never wandered far from her home in central Washington state. She grew up in a family of readers, a gift for which she is eternally grateful. At age eleven, she wrote her first play and produced it in the back yard after recruiting several neighborhood children to play supporting roles. Marilee, of course, was the star.

Enter hormones. Though her writing was sparse during adolescence, her imagination grew by leaps and bounds when she developed an all-consuming crush on a hot guy named Mickey who she stalked for eighteen months. Since Mickey didn't know she was alive, no restraining order was necessary.

As a freshman in college, Marilee met the love of her life. Married at nineteen (not recommended) and the mother of two baby boys by twenty-one (bingo... bango...) Marilee returned to college to earn her bachelor's degree in education before giving birth to a third son (bongo!) Outnumbered four to one, Marilee finally put a stop to the male baby boom. The seasons were defined by the type of ball she tripped over in the living room. Fall: Football. Winter: Basketball. Spring: Baseball. At the Brothers' dinner table, Marilee learned not to say, "Throw me a roll."

After teaching and coaching at the high school level, Marilee earned her master's degree in psychology and counseling. Much of her writing reflects her experience as a counselor for behavior disordered teens.

Marilee's first book (not currently available) was a historical romance with paranormal elements set in 12th century England, written under the pseudonym, Lee Grantier, her paternal grandmother's name. The second book she wrote, The Rock and Roll Queen of Bedlam, is scheduled for release in October 2009 by Medallion Press. It features a young teacher of behavior disordered teens searching for a missing student.

Marilee never dreamed of writing for young adults until she received a personal letter from an editor affiliated with a large publishing house. Though the editor rejected what would become the book purchased by Medallion, she said, "I really enjoyed your style, which is an amazing combination of intelligent and goofy. (Is this a compliment?) You are a natural YA writer. Give it a try."

Never one to say "no" to a challenge, Marilee gave it a shot. Hence, Allie Emerson was born and her YA (young adult) fantasy for Bell Bridge Books, Moonstone, became a reality. Marilee now writes full time.

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