Greetings, Visitors!
Welcome to the archive, the online home of author Maegan M. Simpson! You can call me Meggie if you’d like. Since you’re on this page, I assume you want to know a little more about yours truly. If you’d like the short version, you can read it just below. But if you’re looking for more detail, read on and enjoy!
Maegan M. Simpson accepts many titles, including Daydreamer, Mountain Girl, and Indie Author of 14 books. She believes that God created our world full of beauty and wonder, even in the broken pieces, and endeavors to capture that in her writing.
Maegan’s life so far has been full of adventures of all kinds, whether it’s finishing college, taming dragons (alright, they’re cats), or devouring every book she can get her hands on. When she’s not exploring fantasy lands or searching for faeries in the shadows, Maegan lives in rural New Mexico with her family. There, she enjoys gardening, painting, and exploring the mountains she calls home.
Meet Maegan
A glimpse into my life, as it stands…
Let’s see, where to begin… My origins are as good a place as any, I suppose.
I’m from the Southwest United States, a tiny corner of New Mexico to be more precise. I spent most of my childhood surrounded by far more landmarks of nature than human civilization (for reference, it’s an hour drive from my home to the nearest grocery store) and some of my favorite memories are long drives on rough dirt roads with my family, exploring hidden canyons and basking in the beauty of God’s creation. My mountains are something I consider to be constant monuments in my life. In fact, staring up at those mountains—shrouded in clouds or lit by the sunset—has inspired more than one story. Most of these stories you’ll never see (they’re terrible, I was young), but they played a large part of my beginnings as an author.
I was homeschooled for most of grade school, and it was during this time that I wrote my first three books. I started publishing at sixteen with Shadow of Memory…and if you’ve read it you can probably tell that it was written by a sixteen year old. For college I attended Colorado Christian University, where I double majored in Biblical Studies and History. Yes, I am a nerd. I was even president of Philosophy Club for two years, so I don’t bother trying to deny it. But hey, nerds are useful!
But I digress. I entered my freshman year of college with the goal of growing as an author so that by graduation I would be ready to dive into writing not just as a passion but as my career…and I did! I’ve been a fulltime Indie Author since May 2021 and I am LOVING it! It has certainly come with its own difficulties, but I truly believe that God has called me to pour my soul into these stories, and I am most happy to obey.
That brings me to the most important aspect about myself: I am a devout Christian, saved by and serving my Lord Jesus Christ. My heart, soul, and talents I owe all to Him, and it is my prayer that every word I write glorifies God. I truly believe that He guides my stories, and they are all the more wonderous because of it.
Beyond that truth, everything else about me pales in comparison. But I do have a few more aspects about myself that might interest you. I am, of course, a voracious reader. I was the kid that got banned from reading new books until I could finish my chores, and to this day when I sit down with a book it’s more accurate to say I devour its pages rather than merely read. In addition to my nerdiness, I am a huge fangirl. I can be found at various times discussing little known indie books, strange pieces of Middle Earth lore, debating the philosophy of Star Wars, and generally gushing about all the books that have stolen pieces of my heart.
Beyond that? I enjoy painting and hiking. I love animals, especially cats. I have…far too many cats. I also love growing things, and since moving home from college I’ve managed to turn my office into a forest of green life. Finally, I’ve always been a daydreamer, thinking up all sorts of wonders and wild tales during the long drives and quite moments. And given that I have the privilege of turning those imaginings into books for others to enjoy, I doubt I’ll ever stop!
That’s all I’ll say for now about me personally, but if you want to know more about my heart for books and what you’ll find in the stories that I write, please keep reading.
My Heart for Writing
What you’ll find within my books…
Firstly, because I desire my books to glorify God, there are certain things you’ll never find within them. One is lots of spice, or smut, or whatever you call it. You’ll find romance in my books, but the “heat” will always cap out at fade to black. Truth be told, most of my books cap out much below that in the heat scale. If you have more questions about this, I am always willing to discuss what you can expect within my books. (I understand that some readers are more sensitive than others, and I’m happy to help you decide if my books are a good fit for you.) You also won’t find a lot of cursing (except a few made up words).
You will, however, find some violence and darker concepts explored in my books. None of the violence is gory, and my books are nothing like grimdark fantasy (such as Game of Thrones). But this fallen world is full of evil, and some of that truth is reflected in my books. My characters face situations and struggles that are dark and difficult. One thing that you can be sure of, though, is that there is always hope. Though some of it might be bittersweet, my characters will always have an ending to their story that is bright with that ever-enduring hope.
Now, I imagine you’re wondering about the tagline at the top of my website: “Exploring faith, wonder, and the beauty in brokenness.” I’ve already told you about my faith, and if you’re curious about wonder simply read the C. S. Lewis quotes at the bottom of this page. (he explains it better than I can, though the word he uses for it is “joy”). But I’ve had several people express confusion over the last bit: beauty in brokenness.
I don’t mean that brokenness, taken in its raw and painful form, is beautiful. I am not saying that suffering is something to be celebrated, or that our focus should be on what’s wrong in the world. I do mean that the brokenness in this world, and within ourselves, is an undeniable truth that shouldn’t be ignored. And I believe that the most beautiful stories that exist in this world are the ones that say “Yes, we are broken, every single one of us. But we do not stay shattered in the dark. Look, here comes the sunrise! See how it shines even through our broken pieces!”
When I say that my books explore the beauty in brokenness, I mean that they explore the beauty that even in our weakest moments hope still endures. Even when our lives have fallen apart and the world turns to madness, true light remains. I believe that there is value in telling the stories of broken people…broken people who find healing.
And so my books dive into the dark. They follow characters who are lost in grief, enslaved to evil, consumed by the guilt of who they once were. But every book I write follows those characters as they find hope. Even in the night the stars shine brightly, and beyond the storm the sun still endures. I don’t promise that their journeys are easy, but I do not leave my characters weeping in the shadows. And I pray that, through reading these books of mine, you find true hope for yourself.
“…I will only underline the quality common to the three experiences; it is that of an unsatisfied desire which is itself more desireable than any other satisfaction. I call it Joy…”
-C. S. Lewis, Surprised by Joy“Joy is distinct not only from pleasure in general but even from aesthetic pleasure. It must have the stab, the pang, the inconsolable longing.”
– C. S. Lewis, Surprised by Joy“All Joy reminds. It is never a possession, always a desire for something longer ago or further away or still ‘about to be.'”
– C. S. Lewis, Surprised by Joy
And here are a handful of pictures, for those curious what the mountains of New Mexico look like…
