Biography

Born and raised in Ohio, I am known by most people as "Mackenzie" but feel free to call me M. Lee if you like. I've always loved a good story but didn't always love reading. My passion for the written word really began after picking up my first fantasy book. I went on to read hundreds of books beyond just the fantasy genre until my college days when I hit a major reading slump.

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Professionally, I have two degrees - a BA and a MA in History - from the University of Cincinnati (Go Bearcats!). I had high aspirations of going on to earn my Ph.D. in History but felt so burnt out at the end of my master's program that I knew I needed a break from academics.

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After a two-year hiatus while deep in the pits of the aforementioned reading slump and with the steadfast encouragement of my best friend Kahla, I made a major career change to nursing. I had been so inspired by the work of psychiatric nurses during my thesis research for the University of Cincinnati MA of History program that I knew this profession was meant for me. I graduated from The Ohio State University with a Master of Science in Nursing and became a licensed psychiatric nurse practitioner. 

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Cut to a post-COVID world in which I was able to dig myself out of the reading slump and I fell back in love with fiction. In search of a creative outlet, I did two major life-changing things: I started a movie review podcast (Much Madness Podcast, look it up!) with one of my other best friends, Carrie, and I started writing my debut novel.

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​When I'm not writing, reading, or podcasting, I am going on adventures with my children and husband.