M.J. Mars's Blog

One thing you may not know about me is, I really dislike talking about myself. Especially when things aren’t so great. I’m the type of person who waits until every problem is sorted and then, a couple of weeks later, will mention casually in passing that there was some kind of issue or trauma…”but it’s fixed now, so we never have to discuss it again!” This is just the way I am, much to my loved ones’ despair.

But I am going to be real with you and talk about it this month.

Firstly, the ma...

I’m excited to announce that my second novel, The Fovea Experiments, is out now from Wicked House Publishing.

So, what’s it all about?

An experiment gone wrong. A survivor under suspicion. A teen searching for the truth.

Ostracized by her friends, Nala finds solace creating true crime content for her YouTube channel. When she breaks into her mother’s private investigator files and finds evidence of multiple teen deaths during a sl...

You’re never too old for a little adventure. That premise was the driving force behind the story of TNTDUK. When Mark Tullius approached me and asked if I would be interested in joining the world of Try Not to Die (a hugely popular and sprawling series of author-written Choose Your Own Adventure® style books), there was no hesitation in my answer: “YES!”

Writing the story was a challenge. I’ve never written anything like it before and had no clue how to go about formatting a book that takes the r...

Happy March, everyone. The spring buds are starting to bloom, there has been some moments of blue skies and sunshine here in the UK, and it feels as though spring is finally on its way.

2025 has been full of surprises so far. The main news to share with you is that We’ve Already Gone Too Far WON the Books of Horror Short Smack competition. With every round, I expected to go hurtling out of the contest, as each of the 32 books in the smack were wonderful. ...

I usually wait until the end of the month to post news, but there has been so much going on in August so far I just couldn’t wait to share it.

Early on Friday 2nd August, I boarded a plane for my first ever solo flight. I’ve always had a terrible fear of flying, so getting on a plane on my own was not something I ever thought I’d be physically capable of doing. But then again, when you have somewhere incredible to ...

Welcome to the world my second book baby!

It’s crazy to think that this book was just a twinkle in my eye, even when I got back from Scares That Care Authorcon in April. I knew I wanted to create a book of short stories ready for the Books and Brews event, but apart from the two pre-published shorts I wanted to put in the book (In Bocca Al Lupo and Monastery Blood Moon), I had no idea what I might write.

The advice I received was ...

After a busy few months, I’m back with a brand new collection and some exciting news!

We’ve Already Gone Too Far is coming soon, with rave reviews coming in from early readers.

“This is chessboard horror. MJ Mars has arranged each story, each piece, into its proper place with sinister precision, daring the reader to make the first move. Narratively, she’s always three steps ahead of you, waiting to unearth fears you didn’t know you had. From urban legends to aliens, cryptids to curses, this aut...

As the leaves turn brown and fall from the trees and the town centre begins to fill with Christmas decorations and gift ideas, I wanted to take a moment to share some November News. Here are all the updates from the last few weeks!

Because this was my first Halloween after The Suffering was published, I wanted to mark the occasion by doing something a little different. I decided to sign up to the Pendle Witch 10K run from Lancaste...

On the 7th October, I had the incredible pleasure of taking part in the Dundee Horror Con, courtesy of the incredible Northern Frights. This was my first experience being a vendor at any kind of convention or event, so the whole weekend was a wonderful whirl of newness, nerves, and excitement.

We’d arranged to arrive the day before to set up. I came armed with my ghosty table-cloth and a jar of sweets to hand out to passers-by. Afterwards, we went to g...

This has been another crazy month full of exciting things. Here’s my run-down of all the latest happenings and September news as the seasons change and we start to get spooky…

The brawl was incredible! It’s still going strong, with the powerhouses that are Nick Roberts, Gage Greenwood, John Durgin, Duncan Ralston, Andrew Van Wey, Felix Blackwell, and Daniel J. Volpe scrapping it out to get to the top spot.

My round was exhilarating, and I was overwhelmed by the lovely com...