 Marilee
Brothers 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 backyard after recruiting several neighborhood children
to play supporting roles. Marilee, of course, was the
star.
Enter the hormonal
years. Though her writing was sparse, her imagination grew
by leaps and bounds when she developed
an all-consuming crush on a hot guy named Mickey, whom 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 BA 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's
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.
Her writing reflects her experience as a counselor for behavior-disordered
teens.
Marilee’s
first book, Castle Ladyslipper, is a historical romance
with paranormal elements set in twelfth-century England
and written under the pseudonym, Lee Grantier, her paternal
grandmother’s name. The Rock And Roll Queen
Of Bedlam,
an October, 2009 release by Medallion Press, 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 later 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 fantasy
for Belle Bridge Books, Moonstone, became a reality. Marilee
now writes full-time.
Web Site:
www.marileebrothers.com
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