About M.J.

When she’s not chasing two little boys or trying to determine the source of that weird smell, M.J. (Manda) Pullen is the author of funny, romantic women’s fiction. Her published novels include The Marriage Pact trilogy (St. Martin’s Press) and Every Other Saturday.

M.J. grew up in the suburbs of Atlanta, in a basically loving but highly dysfunctional household. She often escaped into reading, and wrote many terrible stories (mostly horse-related fiction and self-help books for other misunderstood ten-year-olds). As an adolescent, she channeled her angst into the two best defense mechanisms available to an overweight redhead with bad skin and no discernible athletic talent: caustic humor and bad poetry.

She studied English Literature and Business at the University of Georgia in Athens, taking a break between degrees to backpack through Europe for six months. After graduation, she got married on a whim to a friend with whom she’d never been on a proper date, or even lived in the same city. It all seemed like a really good idea at the time. Also, the guy made brilliant mix tapes, a known weakness.

They moved to Portland, Oregon, San Francisco and then Austin, where M.J. worked as a nonprofit fundraiser, and wrote freelance articles and educational materials. After the death of her mother, and a divorce that surprised absolutely no one, she returned to Atlanta to lick her wounds and study Professional Counseling at Georgia State University. Back in Georgia, she met the love of her life, converted to Judaism and got married for really real. In addition to several years of corporate work, she practiced psychotherapy for five years before taking a sabbatical to spend more time writing and raising her two favorite heroes (known on the blog as Skywalker and Fozzie).

M.J. loves creating true-to-life characters who are flawed, relatable, and most importantly redeemable. She tries to explore all aspects of relationships, from romantic entanglements to battles between mortal enemies, and everything in between. She reads and writes across many genres, and learns something from everything she does.

No matter what she’s writing, M.J. believes that love is the greatest adventure there is, and that hopeless romantics are never really hopeless.

Want to know more? Meet M.J.’s Team.

M.J. Pullen brings clever quirkiness to romantic comedy!—Penny Reid, international bestselling author of Neanderthal Seeks Human on The Marriage Pact

Wonderfully witty and fun, M.J. Pullen’s novels are like an adventurous journey with your best friend.—Shirley Jump, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author