Stories from the other side of history.

Immersive, character-driven historical and speculative fiction about outsiders fighting for agency in an unyielding world.

Join my reader community on Substack to receive The Red Fletch (Book 1 of Heroes of Sherwood) delivered straight to your inbox, along with historical rabbit holes, and dispatches on human-crafted storytelling.

Book cover for Heroes of Sherwood, Book 1: The Red Fletch by Margaret McNellis, featuring a woman in a blue medieval dress in a forest.

When we read fiction, our minds expand. We live inside journeys outside our own, deepening empathy and building genuine human-to-human connection in a world increasingly crowded with synthetic noise.

I write stories to help us feel, question, and connect through characters who wouldn’t have made the history books.

No formulas. No algorithms.

Just honest, human craft etched directly onto the page.

Are You Writing a Novel?

Writing a book that grabs readers by the ribs and won't let go is difficult work. It requires high-level strategy, structural mechanics, and sustained momentum.

As an MFA-educated author and certified book coach, I help novelists move from scattered ideas to finished, “unputdownable” manuscripts through personalized 1:1 coaching.

  • Plan Your Story: Map your narrative foundation before drafting.

  • Get Unstuck: Diagnose and rescue a stalled manuscript.

  • Write Your Story: Ongoing monthly guidance, weekly check-ins, and craft support.

Explore Fiction Coaching