She makes her home in southeast Oklahoma, in the foothills of the Ouachita Mountains, where life is anything but quiet. Her days are shared with four spoiled dogs, a crippled rooster with more attitude than feathers, a noisy guinea who believes it runs the place, a couple of flighty hens, and a watchful roo who keeps an eye on everything that moves. This lively little farm—equal parts sanctuary and circus—provides endless inspiration, companionship, and the kind of grounding only God’s creation can offer.

 

Whether she’s crafting a tender love story, guiding readers through Scripture, or bringing the Bible to life for children through animal characters, Marie writes with a voice shaped by faith, loss, healing, and the stubborn hope that refuses to let go. Her work reflects the heart of a woman who has walked through fire and come out carrying stories worth telling.

 

You can also join her for daily devotionals on YouTube at @HeReignsChurch, where she shares encouragement, Scripture, and the steady reminder that hope is still alive. You can contact her by email: church.hereigns@gmail.com. 

 

Marie’s latest book is Your Ghost: A Memoir of Love, Loss and the Echoes That Remain.

 

Visit her blog at authormariemcgaha.blogspot.com. 

 

Connect with her on social media at:

╰┈➤ Facebook: www.facebook.com/AuthorMarieMcGaha

╰┈➤ LinkedIn: Linkedin.com/in/mariemcgaha 

Lee J Mavin is the author of 11 books. He is also a teacher and father. He has a Masters in Creative Writing and am solely focused on writing fiction (fantasy and horror) and poetry. He is now in collaboration the illustrator Karolina Piotrowski, a Polish artist who has brought many stories to life. He has worked and studied in China and Japan and studied with Dr Xiaohuan Zhao (a master of Chinese poetry) to complete his book Li Bai’s Shadow, at the University of Sydney. He has two children who are both avid readers, so he is always in the loop with trends in children’s fiction. He is married and lives in Sydney, where he teaches English.

His latest book is the YA fantasy, The Wars Between.

Visit his website at leejmavin.com. 

Connect with him on social media at:

╰┈➤ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lee.mavin.925/ 

╰┈➤ Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/mavin798 

╰┈➤ Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5103759.Lee_J_Mavin

╰┈➤ TikTok ➜ https://www.tiktok.com/@leemavin4  

 

 

Can you tell us a little about yourself?

 

I am Lee J Mavin, a middle aged Australian author and teacher from Sydney. I have two children (one daughter and one son) and have been married for 17 years. I have published 12 books in the form of poetry collections, children’s picture books and short story collections and novels. I have lived in China and Japan and can speak both languages.

 

Can you tell us about your latest book, The Wars Between?

 

The Wars Between follows two main characters, Outis Everrett and Gwenia Xiachung who are from two different countries who have been at war with each other for thousands of years. Outis feels like a bit of a failure to begin with having failed his warrior exams and not being a willing soldier for his country. He is however a master poet, who has the ability to craft words that change people’s perceptions of the world. Gwenia is a strong willed vegan and the youngest of 13 children and ready to leave the nest. The two of them wind up in an adventure across the seas.

 

Is The Wars Between your only book?

 

No I have published 12 other books.

 

Can you tell us a little about the main characters in The Wars Between?

 

(See above for this response) Outis’s poem is so timeless, the king awards him the greatest honour, to take it across the sea, to the newly elected president of Kastanair, Penelope Chinwa. He is guided by the Knights of Sunrise, who protect him along the way.

 

Do you see a little bit of yourself in your main character?

 

I am a little bit like Outis and would like to be more like him.

 

Where is this book set and why did you choose that location?

 

The book is set in a fantasy world consisting of three countries Asalandia a proud monarchy, Kastanair a strong democracy and Syanthia, a neutral state that sells meat and weapons to both countries (and benefits greatly)

 

What’s the best advice you can give to aspiring authors?

 

Dont read negative reviews, edit as much as you can. Don’t change your plot ideas based on someone else’s opinions.

 

Thank you so much for this interview, Lee. What’s next for you?

 

I am currently writing the sequel to The Wars Between which is titled The Angelic Fallen and is set hundreds of years after the events of The Wars Between.

 

 

For centuries there had been an ongoing war between Asalandia, the proud monarchy of the east and Kastanair the progressive democracy of the west. However, the years of war would end with the most unlikely turn of events.

Outis Everrett, the disappointment of his family, a measly poet, is suddenly thrusted into an epic adventure across the sea, with the King’s blessing. His poem, the poem that somehow won the first annual Asalandian poetry competition, was meant to be taken across the seas, to the enemy island of Kastanair, there, it would be read by the President of Kastanair, the newly elected and very progressive, Penelope Chinwa and she was supposed stop the war after reading those so special words.

So Outis set sail aboard the Golden ship, guided and protected by the Knights of Sunrise and their adventures began. The Knights are led by Bartholemew Aries, the most famous soldier in Asalandia, though when their ship drifts off course to the mysterious island of Aquos Atalantious, the Princess of the island soon lures him to stay. So, the Knights of Sunrise become distracted by the beauties of this foreign island.  After failing to find the prince, who had been taken by a monstrous octopus, the Golden ship sails onto Kastanair, without its leader, who had fallen in love with the Princess. They then sail to Syanthia, where the worlds’ meat was produced. There they meet, the young Kastanairian, Gwenia Xiachung, an enthusiastic vegan on a mission to stop everyone eating meat. Outis is thrown into a pig saving mission with Gwenia and is intrigued by the young girl. After saving the pigs and convincing the head of meat production to change his ways with a beautiful poem about animal empathy, Gwenia falls in love with Outis. She joins him and the Knights of Sunrise on the voyage to back to her country, Kastanair. Once they finally reach the shores of Kastanair, they are attacked on the shores by a small army, led by Caslian Jesper, the tough captain who worked his soldiers to exhaustion. The Knights, Outis and Gwenia are rescued by Nastab and his band of terrorists who take them on horseback through Kastanair to Mount Xian. Nastab and his men come from a rebel group who had been dwelling on the plateau of Mount Xian, plotting to overthrow the government of Kastanair. However, their leader, who had driven their group to crimes and violence, was hoarding their food and treasure.

Caslian Jesper follows the terrorists to Mount Xian, in pursuit of two of his enemies at once, the terrorists and the Asalandians. Outis and Gwenia are suddenly taken off their horses by huge hawks, who fly them up Mount Xian, to a cave opening. There Gwenia and Outis meet The Tall Man, a strange man with huge black eyes who has no name. He takes them into the cave, and they fall more tall people. There they learn that the tall people had been in the caves for hundreds of years and they care not for treasures of war. The tall man collects water from an underground stream and fruits from the cave roofs and they take Outis and Gwenia up to the top of the mountain. There they find Caslian’s army had managed to climb to the top of the mountain in attempt to attack but they were too drained to fight so the tall man shared his fruit with them. Both sides rested as Outis read a poem to the leader of the terrorists.

Outis and Gwenia are then taken to the capital, by an eclectic group including Nastab, The Tall Man and the Knights of Sunrise, they journey through the planes of Kastanair where they are attacked by wolves. The Knights and Nastab fight the wolves off valiantly and they continue. When they finally reach the capital Outis reads his poem to the President, but it is not the words of his poem alone that convince her to stop the war, it is the group he brings with him, a group of once enemies, who had come together with the same goal. 

The Wars Between is available at Amazon.

Marie McGaha is an award-winning writer whose work includes clean historical romances, Christian devotionals, and heartfelt children’s books. A storyteller at her core, she weaves faith, resilience, and gentle humor through every page she writes.

 

She makes her home in southeast Oklahoma, in the foothills of the Ouachita Mountains, where life is anything but quiet. Her days are shared with four spoiled dogs, a crippled rooster with more attitude than feathers, a noisy guinea who believes it runs the place, a couple of flighty hens, and a watchful roo who keeps an eye on everything that moves. This lively little farm—equal parts sanctuary and circus—provides endless inspiration, companionship, and the kind of grounding only God’s creation can offer.

 

Whether she’s crafting a tender love story, guiding readers through Scripture, or bringing the Bible to life for children through animal characters, Marie writes with a voice shaped by faith, loss, healing, and the stubborn hope that refuses to let go. Her work reflects the heart of a woman who has walked through fire and come out carrying stories worth telling.

 

You can also join her for daily devotionals on YouTube at @HeReignsChurch, where she shares encouragement, Scripture, and the steady reminder that hope is still alive. You can contact her by email: church.hereigns@gmail.com. 

 

Marie’s latest book is Your Ghost: A Memoir of Love, Loss and the Echoes That Remain.

 

Visit her blog at authormariemcgaha.blogspot.com. 

 

Connect with her on social media at:

╰┈➤ Facebook: www.facebook.com/AuthorMarieMcGaha

╰┈➤ LinkedIn: Linkedin.com/in/mariemcgaha 

 

 

Can you tell us about your creative process for writing your new book  Your Ghost: A Memoir of Love, Loss and the Echoes That Remain? How did you come up with the idea to turn it into a book? 

 

My husband died in November 2021 and my world came apart. Over the weeks, months, and years I began writing down all the things I felt and what I was going through. The result was 600 pages of pain, grief, anger, prayers and pure insanity. I began reading it, then editing it, and a book was born.

 

Which specific chapter or scene was the hardest for you to write, and why? 

 

All of it. I bawled while reading it, while editing it, through the whole process it was reliving the love of my life’s death. Some days I could only work on a couple of pages, and other days, I couldn’t even look at it.

 

What is the primary emotional truth you want readers to take away? 

 

Losing your spouse, your life partner, the one who made the world make sense is the hardest thing we can go through and even when it feels like you’re not going to survive, you will. One day, one moment, one breath at a time.

 

How has completing this book changed you as a writer or a person?

 

The book didn’t change me, losing my husband did. The book is just an extension of grief that I hope will help someone else.

 

How did you decide what secrets or details were too private to share with the world?   

 

When you’re a writer, there really are no secrets. Even in fiction, you still bare a part of yourself in your work. In this book, I laid my soul bare and hid nothing. It’s raw, it’s personal, and it’s honest.

 

Were there any memories you recalled during the writing process that you had completely repressed?

 

All of it. I bawled through the entire process. It also brought to mind the love we had, the things we shared—like watching a movie of the past 30 years. The pain is still raw and I miss him so much.

 

 

Your Ghost: A Memoir of Love, Loss and the Echoes That Remain is a searing, faith-anchored memoir of love, loss, and the long road back to oneself. When Marie’s husband dies without warning, her world fractures in an instant, leaving her to navigate the brutal, unfiltered landscape of grief. In the quiet of an empty house and the chaos of a shattered heart, she wrestles with God, memory, and the haunting presence of the man she can no longer touch but cannot let go.

Told with unflinching honesty and spiritual depth, Your Ghost traces the intimate, day-by-day unraveling and rebuilding of a woman who refuses to let tragedy define the rest of her life. As she confronts guilt, loneliness, anger, and the strange moments when his nearness feels almost tangible, Marie discovers that grief is not a straight line but a sacred, winding path. What emerges is a story not only of devastation, but of resilience—a testament to enduring love, stubborn hope, and the quiet miracles that carry us forward when we think we cannot take another step.

╰┈➤Book Details

• Genre: Memoir
• Sub-genre: Survival Biographies
• Language:English
• Pages: 105
• Hardcover: 979-8252998060 

Your Ghost is available at Amazon.

╰┈➤Here’s What Readers Have To Say!

“You will feel every emotion, especially the pain, of losing your soulmate unexpectedly as you read this deeply spiritual journey of recovery. This kind of loss is painful, emotionally draining and physically crippling. Through every stage of grief, Ms. McGaha helps us understand how we can begin to breathe again and move forward. I cried, I felt her pain and rejoiced as the agony slowly began to leave. The best book I’ve ever read about grief and recovery. A must read for anyone experiencing the loss of a loved one. Also, it’s proof God is still beside us at our lowest point… (this is) a woman trying to hang onto life. A life that crashed and burned unexpectedly… very inspiring.” – Vicki L.

 

“A beautifully written, heart-wrenching examination of deep-held grief, Marie McGaha pulls the reader in with her dynamic and impactful imagery, compelling us to understand her tragedy—the caregiving and ultimate loss of the one love of her life, her husband, Nathan. The thoughts, the analysis, and the unfolding of this unwanted, unasked-for journey from a woman familiar with grief are, at times, more than one can bear. Yet the sheer poetry, interwoven with the Word of God, brings us fully into the author’s world with brilliance. Her deeply personal exploration of grief—from exhaustion, to numbness, to heightened awareness—is extraordinary, leaving the reader with a greater understanding of our own journeys through death and loss. This is a journey that, once entered, will not easily be forgotten—a powerful and necessary read for anyone who has known love and loss.” – Linda W.