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306 ratings | 290 reviews | avg rating:4.60

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M.J. Evans

Goodreads Author

Born

in Corvallis, OR, The United States

Website

http://www.dancinghorsepress.com

Genre

Fantasy, Young Adult, Historical Fiction

Influences

Fantasy writers such as J.K. Rowling and horse-story writers such as M ...more

Member Since

December 2010

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I am a graduate of Oregon State University. Upon graduation, I spent five years teaching at the middle school and high school levels. My writing, at that time, was limited to curriculum. That was not fun.

While raising my children, I coached their Odyssey of the Mind and Destination Imagination teams for seventeen years. I helped them write their own stories for the competitions. During this time, I also wrote two parent handbooks for the Salem, Oregon School district on sex education.

Over twenty years ago, I was able to combine my passion for horses with my love of writing. I researched and wrote two equestrian trail guide books for the Denver area. By “research” I mean that I spent every Friday riding my horse on a new trail, be it on the I am a graduate of Oregon State University. Upon graduation, I spent five years teaching at the middle school and high school levels. My writing, at that time, was limited to curriculum. That was not fun.

While raising my children, I coached their Odyssey of the Mind and Destination Imagination teams for seventeen years. I helped them write their own stories for the competitions. During this time, I also wrote two parent handbooks for the Salem, Oregon School district on sex education.

Over twenty years ago, I was able to combine my passion for horses with my love of writing. I researched and wrote two equestrian trail guide books for the Denver area. By “research” I mean that I spent every Friday riding my horse on a new trail, be it on the plains or in the mountains. It was a tough job, but someone had to do it! The result of that work was the publication of Riding Colorado-Day Trips from Denver with Your Horse, and Riding Colorado II. Both books continue to sell very well in the Denver to Colorado Springs area and have made my horse famous.

I was able to combine my love of horses with my love of fantasy in my first Trilogy. The Mist Trilogy, comprised of Behind the Mist, Mists of Darkness and the Rising Mist received a gold medal from the Mom's Choice Awards. My next fantasy, an allegory of the Revolutionary War, but with Trolls and Leprechauns, won first place in the Purple Dragonfly Awards for fantasy. I took a brief (2 year) break from writing fantasy to complete a contemporary, coming of age novel titled "In the Heart of a Mustang." This YA novel won first place in the Literary Classics Awards for Young Adult fiction and second place in the Nautilus Awards and the Reader's Favorite awards in the same category.

On October 1, 2016, I released the first book of my new fantasy series "The Stone of Mercy: Book 1 of the Centaur Chronicles."

I have now expanded my writing interests to include Historical Fiction: "PINTO! Based Upon the True Story of the Longest Horseback Ride in History," and "The Sand Pounder - Love and Drama on Horseback in WWII."
I have also had fun working with illustrators on five picture books: "PERCY - The Racehorse Who Didn't Like to Run," and "The Skullington Family Series."

I describe myself as a “Mozart” type of writer as opposed to a “Beethoven” writer. When I sit down to write, the words just flow and I don’t have to go back and do a lot of revisions until the first draft (the foundation) is done. Then I can go back and correct and embellish all I want.
My newest venture (2026) is an Adult Mystery series set in the world of Harness racing! It's fun to try new things. ...more

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M.J. Evans’s books

Average rating: 4.52 · 1,116 ratings · 474 reviews · 26 distinct works • Similar authors

	The Stallion and His Peculiar Boy 4.60 avg rating — 189 ratings — published 2023 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Coal Dust and Dreams: The Story of a Girl and Her Pit Pony in the Coal Mines of Wales 4.75 avg rating — 106 ratings — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Finding Fionn 4.29 avg rating — 110 ratings — 5 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	In the Heart of a Mustang 4.54 avg rating — 96 ratings — published 2015 — 5 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Silver Charm: And the Old Friends Who Save the Thoroughbreds 4.44 avg rating — 89 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Behind the Mist (The Mist Trilogy, #1) 4.12 avg rating — 81 ratings — published 2011 — 6 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Sand Pounder 4.75 avg rating — 69 ratings — published 2021 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Pinto! 4.56 avg rating — 55 ratings — published 2019 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Fire at the Track: A Harness Racing Mystery 4.76 avg rating — 42 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Mists of Darkness (The Mist Trilogy, #2) 4.45 avg rating — 38 ratings — published 2012 — 6 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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M.J. Evans's Blog

COAL DUST AND DREAMS WAS RELEASED ON SEPTEMBER 17, 2024!...

COAL DUST AND DREAMS WAS RELEASED ON SEPTEMBER 17, 2024!

I spent a year researching the use of horses and ponies in the coal mines of South Wales. In addition to learning about the role of the Pit Ponies, I also studied the role of children and women in the mines.I set my story in the 1930's at the Penalta mine.

The Penalta MineThis was one of the largest mines. The horses (both ponies and Read more of this blog post »

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Published on January 06, 2025 12:41

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Series by M.J. Evans

The Mist Trilogy (3 books)
by

M.J. Evans (Goodreads Author)

4.26 avg rating — 148 ratings

The Centaur Chronicles (4 books)
by

M.J. Evans (Goodreads Author)

4.46 avg rating — 93 ratings

M.J. is Currently Reading

M.J. Evans is currently reading

Fire at the Track: A Harness Racing Mystery

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Apr 30, 2026 12:20PM

M.J. Evans is currently reading

Silver Charm - And the Old Friends Who Save the Thoroughbreds

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Oct 28, 2025 05:55AM

M.J. Evans is currently reading

Coal Dust and Dreams: The Story of a Girl and Her Pit Pony in the Coal Mines of Wales

by M.J. Evans (Goodreads Author)

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Jul 02, 2024 10:33AM

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M.J.’s Recent Updates

M.J. Evans rated a book it was amazing Release of the Witch: Bound to Blarney Book 1 by Kim Heidler Brooks (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
While Shay and Amber won a trip to Ireland...so did the reader. Set in modern day Ireland, this fun fantasy is filled with Irish mythology and folklore, giving it a unique setting. Throw in a bit of romance along with the Blarney Stone and you have a ...more
Sep 03, 2026 06:16AM · 1 like · like · see review
M.J. Evans rated a book it was amazing Marvellous Michaela and the Last Wish: How to Save a Star (According to Google) by David-John Scott (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
What happens when you don't "wish upon a star," but wish to save a star? The answer is that you change the entire universe and how it functions. The star and human connection gets disrupted. This is what happened when Michaela unselfishly used her on ...more
Aug 25, 2026 05:17AM · 1 like · like · see review
M.J. Evans made a comment on Taylor’s review of Fire at the Track: A Harness Racing Mystery " Thank you for reading "Fire at the Track." I'm so glad you enjoyed it. The next book at Liberty Racetrack, "Murder in the Winner's Circle" will be rel ...more "
Aug 21, 2026 07:46PM · see review
M.J. Evans liked Taylor's review of Fire at the Track: A Harness Racing Mystery: "Fire at the Track was such a entertaining mystery. I whizzed through it! The short, bite-sized chapters kept the pacing tight, while the investigation surrounding the racetrack fire had plenty of suspects and motives to keep me guessing. I especially" Read more of this review »
Aug 21, 2026 07:45PM · see review
M.J. Evans liked readit's review of Fire at the Track: A Harness Racing Mystery: "I really enjoyed Fire at the Track. The harness racing setting makes the mystery feel fresh, and the details about the horses and track life add a lot without slowing things down. Callie is easy to root for, and her undercover investigation kept me i" Read more of this review »
Aug 21, 2026 12:59PM · see review
M.J. Evans rated a book liked it Eye Contact: a Romance by Cameron Liang	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Eye contact is less a romance as it is a political and social commentary. It is told from the point of view of an extremely shallow and immature twenty-seven year old working for citi bank in Manhattan. Eye contact alone seems to be the catalyst for ...more
Aug 18, 2026 04:47AM · 1 like · like · see review
M.J. Evans made a comment on LinSpinner’s review of Fire at the Track: A Harness Racing Mystery " Yay! You won! Thanks for posting a review. "
Aug 14, 2026 09:15AM · see review
M.J. Evans made a comment on Bailey Hartfield’s review of Fire at the Track: A Harness Racing Mystery " I'm so glad you enjoyed reading "Fire at the Track." It was fun to write! ...more "
Aug 14, 2026 09:13AM · see review
M.J. Evans liked Bailey Hartfield's review of Fire at the Track: A Harness Racing Mystery: "This is my second book by M.J Evan’s and she has yet to miss! “Fire at the Track- A Harness Racing Mystery” is an exciting, keep you on your toes type mystery with raw emotions and a satisfying ending. Very well written and the investigation plot is " Read more of this review »
Aug 14, 2026 09:12AM · see review
M.J. Evans rated a book it was amazing The Rat, The Shadow and The Secret Garden: The Origin of the Secret Garden (The Cat, The Rat and the Secret Garden Book 1) by David-John Scott (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
I love the use of ANTHROPOMORPHISM in writing and have used it myself in several of my own books. This one gives rats human characteristics similar to "Watership Down." The story is about a young rat named Luna who is drawn to find her purpose in the ...more
Aug 04, 2026 02:21PM · 1 like · like · see review

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Quotes by M.J. Evans (?)

“Tears welled up in Jane's eyes. "I don't need something to remember you. I can never forget you.”
― M.J. Evans, The Sand Pounder

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