Brettschneider, Margaret
Pseudonym: 
M.J. Brett
Birth City: 
Kansas City
Birth State: 
MO
Current Location: 
Colorado Springs
Author's Website: 
http://mjbrett.com/
Occupation(s): 
Author, Speaker, Teacher
Biography: 

In a nutshell: born, lost, found, raised in Los Angeles as a dancer, graduated, married best friend at 18, had two daughters plus half the neighborhood who came to dinner and stayed, husband died suddenly in his early thirties, life ended, then began again when I was hired by the Department of Defense to teach overseas.

I am now working on a novel about PTSD set here in Colorado Springs. I need people willing to be interviewed. Contact me on my website: http://www.mjbrett.com.

Stayed 21 years in Germany, seven of them on the Cold War Border, remarried a pilot, and we CHOSE Colorado Springs when we came home in 1995. Seeing the tension on the military border, the extensive travel, the think tank topics, all offered opportunities to observe people under pressure...a favorite topic of my novels. It's not so much what happens to my characters as how they handle it. Where do human beings find the resilience to keep on fighting for their dreams, even through disaster?

All my stories are based on true events and people, (for whom I change the names to protect the guilty) and all are stories I felt needed to be told. I find our mountains, wildlife, and town spirit conducive to creativity.

Search the Catalog for Margaret Brettschneider (M.J. Brett)
Published Works: 
Truth Lies Six Foot Under (2013) - A true cold-case mystery.
Stand Silent, Stand Free (2012) - The story of a deaf-mute boy on the 1800s frontier.
Dancing in the Wind (2011) - A Sandwich generation family decides what to do with Granny.
I Think I Can, I Think I Can (2010) - Secrets of an abandoned child growing up insecure.
Mama Told Me Not to Come (2008) - A comedy of traveling in Europe and the middle East while accident prone.
Street Smart on a Dead End (2007) - A straight-laced family takes in a 12yr old druggie and gang member.
Between Duty and Devotion (2006) - A failed marriage and a loving friend force an officer to make devastating lifetime decisions.
Shadows on an Iron Curtain (2005) - Intrigue, secrets, and camaraderie along the Cold War border.
Mutti's War (2003) - A mother breaks Nazi law to smuggle her children out of East Prussia.
Awards/Honors: 
Mutti's War - 1st place for historical fiction in the Paul Gillette Memorial Award in 2003
Shadows on an Iron Curtain - chosen to be in the Cavalry Museum for its "accurate portrayal of CAV mission during the Cold War"
Honored to be selected to serve on an International Think Tank on Foreign Relations while in Stuttgart, Germany
Various teaching awards
Education/Training: 
Master of Arts in Literature and English from University of California at Fullerton - Post graduate work for teaching credentials (K though college) - Fire mitigation training
Interviews: 
Mama Told Me Not to Come at Pikes Peak Writers conference
Mutti's War: What it Means to be a Heroine - with Margaret Brettschneider
Q&A from students at a PILLAR seminar
Organizations: 
Pikes Peak Writers - National Pen Women, Pikes Peak Branch - Skyway FireWise Mitigation Chairman - Cheyenne Mountain Club - Enzian Austrian-American Club - AOSHS (American Overseas Schools Historical Society)
Speaker Availability: 
Yes
Speaker Topics: 
World War II history (all ages, clubs, groups or schools from 5th grade up) - Nazi impact on the common man ... can it happen again? (all ages, clubs, groups or schools from 5th grade up) - The Cold War in Europe: The mission, the spies, and the outcomes (adult, clubs, groups) - Journalism: The Art of Interviewing (high school) - Writing novels, short stories, memoirs (all ages, clubs, groups, seniors, or schools of any grade). Info is tailored to suit age group or club interest.
Local Authors Genres: 
Biography/Memoir
General Nonfiction