Discover the author behind the words

Step into the world of M. Allshouse and explore the inspirations, passions, and personal touches that shape her distinctive gothic psychological fiction, dark romance, and poetry.

Unveiling the uncomfortable spaces

I am most interested in the uncomfortable spaces between things: grief and desire, devotion and obsession, guilt and redemption, autonomy and control. My stories often begin with a question or theme that won't leave me alone, and the characters emerge from there. I am drawn to complicated people who do not fit neatly into good or evil and to exploring what shapes the choices they make. My own religious upbringing also influences the language, symbolism, and questions of faith and power that sometimes appear in my work. Whether I am writing gothic psychological fiction, dark romance, or poetry, I want readers to find humanity inside the darkness rather than darkness simply for its own sake.

Welcome behind the curtain

I want readers to feel like they are welcome behind the curtain. I share the messy parts of writing alongside the beautiful ones: unfinished ideas, research rabbit holes, revisions, doubts, breakthroughs, and the occasional story that refuses to leave me alone. I believe books become something new once they belong to readers, and I genuinely love hearing what someone noticed, questioned, suspected, or felt while reading my work. WordsbyMAllshouse is not meant to be a polished wall between author and reader. It is a place to watch stories become books, talk about why stories matter, and find a community for people who are drawn to complicated characters and beautifully uncomfortable things.

Beyond the page: The things that follow me home

I am fascinated by the strange, macabre, and psychologically complicated, which means my search history regularly looks mildly incriminating in the name of research. I love mythology, folklore, religious symbolism, old houses, morally complicated characters, and figuring out why people do the things they do. I am also a chronic collector of story ideas; the moment I finish one project, several more tend to arrive demanding attention.

Outside of writing, I am a wife and mom with a busy, wonderfully chaotic household, so much of my creative life happens somewhere between family life, late-night inspiration, and whatever rabbit hole my latest manuscript has sent me down. I am also deeply involved in the visual side of being an indie author, from designing covers and graphics to building the atmosphere around each book.

Perhaps the least surprising fact about me is that I have an orange cat named Arlo who behaves as though my writing career exists primarily to provide him with food and warmth.