Michelle Fogle, Author

“Let’s Pretend” was my earliest doorway into other worlds. As a child, I slipped easily into forgotten eras — a pioneer crossing the Old West, a mud-pie maker in Ancient Egypt, or a quiet observer walking the battlefields of Constantinople beside Florence Nightingale. That instinct to inhabit overlooked corners of history never left me. It simply evolved into a writing life devoted to immersive storytelling.

My work invites readers to immerse themselves in forgotten places, along less common paths, with newfound companions. I’m drawn to the moments and locations history often leaves in the margins — not because they are obscure, but because they reveal something timeless about what it means to be human. With every novel, I aim to transport, to illuminate, and to deepen our understanding of the emotional truths that echo across centuries.

While learning the craft of writing, I also practiced psychotherapy — a parallel path that sharpened my fascination with the stories people carry and the inner landscapes that shape their choices. My writing journey began early: at eight, I published a prize-winning poem, and produced my first school play. In middle school, while classmates flirted and paraded through the halls, I hid out in the girls’ bathroom with a self-made critique group. Later, at UCLA, I published a feature article based on ethnographic research with descendants of Inquisition fugitives in Jerusalem’s Old City.

My commitment to craft led to advanced writing coursework through the University of California, a Certificate in Novel Writing from San Diego Writers’ Ink (2016), and a Certificate in Memoir Writing (2025). Excerpts of my work have appeared in the A Year in Ink and Shaking the Tree anthologies. Both City of Liars (2021) and Paris Bohemian have been honored as Editor’s Picks by Publishers Weekly BookLife. I continue to write from the Inland Northwest, exploring the overlooked, the unexpected, and the deeply human threads that bind past and present.