Welcome to an ultimately self-aggrandizing article. I am MJ Blehart (blee-heart, FYI). I write and I learn things.

I am 48 years old and reside in New Jersey, just east of Philadelphia, with my wife and two cats. I was born and raised in the suburbs of Minneapolis, MN, until I went to college in Ithaca, NY. After college, I permanently transplanted myself on the East Coast and have lived in New Jersey or across the border in New York for nearly 25 years.

Hobbies

I love photography and fancy myself a halfway decent amateur photographer. Also, I love hiking. Some of my favorite hikes over the years have been in various parts of upstate New York, but also around Phoenix and Sedona in Arizona. I’ve been very fortunate to see really cool places via hiking.

As much as I love to write I also LOVE reading. Currently, I begin each morning by reading at least 1 chapter of fiction and 1 chapter of nonfiction.

I also love cooking, though my wife is a FAR better cook than I am! Additionally, I love to experiment with woodworking, painting, and like arts. Not my strong suit — but I have dabbled and made some neat creations.

Medievalist

I have been an active participant in a worldwide medieval reenactment society for over 29 years now. Through this group, I have pursued archery, court heraldry, and my favorite part — rapier combat (medieval fencing).

In this organization, I am known by the name Malcolm Bowman and have met people from all over the world. This is where the majority of my friendships have come from. When we aren’t in the middle of a pandemic, I spend several weekends a month at events.

Fiction writer

At the age of 9, I wrote my first full-length sci-fi novel. It was called Wildfire, is 50 pages and illustrated (showing off that I was terrible at adding noses when drawing characters in profile).

I happily blame my parents for taking me to see Star Wars (this was 1977, so I still tend not to call it A New Hope) when I was 5. This made me fall in love with the genre, which later extended to fantasy, too.

I have read Tolkien, Eddings, Gaiman, McCaffrey, Card, Bradbury, and numerous, less well-known authors in fantasy and sci-fi.

I have published multiple novels on Amazon and am presently working on two sci-fi series. Before my wife beats me in my sleep, I also am working on completing the 3rd novel in my fantasy series, too.

Nonfiction

At the close of 2011, I came up with the idea of a New Year’s Action (rather than the flimsy resolution). The action was to begin blogging publicly once a week.

That would evolve into twice a week, then thrice a week, and now six days a week. It all began with my personal philosophy — Pathwalking.

The idea that consciousness creates reality — and anyone can use that to change their life — has been my passion ever since. Now, I further explore mindfulness, positivity, joy, and overall life lessons to gain more knowledge and experience for both myself and to share.

When all is said and done, I seek to make a positive impact on the world. I desire to share my experience and help others to gain insight into all their potential and possibility, too.

I hope you have enjoyed this peek into my life.

Contact me/find me

Feel free to follow me on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.

Also, check out my weekly podcast and my author website.