Miralee Ferrell, Publisher
Miralee Ferrell has years of experience in the publishing world as a multi-published author with traditional houses, winning awards and writing several ECPA Best Sellers. She then branched out, while continuing to write for the traditional market, to publish three of her own books through Mountain Brook Ink.
Miralee had an extensive sales background before she started to write, selling ads for a local paper, working as the fiction book buyer for her local Christian bookstore, and winning awards for top sales person for a Fortune 500 insurance company. She brings that experience to this new venture, as well as a gifting in PR and communication. Her vision is to see work published and recognized that might not have a chance without the help of a small press.
Tim Pietz, Publicity Manager
At age 12, Tim read through Tolkien’s The Return of the King in a single day. Concerned he would run out of good books if he continued reading at this pace, Tim had no choice but to pursue a career in publishing. In addition to writing various devotionals and theology articles in publications such as The Upper Room and crosswalk.com, Tim has had the privilege of editing for Tyndale House, Wheaton Press, Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas, and individual authors. Now, as Mountain Brook Ink’s publicity manager, he enjoys being at the forefront of getting quality Christian fiction into the hands of hungry readers.
Kristen Johnson, Office Administrator
Kristen G. Johnson grew up as that kid who always has her nose in a book and a pen in her hand. Unbeknownst to her parents, she even went so far as to put a lighted a candle on her desk during her late night writing sessions because she wanted to be just like Jo March. Thankfully, the house did not burst into flames, or she would have been in big trouble. But it would have made for a good story.
At the moment, she is working on her middle grade novel full of super hero critters and dastardly raccoons. She has also been published in Splickety Prime, Upper Room, Clubhouse, Clubhouse Jr., and LIVE. Previously, she worked as an editor and office manager for Ashberry Lane Publishing, and now enjoys working behind the scenes as the office administrator for Miralee Ferrell here at Mountain Brook Ink doing whatever fun projects are thrown her way. When she pops her head up from her computer, Kristen enjoys singing and acting, hiking small mountains in search of huckleberries, and hanging out with her two daughters and husband, David.
Jenny Mertes, Editor
Jenny edits fiction and nonfiction for MBI and other clients. Her portfolio includes more than 100 manuscripts over the past three decades. Jenny says she enjoys her work because “it brings me into contact with incredible people I’d never otherwise meet, from first-time authors to those with years of publishing experience.” She also delights in learning from each author she works with and fine-tuning their prose as a collaborative effort.
Graphics and Website Help
Our website was a collaborative effort between Miralee Ferrell, Judy Vandiver, and Nikki Wright. Judy also designed the awesome original logo for Mountain Brook Ink and helped design the business card. Logo re-design is by Annie J. Designs.