interview with michaela bush
- Grace Johnson
- Apr 22
- 4 min read
We're excited to introduce you all to another one of our amazing poets/authors featured in Of Storm & Sea: Michaela Bush!
Welcome, Michaela! We’re happy to have you and excited to jump into this interview! To start us off, why don’t you share a bit about yourself?
Thank you for having me! It’s such a privilege to be included in this anthology. I’m Michaela Bush, a caregiver, editor, and Christian author in her twenties…and that crazy horse girl everyone is warned about! I also enjoy playing violin and reading a variety of genres.
Your poem, “To Follow His Plan”, is included in Of Storm & Sea. This was such an intriguing piece; could you tell us what inspired it?
Thanks so much! Sooo, about ten years ago, I had all of these dreams about a faceless young man that I did not know in real life. The dreams were so vivid that I can still recall a lot about this figure even now, and the dreams always left me with an overwhelming feeling of peace and joy when I woke up. I don’t know why or what purpose the dreams had, but they came back around back in 2023 when I wrote “To Follow His Plan,” and I was left with the ‘what if?’ concept of meeting that very same person in real life and was struck by what an interesting fantasy concept it could be.
You’re quite the prolific author of not just poems, but novels in various genres! Share a bit about your other work.
Thank you! I have a variety of short stories and poems published through various anthologies (including Tell Me You Love Me curated by Grace A. Johnson and Issabelle Perry!) and in addition to that, my main genres are fantasy or contemporary sweet romance geared toward young adult and new adult audiences. I’ve also published a couple of devotionals and a dystopian series under my pen name, Makenzie Gray. Looking ahead, I’m hoping to add middle grade fiction to the mix because growing up, MG fiction was my sustenance, my bread and butter, the very air I breathed…haha!
What are you currently writing?
Right now, I’m going through the final stages of editing for a devotional, and then I have two different fantasies and a cozy matchmaker-type contemporary book series I’m working on! Either they’re going to drive me crazy or they’ll be launched in 2026…stay tuned to find out?
Where do you find inspiration?
There’s a patch of woods next to my house, and I love spending free time going for walks through it to clear my head. It’s also one of my prayer spots, and the place where a good many story ideas have been formed. I also draw inspiration from circumstances in my life that I grapple to understand myself—writing helps me reconcile things I struggle with. And music. I have to have a carefully-curated playlist for every single book I write (and sometimes, that takes more time than actually sorting out my plan for the story itself)!
Fiction or nonfiction?
*waffles on choosing between the two* I’m gonna say…both? Fiction is a beautiful way to speak truth through curious and imaginative circumstances, and I adore reading and writing fiction. But I also enjoy the ability to learn and share impactful information (or true stories) through nonfiction!
What’s your mission as an author?
My mission has remained the same since I first started writing: stories of light conquering dark. It’s my prayer that others are lifted up through these stories, that they find encouragement to face the darkness in our world fearlessly—because our Savior comforts us, He is above all, and will turn evil for good.
Finally, where can folks find and follow you?
You can find me on Instagram, Substack, and Facebook @tangledupinwriting and tangledupinwriting.com! I also have a TikTok account under @tangledupinwriting that is terribly neglected—I’m just a girl caught between Millennial and Gen Z, trying to figure out this newfangled social media stuffs, haha—but feel free to check it out if you want a chuckle.
about the Poem
"To Follow His Plan" is a narrative poem in which a young woman is guided through a storm by a strange man she's dreamed about since she was a babe. He gives her an important message, but is it just another dream or something more?
about the author
Michaela Bush is a Christian author, editor, and entrepreneur. She graduated Magna Cum Laude in 2019 from Clarion University of Pennsylvania, where she earned a B.A. in English and a minor in Psychology. She has enjoyed writing from an early age, and mostly writes Christian fantasy and romance. When she isn’t working or creating her next story, she enjoys spending time with her family, horseback riding, playing violin, and spending time at church. Follow her @tangledupinwriting.
about the anthology
Of Storm & Sea is a nautical adventure anthology that captures the romance and wonder of the ocean, with stories and poems that range from contemporary tales of ghost ships and first love, to mythology-inspired quests, to mer-queens and ex-pirates, to finding faith and footing on the rough sea. There's something so stirring and romantic about the sea, something that beckons us come and see what adventure finds us—and this collection accurately captures that idea and the emotions the ocean evokes in us. Even if you're not a pirate captain or mystery-solver or mermaid or runaway or adventurer, there's something to each of these stories you can relate to or resonate with. Just like the sea speaks to us, these stories speak to our soul's longing for escape, for redemption, for love, for a new beginning.
Featuring work from Michaela Bush, Anna Huet, Molly McTernan, Jessica B. Brown, Norah Case, Rose Everille, M.C. Kennedy, Bree Pembrook, Jennifer G. Satnic, Emma Thrasher, Linyang Zhang, Grace King-Matchett, and Lilly Tanis.
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