Mary moved to Ann Arbor, Michigan after college, where she lives today with her husband and daughter. She finally succumbed to her passion for writing, soon after her daughter was born. Her professional work experience, in social work, as a hospice team member, and as a probation officer -- these experiences have all enriched her writing. Mary finds inspiration everywhere.
“Real life is often filled with suspense, love and hate, and people who surprise us by their acts of kindness, heroism in overcoming adversity, and sometimes by cruel betrayals," Mary says. "The joy of my life is writing fiction. Perhaps all readers love the places a writer can take us. Through fiction we escape ourselves and our limitations and can discover new realities where our spirits can explore, adventure, and even find the spiritual peace we crave.” Mary wants to entertain her readers with meaty characters and suspenseful plots. She says “The best stories reach us in our gut, beyond pricking our senses and imaginations.”
Her first novel, Angel Fire, was published as a print book and is now also sold as an eBook. The sequel is actually a whole series— Face the Lion Chronicles. Book One of Face the Lion will be published in 2017.
Mary loves one quote by George Bernard Shaw; “Some men see things as they are and ask ‘Why’? But I dream things that never were and ask ‘Why not”. Yes.
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About the Book
Richard Saxon-Sorn carries a secret with him that transcends both space and time. Through a desperate act of war 1400 light years away, he finds safe haven on a newly discovered planet named Earth.
His only real goal, save himself, mend his damaged starship, and return to his home planet, Tethra.
One sweet September night, he meets Selina, who pricks his aching loneliness. She seems beautiful and harmless, a young nursing student. He is smitten.
Selina is instantly drawn to him, tall, quietly handsome and endearing. He says he is a University professor.
A comet flashes by in the silent sky as nature notes the bond between them. Their relationship is destined for a purpose beyond either of their imaginations. They cannot know this in the beginning. But they quickly discover they are under attack by both human and demonic forces. ROSET (the Research Organization for the Study of Extra-Terrestrials), Natas, a powerful demon, Max Traytur, a pawn of both Natas and Selina’s father, Damien Devon, all of whom are bent on destroying Selina and Richard. Enemies seem to be everywhere. And the enemies often do not have names and faces.
But they are not alone.
Guided by the fierce mercy of angelic warriors, the two humans must risk their lives in a race against the future and the past-- to save two worlds, the one Saxon-Sorn just discovered and the one he left behind.
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Keep reading for an interview with the author:
How often do you write?
I would write every day if I didn't have a day job. I prefer to write in three hour time blocks. My writing process develops when I set aside at least three house so that I can become part of the characters and the stories. In this way I immerse myself in their worlds and can know what they are feeling, thinking, choosing. Otherwise my writing can be hollow. I can meet deadlines if I must. But if I don't have a deadline, I go with the flow.
What is your day job?
Most of my professional work has been in hospice and social work. I have also worked as a television writer. Television writers earn good pay but it is completely different than novel writing. TV is the final product of a thousand players. The TV writer positions taught me a lot but I found that I much prefer being the sole author by writing fiction novels.
Did you have a hard time sharing your work with the public? How did you build up the courage?
I started my story telling in the second grade when my friends and I got bored at recess. When I saw that friends loved my stories, it encouraged me to try to share them with teachers. My fourth grade teacher encouraged me to become a writer and so I gained more courage. I wrote book reviews and essays that were published in high school and college. I wrote my first novel several years ago and it took me six more years to find a book publisher. I am motivated by the stories and the fire inside that drives me to write. Trying to break into the big publisher's world was more frustrating and time consuming than the writing itself.
What is the quirkiest thing you've ever done while writing?
I have never been a smoker. But in the middle of writing one story, I bummed a few cigarettes from a friend and went outside to smoke a few times. It helped me to feel like my character and tapped into something unexplored inside myself. But I hate smoking and never developed the habit and didn't inhale.
If you could be one of your characters for a day, who would it be and why?
I would like to be each of my characters for a day, but I haven't tried that exercise. It would help me to get more deeply into their minds and skins and would probably be fantastic fun, though maybe dangerous.
What is the oddest thing you've ever researched for one of your books?
The daily life and times of an ant.
What is the most difficult thing you've ever researched?
Quantum theory, inter-planetary travel and the bureaucracy of the CIA
What authors and books have most influenced you?
William Shakespeare; The Bible; David Maine, especially his first novel, The Preservationist; Orson Scott Card's books especially the Wurthing Saga, Isaac Asimov, anything, Chaucer, etc. etc.
What is the best compliment you've ever received as an author?
"Your novel somehow changed my life."
What is the worst writing advice you've ever received?
"Writing is a waste of time and you won't earn any money at it."
What do you enjoy doing aside from writing?
Spending good times with friends and family. Praying. Swimming, walking, watching good movies, and of course, reading good books.
If you were stranded on a deserted island, and you could only have five books with you, what would they be?
Survivors Guide to Living on a Deserted Island, The Bible, The Complete works of William Shakespeare, two large blank books that I could write myself.
What made you decide to self-publish?
My first novel, Angel Fire, took me a year to write. It took over six years to find a commercial publisher who paid me a book advance. I decided it was time to self-publish the ebook version of my print book. I like the creative freedom of self-publishing. It bothers me that the aim of big publishers is to earn immense amounts of money quickly rather than look for excellent writers with great stories and ground breaking genre's. At least this is true with USA publishers, agents and editors. Self-publishing is the "new horizon" in publishing. Writers can create in ways that they have never been "allowed" to create at all, they can write their own stories and seek their own readers without needing to go through the big publisher route.
Would you recommend self-publishing to other authors? Why or why not?
If a person knows they have talent, has time and money to attend annual writer/editor/agent conferences and is really patient with waiting for agents, editors and publishers to read their books, they should try to find a publisher who is a match for them. If a person has talent, wants creative freedom, wants to invent new genres and frontiers and does not want to be squeezed into other people's boxes, they should self-publish and work really, really, hard at it.
What are you working on now?
I am working on writing and polishing three books in the FACE THE LION series. The first in the series. FACE THE LION Book One, will be published this year. The rough drafts for the other novels in the series need polishing. My first novel Angel Fire, is it's own story, but in many ways it is the "prequel" to this series.
