MARY CARTER is a freelance writer and novelist. My Sister’s Voice is her fourth novel with Kensington. Her other works include: She’ll Take It, Accidentally Engaged, Sunnyside Blues, and The Honeymoon House in the best selling anthology Almost Home. She has just completed A Very Maui Christmas, a novella that will be included in the anthology Holiday Magic, November, 2010, and is currently working on a new novel, The Pub Across the Pond, about an American woman who swears off all Irish men only to learn she’s won a pub in Ireland. Readers are welcome to visit her at www.marycarterbooks.com.
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Q: It’s rare today to find an author who does nothing but write for a living. Do you have a ‘real’ job other than writing, and if so, what is it? What are some other jobs you’ve had in your life? Have they influenced/inspired your writing?
I am currently also a certified sign language interpreter. I have been a freelancer interpreter the past ten years. Previous to that I was an actress, a waitress, and a temp. I once tele-marketed accidental death and dismemberment insurance for JC Penneys. I lasted four hours in that job. Everything I do and everyone I meet inspires my writing. I tend to write characters who are middle class like me, working for a living, like me.
Q: What compelled you to write your first book?
It was a New Years Resolution. I wanted to write a novel. I had written plays, and essays, and poems, and a screenplay, but never a novel. I wasn’t even thinking about getting published, I just knew I would be proud of myself if I actually wrote a novel. It was to my great surprise that it was published and was the start of my career as a novelist!
Q: Have you always wanted to be a writer?
I always have been a writer—my first short story was called The Boy and the Mouse. I was four-years-old.
Q: What type of music, if any, do you listen to while you write? Do you need the noise or the silence?
I like the music of people talking. I like to write in coffee shops. That’s not always possible, so sometimes I write at home. Sometimes I write on the subway. When I’m not writing I’m often daydreaming about whatever book I’m working on. I would hate to write in a library, I think the silence would drive me mad.
Q: If you could live in one of your books, which one would you live in? (If you’re promoting your first publication, feel free to talk about an unpublished piece.)
I think I’d have to pick the book I’m currently writing—The Pub Across the Pond. It’s about an American woman who wins a pub in Ireland. I would love to win a pub in Ireland! Of course my character is going to have to experience a ton of obstacles – but I still love the idea of doing something that wild—picking up and moving to a new country, being a sudden owner of a new business. I tried to contact the first winner of the WIN A PUB IN IRELAND contest that Guinness threw for seven years in a row, but alas, he says he’s going to write his own book on the experience. I wish him well!
Q: Where you have lived and what you have experienced can influence your writing in many ways. Are there any specific locations or experiences that have popped up in your books?
Let’s see. I was born in Ohio. I moved to New York City when I was eighteen. Then I was on tour as an actress—we were on the road for nine months and performed in 31 States. I moved back to New York City, then up to Rochester, New York to study interpreting, then I packed up my Toyota Corolla, threw my cat in a carrier and drove across the country to Seattle where I lived for six years before moving back to Manhattan, and then Queens. And yes, my books have included Seattle, Manhattan, Queens, and Ohio. I honeymooned in Maui and wrote a novella that takes place in Maui. I sailed to Martha’s Vineyard once and used that locale in my first novella. It’s great to use places I’ve been in my books.
Q: What is your writing space like? Do you have a designated space? What does it look like? On the couch, laptop, desk? Music? Lighting? Typing? Handwriting?
Couch and coffee shops. Laptop. Sometimes pen and paper to shake things up.
Q: Is there anything you’d go back and do differently now that you have been published, in regards to your writing career?
I would have started ten years earlier. I was thirty-four when my first book was published.
Q: In my experience, some things come quite easily (like creating the setting) and other things aren’t so easy (like deciding on a title). What comes easily to you and what do you find more difficult?
I love re-writing. I hate first drafts. Unfortunately, I still spend a great deal of time on a first draft. I’m trying to learn to speed that up, think of a first draft like a sketch, so I can get to the re-writing part, which again, I love.
Q: Now that you are a published author, does it feel differently than you had imagined?
It’s a ton of work. I never would have thought I could be so disciplined. Promoting is part of the job I never imagined, and wish I could leave to the professionals. I still work a day job. That’s okay though, it keeps me in check, and gets me out into the world. I’m grateful to be published, and have to keep focusing on improving, keep my eye on the next project. I have to learn to let the book go once it’s done and not to stress over sales, or reviews, or amazon rankings, or anything else that’s out of my control. It feels good too. The first time you see the cover of your new book, a good review, an email from a reader, a foreign rights sale, there is a lot to enjoy along the way.
Use this space to tell us more about who you. Anything you want your readers to know. Include information on where to find your books, any blogs you may have, or how a reader can learn more about you and writing.
I have a Facebook fan page—Mary Carter Books on Facebook. And my website is marycarterbooks.com where you can find my blog, updates, and occasional give-aways.
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