With great pleasure, I’m thrilled to have interviewed one of my favorite authors. She’s funny, inspiring, and her books are a true joy to read. Without further ado, here’s New York Times Bestselling Author, Mary Kay Andrews!Author, Mary Kay Andrews
INTERVIEW
Have you always loved to write? Yes! On the first day of first grade our teacher asked us to draw a picture of what we wanted to be when we grew up. While the other kids drew firemen and nurses and teachers and cowboys, I drew a picture of a lady sitting at a tall table in front of a wall of books—my six-year-old image of what a writer looked like.
How did you celebrate when you first book was published? With a party! My friends threw me a party at the house that inspired the setting for my first book, EVERY CROOKED NANNY.
Where is your ideal place to write? I like to write with the sunshine streaming in on me—at our vacation house on Tybee Island, or in the sun room of our restored Craftsman bungalow in Atlanta.
How has social media changed your career? Social media has connected me with so many fans and given me instant feedback on what my readers like and dislike. They enjoy being part of a community, and I enjoy hearing from them. That said, I spend a tremendous amount of time and energy staying connected with them.
What is the best advice you can give to a new author? Don’t fixate on writing that first “perfect chapter.” Just get on with the story—and finish it. You can go back and revise and hone and polish after you get the story down in black and white.
Who or what inspires you to write? Envy—when I read a great novel or chapter, I want to try to create something just as moving.
What is your favorite word? Vintage!
Every writer must have a…: Fine-point black felt tip pen.
What time of day do you seem to work best? Mornings when I wake up with an idea bubbling up from my self-consciousness, I reach for my laptop, prop myself up in bed and write like a woman possessed.
If you’re not writing, you’re probably: junking
What are you reading right now? Lee Smith’s Guests on Earth.
Are you a panster or planner? Mostly a pantser, although I’m always trying to plot and plan.
Do you have a motto? You can’t fix what you ain’t wrote.
Where is your favorite vacation place? Tuscany. Would love to go back someday soon.
Do you and your family have any Christmas traditions? If so, what are they? Children’s mass Christmas Eve, baking cookies together, Christmas stockings opened first thing Christmas morning, burning all the dried-out greenery in the fireplace Christmas night.
**GIVEAWAY**
**U.S. RESIDENTS ONLY, PLEASE**
If you’re in the Christmas spirit as much as I’m beginning to be, then you must enter to win the prizes in the picture seen to the left. I’m currently reading “Christmas Bliss” and am loving it, and I know you will, too!
How to enter:
Step 1) Write a comment below telling me about your favorite Christmas tradition.
Step 2) Do NOT forget to leave your email address! (This is so I can contact you to let you know you’ve won). **If you do not follow this step, I have no way of contacting you.
Picking a winner:
1) I will draw a winner out of a hat on Friday, November 22nd!
I LOVE MKA’s books! I can’t wait to read this one.
My favorite Christmas tradition is when every year my husband’s family all gets together on Christmas Eve. We rent a lodge at a camp and are together for the whole day. There are 4 generations now and about 40 people attending. I love it because it’s the one and only time all of us are together and it is so nice to have that family connection still.
Thanks for the awesome giveaway! suzebomb(at)gmail.com
I am so excited you got to do this interview! So cool! We started this little tradition with the kids…(not the elf on the shelf. I don’t like that one). We have elves that bring a little stocking stuffer to each of the kids on the 12 days before Christmas. Nothing major, a pack of gum, a bottle of lotion, something like that.. My kids are now 14, 19 and 21 and we still do it. I’m thinking maybe we should stop for the 21 year old? 🙂
Thank you for all those that entered. A winner has been picked!