Beverley Bateman

Guest Author of the Month

I'm very pleased to introduce our next Guest Author for this month. She is Mary Jean Kelso. I hope you enjoy meeting Mary Jean and learning a little about her.

Mary Jean Kelso

BEVERLEY: Can you tell me a little about yourself?

MARY: I have been writing for most of my life.  My first book that was published was a YA mystery and it is now in its 3rd printing.  It is in paperback and download.  Amazon has it for the Kindle.  The title is now Goodbye Is Forever.  It is the first of a series of three books. I started out wanting to write children’s books and only broke into that market about 3 years ago. My first short story was published by a romance group.   I thought my career was launched but soon found out each and everything you do is judged on its own merit and if it doesn’t happen to fit the editor’s needs at the time, rejection results.

BEVERLEY: I know you write mystery and romance for Young Adult.  Do you write in any other genres? 

MARY: Yes.  I write historical romance for adults.  I write children’s picture books which are illustrated by K.C. Snider. They are Academic Wings books through Guardian Angel Publishing, Inc. (www.guardianangelpublishing.com).  There is a series there about a little boy in a wheelchair and a therapy horse (Andy and the Albino Horse).  Each book is a new adventure for them together.  So far there are four out.  There are four or five more in the pipeline and the series will go on as long as I do. They even have a song written after them.  People can listen to it free at myspace.com/janiejazzgirl.  It is called “Heroes” and written by Janie Robinson.  That was really exciting, to have a songwriter use one of my books to write about.  It’ll make you cry, it is so touching! 

BEVERLEY: Tell me a little about KAT’S CRADLE.  Where did the idea come from? 

MARY: This is a story that first came out as Goodbye, Bodie.  It came about because of a couple of trips I made into the old ghost town of Bodie, CA.  I am fascinated with the early history of the Old West and I think Bodie is our most authentic ghost town.  So, it became a story of a 15-year-old girl that lived in Bodie during the “Bad Man of Bodie” days.  She has lost most of her family and when her father dies she doesn’t accept that it was an accident.  So, she sets off to find his murderer.  There are a lot of twists and turns and surprises.

BEVERLEY: Is there a difference between writing Young Adult and Adult? 

MARY: I feel there is.  I would never put sexual innuendos in the YA that might go into an adult novel.  A brief kiss or a hug maybe but I, personally, wouldn’t get explicit in the YA’s I write.  The strongest curse word is probably “damn.”  Even the adult romances aren’t very sexually explicit.  But, there is enough suggestion and innuendo that a mature reader gets the picture.  I don’t think writing step-by-step sexual instruction is necessary.

BEVERLEY: Do you do a lot of research for your books? And if yes, how do you go about researching the information? 

MARY: In the past, I have traveled to the areas to research the locations.  I read volumes about the places and subjects.  Now, with the internet, I have all sorts of research available at my fingertips.  It is a wonderful time saver.  Other authors that belong to loops the publishers set up are a great source of information and can tell you where to look if they don’t have the answer. 

BEVERLEY: What's your biggest challenge when writing - hooks, sagging middles, other? 

MARY: For some reason, I seem to have a problem of finding myself with a finished book that is actually two books.  I, then, have to separate two stories and finish each.  I don’t know if anyone else has this problem or not.  I’ve never heard of it.  I have one book that one of my publishers said I needed to get rid of some characters before they would publish it.  I couldn’t see doing that.  I felt they were all necessary to tell the story I was telling.  So, I submitted it to another publisher and it came out as Blue Coat.

BEVERLEY: Do you have a routine for writing? And if you do can you share it with us?

MARY: I am writing every day.  However, that may not always be on something new.  There is a lot of promo work to do, maintaining websites, etc.  I basically work on the creative side of writing when inspiration strikes. I have found that it never helps to force something.  I do wish I had an assistant to do some of the everyday mundane things.

BEVERLEY: If you could be any one author, who would it be and why? 

MARY: Phyllis A. Whitney.  Because I like the way she weaves a mystery into an exotic location and gives the reader a trip as well as a story.  I like learning things as I read and always make notes of phrases, a turn of words or ideas I might want to look into.

BEVERLEY: What kind of books do you enjoy reading? And who are your favorite authors? 

MARY: I read mostly mysteries when I have time to read recreationally.  I read a lot of history, especially recently I have been reading about Texas and the Texas Rangers.  So a lot of my reading is research.  As a young person I read Nancy Drew.  Still, I pick one up now and then.  So Carolyn Keene, Phyllis A. Whitney and a lot of virtually unknowns.  I try to read any new books that author friends have released.

BEVERLEY: Do you spend much time marketing? And what do you feel works best for you? 

MARY: Much of my time is spent marketing these days.  I do lot of internet promo, doing book signings, whatever works.  My illustrator and I will be signing books at the Family Motor Coach Assn. Convention in Redmond, OR August 12.  We will also be giving a seminar on writing and illustrating children’s books.  Setting up these things takes time.  K.C. Snider, my illustrator, has a publicist, Claudia Valiquet.  We should all have a Claudia.  But we can’t clone her and spread her around.

BEVERLEY: For all those aspiring writers out there who are looking for that magic formula - do you
have any suggestions for them?

MARY: I used to think there was such a thing (formula) and when you figured it out you would be in solid with the publishers.  After many years of struggling to do what I was told to in such detail (it tied me in knots and I got nowhere) I started writing in my own voice.  Or, I should say, in my character’s voices.  I always thought something had to be difficult to be right.  That’s not so.  I would say, “Listen to your own voice.” The only thing I have found that works is to stick to it.  It takes a lot of years, sometimes, to build your writing up to where people are interested in reading it.

BEVERLEY: What do you do for fun and relaxation? 

MARY: Hmmmm.  I can’t remember what relaxation is.  I’m ALWAYS on the computer it seems.  But we do go bowling.  I like to travel but I’m mostly involved with the writing in some form or other the biggest share of the time.  I’m supposed to be retired.  I don’t think I’ll ever completely retire from writing. 

BEVERLEY: Is there something about yourself that you'd feel comfortable sharing with your readers that maybe, not many people know? 

MARY: I have had to evolve from a pencil to a clunky old typewriter, to electric, and then to crude first computers as they transitioned into something more convenient to use.  So, that tells you I’m no young chicken. I do appreciate not having to totally retype pages to make a correction and have a perfect manuscript to turn in.  I also appreciate being able to submit something and get an answer in 3 weeks or 3 months instead of a year.  The publishing process has changed terrifically with the electronic age and that certainly helps.

BEVERLEY: Thanks for doing this interview, Mary Jean, and sharing a bit about yourself.

Find out more about Mary Jean by visiting her at her websites: http://www.authorsden.com/maryjeankelso, http://childrensbookwinp.ning.com/profile­/MaryJeanKelso, http://www.guardianangelpublishing.com,  http://www.guardian-angel-kids.com, and http://guardianangelfamily.blogspot.com/  You can also check her out at http://www.whiskeycreekpress.com. Kat’s Cradle is now available from Whiskey Greek Press.

Please come back next month and check out our author interview with Fran Orenstein who writes for YA Historical Romance.

Publishers, agents, and fans. Contact BEVERLEY by clicking here.