Interview with Mary Butler

TN: I'm curious - what was your inspiration for The Bad Genie?

Mary: I was sitting outside a bar, waiting for folks to arrive for our 20th high school reunion. I had an hour to kill and a pad of paper. I was tired of reading about good people who did nice things. I wanted to write about a rotten kid who did reprehensible things. I started writing and before I knew it, I was late for the reunion, but had the first two chapters written.

TN: So you started writing outside a bar one day. Do you often pick up a pen and paper and start to write in different places like that?

Mary: I'll write anywhere and everywhere. I always carry a notebook and pen. I've written stories in my car, on the soccer fields and in the choir loft at church. Fully half of The Bad Genie was written at soccer practice. With a full time job and two kids, I never know when I will have "writing time", so I steal the time whenever I can.

TN: So you're not just an Author, you're a Mom. Do your kids influence what you write at all?

Mary: Of course! Who do you think insisted I put a T-Rex in the story? My youngest is obsessed with dinosaurs. His big brother is very much like Frankie. They were my beta readers all the way through the process. When I write for children, my characters are usually little boys. I spend so much time around them.

TN: That's wonderful, being so close to your sons. Do they show any interest in being writers themselves one day?

Mary: My eldest son occasionally will write stories. He loves biographies and the Hardy Boys series. My youngest is still learning to read. Last night he read a whole Dr. Seuss book to me by himself. He prefers nonfiction about animals and nature. Maybe he's a future freelance writer.

TN: That's interesting - your son might venture into non-fiction or freelance. Do you ever venture out of genre and write full-length novels?

Mary: I do. I write for both children and adults, short stories and full-length novels, and in multiple genres. My current project which I'll be querying shortly is a paranormal mystery. It's 95,000 words and most definitely for adults.

TN: Can you tell us a little something about the other stories you've written?

Mary: How many hours do you have? My current paranormal mystery is The First Ghost.

Portia Mahaffey is the only woman in a family of clairvoyants without a "gift." Following an accident, she wakes up with the ability to see dead people. The girl in the hospital bed next to her doesn't wake up again. Corinne was murdered and she wants Portia to convince the police that her death was no accident. Thrilled with Portia’s help, Corinne blabs about her to another spirit, an angry murdered wife who wants Portia to be her instrument of revenge.

This is no haunted house tale. Portia quickly learns that ghosts are everywhere. So are soul-eating demons, a hot Emergency Room doctor--and a little, old lady who tells Portia that she's Death. But you can call her Hephzibah. Who knew that hanging out with the dead could be so hazardous to life?

My short stories have appeared in Liar's League, Mouth Full of Bullets, and Coyote Wild.

TN: The First Ghost sounds really interesting. Is there something new on the horizon? A new project you're itching to write?

Mary: I'm torn at the moment. I'm itching to write Second Sight, the sequel to The First Ghost, but I also have a middle-grade project in mind called War of the Crickets. It's your typical boy-and-his-cricket-save-the-holler story.

TN: That sounds like a fun read! So tell us, what other hobbies fill your time, when you're not writing?

Mary: My hobbies? Who has time? Okay, I also garden and raise miniature donkeys on my farm. I'm active in cub scouts and sports with my kids, especially soccer. Plus I read. A lot.

TN: Oh, there's a favorite question - What do you like to read?

Mary: I read a lot of different things. I especially read fantasy and mysteries. I'm addicted to middle-grade fantasy. I love anything with exciting action and humor. I read non-fiction sporadically, mostly as "research" for writing

TN: I want to thank you for taking the time for this interview. Your story The Bad Genie is sure to be a big hit. Is there anything you like to say to everyone before we let you get back to writing?

Mary: Goodbye and thanks for all the fish?