about mary
Writers often say they always knew they wanted to be a writer when they grew up. Ha. I wanted to play for the Harlem Globetrotters. Or skate with the Ice Follies. Or be a U.S. Senator.
Women often say they had this secret desire to be a princess when they were a little girl. Ha. I wanted to be king.
Instead, I became a lawyer. And the truth is, I loved it for a long time. Mergers and acquisitions, tax-free deals, securities, and a lot of other things that would make a normal person’s head spin made me happy. But then I discovered writing – and that made me happier.
My very first manuscript, which eventually became my first published novel, Cooper’s Folly, won Romance Writers of America’s Golden Heart award. So I kept writing!
Along the way, I picked up a guitar, and then a mic, and then started playing in rock bands, and the next obvious (to me) step was to start writing songs. And then to start recording them. I am the living embodiment of the concept of “If You Give a Mouse a Cookie.” What’s next? I never know!
I live on a lake in Minneapolis with my husband, bedrooms for two cute kidlets who are now in their 20s and living elsewhere but still my kidlets, and a stuffed monkey named Philip. When not writing books or songs, I live for guitar, live music, travel, fruity cocktails (in moderation!), playing sports with reckless abandon, and ill-advised adventures that offer a high probability of injury to myself and others.
If I have any vices – and I totally deny it – they might include (in no particular order) rock bands, dancing, triple-berry scones, my adorable little convertible, too much time spent at Five Guys and Punch Pizza, and (currently) Chris Hemsworth. (NATURALLY, it’s just that I admire him objectively for his commitment to fitness.) I should also mention my addiction to my favorite place on earth, Paris, because ... Nutella-banana crêpes.
Oh, and I wanna be a rock star when I grow up. (Or maybe even sooner than that.) Unless I wind up being king.