Today we’d like to introduce you to Mary Boland-Doyle.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Mary. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
As a former English teacher, I have always loved books. After all, most of us will tell you we come from book-reading families, and I did. One thing was – we didn’t read romance. It wasn’t that we were against the genre, my dad commuted over two hours each way five days a week, reading five science fiction books minimum a week.
My Mom loved mystery and detective fiction, my sister read everything, and my other sister – read romance. Cue the whomp whomp whomp sounds. I read what you’d commonly refer to as literature or literary fiction. While I was on vacation in the White Mountains in New Hampshire one year, the unthinkable happened. I ran out of books. I saw a “local book” in a store in North Conway called “Lake News” by a Barbara Delinsky. I bought it because it was a local author. It was amazing and quite prescient as it had to do with the Boston Catholic Church scandal, and was about this months before it actually became a subject we all know.
When I got home, I went on Amazon, searching for other books by Ms. Delinsky. I found two used ones, and when they arrived, they were by a Billie Douglas. I was upset, but a book is a book and better no oxygen than no books, so I read them. Turns out, they were romances. Her first when she was still straight-up Harlequin category romance, and using a pseudonym. Guess what? I loved them. I then piled through her entire catalog (still read her every word, although she is less romance now).
After I finally admitted to myself, “Hello, I’m Mary, and I’m a romance-a-holic.” *Nods from the audience* “Hi, Mary.” I discovered Nora Roberts, and somewhere my Irish DNA found its soulmate, and I have never turned back. I decided I wanted my MFA and to write romance, so I went to the amazing low-residency MFA in Writing Popular Fiction (all genres) at Seton Hill University, an amazing school with exactly what I needed. Or what anyone who wants to write needs. Cue last June, I got my MFA, and started publishing.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Oh, Miss Molly, good golly – no! Since starting this program, I was living in West Vancouver, BC then moved back to California, studied, worked hard, and helped plan our eldest’s wedding. Saw one kid stay in Canada *tears up*, another move to Washington *more tears*, another to San Francisco *buys stock in Kleenex*, and have only one at home. During this time I experienced some health issues, as well. So no. No smoothness here.
What’s the good in smooth, anyway? You don’t read a book to discover an easy journey with no problems for the heroine/hero. You read it to see them overcome, and in my case, to see them end happily ever after. Life is like this as well. I’m not saying you should have a troubled life, but a life too easy is no fun. A little rain makes the sunshine sweeter.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
Well, as I am only published four times, two short stories and a novella, the novella re-published for Kulture City – an autism charity in my hometown (New York), I write. Seriously. My fellow SHU alumni and students use google hangouts to have writing sprints (they are AMAZING) and then we tweet results.
It is like showing up at your weekly Weight Watchers meeting, it keeps you accountable, and not resting too easy so you forget what you’re here for. I’m currently writing another short paranormal romance, and have a book to shop and one I’m writing in a series. I don’t want to get cocky, wait… yes I do. (That’s a romance insider joke, see #byeFaleena for that scoop!)
What am I known for? If truth be told, I’d like to be known for having funny contemporary romances, but only time will tell. What am I most proud of? My husband, my kids, and the fact that they’re still with me. What my goal is – is to publish more, most importantly – when I finally shuffle off this mortal coil to have this world be a better place because I was once in it than it would have been without me. Seriously. This is the sum total of my desires.
My husband to be mine forever ’cause I’m totes selfish that way, my kids to find what we have and to be smart enough to know it’s not common and to thank God for it and to have people who knew me remember me as a good person who did her best. What sets me apart from others? Oh, please God, there are others like me? Can this world manage that?
What were you like growing up?
I was always the crazy friend. Maybe it’s the hair, I’ve heard it’s a harbinger of wildness. I went to Catholic school in Brooklyn, then high school in Long Island, where I made wonderful friends, and have incredible memories, but I’m not sure who might remember me and for what.
I loved to go dancing, and hanging out on Fire Island Pines studying for my future as a warning to other red-headed Irish girls that we shouldn’t go to the beach! I was a class officer and ran for things. I somewhat succeeded, but I suppose I was just an average kid with a voracious appetite for information and books. We played trivial pursuit for blood in my family, so maybe competitive? Yes, competitive works.
Contact Info:
- Address: AuthorMaryRogers.com
- Website: AuthorMaryRogers.com
- Email: Mary@AuthorMaryRogers.com
- Facebook: Author Mary Rogers
Getting in touch: SDVoyager is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
