Author on the Couch: Mary E Thompson This week’s Author on the Couch is… Mary E. Thompson Mary is giving away three copies of Order vs. Chaos! Enter below! **Keep reading to find out how to get a FREE copy of Mary’s Chubby and Charming (Big and Beautiful Book 1) for FREE! Me: Tell me about an experience that had a profound impact on your life. Mary: A close friend from college died of colon cancer in her early 30’s. I made a decision when she died that I was going to live a healthier life because I had the ability to be there for my kids, and she didn’t. She left behind two kids who were very close in age to my own kids, and it was hard on me. Two and a half years later, I was diagnosed with cancer. A different type, but also stage IV like my friend. I was reading a book her husband wrote about their journey when I was diagnosed, and I knew, without a doubt, that she was with me. She was watching over me, and she told me she wasn’t going to let my family go through the same thing hers did. I had a really easy time with chemo because I went into it knowing I was going to be okay. I’m now one year into remission and feeling great! Me: What personality trait of yours helps you most as an author? Mary: I’m really curious. I’m always making up stories, in my head, about the people around me. I feel like I’ve never been at a loss for ideas and could write for years with the ideas I already have. It’s so much fun! Me: What personality trait of yours hinders you most as an author? Mary: I’m a procrastinator. I’ve tried to change it many, many times, but nothing has worked. I have to find ways to trick myself into finishing things early, and it doesn’t always work. Me: What was your high point as a writer—a time when you were happiest, on cloud nine, flying high? What happened? Mary: The first email I got from a reader saying my books gave her hope. It’s the whole reason I write. My stories are about people who have ordinary lives. People most of us can relate to. It leaves my readers believing the same love story can happen to them, and that makes me feel so good. That first reader to tell me I gave her hope made me cry. It was really amazing to know someone really got what I was trying to do. Me: What was your low point as a writer—a time when questioned your path, a time when you felt really crappy about your writing? What happened? How did you get over it? Mary: I entered a big contest last year for the first time. I didn’t have very high hopes, but I was shocked when one of my scores was ridiculously low. It really bothered me. I don’t read reviews most of the time for the same reason; it’s hard to hear someone hated my story. I took a couple days to ignore the score and try to move past it. I kept writing, but it bugged me. I heard a lot of others had really low scores also, which helped me to know I wasn’t the only one judged so harshly. Then I read through some of the emails I keep from readers. Emails they sent to tell me how much they loved my stories, how they touched them, or gave them hope, or made them feel anything was possible. Not every reader is going to love my books, and that’s okay. I write for the ones who do! Me: If you had to pick a mental disorder to have for only one day (purely for writer research purposes), which one would you choose? Why? Mary: I think any of them would be incredible to experience for a day, but I’d have to choose PTSD. It’s one of those things that fascinates me because it isn’t chemical or genetic. You still can’t control PTSD, but it’s different because you can treat it with therapy unlike many other mental disorders. I considered for a long time becoming a psychiatrist, so really, all of these are very interesting to me. I’d love to be able to understand what people are really going through. Me: How did you know you wanted to be a writer? Mary: I didn’t! I have a BS in Chemical Engineering and had been working for eleven years in my field when I decided I hated it. I talked to my husband and tried to come up with something I’d rather do. He suggested writing since I always loved to read. I did some research and found a lot of advice saying you couldn’t make a living as just a writer, you had to write and speak and teach and… So I tried that for a little while, but it wasn’t much better than engineering. My husband again encouraged me to just write. I finally tried it and found I absolutely loved it. I haven’t looked back since! Me: What causes stress in your writing life? Why? Mary: Changes to my schedule. I don’t deal well when something goes wrong, and a day I planned for one thing ends up as something else. My kids are still in elementary school, so snow days (we live outside Buffalo, New York) are a regular occurrence for us. If I had a day planned, and there’s a snow day, it really throws me off. I’m trying to build in more flexible time in my schedule, but there isn’t much for a procrastinator like me! Me: Tell me about your contemporary romance Order vs. Chaos Mary: Paradise is not like I remembered… My curvy, sexy new boss has a chip on her shoulder the size of The Big Island. And it’s all because […]