We recently connected with Mary Perrine and have shared our conversation below.

Mary, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.

When I was three, I learned to read because I had a bossy older sister who wanted to be a teacher. I learned to write when I was four because my mom taught me to use my imagination. She said, “Watch people and make their story bigger!” Essentially, she taught me to lie. That’s a skill that comes in handy as a writer. From that point in my life, I always knew I would become an author. I did, however, lose sight of that goal for a couple of years. At twelve, I got a guitar and became focused on only one thing: becoming a member of the Partridge Family. (My uncle lived with Jack Cassidy, but that didn’t even get me an audition.)

When the time came to declare a major, my mom nixed the author road in favor of a job that made real money. So, I took a thirty-six-year detour through the educational system, primarily teaching middle schoolers because they are as fun and quirky as I am. I never intended to become a teacher. Before I could register for college, the university required me to declare a major. My boyfriend said, “Just put down teacher. That’s an easy job.” (I married that dope.) Honestly, teaching was one of the most rewarding jobs I could ever have fallen into. I won numerous awards because I gave it my all. I attempted to write while teaching but could not do both well, so I set writing aside. I took early retirement and decided to attempt the career I knew I was always meant to have.

Authors write what they know and experience. Because of that, I am a much better writer than when I was younger. Life has provided me with experiences from which to draw. Teaching writing and having a sense of humor have made me a better writer. Writers must be creative. That was what my mom taught me when we sat on the bench in our small town and created outrageous stories about people we saw.

To be honest, I would not have wanted to speed up my career. I needed the experience to write believable, dynamic characters and situations. Without that, books are just words on a page. 

Mary, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

As a writer, I am an entertainer. I help people leave their problems behind, even if for only 350 pages. I give them something to look forward to, characters to love and to hate, situations they can see and experience. I only write about things I have researched in depth. And even though I focus on mysteries and dramas, every book always has a thread of humor.

In the writing world, I am known as a pantser. That means I write by the seat of my pants. In other words, I let the story and the characters take me wherever they want. Some may see my lack of planning as an obstacle, but I see it as a gift. It allows me to be creative and flexible. For that, I am grateful. My husband will often ask me how my writing is going, and my response is almost always, “You’re never going to believe what happened between this character and this one today.” Honestly, I am often as surprised as my readers.

Everything is a learning process—including writing. You can take classes, but like all other creative endeavors, you learn best on the job. That was another lesson I learned from my mom. (She passed away in March at the age of 91.) Speaking of creativity, she will be buried in her 1970s crockpot because she was a “food devil” and was too cheap to buy an urn. (I included that story in my book, Outside the Lines.) Because authors write what they know. I have written books on abuse, death, the loss of a child (I’ve had five miscarriages and a tubal pregnancy), and generational trauma.

I am extremely proud of my character development and depth of writing. Readers tell me I can make them love and hate a character within the same line. And I can make them laugh and ugly cry as they read my stories. I put them in the story. They feel the gut-wrenching or lightheartedness of each chapter. I’ve been told there’s a movie running through their head because the images are so clear and well-developed.

Being an author means I am finally living my dream. It doesn’t get a lot better than this.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

Being an author is challenging. It’s more than crafting the perfect story. Unless you find an agent who lands your book with one of the big five publishers, you are out there on your own: marketing, selling, and branding yourself. You’re exhausted. Yet, there is nothing I would rather be doing.

Growing up in the middle of five brothers and one sister (eleven years older than me), I used storytelling to escape and humor to survive. Sometimes, survival requires creativity. At night, my mom used to tell me, “Your brothers didn’t kill you today, so you have something to be grateful for.” Even though she was a comedian in her own right, she never missed an opportunity to tell us how incredibly proud she was of us. She taught us to work hard and play hard (and how to replace windows before Dad came home on Friday nights.) However, the most significant things we learned from her were to be proud of ourselves and never give up.

Multiple times, I could have refused to start a book for an idea floating around in my head or delete the story I was working on, but I didn’t. I pushed forward, no matter how challenging it got. I think that’s what I am most proud of–not giving up. And because I didn’t, I have readers telling me they are anxiously awaiting the release of my next novel. There is so much joy in talking to readers. I think about them as I write. I am so grateful to have them in my corner. They are the most rewarding part of being an author.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

When I finished my first novel, a friend suggested a new publishing company that seemed to have their act together. They were small but appeared to be very hands-on. I didn’t know they were only interested in putting their hands on my money—what I earned from sales. When my book was released, it was poorly done. I was mortified. I demanded it be fixed and rereleased, but they refused. Still, it sold a lot of copies. However, when it was time to receive my royalty check, the publisher changed the pay schedule from monthly to quarterly. And when the quarter whizzed by without pay, the owner’s only response was in an email in which he gaslighted his authors. According to him, we were all horrible, disgusting people after only one thing—money. A few months later, he shut down the business, walked away with everyone’s money, and refused to remove books from sites. For all I know, he is still making money from them. I eventually got the rights to my novel back, and another small company also picked up the original book and my second one.

By my third novel, I had wised up. I chose a publisher who had been in business for over twenty years and had great reviews. Life was good because she knew what she was doing and kept me in the loop about everything. But when royalties were to be paid, I heard nothing. Two weeks later, I got an email saying the publisher had passed away and had left no will and no one in charge of her business. That book also sold like crazy, but I did not receive a dime. Again, I was able to get the rights to my book reverted to me, but it is still out there because the publisher must pull it down. Someone is making money on those copies. It’s just not me.

After those two experiences, I could have walked away from my dream, but I was taught to be a survivor. Nothing is handed to you on a silver platter or even a hunk of crumpled aluminum. You have to fight for it. And if it’s important enough, you keep fighting. Life isn’t a sprint. It’s a journey. And even though I’ve been flung off a few cliffs as I’ve traveled these trails, I’ve landed on my feet. Still, it would be nice to have someone stop dangling the carrot in front of me and just let me have it.

Contact Info:

• Website: MaryPerrine.com
• Instagram: maryeperrine__author
• Facebook: Mary Perrine – Author
• Twitter: @MaryEPerrine