Mary Losure Author Interview + Giveaway
Mary Losure is the August, Minnesota Author in the Spotlight here on Booksnob and she has agreed to answer some questions about her new book Wild Boy. Read on to discover the story behind Wild Boy and to find how she began writing narrative non-fiction. Mary also shares the some information about the new book she is working on and so much more. Read on and enjoy!
Welcome, Mary!
1. Tell us a little bit about yourself?
Before I started writing for children, I was a reporter. And before that, my husband and I had a farm in Iowa. So I’ve had several previous lives!
2. What inspired you to write to Wild Boy?
I ran across the story of the wild boy in my reading, and I couldn’t help wondering: what would it be like to be wild? What is inside the mind of a person who is both human and wild? The more I read
3. Can you tell us why or when you decided to become a writer and why you chose to write narrative non-fiction instead of fiction?
I became a reporter more or less by accident, and after that I wrote every day. Then around ten years ago, I began covering a long-running news story with some interesting twists and turns I thought would make good narrative non-fiction. My first book, OUR WAY OR THE HIGHWAY, came out in 2002 from the University of Minnesota Press. A few years after that, I decided I wanted to write books full time.
4. How much research is involved when you write non-fiction?
TONS! Let me say it again -- TONS. You have to love research, you have to be a little bit crazy, to write children’s non-fiction that requires the amount of research I put into my books.
5. From idea to publication, how long does it take to write one non-fiction book?
I always have more than one book going and work on them in turn, so it’s hard to say exactly. But each book takes several years.
6. Do you like to read? What authors or books influence you?
I love to read.
As an author, I’ve been influenced most by journalists who write narrative nonfiction I admire. I’m thinking of non-fiction bestsellers (for grownups) like INTO THE WILD, THE ORCHID THIEF, FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS, THE RIGHT STUFF.
7. What is the most important lesson/idea you want readers to take away from your book?
I would like my child readers to be inspired to think more about the real world and what an amazing place it is –how many interesting things go on in real life, not just in fiction.
8. Are you working on a third non-fiction book for children? If so, can you tell us what it is about?
I am!
It’s about an angry, lonely 12-year-old boy who’s looking for magic and grows up to be the world’s greatest alchemist. At the very, very end of the book he becomes famous as the great scientist Isaac Newton (since on the way to becoming an alchemist, he’s discovered the laws of the universe). But for most of the book he’s this very strange, very secretive person: the world’s last sorcerer. It’s called ISAAC THE ALCHEMIST.
9. How do you carve time out of you busy day to write? Do you have any advice for future writers?
I’m lucky in that I’m a full time writer, so I don’t really have to carve time away from the rest of my life the way a lot of people do. I write in the mornings, get other things done in the afternoons.
To kids, I would say: go out and live adventurously, think of lots of things you’d like to do, and be, and lots of places you’d like to go. Then, if you do end up wanting to write books, you’ll have something to write about.
To grownups, I would say: if you want to write, write. Be patient and persistent, and remember that everyone has a different path.
10. Tell us in one sentence why we should read Wild Boy?
Because you’re curious to see how a twelve-year-old boy who managed to survive all by himself for years in the wilderness will fare in the world of humans.
Thanks Mary!!
If you would like to win a copy of Mary Losure's book Wild Boy please click here: Wild Boy Giveaway
