Mary Moore Interview

I’m welcoming Mary Moore to The Borrowed Book today. Mary has been an avid student of the Regency-era since the 1970’s and is a member of the American Christian Fiction Writer’s historic fiction community as well as a member of the Faith, Hope and Love and Beau Monde chapters of the RWA.  She has been writing historical fiction for over fifteen years but had to put her writing on hold due to some health issues, including a bout with breast cancer. Now she is even more excited about her writing as she incorporates some of her struggles throughout her books; dedicated to encouraging others in the Lord and using her stories for His glory.  A native of the Washington, DC area, she and her husband live in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains of southwest Virginia, with their black lab, Darcy.  When not writing, Mary enjoys time with her husband, watching romantic movies, reading and weekend get-aways.

When did you first know that you wanted to be a writer?

I hope people won’t get bored with my answers!  I actually never “wanted” to be a writer!  I love Regencies and I wrote several of my own about 15 years ago.  Sometimes I still think, am I a writer? :0)  I hope so, because NOW I know I want to be a writer.



 I know the feeling. After you started writing, how long did it take you to make your first sale?

Hopefully, this won’t cause chagrin to aspiring authors out there, I know it doesn’t have to be this long, but it took all of those 15 years!  Although, very little of that time was actually trying to be published.  I think that when a few people talked me into trying to see if I could get my stories published, it didn’t happen on purpose.  I can clearly see now that this has all been in God’s timing.  I wouldn’t have been able to make my characters relatable back then.  I know trials and suffering wouldn’t have been realistic without the trials and suffering I’ve had to deal with in my own life.  So 15 years was the perfect time for me!

I'm glad you persevered. You are now a published author and have just had a book release from Love Inspired Historical. What's the name of it?

The Aristocrat’s Lady

Give us a blurb about it.

This is the blurb from the back of the book:

For a few moments on a moonlit balcony, Nicole Beaumont was just a beautiful woman catching the eye of the handsome Lord Devlin-but she knew the illusion couldn’t last.  If the enigmatic aristocrat knew her secret, he’d realize that her disability left her unfit for love.  So who could blame her for hiding the truth a little longer?

Devlin had never met a woman like Nicole.  Her unique combination of innocence and wisdom left him utterly intrigued.  Yet what was she hiding?  For a man who did not trust easily, discovering her secret was devastating.  Overcoming their pasts and forging a future would take faith, forgiveness and trust.  And second chances could lead to new beginnings….

 

It sounds like a wonderful book. What inspirational message do you want readers to take away after reading your book?

You know I almost hate to limit it the message.  When we got the manuscript polished and ready to submit, my agent wanted to send it out to five target readers to see if there were still ways to make it even better.  All of the target readers were asked specific questions, one of which was “what do you think the theme of the story was.”  Do you know we got five different answers, none of which matched mine!  At first I was really dismayed about that, but my agent pointed out that this was a story that touched each reader differently, making it intensely personal just for them.  That was an awesome blessing I didn’t expect from God!  So is it OK if I say that there was no one specific message to the book? :0)

Which character in the book is your favorite? Why? 

Wow, that is a really hard question!  I love how each of them turned out.  But I guess if I have to limit it to one, I’d have to pick Lady Nicole.  I gave her all of the characteristics I would like to have.  She is strong and funny and loving and always puts the needs of others before her own.  And she has tremendous faith.  I think readers will really relate to her because she is all of those things but very approachable and easy to love.

Where one has lived often affects the settings a writer uses in his/her stories. Have you found this to be true in your writing?  

No, that hasn’t been true for me.  My book is set in Regency England which is nothing like where I have lived!  I grew up in the suburbs of Washington, DC and my husband and I now live in the Blue Ridge Mountains of southwestern Virginia.  Neither of those comes close! :0)

How do you juggle all your responsibilities and still find time to write?

I don’t!  Since this is my first novel, I felt like I needed to learn everything I could about each phase of the process.  I have been on many email “loops” that, seriously, could take up 100% of my life, if I let it.  I finally narrowed it down to the few I thought would help me learn the most and I have spent a ton of time there.  Then working with my agent, Jenni Burke and my editor, Rachel Burkot, on getting the story edited, polished, promoted and published has been very time consuming, but worthwhile.  As I am ending the full circle process this weekend with a book signing, I think I have a better idea of the time management that is necessary to juggle a personal life and an author’s life.  It’s just in time, too, because I think my husband and my dog are just about to mutiny!

What are you working on now? Can we expect other books to release soon?  

Oh yes, I hope so!  As I said, most of my active promotion is almost over for this book (never completely ending, but not as intense).  I am hopeful that I have the next couple of months available to finalize my second Regency.  I’m praying that the promotion of this first one will create an interest in readers for a second one and will find a home with my publisher.

For the aspiring writers who may be reading this, what advice would you give them?

I guess it is a cliché, but I would advise patience and preparation.  Write a wonderful story (that is paramount) then do the preparation and due diligence for getting an agent or going directly to a publishing house.  Once you have submitted, patience is required.  It may take some time to hear back from them, but they will let you know.  Even after a sale, the amount of time and work that is needed to get to the end product is tremendous.  But, trust me, it is worth the wait!

Is there anything else you’d like to tell us that I haven’t asked? 

First, I’d like to thank you for this opportunity to let people know about the book and a little bit about me.  I have truly appreciated it.  And I would like to ask that readers let me know what they think of the book if they read it.  For as many years as I’ve been reading, I had no idea authors really wanted to hear from us!  There are so many authors I enjoy, but I never let them know it on their website or gave a review on Amazon or Goodreads.  I am sincerely interested in knowing!  Thanks again, Sandra.

Thank you, Mary, for stopping by for this interview. I wish you the best in your writing journey, and I know we are going to see many more wonderful books from you.

Mary is right about authors wanting to know what readers think. She would love to see some comments from our readers who have read her book, who think it sounds interesting, or who just want to encourage an author with her first release. I hope you'll leave a message for her today. 

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