Spotlight Sunday - Mary Hughes -

Welcome to Spotlight Sunday. I’m Liz Gavin and today I’m thrilled to introduce you to Mary Hughes!

Thank you so much for having me here today, Liz!

LG: Where are you from?

Midwest USA, on the snowier side of the country.

LG: Do you have hobbies? What’s your favorite pastime?

First, I read!

I also play flute (and piccolo, but we don’t talk about that) in our local orchestra and band. My favorite pastime is Friday evenings, watching the YouTube gems my son has discovered during the week. First We Feast’s Hot Ones (the show with hot questions and even hotter wings) and the Nostalgia Critic are personal favorites.

LG: If you had a TARDIS – or any other time machine – would you revisit any period of your life? If so, what advice would you give your younger self?

Sure! I’d visit myself and say, “I found a TARDIS! Want a ride?” The only thing more fun would be if the Doctor happened to be along. Oh, I might give my younger self advice to buy stock in Microsoft and Amazon. Money can’t buy happiness, but it can buy books, and that’s almost the same thing.

LG: Tell us about something your readers would be surprised to learn about you.

I deal with the long daily commute by pretending I’m a race-car driver, hugging the curves with my rusty old car with really great tires.

On second thought, my readers might not be so surprised at that.

LG: What was the kindest, nicest thing anyone has ever done to you? Was it unexpected?

I feel fortunate with each and every kindness someone grants me. Even day-to-day activities can be blessings if you understand it comes from the other person being just as overworked, overwhelmed, overtired, and overstressed as you are. Many people have been kind to me but the first time that stands out is when I was a new driver on the freeway and my car started spewing smoke from the engine compartment. I had no idea what to do and was frightened. A kind lady herded me to the side of the road and helped me get home.

LG: How long have you been an author? Why did you decide to write?

I first published in 2009, though I wrote my first romance in junior high school. For me, creative expression is as essential as breathing. Before I wrote seriously, I composed music. Before that, I drew comic strips. The drawings were pretty bad, but I had fun creating stories about my friends and me and our adventures as spies. My friends enjoyed them, too.

LG: Is there any message from your upcoming Night’s Kiss (the Ancients Series book 2) with which you wanted readers to walk away?

Many of my novels are the result of me asking myself a hard question about life and using the characters to work out the answers. Night’s Kiss is no exception. Are we better off alone? The easy answer is that we’re not, but my characters must go beyond the easy answer to get to their happily ever after.

LG: Have you ever learned something surprising about yourself while researching and/or writing a book? If so, could you share it with us?

Oh, yes. When I worked in banking and other intensely profession (and sometimes straitlaced) fields, I found myself feeling out of place and weird. My first published book, Biting Nixie (Biting Love book 2), is a reflection of that. I explored the question – when, if ever, is it okay to be weird? Nixie is a punk musician with the rock/polka-fusion band Guns and Polkas. She discovers her answer in talking with her enemy-turned-lover, lawyer (and vampire) Julian. She uses the metaphor that she wants to play improv all the time. Julian helps her discover that it’s fine – even necessary – to do improv in the solo passages, but when the whole group plays, for the music to sound good, she must follow what’s written. I’ve taken her good advice to heart.

LG: Please provide all your contact information so our readers can stalk you.