Interview with Mary E. DeMuth
Talented storyteller Mary E. DeMuth's Watching the Tree Limbs is up for a 2007 Christy Award for best first novel. The book's sequel, Wishing on Dandelions, is up for a Retailer's Choice Award for best general fiction. Mary has also published two non-fiction books, and her newest book, Authentic Parenting in a Postmodern Culture, will be released on July 1.
You can read more of Mary's writing at her blog and web site. I love reading her essays at The Master's Artist, a thought-provoking group blog with excellent writing.
I discovered while browsing your web site that one of my favorite movies is also one of yours--Strictly Ballroom! Who is your favorite character?
That crazy make-up faced mother! She was priceless.
When did you first consider yourself a writer?
When I read the Publisher’s Weekly very nice review of Watching the Tree Limbs. Until then, I wondered if I’d make it as a writer, or if other professionals would see talent. Reading this brought me a lot of confidence.
Do you have any preference for writing fiction or non-fiction?
I prefer fiction because I love telling stories. If you’ve read my nonfiction, you’ll see that I tell a lot of stories, which goes to show I’m a storyteller at heart.
What type of books do you most like to read? Who are your biggest influences?
Fiction that’s so beautifully written it takes my breath away: Peace Like a River by Leif Enger, The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd, The Kite Runner by Kholed Hosseini, Til We Have Faces by C. S. Lewis, The Book of the Dun Cow by Walter Wangerin, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee.
In nonfiction, I need books that say something new and fresh. I enjoyed Girl Meets God by Lauren Winner, Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller, and Traveling Mercies by Anne Lamott.
How much of your writing is based on your own life?
All of it and none of it! As a writer, I draw on what’s inside my head (which can be a chaotic, strange place). Obviously, what’s inside my head is a compilation of my experience. The book Building the Christian Family You Never Had is completely autobiographical.
Can you tell me about your new book, Authentic Parenting in a Postmodern Culture and where the idea for it originated?
I wrote it in France where I was parenting my three amazing children in the hotbed of postmodernism. It occurred to me that what we learned may just be a blessing to parents in America. We need to think of parenting differently as we prepare our kids to integrate well into their culture—to integrate in such a way that they’ll be salt and light, not taken over by it.
How long were you in France, and what brought you there?
We were in France 2 ½ years. We wanted to go somewhere where there was a lot of need spiritually, and boy was there! (is there!).
Is there anything else you'd like to add?
Everyone should rent STRICTLY BALLROOM. And when you do, leave a comment on my blog about it. I loved-loved-loved that movie.
Me too! One of my favorite movie characters ever is Doug Hastings, Scott's Dad. Thanks for chatting with me, Mary!
Mary is currently working on a novel set in Texas centered on a missing girl, as well as a spiritual memoir, so we can look forward to more of her writing. Hop on over to Mary's blog and say hello. (Comments are greatly welcomed here, too!)
There's also plenty of time left to join The Christy Challenge, which you can find out more about here.
You can read more of Mary's writing at her blog and web site. I love reading her essays at The Master's Artist, a thought-provoking group blog with excellent writing.
***************
I discovered while browsing your web site that one of my favorite movies is also one of yours--Strictly Ballroom! Who is your favorite character?
That crazy make-up faced mother! She was priceless.
When did you first consider yourself a writer?
When I read the Publisher’s Weekly very nice review of Watching the Tree Limbs. Until then, I wondered if I’d make it as a writer, or if other professionals would see talent. Reading this brought me a lot of confidence.
Do you have any preference for writing fiction or non-fiction?
I prefer fiction because I love telling stories. If you’ve read my nonfiction, you’ll see that I tell a lot of stories, which goes to show I’m a storyteller at heart.
What type of books do you most like to read? Who are your biggest influences?
Fiction that’s so beautifully written it takes my breath away: Peace Like a River by Leif Enger, The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd, The Kite Runner by Kholed Hosseini, Til We Have Faces by C. S. Lewis, The Book of the Dun Cow by Walter Wangerin, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee.
In nonfiction, I need books that say something new and fresh. I enjoyed Girl Meets God by Lauren Winner, Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller, and Traveling Mercies by Anne Lamott.
How much of your writing is based on your own life?
All of it and none of it! As a writer, I draw on what’s inside my head (which can be a chaotic, strange place). Obviously, what’s inside my head is a compilation of my experience. The book Building the Christian Family You Never Had is completely autobiographical.
Can you tell me about your new book, Authentic Parenting in a Postmodern Culture and where the idea for it originated?
I wrote it in France where I was parenting my three amazing children in the hotbed of postmodernism. It occurred to me that what we learned may just be a blessing to parents in America. We need to think of parenting differently as we prepare our kids to integrate well into their culture—to integrate in such a way that they’ll be salt and light, not taken over by it.
How long were you in France, and what brought you there?
We were in France 2 ½ years. We wanted to go somewhere where there was a lot of need spiritually, and boy was there! (is there!).
Is there anything else you'd like to add?
Everyone should rent STRICTLY BALLROOM. And when you do, leave a comment on my blog about it. I loved-loved-loved that movie.
***************
Me too! One of my favorite movie characters ever is Doug Hastings, Scott's Dad. Thanks for chatting with me, Mary!
Mary is currently working on a novel set in Texas centered on a missing girl, as well as a spiritual memoir, so we can look forward to more of her writing. Hop on over to Mary's blog and say hello. (Comments are greatly welcomed here, too!)
There's also plenty of time left to join The Christy Challenge, which you can find out more about here.
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Great interview! I've never heard of the movie Strictly Ballroom. I'll have to check it out, and how interesting that she writes bought fiction and non-fiction.