Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m one of those people who lives to write. It is in my blood. I have kept myself organized with lists and journals for as long as I can remember. The story telling is a craft I have fine-tuned because…..I guess I was just born that way. I was imagining stories before I could write them. Every time I finish one story I wonder if I can write another…and then I do. For me, writing is as natural as breathing. It is how I organize my thoughts. It is how I express my feelings and defend my actions. Writing is how I breathe.
I’m a country girl. Never lived in a city; never wanted to live near a city. I love the unique sounds and smells of country living. Country living is versatile–peaceful most of the time. It can also be hectic and just down right chaotic. Especially on a productive cattle and grain farm.
I spent many years writing about my life as a farmer’s wife, a young mother, a teacher and an aspiring writer. I have always wanted to ‘remember’ life on family farms and rural living in general so I try to incorporate those aspects of my life in my fictional stories. More than anything…I just want to imagine…
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Robin Unaware is the 4th edition to my Birds in Peril series. Here is a synopsis of that series:
Five women met, fell in love with and married men who aided the arrest and subsequent imprisonment of Sheldon Humsler. Even though the events that disrupted their lives, do not necessarily involve Humsler, they certainly invoke the conviction that one day Humsler will find a way to enact his revenge. All of these women and the men they marry are in some way closely connected to Humsler’s arch enemies, Benton Cromwell, T.J. Harvester and Thad Hunt. Because of Humsler, Benton Cromwell’s life and livelihood have become so precarious he now lives as an invalid on borrowed time. However, his friends, T.J. Harvester and Thad Hunt continue to grow in family and in deed. Both are well loved by many. The time is near when a final confrontation with Humsler must occur. Humsler has an accomplice…someone closely connected to Hunt….but who could that possibly be?
#1 Pigeon in a Snare (Lisa’s story)
#2 Roses for the Sparrow (Jani’s story)
#3Plight of the Wren (Susie’s story)
#4Robin Unaware is Stephanie’s story
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Is being a night owl unusual? For some, I guess it is. For me, the quiet sounds of the night when the T.V. is off, the phone is unlikely to ring and my husband has gone to sleep are the most productive hours for me. Those or the hours I write.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
My all time favorite book is Ashes in the Wind by Kathleen Woodiwiss.
I have a long list of other favorites. I tend to read romance or ‘people stories’ but I like science fiction and historical novels too
What are you working on now?
I am in the very beginnings of Birds in Peril #5 Challenge the Eagle. It will be Sylvia’s story. I am also considering publishing another story that has been with me for a very long time (Sweet Pea). Sweet Pea is more of a nostalgic love/life story that spans about 40 years from the late 1960’s into 2009. I hope to be able to publish both books sometime in the later part of 2016.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
All the Awesomegang connections, of course!
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Just write. You are the only one who can take those words out of your head and apply them to paper or computer screen.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Finish it. Once when I was struggling and wondering why I bothered, a romance writer friend told me (ordered me actually) ‘Just finish it!” She said, “You can decide what you want to do with your manuscript after you’ve written it. But if you won’t do anything at all if you don’t finish that story first.” That advice has become my mantra.
What are you reading now?
I’m between books. I just read Dana Perino’s “And the Good News Is” (loved it, btw). I haven’t begun to read another book yet. I will soon…I have a stack of them waiting…mostly romantic fiction or action adventure
What’s next for you as a writer?
We had a really busy fall with farm work and getting Robin prepped to publish. And, we endured a few anguished months in that my mother-in-law died in October and in November I experienced the dreaded ‘lump’ in one breast. I also discovered I was legally blind in one eye because of a cataract. In between all of that, my wash machine and my vacuum both went caput. So, I had the necessary surgeries to correct my health problems in December 2015. All the pathology reports were negative and I have acquired near 20/20 vision in the eye where the cataract was removed. Last week I bought a new washer and a new vacuum and on January 24, 2016 my husband and I celebrated our 35th wedding anniversary. NOW….I just want to write. I want to throw everything else out the door into the cold and the snow while I sit in my cluttered little office and write Sylvia’s story (Birds #5)
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
my Kindle (well charged)
The Bible, a prayer manual
and a photograph album of my loved ones
Author Websites and Profiles
Mary Elizabeth Fricke Website
Mary Elizabeth Fricke Amazon Profile
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