Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’ve been writing off and on for the last 28 years. After seeing a few magazine articles published, I wrote a Christmas play, and eventually accomplished my goal of writing a novel. In fact I wrote a series of inspirational novels for middle grade students about teens who bring their baggage to summer camp and learn how to carry it. The stories were based on my experience growing up at a Bible camp in WI, as well as issues I saw my kids’ friends dealing with as they were growing up.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is See No Evil, Book 3 in the Rustic Knoll Bible Camp series. The character was inspired by a teenage boy who attended the camp where I lived. He was blind, and in the days before handicap modifications were required, it seemed odd for him to come to camp. But he fit right in and we were all impressed with how much he was capable of. In my book, the main character is a blind, but capable 17-yr.-old who wants to enter a triathlon in hopes it will relieve him of some of the guilt he feels over his use of pornography while his dad was dying of a heart attack.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I love being outside, so a lot of my writing is done on my patio. I can look up and enjoy the scenery, and as long as we’re outside, my dog doesn’t interrupt me. I also find that a pre-dawn walk usually helps when I’m stuck and trying to figure out a scene or a problem with the story. The darkness makes me focus on the problem and keeps me from getting distracted by things around me, and the exercise gets the blood flowing to the brain and helps me think.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
I loved Jan Karon’s Mitford Series. The characters she creates in the setting of a small town and their inter-relationships make me feel at home in her stories. That was probably my first inkling of the importance of character in a novel.
What are you working on now?
I’m attempting to graduate to adult novels, and working on developing an idea for a mystery/suspense novel. I can’t say much more because it’s still in the very early stages of planning.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’ll let you know as soon as I figure that out!
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Be patient. And understand that while writing may be a hobby for you, publishing is a business which will require you to become a business person. You’ll have to learn about marketing and sales and the publishing industry. So take your time, hone your writing and get help from a professional editor so that you’re work is the very best it can be when you submit your proposal.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Write something every single day.
What are you reading now?
Right now, I’m reading other mystery and suspense authors to study how they set up their stories and what makes them interesting. I’m very interested in Colleen Coble’s Rock Harbor series.
What’s next for you as a writer?
I’m not sure whether I’ll continue writing middle grade stories or not. It depends on how much success I find in the adult mystery/suspense genre. I might try that genre for middle grade at some point.
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?
The Bible, At Home In Mitford, When Crickets Cry by Charles Martin, and The Shack by William P. Young.
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Mary Hamilton Website
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