About (Biography)
Born and raised in Southgate, Michigan, Mary attended Southgate Anderson High School where she thrived in the theater department. Upon graduation, she was determined to go to college to become an actor. It didn’t occur to her to become a writer, even though she had kept a journal since she was twelve.
During her first year at Eastern Michigan University, Mary took an Economics class and immediately got hooked on the study of money. She changed majors to Economics so she could get a “solid paying job.” Mary worked her way through college as a Bank Teller, spending her downtime writing short farcical stories featuring her fellow employees.
After college Mary continued to work in various capacities at a new bank while pursuing an MBA. She was attracted to the Marketing department where she could write copy for promotional brochures and customer letters.
Mary left banking for several sales positions, eventually completing her MBA and landing the West Coast Sales Manager position at The Maytag Company, where she was dubbed “The Loneliest Girl in Town.” She worked alongside Gordon Jump (Maytag’s popular “Ole Lonely”) at trade shows where he captivated Mary with stories of his career as an actor, author and motivational speaker.
Next, Mary joined the prestigious sales training company, Learning International. She parlayed that position into a prominent role at Development Dimensions International (DDI), one of the largest executive training companies in the world. It was in the corporate training industry where Mary learned that words could change lives. After all, at their core her training solutions were only thoughts on a page, were they not?
So it made sense when she left DDI to raise a family she began writing in earnest. She turned first to baby magazines and newspapers. When her local paper held a contest for the best Valentine’s essay, Mary came in first place with her story, A Valentine for my Father, which depicted her father’s last days before succumbing to Multiple Myeloma on Valentine’s Day, 1997.
She enrolled in a two year correspondence course from the Institute of Children’s Literature, focusing on Writing for Children and Teenagers.
She penned her first book, a memoir titled, Mind Chatter: Stories from the Squirrel Cage, in 2005. Chapter Twenty Two, Better Ways, took Honorable Mention in the inspirational category for Writer’s Digest.
Mary joined Willamette Writers, one of the nation’s largest writing associations, and worked on their conference committee for four years, first as Program Coordinator, and then Agents and Editors Coordinator and Co-Chair. She was also a monthly columnist for the eZines, Writers on the Rise and Writer Mama, focusing on sharing her expertise on how to negotiate the writers’ conference terrain.
Her second book, Bitsy’s Labyrinth, was picked up by the reputable Andrea Brown Literary Agency. Later, Mary moved with her agent to the Kimberley Cameron Agency where her book was marketed to publishing houses.
Mary enrolled in a screenwriting class taught by Emmy-nominated Cynthia Whitcomb. A break came when her friend gave the unpublished manuscript to an Indie Producer in LA. He read the manuscript, loved it and asked Mary to pen the screenplay. Fortunately, Mary had learned screenplay structure! The screenplay was in development for six months before money dried up and production was canceled. The time spent on screenwriting was not wasted, however, because it taught Mary how to make Bitsy’s Labyrinth a better story. She rewrote the story and it was subsequently published as a Young Adult novel in 2011.
Mary now serves as an active Board Member at Willamette Writers, bringing in monthly speakers to inspire the troops as well as write the monthly feature article in The Willamette Writer.
She is busy working on her second screenplay, a romantic comedy. She teaches classes every year at the Willamette Writers conference, instructing participants on how to make the most of the conference.
A happily married mother of two, Mary considers writing “the best job in the world,” and encourages you to do what you love, regardless the outcome.
