Interview with Author Mary Connealy

Today, I have the honor of talking with Mary Connealy, multi-published author and Christy Finalist for her book, Calico Canyon. A romance writer since she was twelve, Mary leaves the confines of her cosy office to visit West Michigan to promote her latest release, Gingham Mountain, the third book of her Lassoed in Texas Series.

I thoroughly enjoyed your latest release, Gingham Mountain, the third installment of your series, Lassoed in Texas. Could you please tell us a little bit about it?

A rancher runs head-on into the new school marm, who believes he’s made slave labor out of eight orphaned children. Rancher Grant Cooper runs head-on into the new school marm, Hannah Cartwright who thinks he crowds too many orphans into his rickety house, just like her cruel father. Grant's family of orphans have been mistreated too many times by judgmental school teachers. Now Hannah is being cranky just like all the others, except she isn't really bad to his children…it's Grant she can't stand.

And none of that would be so bad if Grant didn’t catch himself kissing Hannah every chance he got.

You’ve done a great deal of research to make your stories feel authentic. Is research a part of the writing process you like?

Well, I say I hate it…but I hate it because it sucks me in. I’ll find out an hour has gone by while I try to figure out if there was a train coming into El Paso in 1883…and I got off on some sidetrack and am now reading about The Younger Brothers or studying if a puma, mountain lion and wildcat are all the same animal. Or did laudanum come in a bottle sold widely or did you have to be a doctor. Or were there colleges who would admit women and what paperwork did you need to be a pastor, legally able to perform a wedding. So, I love research but I know it’s a time sink.


What's the most fun/interesting/crazy/scary/unique hands-on research you've done for a book?

I had a fair amount of fun with my husband’s rifle recently. I was trying to describe how the heroine (yes, heroine) got her rifle into action fast. How would she wear it, strapped on her back, hanging from her shoulder? Did she grab it with both hands? Could she have managed with one? My husband, Quick-Draw and I fooled with that gun a long time. It’s heavy!

In Gingham Mountain, I enjoyed the fact that the conflict often ended in comic chaos. Was that difficult for you to write?

For me, the most difficult parts to write are also my favorites. I like chaos in a scene. I like movement and comedy, dialogue and confusion. I love the scene where the townspeople come into school and demand Grant remove his children because they’re a bad influence on the rest of the students. Hannah’s defending her own teaching skills. Grant wants to take his children and leave. Some of the parents are on Grant’s side, most are against him. It’s a big blow up of a scene. Then Grant and Hannah have a big fight, mainly because they’re so stirred up, which turns into a kiss that just makes everything worse. That was lots of fun to write, and I changed it around a lot, tweaking, mixing in dialogue and tags and movement.

There’s also a scene with Grant and Charlie that is, I hope, well done. Charlie wants to run away. He’s so used to life being a disappointment that he just can’t believe this new home won’t somehow be taken from him and he’s determined to leave before he’s thrown out. I try to tackle some really tough questions about suffering and where God is in that.

Some writers love plotting, some like writing that first draft while others enjoying digging into the revisions. What's your favorite part about writing a book? Be sure to come back tomorrow for the second half of my interview with Mary Connealy and don't forget to post a comment for your opportunity to win a copy of her latest release, Gingham Mountain.