Word's Very First Author Interview - Ever!

Hmmmm. What should we talk about today? Oh, I know! How about Mary Cunningham's latest book, Curse of the Bayou? Better yet, why don't we let Mary talk about it? Hold on a sec. I better check with her first. Whew, Mary says, "Fuh Sho!" So away we go!


Hi Mary!
First of all, congrats on the publication of your third book, Curse of the Bayou, in the Cynthia’s Attic Series. I understand a fourth book is on the way! We’re all looking forward to seeing what precarious situation you put poor Cynthia and Gus in.

Thanks, Donna. I'm so happy to be your first interview! Yep, I'm a whole 2 chapters into Book Four, and still don't have a working title. That's a first for me, but I'm very excited about the direction of this one.

Speaking of precarious situations, Curse of the Bayou is full of them! Somehow Cynthia and Gus always seem to get themselves out of some pretty tight spots, though. Were there any situations you put them in, where you weren’t immediately sure how you would get them out?

Oh, several! Although, the girls always seemed to manage to escape, and rather creatively, so I have to give them most of the credit. For instance, I thought they were goners when they were captured by the evil pirates. The same when they were left stranded in the bayou after their guide, Mud Bug, and his canoe, Peaches, "disappeared."

In Curse of the Bayou, our heroines, Cynthia and Gus must find Cynthia’s missing Great Grandfather, Beau Conner and his watch which holds the best kept secret of the Bayou. Is there a story behind the story of Beau Conner and his watch? What was your inspiration for this fabulous tale?

The story is loosely based on the true disappearance of my great-great-grandfather. He was taking a load of produce down the Mississippi River in 1860 when he, and his boat, vanished without a trace. His neighbor, Walter Q. Gresham (U. S. Supreme Court Justice, and Secretary of State under Grover Cleveland), formed a search party, but the only evidence they turned up was a few items from the stolen cargo. Although the watch was a big part of the story, it had no special family significance.
*An interesting little tidbit: I have a picture hanging in my dining room that came out of the home of Walter Q.!

All of your books have such a colorful cast of characters. In Curse of the Bayou, I think Mud Bug and his mother, Jasmine are the most intriguing. They both have fabulous Bayou accents. Did you have to spend some time in New Orleans to nail down those awesome voices?

I lived just west of New Orleans for a year, and fell in love with the accents and the culture. That was the closest I'll ever come to living in a foreign country. And, the food was fabulous! (evidenced by my 7 pound weight gain that year!) So, I tried to incorporate special dishes into the story, especially for Gus's benefit. I also did some research on the Internet to get an idea of the dialect. I tried to be careful not to overload the reader, while giving a vivid image of Mud Bug and his mother, Jasmine. Mud Bug is a mixture of Cajun and Creole.

I always look forward to the evil villain in your books. COTB’s villain, Capt Jack La Buse, is one nasty pirate. Did you toy around with different options for his final demise?

That was tough! I had to think of an interesting way to plan his demise that didn't read like the ending of Peter Pan! I also didn't want it to be gory or violent since I've tried to keep that out of the books. Jasmine pretty much told me how to get rid of him. I think she'd been planning it for years!

If I had to pick the one thing that I liked best about Curse of the Bayou, it would be how you tied the mysterious gator, puma and eagle together. In earlier chapters, these characters show themselves but we don’t know what an important role they play. Did you have this all plotted out prior to writing the book, or did these character’s roles develop as the story unfolded on paper?

I don't plot. I don't outline. I just write, and wherever the characters take me, that's where I go. SuRana was added into the story as an additional character. I have no idea where her voice patterns came from, but I thought she was an intriguing character who brought another dimension to the climax.

If you had to pick one thing that you like best about COTB, what would it be? And you CAN’T say, "It’s finally done."

My favorite aspect of COTB is that it was based on my real relatives. As I mentioned above, Beau is based on my g.g. grandfather, Augustus. Also, Jay (John Joseph) was my great-grandfather and Samantha was my great-grandmother! I love including real ancestors in the stories. I also enjoyed writing the the New Orleans setting. It was fun remembering the time spent exploring Jackson Square, The French Quarter, and the Riverfront.

Gus loves to eat and you always have her enjoying the most delectable dishes. I always find myself getting hungry when I read your books! When are we going to see a Cynthia and Gus cookbook? I simply must have a taste of those New Orleans beignets!

Some of Gus's favorite foods and recipes just may end up on my website! As you know, she loves her peanut butter cookies, bologna sandwiches (she prefers them thick-sliced, fried with melted cheese), pan fried catfish, and especially the beignets. Hmmmm...now, I'm getting hungry. If you've never had a true New Orleans beignet, you don't know what you're missing. They must be combined with a cup of café au lait, though. I seriously doubt, however, that Gus or Cynthia are going to be too excited about eating any more mud bugs.

Thanks for the interview Mary! Fuh sho!

I'm honored, Donna, to be your first guest author! One of these days, I'm going to be interviewing you.

(Some places you can find Cynthia's Attic)
http://www.marycunninghambooks.com/
http://www.cynthiasattic.blogspot.com/
Amazon
Fictionwise

Church Lady vs. Evil Editor

If you put Evil Editor in a ring with Church Lady, who would win? Would Evil Editor woo Church Lady into a life of debauchery? Or would Church Lady convince Evil Editor that a vow of chastity is in fact something he's always been meaning to embrace?

We'll all get a chance to find out on January 24, 2008!

In corner number one - Weighing in at a svelte 120 pounds - Sporting sensible shoes and her Sunday best -

• The Picture of Piety
• Beauty with Beattitude
• Maven of Morals
• Creator of Tator Tot Casserole
• and Inventor of Support Hose........CHURCH LADY!

In corner number two - Weighing in at a pompous 45 pounds - Wearing wing tips and the blood sweat and tears of his minions -

• King of the Underworld
• Slasher of Sentences
• Dasher of Dreams
• That jerk who eats the last slice of pizza
• and Inventor of the RED PEN.......EVIL EDITOR!

The main event will be held at Church Lady's rectory. Rosaries are required. http://www.abenchpress.blogspot.com/

To find out more about the contender - Evil Editor ((EE to his evil minions)) check out this hellish site:
http://www.evileditor.net/

What his devilish site will not tell you is - HIS REAL IDENTITY! I recently went on an investigative journey that lasted approximately 10 minutes. That's all it took before I was able to put two and two together. It was so obvious!

And so the story goes. It was a dark and stormy night. The words haunted him then and continue to do so to this day. After years and years of submitting his untitled 250,000 word novel without any offers of publication, he decided to throw his old life away, and start anew.

His life pretty much sucked anyway. He always felt as though he was in the dog house. The people in his immediate circle were losers who couldn't kick a football much less see his obvious potential.

Evil Editor is of course:


Snoopy

Are you smarter than a 5th grader?

Are you smarter than a 5th grader? Let's discuss.

I, Word, am not smarter than a 5th grader. When I was in 5th grade, I was smarter than a lot of other 5th graders, maybe even a few 6th and 7th graders. But somehow, over the years, I became stupider. Like just now. Is stupider even a word? I don't know. I'd have to look it up, but I don't want to.

So what the heck happened is what I want to know. When did all of those fabulous facts fade away into obscurity?

Name all the oceans.
Name all the continents.
What is the capital of New Hampshire?
Who was the 6th president?
Is the Tropic of Capricorn in the northern or southern hemisphere?
What is a hemisphere?

And those are just the tip of the iceberg. By the way, how much of an iceberg is above the water versus below? Do you remember the percentage? I don't.

I've decided that brains are only capable of retaining "x" amount. There is probably an algebraic equation that relates the inverse relationship of "x" to your age and number of children you have sucking any remaining intelligence out of your brain. Not sure about what that equation is though. I think there might be some numbers, and possibly a noun or verb in there someplace.

I think it works like this:

Locating lost keys = loss of one third grade spelling test.
Locating 12 year old's gym shorts = loss of the definition of "preposition".
Training new employee = loss of any and all geographic facts concerning Greenland.
Hearing the word "Mom" followed by....well, just about anything = loss of one historical fact concerning the early explorers of the 1500's.
Grocery Shopping = loss of the multiplication table for 6's.
Sleep interruptions = loss of ability to find keys.

No, I am by no means even close to being as smart as a fifth grader. I guess that's a good thing. When I help the kids with their homework, I am genuinely astounded at how doggone smart they are AND I get to learn something new. Well, not new - old - but hey, perception is everything right?

Will someone please come up with a game show named: Are you smarter than my mom? I'd like to play that game.