Mary Pat Hyland Interview

1: What is the most productive time of the day for you to write? 
Late morning is when I hit my stride.

2: Do you start your projects writing with paper and pen or is it all on the computer? 
When the back to school sales are on each year, I buy a bunch of cheap, spiral-bound notebooks that I use for writing first drafts. I find that writing longhand first removes a lot of distractions and allows me to tap into my imagination much faster.

3: What do you draw inspiration from?
I love the everyday, unnoticed moments of life. Sometimes it's an overheard conversation at Wegmans supermarket. Sometimes it's observations made while sitting at a traffic light.

4: Do you set goals for yourself when you sit down to write such as word count?
I've participated and won National Novel Writing Month twice (2009, 2010). That of course instills the value of a daily writing count goal in you. Usually it depends on what I'm working on. For a novel, I might try to get at least five pages written in the notebook. 

5: Are you a published or a self published author and how do you come up with your cover art?
Self published. My artist and I brainstorm, I let her go off and come up with some ideas for discussion, then we review and tweak. It's a very collaborative effort. For the latest book, "3/17"—about the bizarre ways St. Patrick's Day is celebrated in America, we had many ideas on the table that were close but not quite there. One day I had a brainstorm, nothing quite says St. Patrick's Day in America like a mug of awful green beer.

6: What drives you to choose the career of being a writer?
My inspiration comes from a great aunt who was the family storyteller. I loved how she could just create tales while sitting around chatting with family. Writing is something I've always enjoyed. For years I focused on making a living to pay bills. I took a major leap of faith in 2007 and quit my journalism job to focus on this. No regrets!

7: Do you own an ebook reading device?
If you can call my PC that, then yes.  Someday...

8: Who are some of your favorite authors and What are you reading now?
I love Anne Tyler, Eudora Welty, John Irving and Maeve Binchy. Right now I'm reading "Appetite City: A Culinary History of New York." My other job is personal chef.

9: What do you think of book trailers and do you have any plans to have any?
I think they're a great idea. You can see mine (also self-published) here: http://marypathyland.com/media.html

10: How did you come up with the title of your latest book?
3/17 stands for the American way of writing the date March 17, St. Patrick's Day.

11: What are you working on now that you can talk about?
I'm editing a short story and will soon be doing the final edit of my next release, "The Terminal Diner." You can learn about my other works at http://marypathyland.com