Hello everyone,

Today I am interviewing Mary Kubica, who wrote the utterly thrilling and suspenseful national bestseller, The Good Girl. Yes, THAT book.  As in, we have a kidnapped woman, a kidnapper who does something he’s not supposed to do, and a twist at the ending that will have you muttering, “Daaaang. I did not see that coming.” I highly recommend it.

Cathy Lamb: Mary, I could hardly breathe through The Good Girl. I sat upstairs, in bed, robe on, kindle gripped in my hands. I could not put that book down at night, even when I’d conquered my insomnia. But tell us about you, first. Where do you live, with who, any interests or hobbies?

Mary Kubica: First off, thank you so much for having me, Cathy. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate it. I’ve been truly thrilled by your enthusiasm for The Good Girl. It really means the world to me. Thank you!

I live in the suburbs of Chicago with my husband and our two children, my nine-year-old daughter and my seven-year-old son. Now that the kids are getting a bit older and more independent, I’m finally getting to that part in my life where I can have hobbies again!

Reading and writing consume most of my free time, though I love to travel with the family as well. I also volunteer at a local animal shelter, so if I’m not at the computer or with my family, you can bet that’s where I’ll be!

I’ll just be blunt: You sound so normal, a mother, kids running around, a love of animals and then…THIS.

Tell everyone what this novel that I could hardly breathe through is about.

The Good Girl is the story of the abduction of a young Chicago woman, Mia Dennett. The story is told from three points of view – her mother, her captor, and a police detective investigating the case. It jumps back and forth in time so the reader gets a glimpse of life during Mia’s absence, but also many months later when she’s returned home safe but with no memory of her time in captivity, as we discover what happened to Mia while she was gone.

Where were you when the idea for The Good Girl came to you? What was the spark?

In all honesty, I have no idea. I’d left my teaching career to stay at home and raise my daughter. She was just a year old when an idea for The Good Girl came to me, this notion of a kidnapping that wasn’t all it seemed to be. It was only a smidgen of the story it would one day become, but I started working on it diligently, fulfilling a lifelong dream I’d had to write a novel.

I was a teacher, too, and left when I was pregnant with twins with a three year old home, and I, too, had a lifelong, hell – bent dream to become a writer. We have much in common.

Did you always know there would be a twist at the end?

No! I had no idea where I was going to go with this book. It took quite awhile to get to know my characters and to understand their motives.

I’m not someone who outlines before I write, nor do I do much in the way of brainstorming. On any given day that I sit down to write, I have no idea what might happen in the lives of my characters. I was just as surprised by that ending as many readers are when they read it. This is actually one of the parts I look most forward to as a suspense author: figuring out that surprise twist that will hopefully shock the reader.

How long did it take you to write the book and how many edits/revisions did you make?

I worked on my first draft of The Good Girl for many years. As I said before, my daughter was about a year old when I began writing, and then a year later my son was born. It was a very busy time in my life! I squeezed in some writing time when the kids were napping, but many days the most I could manage was an hour of work, if that.

After I finished the manuscript and acquired an agent, she and I worked together for a few months to make sure it was in the best shape to submit to publishers. And then, of course, I went through a few rounds of revisions with my editor. All in all, it was a long road – about eight years from the time I started the novel until it reached publication day.

This is your first book, and it has been a huge hit. How has the ride been so far? Was finding a publisher easy?

The experience has been amazing. Just a thrill! No part of it was easy, and it required a strong backbone and plenty of persistence, but in the end, it paid off! There was quite a bit of rejection initially to The Good Girl – both from agents and from publishers. But this is to be expected. In the end, I found the best agent and publishing house I could have ever asked for, and feel extremely fortunate for the way everything has worked out. Dream come true!

Rejection is very hard. I went through it myself  years ago (Endlessly, until I wanted to go and live in Antarctica and study penguins)  and I am so glad you persevered.

I read your blog and I understand you have two young children. For the mothers out there who are trying to balance writing and kids, give them some advice.

My life has taken a turn recently in that my kids are in school full time, and I have plenty of time to write. But there were many, many years that this was not the case. My best advice: write as much as you can, whenever you can. If you can only manage fifteen minutes a day, that’s fine! It all adds up over time.

My biggest challenge now is traveling to conferences or speaking events. I absolutely love attending these, but as the primary caregiver, this can be extremely hard to manage. I am very thankful to family and friends who have stepped up to help.

What is your daily life like? Your writing schedule?

I’m an early bird, so I’m up and at ’em by 5am. I spend much of my day writing, but spend much of my day being a mother, too: volunteering in my kids’ classrooms, laundry and other chores inside and outside of the home.

I also volunteer at the local animal shelter a couple of times a week. I try to stay far ahead of writing deadlines, so I don’t feel stressed for time or ever feel like I have to compromise family time for my career. My kids always come first.

Did you train, or go to school, to become a writer? 

No, I didn’t. I took one class in creative writing, which I didn’t particularly like. Beyond that, I like to say that I’m self taught. I can guarantee there are a lot of bad stories I’ve worked on over the years that have helped me see what works and what doesn’t work in my writing. They’ve also helped me find my voice and develop my own style over time. I have loved writing since I was a little girl, but always knew becoming an author would be no easy task. After college, I pursed a career as a high school history teacher (also no easy task!), and only focused on writing after my kids were born. I feel extremely fortunate to be able to live my dream.

Three favorite classics?

A Tale of Two Cities (Charles Dickens), A Farewell to Arms (Ernest Hemingway), The Things They Carried (Tim O’Brien)

Three places you want to see before you turn 100?

You’re being very optimistic here, assuming I’ll live to see 100! I like that. Lake Louise, Canada; Provence, France; Tuscany, Italy

Three things you would do if you had an entire weekend by yourself?

What I’d want to do: take a nap, get a massage and watch all the moves I’ve wanted to see since my kids were born but never had the chance. What I’d probably do: read, write and clean

What’s up next?

My second novel, Pretty Baby, is releasing in July. Pretty Baby is another suspense story set in the Midwest, about a Chicago woman’s fateful encounter with a young homeless girl and her baby. I can’t wait to share this story with you this summer!

Thank you so much for having me, Cathy!

Visit with Mary…

http://www.marykubica.com/

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Mary-Kubica-Author/529093127112073

https://twitter.com/MaryKubica