In Case You Wanted to Know

From the assistant’s desk:
Mary Alice is diligently tapping out the pages of her next novel as the book deadline quickly approaches. Because she’s focused on that, I’m stepping in this week as her guest blogger.

My real job here at the office is serving as her assistant and PR liaison. I must say it’s quite a fun job and would be for anyone who’s a fan of her work.  I’ve gotten to know interesting things about one of my favorite authors that I would never have read on the author’s page of any of her books.

With that said, I’d like to share with fellow readers a few things that you might otherwise never know about Mary Alice Monroe.

     1- Have you ever noticed that in most of her books, at least one character is a coffee lover and always makes a descriptive statement about his or her love of the beverage?  One of my favorite descriptions is from an older novel, in which two characters are working late on a marketing campaign for a tea company at their London office where there is no coffee pot:

They huddled over the desk like two conspirators. Bernard practically groaned as he sipped. “Nectar of the gods,” he murmured. “Me mother’s milk to me,” she relied in a purr, drinking greedily.  (pg. 90; SECOND STAR TO THE RIGHT)

     Well, I always figured Mary Alice had to be a devoted coffee drinker because who else could describe the feeling of sipping coffee with such perfection? My first day on the job, she offered me a cup of java from her top-notch brewing contraption, which also steams milk. I was hooked for the job at first sip!

     2- She’s fluent in Japanese. The problem is she sometimes speaks the language to me as if I have a clue what she is saying. My response is always the same—a smile and a raised eyebrow of confusion. Thankfully she always translates for me.

     3- Her love of the Japanese language also translates to a love of the cuisine as well. Periodically, she prepares Japanese dishes for her family to enjoy, and I’ve happily been the recipient of her meals a couple of times. Her food pantry is stocked with the basics of Asian cuisine, which is something we have in common, expect I prepare Korean dishes.

     4- When it comes to her interests and book research, Mary Alice really goes all in! For example, her butterfly raising experience began with a visit to the local butterfly habitat in Mount Pleasant, SC. That same day, she returned home with several chrysalis and milkweed plants to transform her screened porch into a butterfly garden. Since that fateful day in the summer, she has raised DOZENS of monarch butterflies (The life cycle is beautiful to witness. The chrysalis looks like a jewel). Little did I know that my job description would include helping her clean up butterfly poop!

What kind of things would you like to know about Mary Alice? Let me know your thoughts and I might be able to share some more tidbits about one of our favorite authors upon my next visit to her weekly blog page.