An Interview with Author Mary K. Tilghman

Tell about yourself, family, pets, favorite foods, and three things about yourself that have nothing to do with writing.

I’ve been a journalist for the past forty years, writing for local newspapers and magazines, but I also wrote 12 travel guides for Frommer’s. My husband Ray and I have three grown children. Three things that have nothing to do with writing? I love to play my hammered dulcimer, alone or with others, and I can’t wait for warm weather to sail with friends and family on my 22-foot Catalina, Seabrina. I’m also addicted to the Great British Baking Show.

What genre(s) do you write?

My first love is historical fiction. But I love a good love story. So while my first two published books were historical, my last three–mostly written during COVID-have been sweet love stories set in places I found beautiful and romantic.

Are you Indy, traditionally published, or both?

All but one of my books has been published by small, independent presses. When my first historical novel’s contract was up, the rights returned to me, and I self-published it. That was fun, so I self-published my very-short second historical novel. My love stories are published by Champagne Book Group.

What are you working on now?

My second historical novel, first written in, I think, 2016, has never found a publisher. A Cinderella story set in Annapolis in 1783, I think it combines historical and romance quite well. I have decided to give it another look, with a new conflict, new heartache, and a better understanding of how to write a novel. Maybe this time, it will find a home.

Do you read outside of your genre? If so, what other genres do you like to read?

 I love literary fiction. I just started Anthony Doerr’s Cloud Cuckoo Land and just finished and was crazy about Amor Towles’ The Lincoln Highway. Someone gave me an Anne Perry cozy mystery, and I was completely in love with that one. I had no idea what The invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab was going to be, but I couldn’t put it down. Since it’s very Faustian, I guess that’s a fantasy. Oh, how about one more? I learned all about movie star Hedy Lamarr’s inventive genius in Hedy’s Folly by Richard Rhodes.

Did the first book you wrote get published? How long were you writing before you were published?

No, I tried my hand at novel writing a very long time ago. My mother read it and said it was nice, so I put it away and didn’t try another novel until I wrote my first published novel in 2015.  

When you are writing, do you like complete silence, or do you like to listen to music? If so, what kind of music do you like? What are your favorite writing snacks?

I like it quiet. And I don’t eat when I’m writing, but I’ll drink anything from coffee to water to a Manhattan.

Does anyone in your family read your books?  

I am lucky to say I have lots of fans in my own family. One of the biggest thrills of my life was going to Facebook on the day my first book was released, and there were photos of two of my cousins holding my book! I didn’t even have a copy yet. My children have read my books, my husband saved me from a huge error when he read my Civil War novel–he’s a great Civil War history buff. My father, whose macular degeneration makes reading impossible, is happy to listen to the books on tape I create especially for him. He’s been known to listen several times. Because my newest book, FEARLESS SUMMER, is dedicated to Dad, I made sure he got his copy even before I submitted it to my publisher. Of course, he’s already listened to it—and is waiting for the next one.

How do you come up with character names for your stories? 

I have fun naming my characters. Sometimes I pick them out of the air. Sometimes they have special meanings. All my characters in my upcoming book are named for authors…Charlotte, Emily, Anne, Henry, Willa, Daphne. Do you know who the authors are that  I thought of? Most of my family and friends have been named in my stories. A nephew came to me after reading my first book and said, It was a very good book, but it would have been better if one of the characters had my name. If you read THE LAST GIFT and you come across a character named Brendan, you’ll know that’s how he got his name. 

What do you think of NaNoWriMo? Worth it?  

If it weren’t for NaNoWriMo, I don’t know if I’d even think I could write a novel. I think all of my novels got their start during November, that is, NaNoWriMo, or during one of the Camps in April and July. I discovered during these months of writing furiously that I could schedule writing time and accomplish most of a first draft in that time. 

When did you fall in love with reading?

The minute I realized those squiggles on a page meant something, I read voraciously. I was getting dressed with my little sisters one day and realized a bottle of shoe polish had words on it, and I could read them. Yup. The top was off the bottle, and I poured black shoe polish all down my dress. 

When we all locked down for COVID, I found new comfort in reading, and I’ve been consuming books like never before. Stories took me far from the pandemic, and the escape really helped when the news was so upsetting.

 Would anyone in your family disapprove of anything you’ve written? 

Nope!

You can follow and learn more about Mary and her writing at:

• https://maryktilghmanwrites.com
• https://twitter.com/maryktilghman
• https://www.facebook.com/MaryKTilghmanWrites
• https://www.instagram.com/mktilghman