Professionally...

The award-winning author of seven Young Adult novels (see Teen Books) Mary has also written for several national magazines...from Family Circle to Fitness. Her specialty: First-person humor pieces on everything from being the fattest girl at her gym, to her addiction to talk radio.

Mary was once assigned the task of bleaching her hair platinum and chronicling daily life as a blonde.  Let's just say she dyed it back as soon as the article was written. Some people have a brunette personality. Period.

Currently, Mary is completing a non-fiction book called, A YEAR OF LIVING THINLY. A lifelong fathead (when you're a fat kid, does it ever leave you?) Mary is living as a thin person for twelve months and--hopefully--living to tell the tale. In the book, she reveals all. (Even, gulp, The Wendy's Incident.)

So far, the journey has produced more laughs than weight loss. Stay tuned. Throughout the year, Mary will post excerpts of the books on her blog.

Are you a fathead, too? Naturally thin? A skinny bitch? Share your thoughts, weight loss tips, superior attitude here. All body shapes and sizes are welcome. Though some are envied.

Personally...

Mary lives in New York City with her husband Bob and their dog, Lucy.

BOOKWORM

Interview

The Monday Muse: Mary Hogan

 

Bookworm: Where is your favorite place to travel?

Mary: I LOVE road trips across the US. If I wasn't a writer, I'd probably be a trucker. Though I'm sure I'd annoy everyone with my horn. How could you resist honking that amazing horn? Our country is phenomenally beautiful when seen from the road. And, of course, roadside diners are the best.

 

Bookworm: Have you ever had any funny/particularly memorable travel experiences?

Mary: Last year, I went on a two week road trip/book tour across New York, Pennsylvania, and Ohio. To keep myself company, I bought several classic disco CDs (I know, I'm a freak...a super freak, I'm super freaky). There's something about a great disco song, like Boogie Wonderland or Disco Inferno, that really revs me up. So I was driving and car-dancing (lots of head action) and singing at the top of my lungs. By the time I arrived at my first school visit, I had complete laryngitis! (I think it's called party-all-nightis when it happens in a club). I had to squeak my way through my first book event, then lip-sync my disco songs for the entire rest of my trip.

 

Bookworm: Out of all the characters from your books, which one can you relate to the most?

Mary: Honestly, I see a little of myself in all my characters. Or, at least, the self I'd like to be. My characters all tend to be slightly outside of the mainstream, trying to figure things out. That's definitely me. Which is probably why I'm a writer. I've always been on the sidelines watching everyone, trying to figure out how the game is played. The trait I love most in all my characters is their dogged determination. They NEVER give up. Which, to me, is the secret to life. That, and a great disco song.

 

Bookworm: What is your favorite YA book?

Mary: When I first started writing YA, I read all the greats: Holes, Harry Potter, Princess Diaries, Angus, Thongs, and Full-Frontal Snogging...I couldn't believe how many talented writers there were out there! I remember thinking, "My goal is to write good books that just happen to be for teens, not TEEN books." Any YA novel that does that successfully has my undying admiration.

 

Bookworm: What is your advice for young adults who want to become authors?

Mary: Tell your personal truth. Be brave. Let it all hang out. To me, that's the best way to tell a completely unique, utterly riveting story. 

But, if you write about real people, change their hair color. For some reason, no one recognizes themselves if you change their hair color. Except my parents, of course, but you can't have everything.