Featured Interview With Mary Elizabeth Fricke
Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I’m a country girl who knows no other way of life.
My official bio reads: Mary Elizabeth Fricke has lived her entire life within five miles of the Missouri River. She and her husband of 37 years have lived 34 of those years on a farm that has been consistently owned and operated by his family for five generations. They have two grown sons married to wonderful women and two beautiful grandchildren.
A graduate of the Writer’s Institute of America and a member of the Heartland Writers Guild, she has published a number of articles in various forums and magazines, as well as Dino, Godzilla and the Pigs, My Life on Our Missouri Hog Farm. She is also a prolific ghostwriter.
Her stories, based in rural mid-western areas, concern the unique but quickly vanishing way of life on the family farm as well as other mysterious intricacies that evolve life from generation to generation. Romance is her preferred genre.
Previously published in the Birds the Peril Series:
Pigeon in a Snare (Lisa’s story)
Roses for the Sparrow (Jani’s story)
Plight of the Wren (Susie’s story)
Robin Unaware (Stephanie’s story)
Sept. 3, 2017: Demise of Innocence (Sweet Pea I)
Oct. 7, 2017: Time to Deceive (Sweet Pea II)
Nov. 30, 2017: The Price of Passion (Sweet Pea III)
‘Sweet Pea’ Gift Set (Books I, II, III) was published Feb. 2018
All are available from Amazon Kindle Select
At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
My mother was a poet and a voracious reader. Mom instilled reading in myself and sister and brother when we were very young. When I was little she would read to me. When I got older we shared many, many books. Mom died nearly twenty years ago. I miss talking with her about the books we read.
I was making up stories long before I knew how to write them and I always knew that ‘someday I would write a book’. I began that quest when I was twenty-one. That ‘book’ ended up being my final assignment for the Writer’s Institute but I have no intention of ever publishing it. At present, I’ve completed about a dozen manuscripts. One, my autobiography, was published in hardbound. Eight more have been published as e-books. Another I wrote in the 80’s on a portable typewriter. So it needs to be ‘computerized’ before I can think of publishing it. I believe it’s safe to say ‘writing’ is as much a part of me as the nose on my face. If I cease to write, I will probably cease to breathe as well.
Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
My favorite book is Ashes in the Wind by Kathleen E. Woodiwiss. I admire Mrs. Woodiwiss’s talent for drawing a reader into the story as if we were there watching the story unfold. That is something I have worked hard to accomplish in my own writing. I also admire Erma Bombeck’s talent for poking fun at herself at the same time she pointed out the necessary little things in life we tend not to acknowledge. My mother was a published poet, but she never received a dime for the poems she wrote. Mom excelled at entertaining people, making them laugh. Indeed, some of her poems were quite hysterical. Others were very serious and thought-provoking. Mom taught me the value of writing to entertain is more important than writing to make a buck.
Tell us a little about your latest book?
Sweet Pea began in 1976 when the trends, activities noted in the book were current. As I rewrote the story (over and over and over) I made certain to retain those trends, which today, give the story a nostalgic feel. In a nutshell, Sweet Pea is the story of one woman who loved two men and how her relationships with those men shaped her life. News from a family member sends her into a tailspin of memories, analyzing who she is and how she came to be where she is in her life at this time. She is joined by her best friend and her husband who add their memories. This is the official blurb:
Sweet Pea Gift Set: To one man she gave her virginity; to another, she gave her heart. One, she would mourn. With the other, she would share life’s triumph and turmoil. With both, she would endure times of love, and passion and complete happiness as well as times of despair, confusion, and sorrow. One day at a time—each day, building unforgettable memories.
Sweet Pea I: The Demise of Innocence (1968-70): At seventeen Johnie is no longer a child but still full of virgin innocence—and defiance. She quickly learns growing up involves a lot more than physical loss of her virginity.
Sweet Pea II: Time to Deceive (1973-74) Johnie’s dream of happiness becomes a nightmare where Brenda cackles while Johnie boils naked in a cauldron of pea green soup.
Sweet Pea III: The Price of Passion (1984-1990) A secret part of Johnie’s soul survives nurturing the memory of Jake. Fate strikes several more dramatic blows and once again, everything changes.
Sweet Pea spans from the late 1960’s into 2009. Set in rural Missouri, it is a story for those who remember the profound cultural changes and historical events that took place in the later part of the 20th Century. It is is a nostalgic story of growing up; of forging lifelong friendships and loyalty within family that supports every life event, good or bad. It is a story of love that binds a man and a woman despite all odds. It is also a story of obsessive hatred and how such hatred destroys not only the innocent, but those who hate.
Connect with the Author on their Websites and Social media profiles
Mary Elizabeth Fricke’s Website
Mary Elizabeth Fricke Facebook Page