Featured Interview With Mary Brotherton
Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
Mary Brotherton, the 2022 Prestige-award-winner is known as the Angel Author. She is the founding president of bUneke, an educational charity. As the editor-in-chief of bUneke Magazine and the director of bUneke Radio, she is privileged to interview remarkable people and work with writers, editors, photographers, filmmakers, podcasters, interns, and experts worldwide. When she’s not managing the administrative side of the nonprofit, fundraising, or mentoring others, she’s writing, painting, or illustrating children’s books. She is also working on several of her novels, fiction and non-fiction anthologies, scripts, and guided meditation journals.
The fourth of eight children, Mary grew up in a small, rural town in South Carolina, where she also raised two sons. She and her second husband currently live in Florida, after starting life together in Atlanta. They are the sole possession of an orange cat born in 2004.
When they moved to Florida, Mary quickly joined the writing community and was deeply involved in the local and statewide organizations, until she founded her own private writers’ critique group.
She worked on “Go with Angels,” her debut memoir for 40 years before publishing it. Two weeks after its launch, she was inspired to create “My Angel Book,” for children and spent only four months from idea to publication. The inspired idea for “A Journey with Angels” came to her days before she launched the children’s book.
At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
My mother said I was editing cereal boxes when I was four. I don’t remember not writing, whether it was short stories, book reports, or school essays. I think I may have been scribbling before I was born.
Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I love to read Dean Kootnz, Steven Coonts, Sylvia Browne, Elmore Leonard, Jim Butcher, Diana Galbadon, Erma Bombeck, Lynn Grabhorn, O Henry, Hemmingway, and the local indie author. I enjoy reading memoir, poetry, thrillers, mysteries, fantasy, spiritual, and sci-fi.
Tell us a little about your latest book?
My current work in progress was inspired just two weeks before I received copies of my second book, which was inspired two weeks after I released my debut book. Perhaps I should start over. In October, 2022, after 40 years of agonizing and organizing, I published “Go with Angels,” a collection of short, true stories about near-death encounters, miraculous moments, and angelic encounters, as well as a few conversations with departed loved ones. As soon as I announced the book, one of my nieces bought a copy. Two weeks later, she ordered another copy for her three-year-old granddaughter, who kept taking grandma’s book. When that book arrived, my niece called to tell me how happy the little girl was and we talked about my next book project. With half a dozen children’s books, several themed anthologies of short stories, two novels, and some scripts, my next project could have been anything. However, I felt inspired to write a book about angels for children, since her granddaughter loved the memoir so much. Four months later, thanks to some divine inspiration and the artistic help of A.I. , I was selling copies of “My Angel Book,” but two weeks before receiving my first copy, I was further inspired to create “A Journey with Angels,” which is a guided mediation journal currently being written (May 2023). Will there be a fourth angel book? Stay tuned!
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