An Interview...with a Reporter.

I would like to introduce you to Mary Rose.  In the past, I've interviewed authors of novels and short stories.  Now, I'd like to help you get to know a different type of writer...a reporter!

Kissed by Literature: Tell us about your writing. 

Mary Rose: I am more of a reporter. I enjoy telling others' stories, describing the scenes and finding the emotions in all situations. I am not a nosey, in your face reporter though. Being as nice as I was, I got the stories and made friends along the way. 

 KBL: How long have you considered yourself a writer? 

MR:  I have been a writer for over a decade, closer to 15 years now, I think. I started at a small paper in Herkimer County, went to Rome and covered Woodstock '99 (best week ever!) and was asked to interview Hilary Cinton in a private setting (being respectful of my sources got me that gig) and then headed to western NY, covered 9/11 from the Rochester area and became a freelancer when I moved back to CNY. I am currently the Mary in the Middle columnist for In Good Health, a local publication distributed locally in doctor's offices, hospitals, etc. I also write other stories for In Good Health as well as a few other print and online publications. 

KBL:  What’s your earliest writing memory?

MR:  In school, creative papers were the worst actually. I was always told to expand more, describe the scene, feel the mood. I was annoyed then but now that is something I would tell others.

KBL:  What’s your favorite part of writing?

MR: Sitting in front of the computer and letting the words flow. The hardest part is when the words come to be but nothing to write them on or no place to put it all together. Like when I am in the shower.

KBL:  Do you have any advice for aspiring authors?

MR: The world is filled with people who think they are writers, who want to be, and who have this image of sitting around in their bathrobes all day and getting paid for it. If you are serious, educate yourself. Take courses at the local college. Go to trainings or workshops to see what other writers are doing. Learn all that you can to make yourself stand out as a serious writer and not someone who has a keyboard and an internet connection.