Today, Norm Goldman Publisher & Editor of Bookpleasures.com is pleased to have as our guest, Mary L. Paulson author of The Swedish Gypsy.

Good day Mary and thanks for participating in our interview.

Norm: 

Please tell our readers a little bit about your personal and professional background.

Mary: 

I hold degrees from the University of Minnesota, Trinity University in San Antonio, and the American Graduate School of InternationalManagement.  I've worked in administrative positions for The Ford Foundation and management consultant Arthur D. Little in Nigeria.  I served in the Peace Corps in Haiti and Jamaica and also worked as a health care administrator for a rural hospital in Haiti.  When I returned from Haiti many of my friends urged  me to write about it, they said my letters were fascinating. So  I signed up for some Creative Writing Workshops at New Mexico State University.

I completed a novel, The Necklacing, inspired by my experiences in Haiti.  The book has not yet been published.

Norm:

How and why did you become interested in writing a novel about a Swedish Gypsy during the latter part of the 1800s and early 1900s?

Mary: 

After I finished The Necklacing, my professor, Kevin McIlvoy, said I should start another novel.  I remembered my Swedish grandfather who married a Gypsy.  I thought it  could be the basis for an interesting story.  So I researched the period for both the Swedish and Gypsy cultures.  I found the Swedish struggle for male suffrage, and the general strike of 1909 particularly riveting.

Norm:

Was writing your novel improvisational or did you have a set plan?

Mary: 

The plot line was already there in the real life of the principals, Fredrik, Amalia, and Lilly.  I kept the basic facts of their lives, but fictionalized specific incidents.  I strived to make the depiction of the Kalderash Gypsy Clan authentic. 

Norm: 

What was the most difficult part of writing your book?

Mary: 

I didn't find it difficult.  The research was the most time-consuming, but also the most interesting.  One source would lead to another.  I used 57 sources, fourteen of them specific to Swedish Gypsies, from the Journal of the Gypsy Lore Society.

Norm: 

What has been your overall experience as a published author? What did you enjoy most about writing this book?

Mary: 

I enjoyed the relationship with my mentor, Kevin McIlvoy, published author,  at New Mexico State University.  After publication my experience has been tedious and frustrating.  I found that getting published is just the beginning - then comes marketing, an uphill battle to get the book noticed.

Norm: 

I noticed you have adopted a short sentence style. Is there any reason for this?  As a follow up, is there anything you find particularly challenging in your writing?

Mary: 

The style is natural.  I dislike long convoluted sentences.  I find character development challenging, and also how to make history interesting.

Norm: 

How long did it take you to research this novel?

Mary: 

I worked on it for several years.

Norm: 

Do you have a local writing community or fellow writers that you look to for support and advice? Did you have a writing mentor?

Mary: 

My community was  the creative writing workshops I took.  My professors were my mentors:  published authors Kevin McIlvoy and Robert Boswell.

Norm:

Can you tell us how you found representation for your book? Did you pitch it to an agent, or query publishers who would most likely publish this type of book? Any rejections? Did you self-publish?

Mary: 

I had an agent who sent it out to publishers for over two years, it was rejected by all.  Then my agent put me in touch with a "joint venture" publisher, who accepted it.  

Norm: 

Where can our readers find out more about you and The Swedish Gypsy?

Mary:

You can find mind on Youtube and  Eloquent Books

Norm:

 Is there anything else you wish to add that we have not covered?

Mary:

 Thank you for this opportunity to give exposure to the book.  I think the portrayal of Gypsy life is fascinating, and readers will find it engrossing.

Thanks once again and good luck with The Swedish Gypsy.

Click Here to read Norm's Review of The Swedish Gypsy

Click Here To Purchase The Swedish Gypsy