Mary Kay Andrews

QUESTIONS FROM READERS

Mary Kay Andrews answers readers' questions about the real-life inspiration behind her fictional settings and characters, the amount of writing she does in a day, and whether or not THE FIXER UPPER will have a sequel.

Ashley from Atlanta, GA: Does inspiration for your books come from real-life events in Georgia? How do you choose the small towns in which your books are set?

Mary Kay Andrews: Sometimes the inspiration comes from real events. In this case, I drew on my own experiences in fixing up old houses --- my husband and I have become serial re-modelers. For THE FIXER UPPER I knew I wanted to set the story in a small town in middle Georgia, a town that had been a textile town. I used Griffin, GA. as inspiration for the book, but Guthrie is not really Griffin. In the case of HISSY FIT, which was set in Madison, GA., I've always loved that town, and thought it would be the perfect setting for a story like mine.

Lori from Victoria, TX: What kind of kitchen do you have? All modern and technological like the one Dempsey was dreaming about? Or quirky, homey and old-fashioned-functional like the one Dempsey ended up with?

Mary Kay Andrews: I have a sort of cross between techno and old-fashioned. Our kitchen in Atlanta has painted cupboards and an antique-looking custom-built storage armoire --- along with stainless steel appliances. For our house on Tybee Island, GA., I used a vintage cast-iron sink similar to the one Bobby brings Dempsey from the dump. The cupboards are new, but painted white, and I have horizontal plank walls accessorized with my collection of vintage Florida souvenir plates, a wooden swing-arm towel rack, and painted '50s canisters.

Pam from Virginia Beach, VA: I'm always interested to know how authors choose names for their characters. How did you come up with the name "Dempsey”? It was a great fit for the character, and helped to establish the character's family history and family ties to the small town in the book. Are the town of Guthrie and the home called Birdsong based on actual places?

Mary Kay Andrews: I'm always on the prowl for distinctive southern-sounding names, and in this case, I found a cookbook with an acknowledgement to somebody named Dempsee. I loved the name, so I just changed the spelling and adopted it for THE FIXER UPPER. Guthrie was inspired by Griffin, GA., and Birdsong was adopted from a variety of old run-down homes I've spotted in my travels around the country.

Ruth from Neligh, NE: How many hours a day do you write? How much rewriting do you do?

Mary Kay Andrews: My writing schedule varies widely. When I'm in the midst of a book, I might write for as much as six hours a day --- which is a lot. But when I'm promoting a book, as I am these days, very little writing gets done because I'm traveling and touring. As for rewriting, it depends on the book, but mostly, I write a first draft of the book, which my agent and editor are reading as I'm writing it, and then, after my editor gives me her "revision letter" detailing what changes she wants, I'll do a re-write, which hopefully addresses all the changes she's asked for.

Susan from Atlanta, GA: When can we expect the follow-up story from Guthrie?

Mary Kay Andrews: Not sure --- I've got a couple other ideas I'm playing with right now. I hadn't anticipated writing a sequel to THE FIXER UPPER, but then I didn't anticipate writing a sequel to SAVANAH BLUES, either, and I ended up writing two!

Suzanne from Little Rock, AR: Have you thought about writing a murder or crime/romance story? With your story-telling skills I'd love to see the heroine solve a crime.

Mary Kay Andrews: I wrote 10 mysteries under my real name, Kathy Hogan Trocheck, including eight installments of the Callahan Garrity mysteries before I reinvented myself as Mary Kay Andrews. I think there's usually a mystery thread in all my books, although the body count has dropped off dramatically since I became Mary Kay Andrews.