The WELL: inkwell.vue.217: Mary Mackey, "Sweet Revenge"

#98: Mary Mackey (mm) Sun 4 Jul 04 17:29

Sun, 04 Jul 2004 17:29:00 PDT

ooh, sounds great, Calros. obrigada. [Read entire topic]

#97: Carlos Martins (arariboia) Sun 4 Jul 04 07:51

Sun, 04 Jul 2004 07:51:00 PDT

Drop me a line next time you do, I'll treat you to a fil* Oswaldo Aranha and a few chopinhos at Lamas... [Read entire topic]

#96: Mary Mackey (mm) Sat 3 Jul 04 12:15

Sat, 03 Jul 2004 12:15:00 PDT

I was in Rio a month ago. I don't have any plans to visit again for a while, but some time in the future I will return. I love Rio. [Read entire topic]

#95: Carlos Martins (arariboia) Sat 3 Jul 04 11:12

Sat, 03 Jul 2004 11:12:00 PDT

Great stories, Mary! To read, that is, not to experience...

I won't even ask in what way the Triple Border connects to the plot of SR; I'd rather read the book, which I plan to do shortly.

Just out of curiosity, when have you been to Rio, and do you have any plans to visit it again? [Read entire topic]

#94: Hoping to be a goddess, but settling for guru (paris) Sat 3 Jul 04 08:34

Sat, 03 Jul 2004 08:34:00 PDT

You're quite welcome, Mary. Thanks to you and to Cynthia for the opportunity to introduce you and your writing to the folks who read this conference! [Read entire topic]

#93: Mary Mackey (mm) Fri 2 Jul 04 22:56

Fri, 02 Jul 2004 22:56:00 PDT

It has been a pleasure, Cynthia. Libbi, thank you for being such a wonderful interviewer. [Read entire topic]

#92: Rip Van Winkle (keta) Fri 2 Jul 04 13:02

Fri, 02 Jul 2004 13:02:00 PDT

And you're also welcome to join me talking to Francesca De Grandis next door about The Modern Goddess' Guide to Life. [Read entire topic]

#91: Cynthia Dyer-Bennet (cdb) Fri 2 Jul 04 12:14

Fri, 02 Jul 2004 12:14:00 PDT

Sounds like it's not "danger" you're seeking, but that it's a side effect of the off-the-beaten-track adventures that to pursue, Mary.

It's hard to believe that two whole weeks have gone by since we started this conversation. It's just flown by! I want to thank you, Mary, for joining us, and you, Libbi, for so ably leading the conversation. Though we've turned the virtual spotlight onto another author there's no reason this discussion has to end. You're welcome to continue as long as you're able. The topic will remain open indefinitely. [Read entire topic]

#90: Mary Mackey (mm) Fri 2 Jul 04 10:20

Fri, 02 Jul 2004 10:20:00 PDT

I pay for the trips I take out of my own pocket because I need to write the novel (or at least part of it) to get an advance, and I can't do that until I have seen the locations I'm writing about.

Am I a danger junkie? Hmm, good question. I'm definitely a junkie for the rainforest and the tropics in general, which tends to expose one to danger, but I don't seek out high risk situations. I learned long ago that if you want to do "Adventure Travel" you don't need to pay a lot of money to go with some company that feeds you catered meals and guides your every footstep. All you need to do is take off for somewhere remote, planning to spend as little money as possible. Or, alternatively, you can just look where I am going and go there too. I seem to stumble on adventures and disasters (or maybe they stumble on me). It's all part of the writer's life to travel hard (and be under machine gun fire every once and a while).

(sorry about the scribble of post 87. It was full of typos) [Read entire topic]

#89: Mary Mackey (mm) Fri 2 Jul 04 10:12

Fri, 02 Jul 2004 10:12:00 PDT

I spent the summer of 1969 studying Russian in a world almost totally cut off from the West (in fact, I didn't even hear about Woodstock until I returned in September). I saw ballet in both Leningrad and Moscow, learned quite a bit about Russian culture, and became fascinated with the country as it had been just before the 1917 Revolution. Subsequently, I turned down the offer of a fellowship to go back to the Soviet Union for a year of graduate study in Russian language and literature (I couldn't stand the thought of the winters-in Moscow nylons freeze to your legs if you aren't careful and under the Soviet regime there wasn't a tomato to be had unless you grew it yourself. Also, the political repression was unpleasant and somewhat scary.)

Later, when I set out to write a novel about ballet, I realized that I had already done extensive research on Russia-the precise place where ballet flourished in the late 19th/early 20th century. I visited the Soviet Union for a second time in 1989, just before the fall of the Berlin wall, because I was planning to write a novel about Stalin's granddaughter, but that novel never quite came together. Still, who knows? I saw Stalin's hometown in Georgia which was as surreal an experience as one can have, and perhaps someday I will use it in a novel. [Read entire topic]