Imagine, if you will, a child on their birthday with all their little friends, hyped up on E-numbers. Are you seeing it? :

Excited, frenzied, unstoppable!

Now imagine me when I had a return email from Ms Higgins Clark’s PA saying “Mary says yes”.

The images are one and the same!

For anyone who knows me by now, you know what a huge fan of Mary Higgins Clark I am. I only discovered her last year (not quite even a year ago) quite by accident as, to be honest, I had never really considered picking up one of her books before for some reason. The first book I read was No Place Like Home and I was hooked! Since then I have got through fifteen of her books and I have loved every single one of them! And the best part is that I have another 14 to look forward to. They are my ultimate comfort books, as I always know that I’m going to enjoy the book and they never let me down.

I was recently sent her latest brand new book, The Shadow of Your Smile, by Simon & Schuster (after pestering an extremely patient and friendly Sue for several months ) which I have recently reviewed here and at the same time I contacted Mary directly to see if she would be willing to be interviewed for my blog. I honestly never expected to hear from her so I was over the moon when I heard that she had agreed.

So here we go. The answers and short and to the point, but frankly that’s fine by me as a) I still can’t believe that the Queen of Suspense agreed to be interviewed for my blog and b) the shorter her answers, the more time for writing her next book!

Interview with Mary Higgins Clark

Boof:  Your new book Shadow of Your Smile is out soon (which I can’t wait to get my hands on) – can you tell us one interesting fact that you found out while writing this book that you didn’t know before?  

MHC: Steps to canonization as a saint in the Catholic Church

 

Boof: How do you keep coming up with new ideas all the time? What do you use as inspiration? 

MHC: Newspaper articles or as in this one – attending the Beatification ceremony.

 

Boof:I love the fact that the heroines in your books are all around my age (38) and usually have successful careers but live very ordinary lives still; I find them easy to identify with. They also all have a huge resilience and self-sufficiency: where do your characters get this trait from?  

MHC: From women I have known starting with my mother.

 

Boof:  I discovered your books by accident only a year ago. I had seen them in shops before but never picked one up. Once I had read one I was hooked and have devoured as many as possible since. I hardly know anyone else my age who reads them (although I am on a one-woman campaign to rectify this at the moment) as people tell me they see them as books that little old ladies would read. Why do you think this is? 

MHC: I’m rather surprised by that because I am on the readers list for people from 12 years of age and up – three generations in front of me – all generations reading my books.

 

Boof: You are known as “The Queen of Suspense” in the book world. Personally, I call you “My Queen of Comfort Reads” as your books are my perfect read for when I want to curl up with a coffee and a page-turner and I know that they will never let me down. What is the nicest thing that you have ever heard anyone say about how your books affect them? 

MHC: It gets them through an illness or a death in the family and helped them at a bad time.

 

Boof: Which is your favourite book out of every one you have written and why?

MHC: I honestly don’t have one.  It’s like asking me to name my favourite child.  Of course, ‘Where Are the Children’ launched my career and that was the beginning.

 

Boof:  Do you think you will ever stop writing new books? (Please say no!) 

MHC: NO!

 

Boof:  What is your top ingredient for writing a successful suspense novel? 

MHC: To hook the readers on page 1.

 

Boof: Do you have any famous fans? 

MHC:  Barbara Bush, Laura Bush

 

Boof:  And finally the quick-fire round:

Favourite colour:   red

Favourite animal:   dog

Favourite food:      pasta

Favourite song:     The Shadow of Your Smile – pro tem

Favourite author:    myself and Carol Higgins Clark

Favourite book:      Jane Eyre

Favourite holiday destination:  Cape Cod; Spring Lake, NJ

Favourite memory:  The day ‘Where Are the Children’ sold

 

Hurray, MHC’s favourite book is Jane Eyre (just like mine! )

 

Have you read any Mary Higgins Clark books? Which are your favourites?