Mary Camarillo is an award-winning novelist who writes Southern California stories at a desk in Huntington Beach, California. She loves hearing from readers and talking to book clubs, in person, if possible, or online. Riley, her 15-pound Flame Point Siamese roommate/manager of marketing, might even make an online appearance if he’s in the mood. We enjoyed having this Author Interview – Mary Camarillo, for our blog. Check out this fantastic author and follow them for more amazing stories.
Mary Camarillo is the author of the award-winning novel “The Lockhart Women.” Her awards include the 2022 Indie Author Project Award for California Adult Fiction, the 2022 Willa Literary Award Finalist in Multiform Fiction, the 2021 First Place Award in the Next Generation Indies for First Fiction, the 2022 Finalist for the Screencraft Cinematic Book Award, and the 2021 Finalist in the American Book Awards in Women’s Fiction. Her second novel “Those People Behind Us” will be published in October of 2023. Her poems and short fiction have appeared in publications such as TAB Journal, 166 Palms, Sonora Review, and The Ear.
Mary writes about living in Southern California, a place she’s called home for more than fifty-five years and is still trying to understand. She had a long career with the postal service, which might be genetic—both her grandfathers were railway mail clerks. She sorted mail, sold stamps, worked in the accounting office, and went to night school, eventually earning a degree in business administration, a CPA license, and a Certificate in Internal Auditing.
She currently serves on the advisory boards of Citric Acid, An Orange County Literary Arts Quarterly, and LibroMobile, An Arts Cooperative and Bookstore in Santa Ana, California. She’s a member of Women Writing the West, Women Who Submit, and Women for Orange County. Mary lives in Huntington Beach, California with her husband, who plays ukulele, and their terrorist cat Riley, who makes frequent appearances on Instagram.
When did you start writing?
I wrote poems and short stories as a child. In high school, I edited the literary magazine and wrote for the school newspaper. I had an idea that I’d eventually major in journalism but I unfortunately let a sour teacher discourage me from that idea. I kept writing poems and have always been a voracious reader. The last part of my working career was as a government auditor. I wrote and edited countless audit reports which surprisingly gave me the confidence to try my hand at writing fiction. Audit reports describe a condition that needs improvement and must explain the cause (why this happened) and the effect (who the heck cares?) There are similarities in writing fiction. The reader needs to understand why the characters behave as they do and the story needs to be compelling for the reader to care enough to continue to read. And the best fiction, in my opinion, tells the truth, as audit reports do, although writing fiction is definitely much more fun.
What was it like growing up?
I’m the oldest of three children, with two younger brothers. My family has lived in or near Columbia, South Carolina, going back to pre-Civil War days. My dad was a chemical engineer for Douglas Aircraft and my mom was a homemaker. They loved music and plays and were avid readers who took us to the library. I checked out as many books as allowed, read them all and went back for more. I played piano, was a Girl Scout, loved the Beatles, and hated wearing glasses.
How was your early life?
My dad was transferred to Santa Monica, California when I was fourteen. All we knew about California was from surf movies and the Beach Boys music. We thought everyone lived on the beach and knew movie stars. We first lived in Reseda in the San Fernando Valley, which was nowhere near the beach or any movie stars although I was thrilled to get to see the Beatles at Dodger Stadium. I didn’t go to college after high school, I went to work for the postal service. I never planned to make a career there but I stayed on for many reasons. I made life long friends. I met my husband. And I found a variety of types of work to do, from sorting mail to selling stamps, from working in the accounting office to managing the finance department. I ended my career as a CPA and Audit Manager for the Office of Inspector General.
What has been the biggest influence in your career?
My parents were resourceful, resilient people who reinvented themselves many times over their long lives. They grew up in the Great Depression, lived through World War II, and raised teenagers during the sixties. Leaving their mothers, sisters, brother, cousins, aunts, uncles, and friends behind when we moved to California must have been traumatic for them but as a self-absorbed 14-year-old, I never considered what they went through. My dad was laid off two years after he was transferred to California. He and my mother started their own offset printing business. They eventually sold that business, moved to Oregon and started another new life, then returned to California twenty years ago. Witnessing their flexibility, their ability to find community, and to live lives rich in experiences was completely inspirational to me.
Tell us about your newest release.
“Those People Behind Us” is set in the summer of 2017 in the fictional city of Wellington Beach, California, a suburban coastal town increasingly divided by politics, protests, and escalating housing prices. These divisions change the lives of five neighbors as they search for home and community in a neighborhood where no one can agree on who belongs.
Which book of yours would you call your favorite child?
That’s not a fair question! I’m giving my new book the most attention these days because it’s releasing in three months. My first novel still has my heart, though. I learned so much from writing, publishing and promoting “The Lockhart Women.”
What inspired you to write this book?
“Those People Behind Us” was inspired by my neighborhood. During the pandemic, my husband and I spent a lot of time walking the streets and making up stories about the lives of our neighbors. We heard someone pounding on a drum set and decided it must be a kid who wanted to be a rock and roller. One of our neighbors always left all of their doors wide open, day and night, and we worried something bad could easily happen to them. We were curious about the flags our neighbors flew, what they thought about, and how they spent their days. We also saw a lot of suburban wildlife on our walks–coyotes, possums, skunks, racoons, herons, hummingbirds–and started paying more attention to the types of trees and plant life. Most of this ended up in “Those People Behind Us” but I fictionalized actual names to make the story more universal.
What are you usually found doing when you’re not writing?
Lately, I’ve been spending a lot of time dealing with the aftermath of my father’s death. He died in February of this year at the age of 100 and one-half years and I miss him fiercely. There’s been a lot of paperwork and follow up, dealing with banks and realtors and going through possessions and photographs. I’m looking forward to planning some travel once all of this is behind me. In the meantime, you can find me reading, listening to music, or going out to hear live music.
What does your writing space look like?
Organized chaos.
If you wrote your autobiography, what would you name it?
This is one reason I haven’t written a memoir. I have no idea what I’d call it. “From Carolina to California?” “Still Confused in SoCal?”
How long did it take to write your novel, and what was your process?
My first novel took seven years. My second novel took about three years. My process is to start with characters, give them a lot of problems, and see what decisions they make. I don’t use an outline until much later in the process. It would probably be more efficient if I knew where the story was going earlier in the process, but the fun for me is the surprise in figuring it all out.
Favorite reads?
“Olive Kitteridge” by Elizabeth Strout. “Shaky Town” by Lou Mathews. “Great Kitchens of the Midwest” by J. Ryan Stradal
Do you have any book recommendations?
J. Ryan Sradal’s new book “Saturday Night at the Lakeside Supper Club” is wonderful. I just read “Rebecca” by Daphne Du Maurier and loved it. I’m a huge fan of Louise Errdich, too, and really admired “The Sentence.”
What’s your next big project?
Too soon to say much but I’ve been fooling around with ghost stories set in the 70s, an era which has just recently qualified as historical fiction.
Do you have any advice for aspiring authors?
1. Find a writing workshop but learn to trust your own voice.
2. Don’t be afraid to revise. You can only make it necessary to revise again.
3. Read widely. Read like writing is your job.
4. Support your local writing community. Writers are incredibly supportive of each other.
5. Support your local independent bookstores. It’s against the law to go into one and not buy something.
Follow Mary:
https://www.facebook.com/marypcamarillo
https://www.instagram.com/marycamel13/
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